Grassroots. Newsletter

Transcription

1 Issue 6: May 2015 REDD+ Grassroots Newsletter Grassroots Capacity Building for REDD+ Training and Capacity Building of Forest Sector Grassroots Stakeholders for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Asia HIGHLIGHTS Gender mainstreaming in REDD+ capacity development furthered in Lao PDR. Project activities extended to a new area in Myanmar. Engaging media in awareness-raising through media fellowships in Nepal and radio program and video production in Viet Nam. The Norwegian Ambassador to Myanmar visits the Grassroots Project area in the Sagain region in northern Myanmar. Regional reflection workshop takes place in Yangon, Myanmar.

2 INDONESIA: GRASSROOTS CONCERNS AND ISSUES DOCUMENTED Indonesia country program team with its partners conducted a series of grassroots consultations in four different locations: Berau in East Kalimantan, Bantaeng in South Sulawesi, Lombok in West Nusa Tenggara and Ternate in North Maluku. These consultations aimed to gather issues and concerns from grassroots stakeholders related to climate change and REDD+ in particular, and sustainable forest management (SFM) in general. In Berau, YAKOBI organized consultations with religious leaders to capture their perspectives on climate change, as they have been engaged in the grassroots level awareness in the project. It was the first such consultation process for the religious leaders, which had support from Nadhlatul Ulama, one of largest Islamic organizations in Indonesia, The Nature Conservancy (TNC), Forclime and REDD+ Task Force in Berau. Grassroots consultation with religious leaders in Berau In Bantaeng, the district level consultations were jointly organized by Forum Komunikasi Kehutanan Masyarakat (FKKM) and Balang, while in Lombok and Ternate, the consultations were jointly conducted by FKKM and the Samdhana Institute. In general, participants were familiar with the issues related to climate change, but their understanding on REDD+ was still very limited. One of the reasons identified for this limited understanding is the absence of any REDD+ pilot sites in the region. FKKM used an appreciative inquiry approach to capture the existing issues and concerns of the grassroots stakeholders with regards to climate change and SFM. A summary of some of the key concerns and issues is presented in Box 1. The Indonesia project team now plans to summarize the responses compiled from the consultations and then share them at the national level, thus bringing the voices of grassroots stakeholders up to the national and sub-national level of policymaking discourse on climate change. A participant from Lombok Barat Forestry Services explains the results of a multi-stakeholder district-level focus group discussion on initiatives related to community forestry and climate change issues. A group discussion on prioritizing grassroots issues and concerns on forests and climate change topics 2

3 Box 1: Summary of key issues and concerns of grassroots stakeholders in Indonesia Grassroots stakeholders understanding on forest and climate change issues needs further improvement. So far, awareness raising efforts have been scattered by various organizations. The efforts need to be coordinated and integrated for better results. In West Nusa Tenggara and Maluku, the stakeholders highlighted the conflict between the downstream and upstream villagers over accessing resources, including water and land, as a major concern. Setting up an upstreamdownstream forum along the watershed was suggested as one of the options to address this challenge. In the archipelago area, the participants highlighted the important role of mangroves in climate change mitigation and adaptation. They also highlighted the vulnerability of the smaller islands to climate change impacts. Conservation of fresh water resources in the upstream areas was also discussed as one of the local residents immediate needs, and therefore should be addressed on a priority basis by the concerned authorities. Participants highlighted the needs of mainstreaming climate change concerns into economic development. A bottom up approach is needed to plan for such integration involving the participation of village-level stakeholders at the provincial level. Participants also highlighted the need of integrating climate change adaptation and mitigation related topics into formal and alternative school curricula. Legitimate and fair access to natural resources should be granted for those who protect ecosystems through cultural and traditional practices. Stakeholders require better understanding of ecosystem services and their possible application for promoting fair and equitable access to natural resources. LAO PDR: STRENGTHENING GENDER IN REDD+ CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT Over the last three to four months, the Lao PDR project team focused implementation primarily on furthering gender mainstreaming in REDD+ capacity development. The team partnered with the Women Advancement Committee under the Department of Forestry (DoF), Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF), and organized a planning workshop for designing and delivering capacity development programs to strengthen understanding of the stakeholders on the importance of gender mainstreaming in climate change, REDD+ and SFM. Based on participatory discussions, the capacity development plan for gender mainstreaming in REDD+ includes delivering training of trainers (ToT) programs at the national and sub-national levels, followed by community awareness-raising at the village level in three target provinces: Luang Prabang, Houaphan and Salavan. The Lao PDR project team has also worked closely with other partner organization, Participatory Development Training Center (PADETC) to continue strengthening the capacity of youths through grassroots consultation workshops in the three target provinces. Informed Consent (FPIC) and gender in REDD+. Participants reported that following the training, they better understood the majority of the topics of the program, though some participants wanted to learn more about carbon measurement. The training program prepared participants to share their new knowledge within their organizations. Some of the participants will also be facilitating community-level trainings in selected villages of the project area. MYANMAR: REDD+ CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT EXTENDED TO NEW PROJECT AREA The Forest Resource Environment Development and Conservation Association (FREDA) is a new partner organization in Myanmar. It is currently involved in implementing capacity development programs on climate change and REDD+ in Bogalay Township, Pyapon district in the Ayeyarwaddy Region. The organization has also already conducted its first four-day sub-national REDD+ ToT program during the first week of February. A total of 24 participants, 10 of which were women, attended this ToT. The participants were representatives of local communities, CSOs and forest departments. The training focused on the topics of climate change; the role of forests in climate change adaptation and mitigation; REDD+ and the requirements for its implementation; carbon trading; REDD+ in the context of SFM and community forestry (CF); and REDD+ safeguards, including Free, Prior and A training participant group presents on REDD+ issues and concerns Group photo of the sub-national level ToT training 3

