Chapter 8 - REDD+ and its implementation in the Himalayan region: policy issues

Abstract

Reducing emissions from deforestation in developing countries (REDD+) took a long time of 10 years to get transformed into its present shape. Many countries including India and China, and Coalition for Rainforest Countries worked hard in steering its development in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). REDD+ implementation in its true form is taking time as countries have to build capacity to prepare requisite documentation and put in place measuring and monitoring infrastructure to assess REDD+ performance. However, a number of issues pertaining to the policy have to be addressed to facilitate accelerated implementation of REDD+ in all interested developing countries. The policy issues are related to functioning of voluntary market (VM), smooth and quick implementation of REDD+ in India and the Indian States, and issues plaguing the application of national forest reference level (NFRL), vis-à-vis, the subnational forest reference level approach. A large number of VM projects are being implemented in the name of REDD+, but their efficacy and environmental integrity need to be independently assessed. VM needs to reorient itself to be compliant with Cancun Agreements, Warsaw REDD+ Framework, and Paris Agreement, specially the Article 5 to remain in business of forest sector removals. India has huge potential in generating REDD+ result-based payments (RBPs) in forest sector, but due to delay in readying requisite documents and implementation arrangements, it is lagging behind. The Himalayan States of India as Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh and Union Territory (UT) of Jammu and Kashmir have highest potential of giving REDD+ performance among Indian States, but due to adoption of the option of a single NFRL, a few states of the Indian Union cannot submit and get incentivized for their RBPs. NFRL necessitates that all Indian States and UTs should need to be simultaneously ready to get economic benefits flowing from the RBPs. The Himalayan States can get incentivized for their RBPs if the Government of India adopts the subnational forest reference level approach for REDD+ implementation with consent of the UNFCCC. In this scenario, the Himalayan States can have their own state-level forest reference level and generate RBPs of REDD+ at state level. The huge potential of generating RBPs by the Himalayan States and UT can be tapped and incentivized. However, these states will need to meet all the requisite UNFCCC requirements of REDD+ implementation.