Through training and networking, the World Land Trust (WLT) and IUCN-NL, has aimed to enable African partner NGOs to benefit from carbon funding opportunities. Trainings held so far have covered both general aspects of global climate policy and associated funding mechanisms and technical aspects of voluntary forest carbon projects with high biodiversity value. We also have aimed to explore lessons learned from existing forest carbon projects in Africa and identify key challenges and opportunities for such projects in the African context. The training included workshops and an on site demonstration of a forest carbon project. In addition, a selected group of NGOs was assisted with development of forest carbon project proposals. Training material was developed and will be disseminated through the African networks of WLT, IUCN and the Natureandpoverty.net portal. See below!

In doing this, they have aimed to create a network of stronger African NGOs positioned to profit from carbon opportunities and to understand developments in the global climate policy post Copenhagen, spreading the knowledge and capacity to mitigate climate change whilst delivering many other environmental benefits.

The trainings held may be repeated in the future, depending on demand.

Final update: April 2011

Workshop report now available to download

The final phase - project development training -was completed between October and December 2010 where trainers carried out site visits to three of the NGO’s participating in the programme to assist with developing their feasibility studies/PINs and assisted with linking to potential donors.

The project in Senegal (mangrove restoration through community based approach) is moving forward using CDM A/R methodologies whilst keeping an eye on developing REDD methodologies by Danone and VCS. The carbon gain is small but a corporate interested in the co-benefits for biodiversity and communities has been identified. The Ethiopian site visit went very well and the project is looking strong and but it was recognised they needed further external assistance on areas such as leakage and financial planning. The main concern in Ethiopia is the national policy on REDD+. In Kenya another joint proposal is being looked into and a pre-feasibility trip is hoped to be arranged for further investigation.

Review of the training programme

·There continues to be much demand from the African continent for help on REDD+.

·As well as the concern whether a NGO has the capacity for REDD+, there are also issues regarding whether they have enough ownership in the concept and approach to be a part of the process.

·If the training is repeated should be clear that the programme covers REDD+ which encompasses other AFOLU activities such as Afforestation and Reforestation (A/R) and Agricultural Land Management (ALM).

·The group continues to see value in working with small projects which are not yet ready to participate in REDD+ approaches. A Nationally Approved Mitigation Action (NAMA), a set of policies and actions undertaken to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, may be a good vehicle for this as projects within accepted under this strategy do not have to deliver carbon credits.

The Report: Introductory guide based on the training programme

WLT has produced a report based on the training programme - Using carbon as a funding mechanism for conservation; Is REDD+ right for you? An introductory guide, which we hope will be of use to a wider audience.

Included in the Report:

. Introduction to climate change and carbon sequestration

·Introduction to REDD+ and status within Africa

·Organisational commitments

·Common risks and barriers

·Guidelines for a feasibility study

·Alternatives to REDD+

·Further tools and resources

The training was held in English but both French and English versions of this report are available to download from the World Land Trust website. The report is also available in CD format for those NGOs who have difficulty with reliable internet access.

To download the report: www.worldlandtrust.org/projects/redd-plus-workshop-carbon-funding-conservation.htm

Update: 5th July 2010

After a successful 2nd workshop in Uganda, the outcomes included 1 completed PIN, 4 nearing completion and 3, through further analysis at the workshop, identified as not ready for full scale REDD just yet. These however still demonstrate important use of REDD+(+) techniques and potential to evolve into full REDD+(+) projects in the future. There are still smaller scale opportunities available for these NGOs which can be presented to funders and which would assist in capacity building for future REDD projects.

Since the workshop, all participants have been continuing to develop their PINs in consultation with trainers and we are awaiting their final drafts for screening.

The training programme has received excellent feedback and confirmed the need and demand for capacity building in this area. It is clear that good, innovative demonstration projects are needed to get policy-makers to start talking with project implementers and to help link the climate negotiations to practical experience. Early success is important for leveraging more political acceptance and stakeholder interest.

Update:23rd April 2010

The 2nd workshop will run from 2nd-11th May and will be held in Kibale National Park, Uganda.

Due to progressing further in the 1st workshop than expected, the second workshop will still cover some of the technical issues as planned but also allow each participant to apply them to their specific proposal. At the end of the 2nd workshop, therefore, the output will be a set of well-developed Project Information Notes (PINs) - one for each participant - approaching readiness for submission to potential donors. The final months of the training programme will then be used for further refinement with continuing help from the trainers.

8 participants have been selected from the 1st workshop and will be working in both groups and one to one sessions with the trainers on their PINs, these include NGOs from Burkina Faso , Senegal, Ethiopia, Burundi, Cameroon, Uganda, Togo and Kenya. IUCN -Uganda will also be attending to strengthen their role as a catalyst/facilitator for REDD projects in the future.

Update: 2 March 2010

The first workshop was held recently from the 15th-18th February in Akosombo, Ghana. 22 organisations participated from all over Africa with a total of 34 people attending all together including trainers, staff and representatives from IUCN-NL. The workshop was a success with a combination of excellent trainers and motivated participants discussing many exciting potential projects and ideas for the future. The trainers included Roger Wilson from World Land Trust (WLT), John Mason from NCRC, Khosi Ramachela from the Peace Parks Foundation (PPF) South Africa, and Denis Slieker from Face the Future (formerly the FACE Foundation) from the Netherlands; all of which have much experience in this field and were willing to share lessons learnt and offer their advice to participants to help them with their next steps.

Proceedings will be made freely available on this platform.