Project News

There is good news since the previous issue (Newsletter Vol. 17).

The national REDD+ results of Lao PDR were officially submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) as a REDD+ Technical Annex to the First Biennial Update Report (1st BUR)^[1]. Lao PDR is the 15th country in the world and the third country in Southeast Asia, following Malaysia and Indonesia, to submit a REDD+ Technical Annex in accordance with UNFCCC decisions on REDD+.

This achievement is the fruit of the cooperation of F-REDD and the Lao PDR Department of Forestry (DOF) since last year, including the preparation of forest type maps and a national forest inventory survey for the estimation of emissions reduction and removal. Also important was cooperation with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE), which is responsible for preparing the BUR and is the national point of contact for the UNFCCC. A set of technical reports^[2] explaining the details of the calculation of results has been made available on the DOF website.

The UNFCCC's technical analysis of the submitted REDD+ results will begin in November. In addition to ensuring the transparency of the REDD+ results in Laos, the technical analysis is required for application for the REDD+ Results-Based payment of the Green Climate Fund (GCF). It is also a useful opportunity for Lao PDR to enhance its capacity on REDD+ carbon accounting.