UN-REDD co-led and delivered several technical discussion and briefing sessions on nature-based solutions in the context of NDCs over the course of 2019.
Core messaging on the critical role of REDD+ at the heart of nature-based solutions for climate change was built, disseminated and amplified across these events, to enable countries and stakeholders to better orient their policy efforts:
- In June 2019, UN-REDD partnered with The Nature Conservancy to deliver a breakout session, entitled Including Nature in NDCs – supporting effective design and implementation of enhanced NDCs, at the Global NDC Conference 2019. The event communicated the importance of nature-based solutions as a systemic approach to implement NDCs, for both mitigation and adaptation, and offered strategic guidance.
- During the Climate Action Summit 2019, UN-REDD supported a knowledge event on Integrating Nature-based Solutions in the NDCs to Enhance Ambition and Impact. This served to build the case on the contribution of nature-based solutions to deliver on the climate mitigation and adaptation goals in countries, and how this needs to be captured accurately in NDCs. REDD+ was highlighted as a prominent example of a nature-based solution with high mitigation potential, while some countries shared their experiences and challenges on integrating REDD+ into their NDCs and NDC implementation plans.
- UN-REDD played a leading knowledge and advisory role during the Latin America and the Caribbean Climate Week 2019, structuring the nature-based solutions thematic block in close cooperation with the UNFCCC secretariat and the six supporting organizations of this regional forum. A key product was a nature-based solutions thematic block outcome report. Additionally, UN-REDD supported the nature-based solutions track in the Asia-Pacific Climate Week 2019.
- UN-REDD provided substantive inputs to the strategic direction and workplan of the NDC partnership thematic working group on agriculture, forestry and other land use through staff participation in the working group in 2019.
UN-REDD played a major role contributing to the visibility of forests in the context of NDCs and SDGs at the twenty-fifth session of the Conference of the Parties to the Framework Convention on Climate Change, organizing or contributing the following high-level events:
- UN-REDD organized the official SDG 15 side event with the United Nations University and the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The event showcased cooperation among United Nations entities to address climate issues through the lens of SDG 15 (life on land) and the 2030 Agenda.
- UN-REDD participated on an interactive panel at the event convened by the United Nations Forum on Forests and the Collaborative Partnership on Forests on Realizing Forest-based Climate Actions: Global Forest Goals, SDGs and the Paris Agreement. The event stressed the important role of forests to enhance and implement NDCs and achieve the SDGs. It highlighted the important role of partnerships at the global and country scales, including UN-REDD partnerships, and strengthened the commitment of United Nations entities and other institutions within the Collaborative Partnership on Forests to partner in support of countries in the context of the Paris Agreement and the 2030 Agenda.
- Finally, UN-REDD supported the development of the high-level United Nations leadership dialogue, Turning the Tide on Deforestation, with participation by the heads of all the UNREDD partners, as well as of the UNFCCC secretariat, the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, particularly in Africa and GEF. The event stressed the need to implement the existing REDD+ framework to reduce deforestation effectively and raise the ambition in relation to NDCs. The successes of the UN-REDD partnerships shared by the Administrator of UNDP, Mr. Steiner, clearly indicated that UNREDD can provide a platform for the United Nations to support countries to raise their nature-based NDC ambitions.
Beyond this series of high-profile events over the course of 2019, UN-REDD supported substantive contributions to several guidance documents and technical papers related to enhancing NDCs, and the role of REDD+ as a key nature-based solution for NDC enhancement. These included the UNDP Pathway for Increasing Nature-based Solutions in the Nationally Determined Contributions: A seven-step approach for national Governments to integrate or enhance nature-based solutions in their NDCs, which provides a framework for Governments to identify potential nature-based solutions with the aim of enhancing their climate mitigation and adaptation actions as well as the WRI/UNDP Guide to Strengthening National Climate Action Plans by 2020 and the accompanying forest sector module, NDC Enhancement: Opportunities in the Forest and Land-use Sector