Financial Performance, National Programme
Progress against the Warsaw Framework
The work by Viet Nam on the Warsaw Framework pillars was completed in 2018, thanks to UN-REDD Phase II. In 2019, the Government undertook actions for MRV. Based on the preliminary findings of the Government’s MRV, which indicated positive results, preparations are under way to apply for results-based payments from the GCF pilot scheme. The country’s current focus is the implementation of REDD+ policies and measures as outlined in the national REDD+ action programme and the related investment plan. With assistance from UN-REDD, a framework has been developed to monitor the impacts of REDD+ implementation at the provincial and national levels, and monitoring approaches have been considered. The country submitted its first summary of safeguards information to the UNFCCC secretariat in January 2019. In 2019, UN-REDD and the Institute on Forest Ecology and Environment organized a subregional exchange on SIS, entitled “Moving from design to operation”. The exchange focused on country-to-country learning between Cambodia, Myanmar and Viet Nam on SIS information structure and sharing, the development of indicators, database design and online platforms.
REDD+ Implementation
The monitoring and evaluation framework for monitoring the impacts of implementing the REDD+ policies and measures, identifies key indicators and means of verification, disaggregating data by gender where appropriate. As of 2019, the main indicators for which data are present focus on forest resources, applying data generated from the national Forest Resources Monitoring System (FRMS).
UN-REDD engaged in the discussions on GCF results-based payments, and has provided recommendations to the Government on options for accessing these funds, in terms of estimating results and, in particular, in terms of reporting on uncertainty estimation both for its reference level and for results.
UN-REDD supported the development of a web-based interface on results from the monitoring and evaluation framework. The Programme’s technical assistance also supported the uptake of knowledge and experience on the use of spatial planning approaches and results across sectors, which has led to the development of a European Union-funded project on a deforestation-free jurisdictional approach for the Central Highlands.
Challenges and Solutions
The FRMS has been deployed nationally since 2018 to generate data for monitoring REDD+. As of 2019, the Government is resolving technical glitches in the system to synchronize data inputs from subnational to central level. An issue that remains for the Government is how to reconcile FRMS data with what is considered the official forest dataset. Technically, this can be resolved with the understanding that the two datasets co-exist and should be used for different purposes, but this needs to be endorsed by Government, which to date has not happened.
The Government’s initiative to conduct MRV is under way. The timing is important in terms of Viet Nam being included in the GCF results-based payments pilot scheme. As Viet Nam’s early submission of its FRL meant that it did not include the uncertainty assessments that are required by GCF, the Programme’s proposal is that this be reported through the BUR.
Gender and Social Inclusion
The monitoring and evaluation framework disaggregates data by gender wherever appropriate. The European Union-funded project’s concept note integrates gender considerations and will be acted upon at the project document development stage. The Government institutions dealing with REDD+ continue to be gender-balanced. In that regard, the State Steering Committee Office on Sustainable Forest Development and REDD+ has four staff members, of whom at least two are women. The above-mentioned monitoring and evaluation framework contains indicators that track impacts on ethnic minorities, which should contribute to better policy decisions and improved implementation with positive outcomes for forest-dependent ethnic minorities. The European Union-funded project in the Central Highlands identifies ethnic minorities as both beneficiaries and co-implementers of the project.
Partnerships
UN-REDD continues to coordinate its work with the main ongoing REDD+ initiatives in the country: FCPF readiness and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) sustainable natural resources management project. JICA is the anticipated accredited entity for the country’s GCF results-based payments funding proposal and the UN-REDD collaborating agencies will contribute to the formulation and eventual implementation of the project according to their comparative advantages: FAO input on MRV and experience with a results-based payments project in Chile, UNEP on the safeguards aspect and UNDP from its related experience in Brazil and Ecuador. UNDP leads the above-mentioned European Union-funded project with a consortium of partners: the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, UNEP, the International Centre for Tropical Agriculture, the Sustainable Trade Initiative and the European Forest Institute.
Linkages to SDGs
Viet Nam is a partner in the NDC support programme and the partnership for the 2030 Agenda. Results from the Programme are expected to contribute to the achievement of the country’s objectives in relation to SDGs 5 (gender equality), 13 (climate action) and 15 (life on land), among others.