the REDD desk

The
REDD
Countries
Database
An overview of
REDD Readiness
on the ground
WHAT IS THE REDD COUNTRIES
DATABASE?
The REDD Countries Database is a centralised
and collaborative database of the diverse and
rapidly evolving range of ongoing REDD
Readiness activities in tropical forest owning
nations. Organized and aggregated by country,
it summarises key information across a range
of areas including policies, plans, statistics and
activities. The REDD Countries Database does
not attempt to assess activities or offer any
kind of normative analysis but will instead use
a common analytical framework to allow quick
comparison within and between countries.
Figure 1 The REDD Countries Database landing page
WHO IS INVOLVED?
The REDD Countries Database is a
collaboration between the Global Canopy
Programme (GCP), the Forum on Readiness
for REDD (and its secretariat the Amazon
Environmental Research Institute - IPAM),
Alternatives to Slash and Burn (ASB), the
Institute for the Conservation and Sustainable
Development of Amazonas (IDESAM) and the
Center for People and Forests (RECOFTC).
The GCP and Forum, as well as being
cofounders for the REDD desk, provide
secretariat services for the REDD Countries
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Database; ASB, IDESAM and RECOFTC are
regional partners, gathering and synthesising
data from Africa, Latin America, and SE Asia
respectively.
WHO IS THE DATABASE FOR?
Stakeholders in the REDD process have
overwhelmingly expressed the need for a
central clearinghouse of information to
capture and catalogue resources, share best
practices, and facilitate global stakeholder
collaboration. This need has been identified by
diverse civil society actors, stated formally by
Parties and observers to the UNFCCC, and has
been better understood through detailed
surveys and workshops with the REDD
stakeholder community conducted by the
Forum on Readiness for REDD and the Global
Canopy Programme.
WHAT INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE?
Following on from a series of consultations
and workshops, the REDD Countries Database
presents information across eight key areas.
Dashboard
The dashboard provides a snapshot overview
of the state of REDD Readiness within a
 Figure 2 A sample Dashboard for Vietnam
country. The dashboard presents the key
elements of REDD readiness within a country
graphically using simple icons and charts.
Readiness Overview
The Readiness Overview aims to provide a
summary of a country’s REDD readiness
across seven key elements. The elements
provide a way to compare REDD readiness
across different countries as well as within
countries. The elements, which have been
arrived at from a series of workshops and
consultations, are as follows:
Governance: What are the institutional
arrangements? What is the coordination
across institutions?
Stakeholder Engagement: Who are the
stakeholders and how are they being
informed, consulted and included in the
process? Has there been free, prior and
informed consent?
Rights and Tenure: How are issues of
rights and tenure addressed?
Enforcement: How is REDD being
enforced?
Methodologies: What methodological
approaches are being used including the
calculation of reference levels and co-benefits?
Co-benefits: How are co-benefits being
delivered?
MRV: How is monitoring reporting and
verification addressed in the country?
Finance: How is finance being delivered?
Coherence: What is the level of integration
between policies, plans and activities?
Statistics
The statistics section draws on information
such as the FAO Forest Resource Assessment
and the World Bank’s World Development
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Report to provide detailed information on
forest cover, deforestation rates and forest
ownership, as well as key socioeconomic
indicators including GDP, governance and
population density.
Institutions
The institutions section provides an overview
of key governmental, NGO, IGO, private sector
and academic institutions working in a
country. This section covers institutions that
are active in REDD within a country and can
therefore include international and donor
institutions.
Legal Framework
Relevant REDD, climate change, natural
resource management and rights and tenure
laws have been summarised in the legal
framework section. Laws are grouped into
international, national, and state level laws
with links to source documents where they are
available.
Policies and Plans
This section summarises government policies
and plans for REDD. Policies and plans are
both non-legally binding, and can be at either
the national or state level. Plans are
summarised using the elements of REDD
elaborated on above.
Activities
The activities section presents key information
on national, state and project level activities.
Activities are also summarised using the
elements of REDD. In addition, for carbon
project activities, specific project-level
information is also captured.
Financing
The financing section shows the institutions
that are financing REDD activities within a
country. Donors can be both governmental and
non-governmental as well as domestic or
overseas. This section groups institutions by
international, national and state-level.
WHEN WILL THE REDD COUNTRIES
DATABASE BE LAUNCHED?
The REDD Countries Database will be
launched in beta in February 2011. The initial
platform will present three countries: Brazil,
Cameroon and Vietnam. Additional countries
will then be released throughout the year by
the secretariat and our regional partners. We
will also aim to continually update existing
counties as new information becomes
available.
Figure 3 The new REDD desk home
WHAT IS THE REDD DESK?
The REDD Desk, initially launched as a pilot
by the Global Canopy Programme and the
Forum on Readiness for REDD at COP 15, is a
multi-language knowledge platform, designed
to gather and package readiness information in
one place in a simple and useful format;
organize information by country, connecting
with existing resources where appropriate; and
enable stakeholders within and between
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countries to share information and collaborate.
It is online at www.theREDDdesk.org.
HOW CAN I PARTICIPATE?
REDD stakeholders that are interested in
learning more about the REDD countries
database can sign up to the REDD desk at
www.thereddesk.org/user/register. As a user
you will receive updates, and you also will be
able to: add resources; rate and comment on
existing content on the REDD desk; receive
news, updates and upcoming events; feedback
on country information; and in future releases
interact with other users on the REDD desk.
CONTACT US
We are constantly seeking to improve the
REDD desk and your feedback is valuable to
us. Please send any comments or suggestions
to:
contact@theREDDdesk.org
Thank you – The REDD Desk team.