Project News

DOF staff at Workshop

One of the main topics on REDD+ at international negotiations is how to accelerate forest conservation through financing. In order to find some clues on this topic, the staff from DOF, DFRM and Ministry of Finance, and an expert from F-REDD participated in the workshop on "REDD+ Financing" (co-hosted by UN-REDD^[1], FCPF^[2] and REDD+ Partnership^[3]) held on 25th - 27th May in Bangkok. As many developing countries are in their transitional stage from ‘REDD+ readiness' to ‘implementation' and ‘results-based payment', the workshop aimed to share the knowledge and experiences on how to explore financing options, and also to discuss expectations and challenges regarding REDD+ financing.

The workshop invited 12 other Asian countries, international organizations, and financial sector representatives. The participants discussed the following: the need of capacity building of stakeholders; forest conservation actions and shift to low-emission agriculture and forestry; and necessity of developing a fair and transparent financing mechanism. The workshop offered good entry points for Lao PDR, which will soon start developing its national REDD+ strategy, to look ahead to the financial aspects of REDD+.