Lessons Learnt from REDD+ Valuable for Blue Carbon Management

29 May, 2023 - MACBLUE Project Director Raphael Linzatti participated at a plenary session at the Global Forest Observation Initiative (GFOI), the Headquarters of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in Rome from May 9 to May 11.

The annual GFOI plenary brings together the global community of practitioners who support tropical countries in forest monitoring and associated emissions Measurement, Reporting and Verification (MRV) procedures.

In a panel with participants from Fiji, Palau, Australia, New Zealand and Indonesia he discussed learnings from the establishment of Forest Monitoring Systems and how they can be used in the establishment of monitoring systems for Blue Carbon Ecosystems.

“Blue carbon ecosystems in Pacific Island countries provide essential ecosystem services and habitat loss have increased rapidly but is hard to monitor” he said.

Linzatti shared that it has been 15 years since the inception of the of REDD+, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) on reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries.

“The lessons learnt by the international community do provide valuable inputs for the development of management approaches to Blue Carbon Ecosystems in the Pacific Islands”

“Standardizing and harmonizing monitoring protocols, assuring integration into UNFCCC reporting and continuous exchange amongst (GFOI) partners on best practices is key”

In a side-event, international development partners active in the region such as the United State Forest Service (USFS), the Silva Carbon Program and GIZ coordinated their capacity building approach for the region in coordination with the national governments and look at synergies for joint activities.