Myanmar became a partner country of the UN-REDD Programme in December 2011 and has quickly taken steps to start implementing REDD+ readiness activities. The REDD+ Readiness Roadmap setting out how Myanmar will implement its REDD+ Readiness activities, was approved by the Government of Myanmar in July 2013. This Roadmap, divided into six components, sets out how Myanmar will implement its REDD+ Readiness activities.
Under Component 1 “Management of REDD+ Readiness”, Myanmar will establish the institutional structure to manage the REDD+ Readiness process. It will build on existing structures established by the government before or during the Roadmap development process. Component 1 will also cover the actual management of the REDD+ Readiness phase, including the support to key components of the management structure. Under the overall guidance of the existing multi-sector National Environmental Conservation Committee chaired by MoECAF (Now MONREC), an inclusive but streamlined REDD+ Task Force (TF) will manage and coordinate the Readiness process. The REDD+ TF, chaired by the Forestry Department (FD) of MoECAF, will be supported by the three existing and three additional multi-stakeholder Technical Working Groups (TWG). A new REDD+ TF Office, established within the Planning and Statistics Division of the FD will provide secretarial, technical and day-to-day operational support. Key stakeholders identified prior and during the Roadmap development process and involved in the different National and Regional Roadmap Consultation Workshops will form an open National REDD+ Stakeholder Network which will become the main forum for stakeholder consultation during the Readiness Phase. Linkages between the different institutional layers will be reinforced by the participation of TWG members in all TF meetings and the inclusion of TWG members in the National REDD+ Stakeholder Network.
Under Component 2 “Stakeholder Consultation and Participation”, the Stakeholder Consultation and Safeguards TWG will undertake annual stakeholder reviews to update and strengthen the membership of the National REDD+ Stakeholder Network. The TWG will ensure appropriate Civil Society participation and representation of women and ethnic groups by actively promoting corresponding Network membership. A National REDD+ Readiness Stakeholder Consultation Guidelines and Consultation Plan will be developed based on 5 levels of consultation: meetings of the multi-stakeholder TWGs; meetings of the REDD+ TF attended by the TWG members; electronic consultations of the National REDD+ Stakeholder Network; National Consultation Workshops involving Network members and National Consultations Processes involving national and regional 6 consultation workshops. The level of consultation will depend on the subject matter and will be outlined in the consultation plan. Under this component, National Guidelines on Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) will be developed based on a study into traditional decision-making systems. These FPIC Guidelines will be field-tested prior to and as part of the development of REDD+ pilots.
Under Component 3 “Development and selection of REDD+ Strategies”, Myanmar will assess, select and pilot REDD+ strategies for both inside and outside the forestry sector. The assessment of the initial or proposed Candidate Strategies identified during the Roadmap development phase will be refined based on further studies and reviews. A quantitative assessment of emissions and carbon stock removals from major drivers of forest degradation and deforestation, will include estimates or trends of future emissions for each of the main drivers identified. A Forestry Sector Institutional and Context Analysis, the review of policies, laws and rules outside the forestry sector and a UN-REDD “Corruption Risk Assessment” will inform the further consolidation of the list of candidate strategies. A review of the existing forest management programmes and their current or potential funding, together with a cost-benefit analysis for the different candidate strategies, will lead to the final selection of candidate strategies to be piloted during the Readiness Phase. The Readiness phase will include the planning of the up-scaling of REDD+ Strategy pilots.
Under Component 4 “Implementation framework and safeguards”, the Institutional, Legal and Financial Frameworks for REDD+ implementation will be developed or consolidated. An initial Competency Framework will be established for different stakeholders contributing to the different elements of the REDD+ Institutional Structure. This framework will be used to conduct a Capacity Building Needs Assessment (CBNA) which will guide de development and implementation of the stakeholder training and awareness building activities. The CBNA and corresponding training activities will be repeated based on an interim and final review of the REDD+ Institutional Structure. This component will include the development of a National REDD+ Communication Strategy to ensure effective and transparent information sharing and to support stakeholder consultation processes. The development of REDD+ specific information and communication materials will be based on a review of existing materials. The national legal framework will be adapted and consolidated based on policy and legal reviews conducted under Component 3. Initial national consultations will validate possible amendments, focusing on obvious, urgent and easily enacted changes needed to facilitate REDD+ implementation. A second round of national consultations will be held to review and validate a list of proposed amendments and additions to legal framework. This consultation will focus on more fundamental, complex and long term changes to the national legal framework. The necessary Financial Framework, including a financial mechanism for the management of potential REDD+ income and the distribution channels to ensure equitable benefit sharing, will be developed based on the review of existing financial mechanisms and fund distribution systems. Component 4 will include the development of a REDD+ Social and Environmental Safeguard System based on existing and new national Policies, Laws and Regulations (PRL) to address the Cancun Safeguards. The establishment of a REDD+ Safeguard System will include the development of a transparent information and monitoring system. The validation of the proposed Safeguard System and a corresponding National REDD+ Grievance Mechanism will be done through a national consultation process.
Under Component 5, Myanmar will establish its “National Forest Reference Emission Level and/or Forest Reference Level (REL/RL)”, with sub-national forest RELs/RLs as potential interim measures. RELs/RLs will provide the benchmarks against which future forest carbon emissions reductions and removals will be measured. The emphasis of this Component will be the collection of data on historical land use trends and the analysis of relevant national circumstances, as well as the development of specific capacities to further develop and implement these activities under a full National REDD+ Strategy.
Under Component 6, Myanmar will develop a “National Forest Monitoring System”, comprising a monitoring function and a Measurement, Reporting and Verification (MRV) function. The monitoring function will serve to assess whether REDD+ activities are results-based, while the MRV function will be the tool used to assess and report on the mitigation performance of REDD+ activities to the UNFCCC.
Note: Myanmar REDD+ Readiness Roadmap document can be downloaded here in English and Myanmar version.
