Climate change is real and is occurring at an alarming rate. Currently, deforestation alone accounts for approximately 18% of global greenhouse gas emissions, a phenomenon which could be curbed quickly by taking appropriate actions. Forests have proven to be both carbon source and sink depending on the management regime; they can hence play an important role in stabilizing atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO2). This is why a new climate change mitigation architecture titled “Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in developing countries (REDD) is currently under consideration by United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
The Asia Network for Sustainable Agriculture and Bioresource (ANSAB), International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) and Federation of Community Forestry Users, Nepal (FECOFUN) are implementing a pilot project to prepare the country for the new architecture. The “Design and setting up of a governance and payment system for Nepal’s Community Forest Management under Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD)” project is implemented in three watershed areas, namely Kayarkhola of Chitwan district, Charnawati of Dolakha district and Ludikhola of Gorkha district with the financial support from the Norwegian Agency for Development and Cooperation (NORAD).
This pilot project aims to demonstrate the feasibility of REDD payment mechanism in Community Forestry (CF) by involving local communities – including marginalized groups – so that deforestation and forest degradation can be reduced by linking sustainable forest management practices with economic incentives. The project also focuses on the concerns of indigenous and marginalized people and local communities dependent on forests by involving them in designing and functioning of a national-level REDD governance and payment mechanism that supports community forestry at grassroots level. The specific objectives of the project include:
- Strengthening the capacity of civil society actors in Nepal to ensure their active participation in the planning and preparation of National REDD strategies
- Establishing a Forest carbon Trust Fund that is sustainable and creditable in the long run
- Contributing to the development of REDD strategies that can effectively and efficiently monitor carbon flux in community managed forests
This website is designed to share data about the carbon credits available in the project areas (and other areas if available) along with relevant socio-economic conditions. It will thus help potential carbon traders find the carbon offsets appropriate for them in Nepal.
The Government of Nepal has proposed a hybrid mechanism for REDD implementation in the country and this website will be useful when implementing sub-national REDD projects. It will also support the carbon trust fund which the project intends to
establish.
More generally, this website will be of particular interest to the general public, community forest users groups and other interested in taking part in REDD activities. Its information will be archived on a periodical basis.
This site is a rebuilt archive of communityredd.net, the project’s original website, restored from the Internet Archive. Some files and interactive charts were not preserved.