Expert Meeting on Governance of Forests and REDD+

Guidance for providing information and assessing forest and REDD+ governance 

19-20th May 2011, at FAO Headquarters, Rome, Italy

The meeting aims to encourage coordinated information provision and assessment of REDD+ and forest governance. It will mark the joint delivery of two new guides to assist practitioners: a draft Guidance for the Provision of Information on REDD+ Governance Safeguards developed by the UN-REDD Programme and Chatham House and the Framework for Assessing and Monitoring Forest Governance emerging from the 2010 Stockholm meeting on forest governance led by the World Bank and FAO.

The two documents offer consistent and complementary guidance for providing information on REDD+ and forest governance, drawing from practical experiences and existing initiatives in this field. They use a common terminology and core framework based on three pillars of governance:

• Policy, legal, institutional and regulatory frameworks;
• Planning and decision-making processes;
• Implementation, enforcement and compliance.

In line with the Cancún agreement, the Guidance for the Provision of Information on REDD+ Governance suggests considerations for the development of systems for providing information on governance safeguards. The Framework for Assessing and Monitoring Forest Governance focuses on the development of indicators of good forest governance adapted to varied needs and circumstances. The two initiatives provide guidance for designing information systems on governance and an approach for using governance assessment and monitoring tools.

The meeting will provide an opportunity to discuss the two documents, their utilisation and possible subsequent refinement. Working sessions will be organised to enable a discussion of piloting processes, identifying key points to test and considering the governance information needs of different stakeholders (governments, private sector, local communities, etc.).

Meeting participants will be government officials from countries interested in forest and REDD+ governance and experts drawn from international institutions as well as national and international civil society organizations and the private sector. The organisers will consider providing financial support to participants from developing countries upon request.