Background

REDD+ is a global policy initiative to address climate change threats by reducing emissions from deforestations and forest degradation in developing countries. Its main goal is to avoid forest loss and promote forest conservation through offering results-based payments and through voluntary carbon market as financial incentives.

The World Bank’s Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF) was established in 2008 to support developing countries to be ready for REDD+ implementation. FCPF is a global partnership of governments, businesses, civil society, and Indigenous Peoples with 47 participant countries including Cambodia. UNDP has been selected as the delivery partner for the implementation of the FCPF project in Cambodia.

The FCPF II project document was jointly signed by the Ministry of Environment of the Royal Government of Cambodia and UNDP in September 2017.

Project Summary

Building upon the earlier REDD+ readiness efforts under the FCPF I project, the main goal of the FCPF II project is to prepare Cambodia for a full-scale operationalization of REDD+ activities at national level under the framework of the UNFCCC. Being ready for REDD+ is a precondition for the RGC to move to the next phase of REDD+, that is, to implement REDD+ policies and measures (PAMs) to effectively reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, and promote the role of conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forest carbon stocks. 

The main objective of the FCPF project phase II is to develop and enhance the Cambodian government’s capacities for tackling deforestation and forest degradation as well as for measurement, reporting and verifying emission reduction from the forests.

Key Expected Outputs

Hence, the FCPF phase II project has been designed to attain the following four outputs to be attained:

Output 1: strengthening of REDD+ management arrangements. It will be achieved through support to on-going implementation and further development of appropriate management arrangements such as the REDD+ Taskforce (RT), REDD+ Taskforce Secretariate (RTS), Consultation Group (CG) and Gender Group (GG) and stakeholder consultations for National REDD+ Readiness which have been initiated through the UN-REDD Programme and FCPF-1 project

Output 2: development of NRS Action (or Investment) Plan(s) and other relevant enabling policy instruments for REDD+. The output will be attained through support to the REDD+ Taskforce and line agencies to develop policies and measures (REDD+ interventions) and development of systems and enabling policy environments for REDD+ implementation. These include the SIS and other policy and legal instruments.  Participation in a pilot for REDD+ results-based payments under the Green Climate Fund will be tested as a step towards full implementation of REDD+.

Output 3: enhancement of subnational capacities for REDD+ planning. It will be achieved by improving the capacity of various sub-national administrative bodies for planning and implementing REDD+ activities.

Output 4: monitoring system designed for REDD+ with capacity for implementation. The Output will be achieved through support to establish the monitoring system and improve the RGC’s initial national FREL submitted to the UNFCCC. The project will also provide continued support for the Government agencies to collect and analyze data on forest cover (change) and emissions factors.

Achievements to Date

Even though the rate of deforestation has declined in recent years, Cambodia still remains one of the highest deforestation rates in the world. What remains of Cambodia’s forests are under immense pressure. Old growth forests are believed to be rare in Cambodia. Forests are major assets for climate change mitigation and adaptation, for biodiversity conservation, for a wide range of vital ecosystem services and for the livelihoods of many Cambodians. 

The FCPF Phase I project was launched in Cambodia in March 2013 with a budget of US$ 3.8 million. And in 2016, an additional request for $ 5.4 million was approved by the FCPF Participant Committee to support the REDD+ Taskforce of Cambodia to continue its REDD+ readiness efforts with UNDP as Delivery Partner. In 2021, FCPF-II has received an additional fund contribution of $ 432,160 to implement activities on enabling private finance through nesting to further strengthen REDD+ actions in Cambodia.

During the second phase of the FCPF, the REDD Taskforce has completed the National REDD+ Strategy (NRS), the first Summary of Information (SoI) on Safeguards, a robust National Forest Monitoring System (NFMS) and the Second National Forest Reference Level. Recently, a REDD+ Action Investment Plan (AIP) has been developed to support the implementation of the NRS activities. Moreover, activities such as supporting key policy reports like the National Determined Contribution, the Greenhouse Gas Inventory, the Biennial Updated Report with REDD+ Technical Annex to the UNFCCC had received direct support through the FCPF Phase II project. The project also finalized the PRAKAS for REDD+ Greenhouse Gas Mechanism for Cambodia and Guideline on the rules for REDD+ Nesting, developed the online REDD+ Project Registry Database, developed Deforestation Risk Map Tool for creation of Forest Reference Level allocation map and risk map. Upon official approval, these project outputs are expected to play key elements for the operationalization of the nesting system for REDD+. 

Funds Contribution

Financial Delivery

Status: Ongoing
Project start date: July 2017
Estimated end date: December 2022
 

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