Conference Synthesis

What was your biggesttakeaway from REDDex?

July 15, 2010

*Please note, the following quotes are from REDDeX participants and do not necessarily represent the views or opinions of The Nature Conservancy

Choose from one of the following categories:1. Low-carbon Development Strategy2. Stakeholder Involvement/Benefit Sharing3. Finance4. Accounting Methods and MRV5. Legal and Institutional Frameworks6. Program Design and Management

1. Low-carbon Development Strategy2. Stakeholder Involvement/Benefit Sharing3. Finance4. Accounting Methods and MRV5. Legal and Institutional Frameworks6. Program Design and Management

I have learned that it is important to have a clear message for external audiences on why all this matters, to build the framework for support…

1. Low-carbon Development Strategy2. Stakeholder Involvement/Benefit Sharing3. Finance4. Accounting Methods and MRV5. Legal and Institutional Frameworks6. Program Design and Management

What is the appropriate long-term funding for low-carbon development strategies/opportunities?

1. Low-carbon Development Strategy2. Stakeholder Involvement/Benefit Sharing3. Finance4. Accounting Methods and MRV5. Legal and Institutional Frameworks6. Program Design and Management

REDD is part of low-carbon development, it has to be incorporated as such…

1. Low-carbon Development Strategy2. Stakeholder Involvement/Benefit Sharing3. Finance4. Accounting Methods and MRV5. Legal and Institutional Frameworks6. Program Design and Management

REDD is a sustainable development strategy more than a conservation initiative…

1. Low-carbon Development Strategy2. Stakeholder Involvement/Benefit Sharing3. Finance4. Accounting Methods and MRV5. Legal and Institutional Frameworks6. Program Design and Management

REDD+ is not a sector, there is no REDD+ ministry…

1. Low-carbon Development Strategy2. Stakeholder Involvement/Benefit Sharing3. Finance4. Accounting Methods and MRV5. Legal and Institutional Frameworks6. Program Design and Management

REDD+ is a complex mechanism/goal/strategy within an even more complex setting of low carbon development. Back to basics – keep in mind what the basic thing is: to leave the trees standing…

1. Low-carbon Development Strategy2. Stakeholder Involvement/Benefit Sharing3. Finance4. Accounting Methods and MRV5. Legal and Institutional Frameworks6. Program Design and Management

REDD is at least as much about economic development as it is about forest conservation…

1. Low-carbon Development Strategy2. Stakeholder Involvement/Benefit Sharing3. Finance4. Accounting Methods and MRV5. Legal and Institutional Frameworks6. Program Design and Management

Learn lessons from the past…

1. Low-carbon Development Strategy2. Stakeholder Involvement/Benefit Sharing3. Finance4. Accounting Methods and MRV5. Legal and Institutional Frameworks6. Program Design and Management

There is no viable conservation plan if it does not include a development proposition…

1. Low-carbon Development Strategy2. Stakeholder Involvement/Benefit Sharing3. Finance4. Accounting Methods and MRV5. Legal and Institutional Frameworks6. Program Design and Management

[The strategy] needs to be so ambitious that it has the potential to really change the way the world works. We need more internal capacity to deal with external factors…

1. Low-carbon Development Strategy2. Stakeholder Involvement/Benefit Sharing3. Finance4. Accounting Methods and MRV5. Legal and Institutional Frameworks6. Program Design and Management

Education at all levels is necessary to change the paradigm of development – that carbon is a new value making sustainable development worthwhile. But it takes time and commitment to build these systems…

1. Low-carbon Development Strategy2. Stakeholder Involvement/Benefit Sharing3. Finance4. Accounting Methods and MRV5. Legal and Institutional Frameworks6. Program Design and Management

If REDD eventually becomes seen in the context of low-carbon development, then: 1) the complexity and timeframe of REDD just

expanded greatly2) National-scale REDD becomes less likely to be

appropriate and province scale more likely

1. Low-carbon Development Strategy2. Stakeholder Involvement/Benefit Sharing3. Finance4. Accounting Methods and MRV5. Legal and Institutional Frameworks6. Program Design and Management

It takes much more time, resources and planning than I had anticipated…

1. Low-carbon Development Strategy2. Stakeholder Involvement/Benefit Sharing3. Finance4. Accounting Methods and MRV5. Legal and Institutional Frameworks6. Program Design and Management

Engagement of key stakeholders and capacity building are key elements to set the right conditions to get REDD+ to work…

1. Low-carbon Development Strategy2. Stakeholder Involvement/Benefit Sharing3. Finance4. Accounting Methods and MRV5. Legal and Institutional Frameworks6. Program Design and Management

