REDD+ Piloting

VISION AND GOALs OF THE REGIONAL PROGRAMS

The vision of the three regional REDD+ programs is to see the realization of large part of the national emission reduction/forest carbon enhancement targets in the forest sector by designing and implementation of large scale, state-wide regional REDD+ programs in high forest paternal states, and thereby contribute to the overall national goals of achieving carbon neutrality across the economy, enhanced water development and biodiversity conservation and improved livelihoods of communities dependent on forest resources.

GOAL OF THE REGIONAL PROGRAMS

The overall goal of the regional REDD+ Programs in the three regional states is to reduce deforestation and forest degradation; increase carbon removal through afforestation reforestation and restoration of degraded lands to enhance ecological functions of landscapes and local community well-being throughout the regional states. The Programs will directly contribute to Ethiopia’s Climate Resilient Green Economy (CRGE) vision and targets, and be fully aligned with the national REDD+ strategy.

ADDRESSING DRIVERS OF DEFORESTATION AND FOREST DEGRADATION AND BARRIERS OF FOREST RESTORATION, AND IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGY

The design of regional REDD+ programs will take into account the regional contexts and identify an approach which can contribute to achieve the objectives of CRGE strategy (REDD+ strategy as part of this) and GTP II. The Programs will promote cross-sectoral investments in the area of forests, agriculture, livestock and energy and will also support strengthening enabling environment. Although regional peculiarities with respect to drivers of deforestation and forest degradation dictates the implementation of strategic options,  activities to be promoted are  area closures and rehabilitation of forests mainly high forests, sustainable management of high forests and woodlands through PFM, establishment of commercial timber plantations and assisted natural regeneration with enrichment planting in high forest areas; agricultural intensification through Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) and lower emitting agricultural techniques; livestock management through enhancing and intensification of diversifying animal, value chain efficiency improvements and rangeland and pastureland management and promotion of energy efficient stoves to rural households, installation of biogas units and establishment of woodlots as a source of sustainable wood energy. The regional programs will aim to build strong synergies trough coordination with ongoing interventions, particularly with the Sustainable Land Management Program and other relevant programs in these regions. The Program will also support policy changes towards an enabling environment for reduction in deforestation and increase in forest cover including, but not limited to, land use planning and forest land demarcation and certification, strengthening forest governance, carbon rights and law enforcement, harmonizing REDD+ relevant policies, laws across sectors as well as institutional setting and capacity building.

PROGRAM LIFETIME

The regional REDD+ programs will be implemented in three phases; namely design phase, implementation phase and emission reduction phase. The design phase which encompasses the preparatory phase will last for 2 years (2015 – 2017) while the implementation phase lasts for 5 years (2017 -2022). The emission reduction and/or carbon removal (through A/R) phase will start in 2018 and continues until 2038).

EXPECTED EMISSIONS REDUCTION AND/OR CARBON REMOVAL

Based on the findings from the national drivers study, a rough estimation of the potential emissions reductions from avoided deforestation (with 50% reduction in annual deforestation) and carbon removal through afforestation/ reforestation in the three regional states over a 20 year period will be: -

Oromia Forested Landscape Program

 

Amhara Regional REDD+ Program

The program targets large areas of degraded areas for restoration and A/R, natural forest, agricultural landscapes for CSA and agro-forestry practices, climate smart livestock management through diversifying animal breeds, improved fodder; value chain efficiency improvements and rangeland and pastureland management  and energy efficient cook stoves to large number of households. The total emission reduction potential in the regional state is quite high. If the program targets 50% of this potential, the estimated annual ER is about 453 million tCO2e in 20 year period with an average annual potential of 22.65million tCO2e.

Tigray Regional REDD+ Program

The program targets large areas of natural forest and enhancement of forest carbon stocks through ANR, A/R and rehabilitation of degraded areas, CSA and agro-forestry practices, climate smart livestock management through diversifying animal breeds, improved fodder; value chain efficiency improvements and rangeland and pastureland managementand distribution of energy efficient cook stoves to large number of households. The total emission reduction potential in the regional is quite high. If the program targets 50% of this potential, the estimated annual ER is about 3.28 million tCO2e. Over 20 year period, it can be up to 65.6 million tCO2e.

