Background

Almost 70% of Mozambique (54.8 million hectares) is forest and 80% of Mozambique’s population (20 million people) live in forest-dependent areas where the incidence of poverty runs at 54%. Deforestation and forest degradation are wide-spread and deforestation rate is estimated at 0.22% annually. Not only are the forest-dependent people highly vulnerable to climate change, but they also act as custodians of the forests whose sustainable management matters for global climate accounting. Payments for Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) could provide incentives for these populations to halt deforestation and help them develop adaptation strategies and reduce their vulnerability and poverty.

Framework

Mozambique started to work on REDD+ in 2008, when the country prepared and submitted a Readiness Plan Idea Note (R-PIN) to the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF). In 2009, a national REDD+ working group was established to develop a national REDD+ strategy and prepare the Readiness Preparation Proposal (RPP) for the FCPF. The first draft of the national REDD+ strategy was submitted to the government for review in mid-2010 and is currently (2011) under public consultation. The preparations of the national REDD+ strategy were supported by a multi-institutional partnership called “South-South REDD” that is led by the Ministry for Coordination of Environmental Affairs (MICOA) together with  the Sustainable Amazonas Foundation (FAS) in Brazil and funded through the Norwegian Embassy in Maputo. The central focus of the project is to create the conditions under which Mozambique can embark on a national REDD initiative and to share experiences. The Ministry of Agriculture (MINAG) is expected to lead the process of implementing a national REDD+ strategy.

Actors

Among the actors involved in REDD+ are:

- the Ministry for Agriculture (MINAG)

- the Ministry for Coordination of Environmental Affairs (MICOA)

- the Norwegion Embassy in Maputo

- Envirotrade

- Flora & Fauna International

- Mozambique Carbon Initiative (MCI)

Implementation

During 2010, the “South-South REDD” project has:

 (i) prepared and present two background papers, the first on baselines and monitoring reporting and verification (MRV) and the second on possible options for the scale and scope of REDD within Mozambique;

(ii) organised a series of meetings of the National REDD Working Group from November onwards to discuss findings and design an agreed framework for chapters of a draft National REDD Strategy;

(iii) undertaken consultations in five provinces together with MINAG / MICOA staff to explore national perceptions of the underlying causes of deforestation and appropriate responses, while also consolidating awareness and helping to build capacity in key agencies;

(iv) developed links with other Mozambican programmes of work such as the NFP within DNTF; the Growing Forest Partnerships programme (to include GFP field sites as possible pilot projects for REDD); the WWF protected areas fund proposal and project; the World Bank and IFC mission on FCPF REDD Readiness and plans for investments in plantations.

Mozambique also works on a technical cooperation project focusing on monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) and reference levels.

On the ground projects include REDD+ demonstration activities and payment for ecosystem service (PES) projects with a REDD+ component.