Posted on February, 18 2016

Supported by the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation, this Forest and Climate Significant Story details the participatory design of a model — an Emissions Reductions Program Document, or ERPD — for green development in the Mai Ndombe Province of the DRC. The ERPD represents a critical first step for the implementation of a national REDD+ strategy in the DRC, and a key test of climate action on the African continent.

It aims to provide alternatives to deforestation and rewards for performance in order to reduce emissions, ease  poverty, and support sustainable development on a jurisdictional scale—one that covers more than 12 million hectares, reaching 300,000 families and sustainably reducing deforestation and forest degradation by half.

The design process brought together government officials, community members, civil society organizations, and the private sector to create a document outlining their vision. The resulting document proposes a detailed set of activities that address the direct and underlying drivers of deforestation and forest degradation, and are both economically viable and beneficial to the environment and local communities.

Together, these activities establish the first jurisdictional emissions reductions program in Africa, and one of the first in the world.

Download the full story via the link to the right.