LA - FCPF REDD+ READINESS

Following projects comes with the paid plans.

Development objective

FCPF Readiness grant funds will be used to support the following REDD+ Tasks and Activities:Task 1: Readiness Process Management and Stakeholder ConsultationEstablish National and Provincial REDD+ officesThe REDD+ readiness process in Lao PDR recognizes the importance of the need to establish effective offices and efficient communication and operations. The REDD+ offices will play a crucial role to ensure early start up to activities within its remit, to facilitate other departments and ministries, to establish constructive contacts and support community institutions, ethnic group organizations and broader civil society groups. This task will aim to establish operational REDD+ offices at the national level and in selected provinces, and establish protocols for coordination between these offices. A key role of these institutional mechanisms will be to initiate the process of organizing forums and consultations to address the policy and regulatory framework for REDD+. Several diagnostic studies will be commissioned to inform these policy level discussions. Assess and Align REDD+ with National Policy FrameworkThe successful introduction and mainstreaming of REDD+ obligations in Lao PDR will have significant bearing on the existing national policy and regulatory framework especially in relation to its approach in the NESDP. Key drivers of the Lao PDR economy remain utilization of natural resources as a tool to address national poverty. It is important that the REDD+ preparatory process is used as a mechanism to assess trade-offs and seek a balance between national economic goals, environmental sustainability, and REDD+ opportunities and commitments.The activities in this task will involve the high-level inter-ministerial forum under the NEC that will use its office to create consensus on alignment of the national policy framework with REDD+. An important outcome is an approach paper that will be used for discussions and as a tool to address emerging issues of policy significance. Given the importance of safeguarding vulnerable communities and women a series of studies will be undertaken to assess disaggregated impact of REDD+ activities. Early action on this recommendation will enable the calibration of choice of programs and activities in both carbon and non-carbon domains for the wellbeing of vulnerable communities and women in Lao PDR.Stakeholder ConsultationsThe grant will support an inclusive consultative process leading to the development and implementation of a stakeholder participation and consultation plan that provides opportunities for all stakeholders to participate and voice their concerns. The GoL has internalized this important aspect of REDD+ preparation and has agreed to a continuous process of stakeholder consultation and engagement.A Stakeholder Participation Working Group will be established under the NEC that will have oversight on the process of seeking and eliciting the participation of all stakeholders. The first step of this Working Group will be to agree on fundamental principles of identifying stakeholders and a process appropriate to each stakeholder. Following this a Stakeholder Participation and Consultation Plan (SPCP) will be evolved and validated. In addition, through a process of research, study, and discussion, appropriate mechanisms for conflict resolution and grievance redress will be established.Task 2: REDD+ Strategy DevelopmentDevelop and Finalize REDD+ StrategyREDD+ strategy development will continue alongside the readiness process of establishing institutional arrangements, policy analysis, and stakeholder consultations. The inter-ministerial forum at the NEC will begin to examine the context of the national policy framework with REDD+ requirements. The REDD+ strategy will turn its focus to the forestry sector and communities most-dependent on forest resources.The evolution of the REDD+ strategy is embedded in continued stakeholder consultations with the agenda will remain focused on forestry sector strategy. The existing forestry strategy 2020 of Lao PDR will be reviewed, as will be related policy documents that guide the governance and operation of the sector. While the GoL has acceded and ratified diverse forest and environmental international obligations which include the Convention on Biological Diversity, Climate Change, Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, and Endangered Species, the Readiness process is an opportune moment to revisit and incorporate principles of sustainable forest management in Lao PDR. The project will assist GOL in their ongoing efforts to sustainably manage natural resources and utilize these resources to contribute to economic growth and poverty reduction. Livelihoods of forest-dependent people will be supported through a review of policy and regulatory frameworks taking into account current pattern of resource use and existing cultural practices.Participatory Land Use Planning and REDD+ StrategyTenure, rights, access and land use have emerged as important issues in REDD+ discussions and implementation globally. Land and natural resources in Lao PDR are under pressure from agriculture concessions, exploration licenses for mining, infrastructure, and hydropower. Concessions for these development activities are increasingly having an impact on land allocation and land use at the local level. REDD+ provides an ideal forum to address issues of land allocation, both at the policy level and, locally as practice and attempt to secure gains in non-carbon domains. Security of tenure to land and resources, predictable and continued access to forest resources, and rights are important drivers of sustaining livelihoods and sustainable natural resource management especially for communities practicing shifting cultivation and upland agriculture. The process of consultation and discussion on a new land policy is well advanced in Lao under the oversight of the National Assembly.The landscape of empirical evidence on land tenure and shifting cultivation lacks high quality information that can contribute to constructive policy debate. The grant will support the review of existing studies and preparation of complementary new studies. Participatory land use methods and tools will be developed to create practical and alternative models that are feasible and realistic. Strategic Environmental and Social Assessment To complement the analytical work on forest-dependent communities and to use a well-tested and structured framework a Strategic Environmental and Social Assessment will be undertaken. The focus of SESA will be on using an iterative process based on prior and free informed consultations with a broad set of stakeholders, and in producing a consensus document based on discussions and trade-offs. Following the completion of this assessment a national Environmental and Social Management Framework (ESMF) will be created for the Lao PDR as it transits from the preparation phase and moves to access the carbon fund. Producing this framework will help to strengthen the capacity of national institutions in Lao PDR so that emerging issues related to social and environmental compliance can be handled on a continued basis. While there is broad interest from Development Partners and international non-government organizations, the Bank is expected to maintain active engagement through the FIP, the Government of Finland Technical Assistance, and the Multi Donor Trust Fund on natural resource and environmental management and through other ongoing and pipeline projects in Lao PDR.Lao PDR has an extremely high level of wasting and stunting. Selected communities have a high dependence on forest resources for food security that has a direct linkage with nutrition and health. A study will be commissioned to examine how forest resources can make a contribution to reduce waste and stunting levels.Task 3: Implementation ArrangementsEstablish Institutional and Financial ArrangementsThis task and activities will aim to est

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