4 NEPAL: ENGAGING MEDIA IN REDD+ AWARENESS RAISING Reaching grassroots stakeholders through journalists was one of the key highlights of the project activities in Nepal over the last period. The Nepal project team created a media fellowship program, which awarded fellowships to selected journalists and encouraged them to bring the key concerns and issues of grassroots stakeholders into the public domain through their writing in local publications. ForestAction, one of the project implementing partners in Nepal, first briefed the local media on REDD+ and climate change. Then, the organization supported and encouraged the journalists to produce investigative stories on REDD+ and climate change as a part of development journalism. Five media fellows, including one woman and a member of the Madheshi social group, were selected from five districts: Ilam, Dang, Kailali, Rupendehi and Sarlahi, which represent five different development regions of Nepal. The fellows from Kailali, Dang and Rupendehi were assigned to develop at least two investigative stories on REDD+ and SFM while the fellows from Ilam and Sarlahi wrote stories on REDD+, FPIC and gender equity. Each fellow received both thematic and technical support from Forest Action throughout the three-month fellowship period. Through this initiative, 17 articles were published: nine in national daily publications, including two in English language publications, and eight in district-level daily newspapers. Visit org/project/grassroots-capacity-building-redd/news-and-features/ media-fellowship-articles to read the articles. VIET NAM: REACHING OUT TO GRASSROOTS STAKEHOLDERS THROUGH RADIO AND VIDEO The Viet Nam project team has finalized the production of a video and a series of radio programs to raise the awareness of grassroots stakeholder on the topics of climate change, REDD+ and SFM. The video, titled People at the heart of climate change and forests, illustrates the links between community forestry and REDD+. The video highlights two success stories of community forests, specifically focusing on their strong commitment to developing their forests and enhancing their livelihoods through a range of forest benefits including water for local irrigation, fodder for the livestock, firewood for cooking, as well as other timber and non-timber products. Visit node/38149 to watch the video. The series of radio programs is currently being broadcast, consisting of 10 episodes. The content of the radio series covers a range of topics, including REDD+, the causes and impacts of climate change, SFM and REDD+ safeguards, including FPIC and gender equity. The series kicked off its broadcast through load speaker channels in seven districts of four project provinces during the third week of April. The series runs through mid- June. In addition to writing articles for daily news papers, the fellows were also assigned to produce interactive radio programs on REDD+ and climate change for local radio stations in their respective districts. Altogether, 25 such episodes were produced, which highlighted grassroots concerns and issues related to climate change and REDD+. This engagement with local media was received well by the key stakeholders, including local government officials. REGIONAL REFLECTION WORKSHOP 2015 Similar to previous years, the Grassroots Project organized its annual reflection workshop in Yangon, Myanmar during 6-9 January 2015 to review the progress of the project and to provide opportunities for its country teams and partner organizations to share their challenges and key lessons learned. The workshop also provided an opportunity for country teams to learn from each other and develop their annual plans of action for the coming year. A one-day field visit to one of the project sites in Yateshae Tonwship in the Bago Region was also organized to promote learning between the country teams. Friends of Wildlife (FoW), one of the Grassroots Project s partner organizations in Myanmar, facilitated the field visit, which demonstrated the process of organizing grassroots consultations. (i) unclear tenure and land ownership in REDD+ pilot areas; (ii) a lack of livelihood opportunities for community members; (iii) greater participation needed in stakeholder engagement; and (iv) enhancement of technical capacity on SFM. During the group discussions held over the course of the four days, the country project teams reflected on the stakeholder consultations they have been organizing in their respective countries and shared lessons learned. The workshop participants identified several key grassroots stakeholders concerns and issues: 4 Consultation with local villagers during field visit

