With assistance from the Norwegian government, Vietnam is the first country in the world that has developed UN-REDD Phases II

The Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), in coordination with the Norwegian government and UN agencies, held a seminar in Hanoi this morning, October 11, to kick off the UN-REDD Vietnam phase II.

The United Nations Programme on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (or UN-REDD Programme) is a collaborative initiative in developing countries, created in response to the UNFCCC decision on REDD at COP 13 and the Bali Action Plan.

Vietnamese Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Cao Duc Phat, approved UN-REDD Vietnam phase II in July of this year with a total investment of USD30 million coming from the non-refundable aid of the Norwegian government for the 2013-2015 period.

Speaking at the launch event, Phat said, “REDD+ is among many important efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions so as to realise the target of lowering these emissions in the agricultural sector by 20% by 2020, as well as to foster green growth.”

The programme is aimed at enhancing the capacity of Vietnamese central and local governments, as well as communities which have forests, so local residents can benefit from incentive monitoring funding in the next phase.

The programme would be piloted in the six provinces of Bac Kan, Lao Cai, Ha Tinh, Binh Thuan, Lam Dong and Ca Mau, based on the progress and results of phase I which lasted from 2009 to 2013.

Pratibha Mehta, UN Resident Coordinator in Vietnam, told DTiNews, on the sidelines of the meeting, that in order to successfully implement such a large-scale project for only two years it requires several elements, including effective governance, the participation of communities, coordination between MARD and other ministries and branches.

“Vietnam is in a good position to trade carbon with developed countries like Norway, however, Vietnam has to establish the institutional framework first and create mechanisms on the issue,” she added.