Overview of REDD+ Safeguards
In establishing a mechanism on REDD+ the Solomon Islands must promote and support the seven social and environmental safeguards identified within the Cancun Agreements. Information on how these safeguards are being addressed and respected should also be provided through a safeguard information system (SIS).
Under the UN-FCCC’s Cancun Agreements (Decision 1/CP.16), developing countries undertaking REDD+ activities must promote and support a number of social and environmental safeguards when implementing REDD+ activities (Paras. 69 and 72; Appendix I, Para. 2; see Box 1). In signing the Pacific Regional Policy framework on REDD+, the Solomon Islands further confirmed its commitment to these safeguards. The Cancun safeguards provide a framework for risk mitigation and the enhancement of multiple benefits from REDD+ at the international level, under which REDD+ related activity should be implemented. They are not a detailed set of obligations to which a country is either compliant or non-compliant, as with many donor based safeguard systems, but rather provide principles that each country should follow based on their own understanding and circumstance. Indeed in many cases they reflect commitments already made by countries through international agreements and activities.
In 2011 at COP 17 in Durban it was also decided that countries undertaking REDD+ activities should provide a summary of information on how the safeguards listed in the UN-FCCC’s Cancun Agreements are being addressed and respected in the implementation of REDD+ activities.
The system established to provide information on these must:
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Box 1: Cancun Safeguards and Requirements for a SIS under the Durban Decision
Development of the Solomon Islands Approach to REDD+ Safeguards
The Solomon Islands will work towards the development of a REDD+ CSS, which utilises the UN-REDD SEPC to guide development.
The Solomon Islands already have in place a system of domestic safeguards to protect against the potential negative environmental and social impacts of development activities. Building on and strengthening these policies, laws, regulations and systems and their application to address the Cancun safeguards is in line with guidance provided under both the Cancun and Durban Decisions and will help deliver multiple benefits to the country through strengthening the capacity to implement safeguards across sectors.
The initial objectives of this REDD+ CSS (in addition to being coherent with decisions under the UNFCCC) are:
- To maximize the benefits of REDD+ for the people of the Solomon Islands by safeguarding the country’s natural environment and the rights of its people;
- To strengthen and build the effectiveness of national safeguards systems within the Solomon Islands.
Development of this system will also help to address existing international commitments under agreements such as the UN-CBD.
The UN-REDD Social and Environmental Principles and Criteria (SEPC) provide a framework for developing REDD+ Safeguards within the Solomon Islands. This framework is structured around seven Principles (shown in Table 5 against the Principles of the Cancun agreement) each of which is broken down into a number of Criteria of which there are a total of 24.
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UN-REDD SEPC Principles
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 Relevant section of Cancun Agreements, Annex I |
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Principle 1 – Apply norms of democratic governance, as reflected in national commitments and Multilateral Agreements
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2(b) Transparent and effective national forest governance structures, taking into account national legislation and sovereignty
2(d) The full and effective participation of relevant stakeholders, in particular, indigenous peoples and local communities (...)
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Principle 2 – Respect and protect stakeholder rights in accordance with international obligations
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2(c) Respect for the knowledge and rights of indigenous peoples and members of local communities, by taking into account relevant international obligations, national circumstances and laws, and noting that the General Assembly has adopted the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
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Principle 3 – Promote sustainable livelihoods and poverty reduction
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2 (e) Actions are (...) used to (...) enhance other social and environmental benefits (...)
1Taking into account the need for sustainable livelihoods of indigenous peoples and local communities and their interdependence on forests in most countries, reflected in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, as well as the International Mother Earth Day.
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Principle 4 – Contribute to low-carbon, climate-resilient sustainable development policy, consistent with national development strategies, national forest programmes and commitments under international conventions and agreements
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2(a) Actions complement or are consistent with the objectives of national forest programmes and relevant international conventions and agreements
2(f) Actions to address the risk of reversals
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Principle 5 – Protect natural forest from degradation and/or conversion
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(e) Actions are consistent with the conservation of natural forest’s and biological diversity, ensuring that actions (...) are not used for the conversion of natural forests but are instead used to incentivize the protection and conservation of natural forests and their ecosystem services (...)
