Developing Effective Strategies to Engage Private Sector and Civil Society in Reduced Emission from Forest Degradation

The proposed action is aiming at developing a strategic start-up methodology (how to engage) and mechanisms (incentives, benefit sharing, and barriers) to be used in engaging private sector and civil society to execute REDD+ (funding and implementing REDD+ activities, reducing leakage, etc.) following a first REDD pilot project phase. The proposed action is among other main issues addressing the limited funding for REDD+ activities in Africa. Africa receives only 11% of total REDD+ funds, due to the fact that very few private sector and civil societies are able to compete towards the REDD+ funds, whereas 57% and 32% of funding is channeled to Asia and Latin America, respectively. This action will involve (i) investing in REDD+ activities by developing different portfolios of potential incentives that the two sectors can access to invest in REDD+ activities in the African setting; (ii) understanding the barriers that hinder the two sectors to invest in REDD+ activities; and (iii) build institutional and human capacity into African private and civil societies to allow them to attract more REDD+ funds in the long run. The action will further look at issues of benefit sharing of REDD+ associated benefits within the Community of Practice (CoP), especially local communities as a way to address REDD+ safeguards. The latter is identified as a critical issue under UNFCCC decision 1/CP.16 appendix 1 Paragraphs 2 (c), (d) and (e). The proposed action will look at gender, community rights and land tenure issues as parts of addressing REDD+ Monitoring, Reporting and Verification for improved REDD+ governance, monitoring and law enforcement. The expected outcome of the action is to ensure that the capacity built to the private sector, civil society and the public at large will enhance sustainability of REDD+ in the country. The main objective of the research is to identify a set of policy-relevant effective strategies for inclusion of private sector and civil societies for ensuring continuation of the implementation of REDD+ in Tanzania after the pilot phase ends as a need to promote sustainable improvements of the forest resources and wellbeing of communities depending on the forest resources.