
More than 50 participants representing governments, international organisations, NGOs, academia as well as private companies and consultancy firms attended vivid discussions at a COP23 side event organized between EFI Bonn, the EFI FLEGT and REDD Unit in Barcelona, the EFI-coordinated SAFARI project with a contribution by the GTTN network on 11th November 2017.
At present, a number of REDD+ initiatives are in the phase of implementation, and a number of questions arise: How do we ensure that guidelines are followed and initiatives actually implemented? Who are the key players necessary for a successful and synergistic implementation? Private businesses stressed the urgent need for data, information, and reporting tools to demonstrate and verify any positive voluntary contribution of private companies to deforestation. The GTTN network emphasized the potential contribution of the service providers to enforcing REDD+, by offering tools to safeguard the implementation of forest management and forest protection objectives. A scientific proof of tree species and geographic origin of a wood product, can help determining whether wood originated from places where logging was allowed, or not, e.g. from outside a forest concession zone. More information here.