SNNP Regional REDD+ Program

The program targets large areas of natural forest and enhancement of forest carbon stocks through ANR, A/R and rehabilitation of degraded areas, CSA and agro-forestry practices, climate smart livestock management through diversifying animal breeds, improved fodder; value chain efficiency improvements and rangeland and pastureland management and distribution of energy efficient cook stoves to large number of households. The total emission reduction potential is huge. If the program achieves50% of the ER potential in the region, the annual ER can be up to 8.5 million tCO2e, or about 170.1 million tCO2e over 20 years period. To realize these programs, Ethiopia will anticipate a continuous financial support from partners, CRGE facility, public-private partnership and other financing options.

Download Concept Notes for Regional REDD+ Programs

1. A Concept Note for Amhara REDD+ Program
2. A Concept Note for SNNPR REDD+ Program
3. A Concept Note for Tigray REDD+ Program

Regional REDD+ Coordination Units

Institutional arrangement

The Federal REDD+ Secretariat and MEFCC’s regional structure will provide technical support, supervision and oversight on the REDD+ pilot preparatory activities and implementation of REDD+ Readiness activities. A Regional REDD+ Coordination Unit will be responsible in the planning, execution, coordination and reporting of the pilot preparatory activities in selected sites and regional readiness and capacity building activities.

The Regional Coordination Unit would have the following members: -

1. Coordinator,
2. Forest Officer
3. Accountant,
4. Secretary and
5. Driver

The coordination unit will be regularly monitored by the national REDD+ Secretariat and report to the same. The REDD+ Coordination Units would reside in the capital city of each Regional States.

A procedure for screening and selecting potential forest sites for REDD+ pilot development in Ethiopia

Ethiopia is a participant country of the World Bank's Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF) and has launched the REDD+ Readiness Process in January 2013. Piloting REDD+ is an important part of REDD+ Readiness process aiming at generating lessons to the national REDD+ strategy. The current piloting project has targeted selected regional sites while the Oromia Region is well underway in the design of a state level REDD+ program. The aim of the upcoming REDD+ pilots is for the REDD+ Secretariat and sub-national governments to work together on preparatory activities that are necessary in documenting "bankable" REDD+ Pilot Projects', that would be ready to receive further financing from GoE‟s CRGE Facility, development partners, private investors, or other climate and carbon finance sources (REDD+ Pilot Technical Note, May 2014).

Pilot site selection will target three Regional States (SNNPR, Amhara and Tigray regional states) where one pilot site is selected in each regional state. The three regional states have different forest resource bases, livelihood strategies, socio-economic and biophysical characteristics. A successful identification of potential pilot sites in all the 3 regions presupposes the setting up of a selection criteria that considers a range of attributes (climate, biophysical, socio-economic) of the potential pilot sites, and the potential for scaling up the pilots at regional state level.

This report proposes a set of relevant criteria drawn from different sources (WB Technical Note and literature on REDD+ development in other parts of the world), with due consideration for national and local conditions. The evaluation of the selection criteria involves compiling a comprehensive list of indicators and grouping a set of indicators as Critical and non-critical criteria on the basis of relative significance of indicators. Moreover, to increase objectivity of the selection procedure, an attempt is made to use quantitative rating (with each indicator given a score of 1, least desirable to 3, most desirable) for criteria that can be quantified. Where it is unrealistic to develop quantitative scoring, a qualitative scoring is considered.

Therefore, the objective of this document is to come up with a set of comprehensive criteria that will result in realistic site selection and demonstrate to policy makers and other project developers how a REDD+ project can meaningfully achieve emissions reduction, carbon sequestration, forest conservation and improved well-being of participating forest-adjacent communities.