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Principle 6 – Maintain and enhance multiple functions of forest including conservation of biodiversity and provision of ecosystem services
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2(e) Actions (...) incentivize the protection and conservation of natural forests and their ecosystem services (...)
2(e) Actions are (...) used to (...) enhance other social and environmental benefits
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Principle 7 – Avoid or minimise adverse impacts (direct and indirect) on non-forest ecosystem services and biodiversity
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2(e) Actions that are consistent with the conservation of... biological diversity...
2(g) Actions to reduce displacement of emissions
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Table 1: UN-REDD SEPC and UNFCCC Safeguards
Establishing a REDD+ Country Safeguard System (CSS) Framework
The Solomon Islands will undertake a phased approach to establishing a REDD+ CSS framework building on existing safeguards provided through the FTRUA 1969, PA Act 2010 and Environment Act 1998. Initial efforts will focus on REDD+ activities through piloting, moving subsequently to sector level approaches focusing on all activities within the forest and agriculture sector before broadening to be fully integrated into cross sector national systems. Strategic actions focusing on effective application of existing legislation, development of guidelines to strengthen application of legislation and undertaking further legal and institutional analysis will be undertaken.
This REDD+ Roadmap identifies a series of key areas in which REDD+ activities will be undertaken. These activity areas are principally governed by three pieces of legislation; the PA Act, the FRTUA and the Environment Act.
These three acts will form the base of the REDD+ CSS with initial efforts focusing on strengthening their application through; development of guidelines on existing requirements, providing training to staff, NGOs, private sector groups and landowners on the requirements of the acts, and strengthening mechanisms to manage and increase access to information on their application. Further legal review should also be conducted linked to the establishment of these guidelines to provide a more comprehensive assessment of the existing legal framework (including other legislation) and provide specific recommendations for amendments.
Benefits
Effective Benefit Sharing Mechanisms
The establishment of a mechanism for REDD+ will require establishment of transparent and effective financial management structures as well as a framework of how costs and benefits from REDD+ implementation will be shared between different stakeholders. This process will require guidance on the rights of different stakeholders to support, related to reductions in forest carbon emissions and how any support will be managed.
Establishing the financial management structures to support REDD+ implementation and effective benefit sharing will require action at a number of levels to develop effective frameworks for benefit sharing and the mechanisms through which this can occur.
Establish National Level REDD+ Fund Management Structures
In the third (and final phase) of REDD+, the Solomon Islands will receive REDD+ results-based payments for verified forest carbon emission reductions and increases in forest carbon stocks (UNFCCC Decision 9/CP.19). Receiving and managing these results-based payments, will require a national level mechanism, fund or facility. There is currently no set body in existence for this process although modalities do exist for both development partner project based support, sector budget support and government structures such as trust funds or special funds that are established for a specific technical or operational purpose.
The management structures identified within Section 4 provide an initial set of operational and oversight structures that can be used to both develop and implement future structures. The participation of the Ministry of Development Planning and Aid Coordination (MDPAC) and Ministry of Finance (MoF) within the NRC will be essential in this design process, which will include defining the authority to transact international payments through REDD+ implementation.
During the REDD+ Readiness phase, a study will be carried out to identify and consider options for the financial arrangements. The study will also produce recommendations on the terms of reference for the management of REDD+ finances. For example, the management authority may have the following attributes:
- Independent of the REDD+ management structure;Ability to receive funds
- for results-based payments through the international mechanism for REDD+ and to create synergies, if necessary, between multiple sources of funding with clear accountability;
- Ability to enforce decisions on results-based fund disbursement for REDD+ implementation.