Other Sources: REDD+ resources, papers and publications

Scoping Private Sector Opportunities in Ethiopia: How to Stimulate Both Economic Development and REDD+ Implementation?

Ethiopia is one of the fastest-growing economies in Africa. Agriculture (subsistence and commercial) employs 80% of the population, contributes to 50% of the gross domestic product and provides 60% of export revenues, highlighting the importance of the sector for Ethiopia’s economy. At the same time, the country is experiencing ongoing deforestation, with agriculture being the principal driver of deforestation in Ethiopia. There are 2 national strategies - the climate-resilience green economy (CRGE) and the second-growth transformation plan (GTP2) - to shift the country to a more sustainable development paradigm while growing to middle-income status by 2025. Ethiopia has ample indigenous bamboo resources: the largest area of bamboo in Africa with 1 million hectares with a potential of 3 million hectares. Based on desk research and interviews, this report concludes that investments in bamboo carry the highest potential to restore, protect or recover forests as Ethiopia committed in 2014 to restore 15 million hectares by 2030. In doing so, there may be possibilities to harness the potential of both international development finance institutions as well as domestic financial institutions, given that Ethiopia is at the moment an underbanked country with little domestic or international funding flowing to forest-friendly projects that contribute to REDD+.

The assessment finds that the mangroves of Central Africa which are found in Cameroon, Gabon, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Sao Tome and Principe, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Angola, could be amongst the most carbon-rich ecosystems in the world. Each hectare of cleared pristine mangrove is estimated to release 1,299 tonnes of C02 per year. However, until mangroves are included in the national definition of forests, many countries will be unable to access carbon incentives, improved governance, jobs and a range of other benefits under the global REDD+ programme. 

En el informe se confirma que los manglares son uno de los ecosistemas más ricos en carbono del planeta y se proporcionan las bases para su gestión, conservación y recuperación sostenibles. Asimismo, se subraya su gran valor ecológico y económico y las amenazas que se ciernen sobre la región. En el documento se insta a elaborar una definición nacional de los bosques que incluya explícitamente a los manglares a los países que todavía no dispongan de ella, con el objeto de allanar el camino para que estos ecosistemas puedan incluirse en las estrategias nacionales para la reducción de emisiones debidas a la deforestación y la degradación forestal (REDD+). Más allá de las posibilidades de conseguir financiación adicional, la iniciativa REDD+ puede catalizar la acción para proteger los manglares mediante un diálogo más intenso entre las diversas partes interesadas y un marco de políticas integrales y enfoques multisectoriales con el que hacer frente a los factores desencadenantes de la deforestación.

This Resource Guide for Advanced Learning is organized into two parts. Part I provides basic orientation for readers, including a brief introduction to the subject area and an outline of the specific learning topics to be covered. Part II lists available written learning resources as well as a number of training courses currently being offered, organized by learning topic.

The Guide is available in both PDF format, as well as an interactive online format.