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Kenya-New Zealand:Bilateral Analyze climate change solutions using our deliberative process
REDD+:
Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation in developing countries encouraged Parties, Organizations and the Private Sector to take action in this effort for reduction by also taking into account that driver's of deforestation and forest degradation are unique to countries' circumstances, capacities and capabilities. Result-based finance provided to developing countries for the full implementations of REDD+ may come from public and private, bilateral and multilateral, as well as alternative sources. Entities financing REDD+, including the Green Climate fund, are encouraged to collectively channel adequate and predictable result-based manner, taking into account different policy approaches.
REDD+ allows countries the flexibility to take on their own action plans which coincide with their regions and various policies and recognizes the importance and necessity of adequate and predictable financial and technological support for the creations of the national strategy. National strategies or actions plans to be made by developing countries are heavily dependent on national circumstances. These countries are to consider among other things: the driver's of deforestation and forest degradation, land tenure issues, forest governance issues, gender considerations and the full REDD+ safeguards. This includes the full and effective participation of relevant stakeholders which involves indigenous and local communities.
The COP agreed that parties should collectively aim to slow, halt and reverse forest cover and carbon loss in accordance of national circumstances. They encouraged countries to do the following:
1) Reducing emissions from deforestation
2) Reducing emissions from forest degradation
3) Conservation of forest carbon stocks
4) Sustainable management of forest carbon stocks
5) Enhancement of forest carbon stocks
The acronym REDD+ is often used to formally refer to these five activities.
REDD+ can be implemented in the following phases:
a)Development of national strategies and measures, and capacity-building
b)Implementation of national policies that could involve further capacity-building, technology development and transfer, and result-based demonstration activities
c)Result-cased actions that should be fully measure, reported and verified.
The choices of a starting phase depends on specific national circumstance including the level of support received.
2) REDD+ in our Two countries:
Before the humans came to New Zealand about the time of 100 AD, 80% of the country was forest. When Maori came to New Zealand around 1250-1300 AD, they burnt mostly around the coasts on both islands. When Europeans settled in around 1800 6.4 million hectares of forest was replaced with farms. Between 1850-2000 another 8 million hectares of forest have been eradicated. Humans have wiped out 2/3 of New Zealand’s forests, which were vital habitat for some of our most unique native species such as kiwi and kokako. It is said that before the arrival of people in New Zealand, 80% of the land was covered in forestry, but due to the colonization areas have been scraped of land.In 1840 following the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, some 6.7 million hectares of forest had been destroyed and was replaced by short grassland, shrubland and fern land. Between 1840 and 2000, another 8 million hectares were cleared, mostly lowland or easily accessible conifer - Groups within New Zealand taking a stand against deforestation.
-Kiwi
-kokako
In NZ, REDD+ does not have any presence regarding the degradation and deforestation of land, although there is great potential for REDD+ to have influence over government choices. According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry approximately 455,000 hectares of forestry land is at risk of being deforested and converted into pastoral use - the majority for dairying. Conversion of forestry land to dairy pasture simultaneously destroys forests and habitats and replaces them with intensive dairy farming which is one of the most greenhouse gas intensive forms of land use. Deforestation contributes to about 20 per cent of global annual greenhouse gas emissions.
Additionally, REDD+ could help New Zealand share experiences with degradation and deforestation with developing countries. In 2012, New Zealand’s Green Party co-leader Russel Norman said "Poorer countries are more likely to stop logging if richer countries like New Zealand make commitments to help them financially." http://www.
While in Kenya, a number of activities are currently ongoing in the country to support efforts to design, develop and apply strategies and programs (REDD+ Readiness) to reduce emissions and enhance carbon sink capacities of forest ecosystems. Significant policy, legislative and institutional changes have occurred over the last few years in Kenya that complement the REDD+ efforts in the country. The Constitution, National Development Plan (Vision 2030), The Arid and Semi Arid Lands Policy, the National Land Policy and the National Climate Change Response Strategy and Action Plan identify forestry as one of the key sectors for delivering national sustainable development and climate change goals.
The Environment and Forest Policies and supporting legislation are currently under review to align them with the Constitution and to embrace emerging issues like climate change, participatory management and REDD+. Capacities of key institutions like Kenya Forest Service (KFS) and Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) are also being strengthened to provide the required support and guidance for sustainable management and conservation of forestry resources. ------Similar efforts are being directed to community associations to strengthen their engagement in forest conservation efforts. The KFS has also undergone significant transformation, in line with the Forests Act 2005, to embrace a modern, decentralized and transparent approach to forest management that ensures full participation of stakeholders.
The World Bank, United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the Finnish Government have significantly supported forestry conservation efforts in the dry lands, aware that these areas hold most of the country’s forest resources and equally hold the greatest potential for reducing carbon emissions and enhancement of forest carbon stocks. The REDD+ readiness process should reinforce these activities and future sector engagements. Kenya hosts a number of land-based carbon projects, including Wildlife Works Kasigau Corridor REDD Project that has sold carbon credits in the voluntary market.
