TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Representatives of the REDD+ Partnership comprising of 75 countries have converged in Palangka Raya, capital of Central Kalimantan province of Indonesia, for the global REDD+ Partnership Workshop and Meeting from October 8 to 11, 2013.
In his opening remarks, Central Kalimantan Governor Agustin Teras Narang, emphasized the importance of community livelihoods and the protection of the rights of indigenous people. “Any climate initiatives such as reducing emissions from deforestation or forest/peat land degradation need to be designed as socially inclusive because it is pivotal to ensure its sustainability on the ground,” he said according to a press release Tempo received from the United Nations Information Center, Jakarta, Wednesday.
For the second half of 2013, the CoChairmanship of the REDD+ Partnership is shared by Indonesia and Norway. Heru Prasetyo, Indonesian CoChair, said it was critical for the REDD+ Partnership to clarify total funding needs for REDD+ and to make the distribution of those funds more directionally appropriate.
"This is why we encourage, in this cochairmanship, the process of building a credible country needs assessment to estimate the sum of what is actually needed for the REDD+ movement to take off," Heru said.
Norwegian CoChair Per Pharo said he was delighted for the REDD+ Partnership to meet in Indonesia, "and to learn from the rich experiences with REDD+ implementation in the pilot province of Central Kalimantan."
Mr Pharo said that Norway and Indonesia's joint experience is key to achieving the Partnership's goal to scaleup adequate, predictable and sustainable finance for verified REDD+ results and drive the global REDD+ agenda forward.
During the workshop, participants will travel to REDD+ demonstration sites in Central Kalimantan including the rewetting project of peat swamps in Sebangau National Park, communitybased fire prevention initiatives in Bukit Tunggal and Tanjung Taruna, and agricultural innovation and community livelihoods projects in Jabiren. Participants will also visit the Climate Communications Facilitation Center (PSKI) in Buntoi that was recently inaugurated by the Governor.
In addition to field visits, the workshop will also feature a “knowledge bazaar” of presenters from REDD+ countries, bilateral donors, and representatives of international organizations, NGOs and academic institutions working with countries on REDD+ activities.
The REDD+ Partnership is a platform for country partners to scale up REDD+ actions and finance, improve the effectiveness, efficiency, transparency and coordination of REDD+ initiatives and financial instruments, and facilitate knowledge transfer, capacity enhancement, mitigation actions and technology development and transfer with the objective of contributing to the global battle against climate change. (*)
