Vientiane, Laos, 11-12 October 2017
In February 2017, CIFOR’s ASFCC organized a training workshop on aspects of REDD+ benefit sharing and safeguards with the FCPF REDD+ Readiness project, CliPAD-GIZ and the REDD+ office. During that workshop it was agreed that a further workshop would be organized for the updating of the the country profile “The context of REDD+: Drivers, agents and institutions” including the verification of the indicators attached to the Country Profile.
In Lao PDR, the “REDD+ Country Profile in Lao PDR: Drivers, Agents, and Institutions” was published in 2013. Since its first publication, there has been important development on REDD+ and its related issues in Lao PDR. For instance, several new policies have been issued and working groups have been established to prepare the necessary tools for REDD+ safeguards, benefit sharing, reference emission levels, monitoring, reporting and verification system and processes. In terms of institutions, the re-organization of the forestry and agriculture sectors in 2016 has influenced the REDD+ institutional arrangement at different governance levels. On the ground, increasing agro-industrial investment has changed the forest and land uses, thus shifting the ways drivers are targeted and addressed under REDD+. These changes influence the REDD+ design and process, thus it is necessary to re-visit the country profile and updates it with current development on REDD+ in the country.
Although the country profile was designed for the purpose of the GCS-REDD+, the advent of ASFCC in Laos has been closely linked to issues of REDD+. The update of the Country profile has been adopted as an ASFCC activity but is carried out in collaboration with GCS-REDD+
The objective of the workshop is to verify the indicators based on Laos context to be used in the update of the “REDD+ Country Profile in Lao PDR: Drivers, Agents, and Institutions” published in 2013. A technical writing team was formed after the workshop. This team will identify aspects of the country profile that will need updating and carry on the writing process.