I want to see how benefits will be shared with local communities because that is what my audiences will care about…

1. Low-carbon Development Strategy2. Stakeholder Involvement/Benefit Sharing3. Finance4. Accounting Methods and MRV5. Legal and Institutional Frameworks6. Program Design and Management

No rights, no REDD,No REDD, fewer rights…

1. Low-carbon Development Strategy2. Stakeholder Involvement/Benefit Sharing3. Finance4. Accounting Methods and MRV5. Legal and Institutional Frameworks6. Program Design and Management

To ensure local stakeholder involvement, you need to focus on local ownership…

1. Low-carbon Development Strategy2. Stakeholder Involvement/Benefit Sharing3. Finance4. Accounting Methods and MRV5. Legal and Institutional Frameworks6. Program Design and Management

Strengthening capacities, coordination and cooperation of stakeholders promoting communities participation are necessary to lead a REDD project…

1. Low-carbon Development Strategy2. Stakeholder Involvement/Benefit Sharing3. Finance4. Accounting Methods and MRV5. Legal and Institutional Frameworks6. Program Design and Management

Where is community?

1. Low-carbon Development Strategy2. Stakeholder Involvement/Benefit Sharing3. Finance4. Accounting Methods and MRV5. Legal and Institutional Frameworks6. Program Design and Management

Stakeholder engagement needs to happen at every stage of the main phases of REDD Program Design and Management… local empowerment is key!

1. Low-carbon Development Strategy2. Stakeholder Involvement/Benefit Sharing3. Finance4. Accounting Methods and MRV5. Legal and Institutional Frameworks6. Program Design and Management

Money is the least of our problems…

1. Low-carbon Development Strategy2. Stakeholder Involvement/Benefit Sharing3. Finance4. Accounting Methods and MRV5. Legal and Institutional Frameworks6. Program Design and Management

We have to find ways to talk to donors about this work that are sufficiently informative to engage but not too complex to make projects seem confusing…

1. Low-carbon Development Strategy2. Stakeholder Involvement/Benefit Sharing3. Finance4. Accounting Methods and MRV5. Legal and Institutional Frameworks6. Program Design and Management

How do we manage expectations between a developing world eager and waiting for REDD money and the still non-existent international commitments…

1. Low-carbon Development Strategy2. Stakeholder Involvement/Benefit Sharing3. Finance4. Accounting Methods and MRV5. Legal and Institutional Frameworks6. Program Design and Management

We propose two mechanisms around REDD+:1) Local sustainable financial markets in

payments for ecosystem services2) Establish a community fund in order to

decide locally the projects that would be best to invest the resources

1. Low-carbon Development Strategy2. Stakeholder Involvement/Benefit Sharing3. Finance4. Accounting Methods and MRV5. Legal and Institutional Frameworks6. Program Design and Management

Simultaneous, multi-level, multi-sectoral, multi-stakeholder involvement is a prerequisite…

1. Low-carbon Development Strategy2. Stakeholder Involvement/Benefit Sharing3. Finance4. Accounting Methods and MRV5. Legal and Institutional Frameworks6. Program Design and Management

Sometimes it is not about getting more money, but making the financial mechanisms that are already in place more efficient…

1. Low-carbon Development Strategy2. Stakeholder Involvement/Benefit Sharing3. Finance4. Accounting Methods and MRV5. Legal and Institutional Frameworks6. Program Design and Management

Discussion of “nesting” of national/sub-national has not occurred in the US. The US is behind many REDD countries (also for LCD planning and forests)…

1. Low-carbon Development Strategy2. Stakeholder Involvement/Benefit Sharing3. Finance4. Accounting Methods and MRV5. Legal and Institutional Frameworks6. Program Design and Management

More than a method needs to be considered for baselines…

1. Low-carbon Development Strategy2. Stakeholder Involvement/Benefit Sharing3. Finance4. Accounting Methods and MRV5. Legal and Institutional Frameworks6. Program Design and Management

MRV is a good priority for our work in Para…

1. Low-carbon Development Strategy2. Stakeholder Involvement/Benefit Sharing3. Finance4. Accounting Methods and MRV5. Legal and Institutional Frameworks6. Program Design and Management

REDD is a good idea and is possible, but there is a lost piece. We need urgently to translate our thoughts and ideas to others, not just us. #4 needs to be translated, communicated and understandable to others. That is the best part of this meeting – there is a clear path to the future, and my mission is to let people know…

