United Nations Programme On Reducing Emissions From Deforestation And Forest Degradation (UN-REDD)

Why in the News?

• The United Nations Programme on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (UN-REDD) has released a significant new report.
• The title of the report is “Raising Ambition, Accelerating Action: Towards Enhanced Nationally Determined Contributions for Forests.”
• This report emphasizes the need for countries to better integrate forest protection and sustainable land use into their climate action plans, known as Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement.
• The findings highlight major gaps in ambition and implementation regarding forests in current climate policy frameworks.

Key Findings of the Report

• Among the 20 countries with the highest rates of tropical deforestation, only 8 have included quantified forest-related targets in their updated or current NDCs.
• 11 countries have included quantified targets for afforestation (planting forests in areas that were not previously forested) and reforestation (restoring previously deforested areas).
• However, the report stresses that reducing deforestation must be a top priority, as planting trees cannot compensate for the extensive carbon emissions caused by forest destruction.
• The report concludes that current NDCs are insufficient in ambition when it comes to forests, despite their enormous potential to contribute to climate mitigation.
• It also urges that countries must scale up efforts by setting clearer, more ambitious, and actionable targets related to forest conservation and sustainable land management.

What is UN-REDD?

• The UN-REDD Programme is the United Nations’ flagship initiative focused on forests and climate action.
• It was launched in 2008, in response to the growing recognition that deforestation and forest degradation are major contributors to global greenhouse gas emissions.
• The programme aims to assist developing countries in reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, and in conserving and enhancing forest carbon stocks.
• UN-REDD supports countries through technical assistance, policy guidance, capacity-building, and financial support.
• The programme is a joint collaboration between:
  • The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO),
  • The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and
  • The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
• As of now, 65 countries are partners in the UN-REDD Programme, including India.
• It is also the largest multilateral provider of REDD+ support globally, helping countries align with climate goals and forest sustainability.

What is REDD+?

• REDD+ stands for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation, and includes additional elements:
  • The conservation of forest carbon stocks,
  • The sustainable management of forests,
  • The enhancement of forest carbon stocks.
• The framework was formalized as part of the Warsaw Framework for REDD+ (WFR), adopted at COP 19 of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 2013.
• REDD+ is designed to offer results-based payments to developing countries that successfully reduce emissions by protecting or expanding their forests.
• It also emphasizes the need for transparency, robust monitoring, stakeholder engagement, and respect for the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities.

India’s Role and Initiatives

• India is a partner country in the UN-REDD programme and has developed its National REDD+ Strategy, launched in 2018.
• The strategy is aligned with India’s broader environmental and climate policies, such as the Green India Mission, which aims to:
  • Increase forest and tree cover,
  • Restore degraded ecosystems,
  • Enhance biodiversity and ecosystem services.
• India has also submitted its updated NDCs under the Paris Agreement, with a focus on nature-based solutions and sustainable land use, although forest-specific targets remain less detailed compared to best global practices.

Importance of Forests in Climate Action

• Forests are critical carbon sinks, absorbing large quantities of CO₂ from the atmosphere.
• Globally, forests store more carbon than the entire atmosphere and about 80% of all terrestrial biodiversity lives in forest ecosystems.
• Deforestation and land-use change account for approximately 11% of global greenhouse gas emissions, making them one of the biggest contributors after the energy sector.
• Preserving forests is not only crucial for climate mitigation but also for:
  • Water security,
  • Livelihoods of forest-dependent communities,
  • Biodiversity protection,
  • Disaster risk reduction.

Additional Global Context

• REDD+ also contributes to achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially:
  • SDG 13 – Climate Action,
  • SDG 15 – Life on Land,
  • SDG 1- No Poverty, through sustainable forest livelihoods.
• The UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021–2030) reinforces the urgency of restoring forest landscapes and integrating REDD+ strategies into national development.
• Despite growing momentum, the full potential of REDD+ remains underutilized due to:
  • Lack of political will,
  • Insufficient finance,
  • Weak enforcement of forest governance,
  • Incomplete integration in national climate strategies.