Updates from Climate Change/REDD Desk

The Forum’s Climate Desk is maintaining a strong network in its coordination effort with members, donors, the stakeholders and development partners such as the European Union (EU), Australian Aid Agency (Aus AID) and the Japanese Aid Agency (JICA) who works alongside with PNG Forest Authority. The Forum has also extended its Climate Change Programmes to interested groups, local CBOs based in remote areas and others like the PNG Media Council.

The Government has recognised EFF as an effective contributor and participant in its Office of Climate Change and Development’s (OCCD) Technical Working Groups (TWG) on REDD. EFF’s participation was highly commended but still carried the observer status. The Forum has requested for a formal invitation to be a member of this working group and has requested for a formal invitation to be a member of this working group and is still lobbying to be formally represented on the TWGs and the National Council on Climate Change (NCCC) rather than attending meetings and commenting on pre-drafted documents. The Forum is currently pursuing this matter with the OCCD and will continue to do so in the hope of a favourable response. Staff fully equipped and more answerable to climate change issues The EFF Climate Programme has been progressing so far as expected. The team have met deadlines in submitting report to donors, have reviewed and commented on government documents, responded to members’ queries and assisted stakeholders and local CBOs on issues of REDD and Climate Change. Awareness on Climate Change and REDD have been constant and effective. The climate change team have been on several occasions been required to go on air ,  with the National Broadcasting Commission  to do awareness on REDD and Climate Change and have received a favourable response from  listeners indicated when many called the forum to request more discussion on the topic for the majority of the public.   Better understanding of REDD through road shows and training workshops  This year, EFF has successfully staged four regional road shows, which began from the 29th- 30thMarch in Madang for the Momase Region; 22nd-24th June was in Port Moresby for the Southern Region, 3rd- 5th August in Mt. Hagen for the Highlands Region and 3rd-5th November in Kokopo for the NGI.	HIGHLIGHTS OF EFF CLIMATE CHANGE WORK IN 2010 Civil Society warns that negotiations not progressing on saving forest - Tianjin (China), UNFCCC
	REDD will work in PNG if all processes are transparent and all stakeholders involved
	COP 16 may pave way for favorable outcome in the coming Conference (COP 17)

As part of its awareness and capacity building initiative, the forum conducted these regional road shows for resource owners on Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD). This was done in collaboration with members covering all the four regions of the country. The road shows were focused on building capacity to empower resource owners with key information on their rights, ownership and benefit sharing if REDD projects materialize in their areas.

The Forum is aware that there is more that needs to be done on the subject and is currently in progress of designing and developing information material to be distributed in the upcoming meetings. Apart from existing information on sustainable forest management library, the climate team is developing its own material such as brochures, information sheets to complement information that already exists. This is in response to participants’ request from the four road shows held during the year. Many of the participants had expressed the manner of information dispensed at the road shows was too intensive and they needed brochures and factsheets that would enable them to re-read in order to the grasp an understanding of the subject. The programme team is also working on designing posters, pidgin version brochures in collaboration with the University of Papua New Guinea with the aim of putting the information on the web for a much wider audience to ensure an in-depth understanding of the subject.

REDD and Rights issue promoted

The core of the Climate Change work was based on the position paper on REDD which talked about principles of equitable carbon financing.  The Forum undertook Climate Change/REDD work in PNG to support its core work of SFM and good governance in the forestry sector after seeing that REDD was going to complement forest management in PNG. With that, the Forum undertook core activities issues to basically lobby and advocate on the following key point pillars:

1.     Good Governance

2.     Free Prior and Informed Consent

3.     Equitable Benefit Sharing and

4.     Sustainable Land Use Planning

In the current stage, agreements exist to affect the position paper and lobbying is still going on at the national level.

In other organized meetings, EFF recently attended the REDD+, PES and Benefit Sharing Workshop organization by the Institution of National Affairs (INA) in collaboration with Institute of Global Environmental Research (IGES). EFF also contributed to Pillar 6 of vision 2050, a pillar in the Government’s vision 2050 that recognises NGOs and CSOs as key development partners in delivery of basic services. EFF also attended the conservation forum in Managalas Oro Province to further create awareness on Climate Change/ REDD with one of key members of EFF, the Partners with Melanesia (PwM) and also attended the Advocacy for Climate Change Action Workshop organized by the PNG Media Council in Alotau. This partnership is seen as strategic as media is key to information dissemination. The result obtained is three fold:

1.     Capacity building to empower resource owners with key information on their rights, ownership and benefits sharing if REDD+ projects materialize in their areas.

2.     Pull in key stakeholders such as the PNG Government, Development Partners and resource owners to discuss Climate Change and REDD and to come up with a way forward on developing a REDD mechanism and policy that is suitable for all.

3.     Lobby with key stakeholders on EFF positions on REDD to achieve its key objectives thus achieving the vision.