Presentation by Manuel Boissière on April 5, 2019 at Workshop in Ethiopia ("Forests and climate change: research results and implications for REDD+ and forest governance in Ethiopia")

1. REDD+ MRV in
Ethiopia
Review of the context, framework and
progress
Manuel Boissière, Solomon Zewdie, Melaku Bekele, Stibniati
Atmadja
Nexus Hotel, Addis Ababa, 5 April 2019

2. What is this
presentation about?
• REDD+ MRV context,
framework and
progresses until 2018
• Summarize results of
Occasional Paper:
https://www.cifor.org/li
brary/7153
• Based on interviews,
literature review and a
workshop
2/20

3. Outline
• Context
o History
o Forest definition
o Functions of MRV
o Spatial data
• Framework
o Institutional arrangements
o Social aspects
• Progress:
o Current implementation
o Challenges and
opportunities
3/20

4. CONTEXT
4/20

5. History (1)
Pre-REDD+ (1970s – 2010)
• High deforestation and land degradation
• Reforestation and afforestation promoted
• Farmers encouraged to plant trees
• PFM to increase community engagement
Post REDD+ (2010 – present)
• GTP and CRGE
• MEFCC established (became EFCCC in 2018)
• Start of REDD+, including REDD+ MRV
5/20

6. History (2)
• 2013 - 2018: REDD+ readiness with financial support from
Forest Carbon Partnership Facility, Norway, UK
• 2013: ToR for developing capacities for national MRV
system
• 2014: NFI launched
• 2015: New forest definition
• 2016: MRV unit established in the ministry
• 2017: institutional framework is developed for REDD+
MRV implementation; Final FRL submission to UNFCCC
MRV Milestones (2010 – present)
6/20

7. Forest definition
Ethiopia’s FRL FAO’s Forest Resource
Assessment
Land spanning at least 0.5 ha,
covered by trees (incl bamboo)
attaining a height of at least 2m
and a canopy cover of at least
20% or trees with the potential to
reach these thresholds in situ in
due course
Land spanning more than 0.5
hectares with trees higher than 5
meters and a canopy cover of
more than 10 percent, or trees
able to reach these thresholds in
situ. It does not include land that
is predominantly under
agricultural or urban land use.
7/20

8. MRV Functions
Monitoring
• Impact of REDD+ policies and
measures
• The collection, storage, analysis
and dissemination of data
Measurement
• forest area and forest
change by satellite land
monitoring system
• changes in forest carbon
stock per unit area by NFI
• GHG inventory data.
Reporting
• Standardized, consistent
national reporting
Verification
• Verify performance,
reporting results,
adjusting reports on
REDD+
8/20
Source: FDRE 2017

9. Spatial data and ground survey
5 interelated spatial datasets
1. LULC change map (2013)
2. Forest/non forest map
o Forest: high forest, riverine forest, dense woodland, plantation, bamboo
o Non-forest: agriculture, shrubland, grassland, builtup, bare land, water, no
data
3. Forest area change (AD): average of annual forest loss and gain in
hectares, 2000 and 2013
4. Carbon stock assessment (EFs)
o 3 carbon pools: above, below ground and deadwood
o 4 biomes: moist Afromontane forest, dry Afromontane forest, Combretum-
Terminalia dry forest, Acacia-Commiphora dry forest
5. Forest Reference Level (2000-2013), based on 3 components: extent
of forest area, AD, EF
9/20

10. FRAMEWORK
10/20

11. General framework
• Decentralized management of REDD+ MRV
• Defined roles and responsibilities at federal,
regional and local levels
• MRV unit’s responsibilities
o produce, verify and disseminate forest statistics (AD, EF)
o oversee overall REDD+ MRV activities
• Permanent MRV entities at federal and regional
levels
• National REDD+ secretariat and regional
counterparts are project-based
11/20

12. Institutional arrangement
EFCCC
(Commission)
Forest sector
Deputy Commissioner
Environmental sector
Deputy Commissioner
Reference: MEFCC 2017
12/20

13. Participation of local communities (1)
• Need to explore and test participatory
monitoring approaches for MRV – highlighted
in R-PP.
• Necessary to sustain forest monitoring
activities, reduce cost, and empower local
communities
• Still no engagement of local communities in
REDD+ MRV; initiatives on forest monitoring in
Participatory Forest Management (PFM).
13/20

14. Participation of local communities (2)
3 issues:
• Social safeguards: SIS prepared but not yet
implemented
• Benefit sharing: different initiatives for Result
Based Payments (OFLP, Bale Ecoregion) but
need for a harmonised approach
• Sustaining participation: need good
motivation and incentive to participate
14/20

15. PROGRESS
15/20
Based on the discussions during the MRV workshop, October 6th, 2017, Addis Ababa

16. Current implementation
• Crucial MRV deliverables:
o LULC map
o NFI completed
o carbon stock data (EF) generated
o national forest cover change (AD) analysed using Landsat
imagery
o national SIS being developed
• National REDD+ MRV institutional arrangements have been
established
• Policies, guidelines for NFI and NFMS have been developed
• Human capacity and MRV facilities are being built, in
collaboration with FAO (in country MRV capacity building)
and WGCF, through training
16/20

17. Challenges (1)Sectoral
• Weak inter-sectoral coordination
• Ministry (2013)  commission (2018) = possible implications on the
coordination role of the commission for CRGE MRV activities
Technical
• Limited capacity for MRV of forest degradation
• Limited incentives to maintain trained staff and avoid turnover
• Insufficient in-country technical capacity to run the system
Buy-in from local and national stakeholders
• Little tangible action to enhance local people participation and to
integrate participatory MRV into the national MRV system framework
• Sustainable financing through direct national support is still needed to
ensure national ownership
17/20

18. Challenges (2)
Safeguards
• Operationalizing SIS is still needed
• Information sharing on SIS needs to be done at the local level for
better engagement
• Need better recognition of local communities’ rights on forests
• Need to enforce implementation of environmental safeguards
Benefit sharing
• BSM activities still in a pilot stage, need to be developed at
national level
• Risk of raising expectations
• Local people need to be better engaged in the BSM development
18/20

19. Opportunities
• Government’s endorsement of an institutional framework for
REDD+ MRV: important to ensure government’s ownership and
sustainability of the MRV system
• The recognition of the forestry sector’s vital role in the CRGE
should allow a stronger political buy-in of Ethiopia’s REDD+ MRV
• Ethiopia’s REDD+ MRV system development
o Brings financial support to national capacity building on forest
observation
o Generates robust data about the sector
o Helps modernize the forestry sector development and planning
o Improves data transparency (MRV web portal)
• National MRV capacity building (WGCF-NR) = opportunity to build
local spatial data infrastructure and human capacity -> ensure
sustainability
19/20

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THANK YOU / አመሰግናለሁ
CONTACT: M.BOISSIERE@CGIAR.ORG