1. Low-carbon Development Strategy2. Stakeholder Involvement/Benefit Sharing3. Finance4. Accounting Methods and MRV5. Legal and Institutional Frameworks6. Program Design and Management

Let’s create MRV systems as soon as possible, for REDD and other low-carbon development priority areas…

1. Low-carbon Development Strategy2. Stakeholder Involvement/Benefit Sharing3. Finance4. Accounting Methods and MRV5. Legal and Institutional Frameworks6. Program Design and Management

It was interesting to hear the perspective that national baselines are likely to be a completely negotiated process without reference to any empirical data. To the extent baselines are set at sub-national levels, using an empirical basis, it is unclear how these ultimately will “add-up” to a national level…

1. Low-carbon Development Strategy2. Stakeholder Involvement/Benefit Sharing3. Finance4. Accounting Methods and MRV5. Legal and Institutional Frameworks6. Program Design and Management

We need to have more suitable institutional arrangements that could increase local ownership…

1. Low-carbon Development Strategy2. Stakeholder Involvement/Benefit Sharing3. Finance4. Accounting Methods and MRV5. Legal and Institutional Frameworks6. Program Design and Management

There is scope for real government to government cooperation – not just financing; national governments have unique expertise in developing national systems…

1. Low-carbon Development Strategy2. Stakeholder Involvement/Benefit Sharing3. Finance4. Accounting Methods and MRV5. Legal and Institutional Frameworks6. Program Design and Management

Need to apply break-through decisions…

1. Low-carbon Development Strategy2. Stakeholder Involvement/Benefit Sharing3. Finance4. Accounting Methods and MRV5. Legal and Institutional Frameworks6. Program Design and Management

I much better understand the legal and institutional linkages among the international, national and sub-national scales…

1. Low-carbon Development Strategy2. Stakeholder Involvement/Benefit Sharing3. Finance4. Accounting Methods and MRV5. Legal and Institutional Frameworks6. Program Design and Management

Legal and institutional linkages among sub-national government actors…

1. Low-carbon Development Strategy2. Stakeholder Involvement/Benefit Sharing3. Finance4. Accounting Methods and MRV5. Legal and Institutional Frameworks6. Program Design and Management

Building a collective understanding on how to make the complexity of REDD as simple as possible (if possible)…

1. Low-carbon Development Strategy2. Stakeholder Involvement/Benefit Sharing3. Finance4. Accounting Methods and MRV5. Legal and Institutional Frameworks6. Program Design and Management

How does the comprehensive nature of low-carbon development strategies achieve near-term, concrete successes?

1. Low-carbon Development Strategy2. Stakeholder Involvement/Benefit Sharing3. Finance4. Accounting Methods and MRV5. Legal and Institutional Frameworks6. Program Design and Management

The “planning phase” needs to be much shorter/quicker…

1. Low-carbon Development Strategy2. Stakeholder Involvement/Benefit Sharing3. Finance4. Accounting Methods and MRV5. Legal and Institutional Frameworks6. Program Design and Management

I learned that knowledge management and information sharing/lesson learning is actually a key component to the success of a REDD+ program, not just an afterthought or add-on…

1. Low-carbon Development Strategy2. Stakeholder Involvement/Benefit Sharing3. Finance4. Accounting Methods and MRV5. Legal and Institutional Frameworks6. Program Design and Management

Addressing the complexity of REDD+ will really require a lot of leadership and smart problem-solving, decision-making and information management…

1. Low-carbon Development Strategy2. Stakeholder Involvement/Benefit Sharing3. Finance4. Accounting Methods and MRV5. Legal and Institutional Frameworks6. Program Design and Management

Only the simplest interventions to remove the most critical constraints – best advice ever…

1. Low-carbon Development Strategy2. Stakeholder Involvement/Benefit Sharing3. Finance4. Accounting Methods and MRV5. Legal and Institutional Frameworks6. Program Design and Management

Spatial data is needed for the design phase of a program (info on who has rights, jurisdiction and landuse), not just the accounting and MRV stage of a REDD project. This means collaboration and coordination among multiple owners of geospatial data for countries must be shared…

1. Low-carbon Development Strategy2. Stakeholder Involvement/Benefit Sharing3. Finance4. Accounting Methods and MRV5. Legal and Institutional Frameworks6. Program Design and Management

Commitment is needed for program design and analyses…

1. Low-carbon Development Strategy2. Stakeholder Involvement/Benefit Sharing3. Finance4. Accounting Methods and MRV5. Legal and Institutional Frameworks6. Program Design and Management

Improvement of strong skills and capacity are critical in establishing program design…