5 NORWEGIAN AMBASSADOR TO MYANMAR VISITS THE NAGALAND REGION The Norwegian Ambassador to Myanmar visited one of the Grassroots Project s sites in Layshi Township in the Nagaland region. The objectives of the visit was to update the Ambassador on the progress of the project in Myanmar and to show the awareness-raising activities on climate change and REDD+ taking place on the ground. The visit was jointly organized by RECOFTC s Myanmar Country Program and the country team of the Wildlife Conservation Society, one of the key partners of the Grassroots Project in Myanmar. The Ambassador, along with RECOFTC staff participated in a consultation meeting with the villagers of the Grassroots Project site. During the meeting, the participants shared their knowledge about climate change and REDD+ and also raised concerns about shifting cultivation, one of their key livelihood options, but which is one of the key drivers of deforestation and forest degradation in the area. The majority of the participants did indeed realize the negative impacts of this practice on the structure and composition of the surrounding forest areas and showed willingness to take part in finding an appropriate solution in order to minimize the impacts of deforestation and forest degradation. The Norwegian Ambassador to Myanmar visits a Grassroots Project site FPIC in REDD+: Myanmar This question and answer booklet on FPIC in the context of REDD+ was developed to support local trainers and facilitators who are engaged in delivering REDD+ training and capacity development, and who have a basic understanding of these subjects. The booklet is available at Free, prior, and informed consent in REDD+: Principles and approaches for policy and project development in Myanmar language The FPIC guidebook is now available in Myanmar language. It will be used for delivering grassroots-level trainings on FPIC in Myanmar. The guidebook is available for download at org/node/ A Fair Climate: Gender Equity in Forestry and REDD+ Video, Sub-title in Nepali This video explains the concept of gender equity in the context of forest communities and it is provided for grassroots stakeholders and community forestry practitioners to improve gender equity on the ground. Watch the video at watch?feature=player_embedded&v=8f7ihodyfcm 5

6 REDD+ READINESS MOVES FORWARD IN LAO PDR REDD+ development in Lao PDR is moving rapidly. The country has been receiving support from many development agencies to start REDD+ pilot activities, including the recently received US$3.6 million from the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF) of the World Bank to be used between 2014 and 2017 for supporting REDD+ readiness. The Department of Forestry (DoF) has been selected as the focal agency for utilizing the FCPF money, specifically to kick-start consultations with a range of REDD+ readiness stakeholders. The consultations began in midfebruary and the program is currently focused in two provinces: Huoaphan and Champasak. The key planned activities include: i) developing national REDD+ strategies; ii) developing reference emission levels; iii) designing measurement, reporting and verification (MRV) systems; and iv) setting up REDD+ national management arrangements with the proper safeguards included. This REDD+ initiative could prove a big step forward for Lao PDR in strengthening and speeding up REDD+ development in the country. Phonsay Khammavong National Project Coordinator in Lao PDR This newsletter is published by: Grassroots Capacity Building for REDD+ in Asia RECOFTC The Center for People and Forests P.O. Box 1111, Kasetsart Post Office Bangkok 10903, Thailand REDDgrassroots@recoftc.org Copyright 2015 RECOFTC The Center for People and Forests gives permission to make digital or hard copies of portions or all of this work for educational or non-commercial purposes without fee or prior written consent provided the copies are not made or distributed for profit or commercial advantage and that the source is fully acknowledged. Abstracting with credit is permitted. To copy otherwise, to republish, to post on servers, or to redistribute to lists, requires prior specific permission. Send written requests for republication to RECOFTC The Center for People and Forests, P.O. Box 1111, Kasetsart Post Office, Bangkok 10903, Thailand. Please your queries to REDDgrassroots@recoftc.org Disclaimer: The views expressed in this document do not necessarily reflect those of RECOFTC The Center for People and Forests and Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad). We disclaim any errors or omissions in the translation of this document from the original version in English into other languages. Issue 6: May 2015