This Occasional Paper is a review of the development of Ethiopia’s REDD+ MRV system, its national architecture and policies, progress made so far, and plans for the future. It is not a technical review of the current MRV system. We use published and unpub

REDD+ is one of the leading near-term options for global climate change mitigation. More than 300 subnational REDD+ initiatives have been launched across the tropics, responding to both the call for demonstration activities in the Bali Action Plan and the market for voluntary carbon offset credits.

REDD+ must be transformational. REDD+ requires broad institutional and governance reforms, such as tenure, decentralisation, and corruption control. These reforms will enable departures from business as usual, and involve communities and forest users in making and implementing policies that a ect them. Policies must go beyond forestry. REDD+ strategies must include policies outside the forestry sector narrowly de ned, such as agriculture and energy, and better coordinate across sectors to deal with non-forest drivers of deforestation and degradation. Performance-based payments are key, yet limited. Payments based on performance directly incentivise and compensate forest owners and users. But schemes such as payments for environmental services (PES) depend on conditions, such as secure tenure, solid carbon data and transparent governance, that are often lacking and take time to change. This constraint reinforces the need for broad institutional and policy reforms. We must learn from the past. Many approaches to REDD+ now being considered are similar to previous e orts to conserve and better manage forests, often with limited success. Taking on board lessons learned from past experience will improve the prospects of REDD+ e ectiveness. National circumstances and uncertainty must be factored in. Di erent country contexts will create a variety of REDD+ models with di erent institutional and policy mixes. Uncertainties about the shape of the future global REDD+ system, national readiness and political consensus require  exibility and a phased approach to REDD+ implementation.

Constructive critique. This book provides a critical, evidence-based analysis of REDD+ implementation so far, without losing sight of the urgent need to reduce forest-based emissions to prevent catastrophic climate change. REDD+ as envisioned

Specifically, the paper identifies and analyzes several direct drivers of deforestation and forest degradation in Ethiopia including: forest clearance for both subsistence and large-scale agriculture; illegal and unsustainable extraction of wood mainly for charcoal and firewood; overgrazing; and recurrent forest fires. It also reviews underlying drivers including: rapid population increase and the associated growing demand for land and energy; extensive legal and institutional gaps including lack of stable and equitable forest tenure; lack of stakeholder participation in forest management and benefit-sharing schemes; and weak law enforcement. These drivers and the dominant actors behind them – ranging from small-scale subsistence farmers to national and global investors – are discussed in the context of the political economy, including the policy and institutional framework of the country. The implications of the overall forest condition to the objectives and requirements of REDD+ are evaluated, and key issues that need to be addressed for efficient, effective and equitable implementation of REDD+ are discussed. These key issues include: reconciling the apparently contradictory policies and programs, particularly those that negatively affect the forestry sector; improving the forest tenure and governance system; augmenting economic return from forests to communities and individuals; creating more efficient and effective forest institutions at all levels; and enhancing sectoral and regional coordination among implementing agencies.

First Published in 2008. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

This edited collection chronicles the public policy responses to climate change and current and potential impacts that will affect critical and priority sectors within and across African countries now and in the coming decades. Contributions cover governance and policy responses to climate change, emphasizing continental governance and policy responses, national governance and policy responses (what selected countries in Africa are doing), and local or community policy and programmatic responses (what some selected major African communities are doing). Each chapter adopts multi-disciplinary and transdisciplinary approaches, combining insights from social and policy sciences, emphasizing existing gaps, particularly in the area of decision-making, governance and local climate action. The book offers both theoretical and practical contributions, with the aim of advancing academic discourse and thinking, policymaking and implementation of climate interventions in Africa.