Project News

Through the JICA-RECOFTC Partnership Programme, F-REDD and RECOFTC^[1] are collaborating to strengthen the capacity for REDD+ in Luang Prabang Province. In this quarter, the collaboration especially focused on REDD+ safeguards to enhance measures to avoid and mitigate possible negative environmental and social impacts of REDD+ activities.

First, in October, a basic-level REDD+ Safeguards Training was organized for the local forestry officers of the 12 districts (in Luang Prabang Province), and the importance of gender mainstreaming and community participation was discussed. In December, a training for the Provincial REDD+ Task Force members was held, to facilitate their basic understanding of REDD+. Furthermore, another advanced-level REDD+ Safeguard Training was organized for the district officers who participated in the basic-level training in October.

For instance, in the gender mainstreaming session, the participants had a group work to discuss what kind of roles males and females have in forest management resource use. This was a good opportunity for them to better understand and recognize the need for males and females to cooperate, and particularly the importance of females' participation in protecting the forests.

The knowledge acquired through the series of training courses is expected to be utilized for the upcoming development of the Provincial REDD+ Action Plan and the implementation of pilot activities.

Presentation on the safeguard issues to be considered by different sectors

Participants discussing the importance of REDD+ and social equity