As Colombia steps up its efforts to fulfill commitments made under the Paris Agreement on Climate Change and Agenda 2030, the cross-cutting theme of improved forest governance is at the centre of its efforts to halt deforestation and forest degradation as well as action to achieve Nationally Determined Contributions and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Recognizing forests as important components in strategies for mitigating and adapting to climate change, the international community agreed on various processes designed to address problems of deforestation and forest degradation. Two of the most well-known initiatives are reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation and fostering...

“Forests give us medicine, good air and rainfall, all things that are very important for us. We are helping to conserve the forest by talking to our communities and telling them about the importance of forests and why they should replant and restore them.” Noar Natolo and Scovia Bulyaba are carpet weavers and members of the Nagoje community living in the Mabira forest of Uganda. To supplement their income, they collect palm leaves from the forest and weave carpets that are later dyed with local products. The forest that supplies these women with palm leaves, also provides them with water, medicine and...

To support UN-REDD partner countries and development practitioners in meaningfully integrating a gender perspective into their REDD+ efforts to build capacity and organize inclusive consultation processes, the UN-REDD Programme is pleased to share a new tool: Checklist for Gender-Responsive Workshops.  This checklist was created in response to requests for additional guidance on how to fully integrate a gender perspective into REDD+ events, and more specifically on how to ensure that women are equitably involved and actively participating in workshops at the regional, national and local levels.  Illustrating the Programme’s commitment to implementing its gender approach, the checklist – now available on the...

 In recent years, many countries have expressed a willingness and demonstrated the capability to increase forest cover and restore degraded landscapes. As of 2018, pledges had reached upwards of 168 million hectares. The latest confirmation of this growing momentum can be seen in the recent UN General Assembly’s declaration of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration 2021–2030 which will help countries fight against the impact of climate change and biodiversity loss. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the UN Environment Programme will lead the implementation; of the decade with countries and partners. However, the question remains about...

Representatives from Austria and the Democratic Republic of the Congo gathered in Vienna to share good practices and lessons learned on meeting reporting requirements under the Enhanced Transparency Framework of the Paris Agreement. The meeting was organized as part of the Central African Forest Initiative (CAFI) activities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo with technical support from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).  As the urgency to tackle the current climate crisis is growing, countries are getting ready to report on their national greenhouse gas inventories (GHGIs) under the Katowice Rulebook adopted at the 24th Conference...