Climate-L.org » ITTO

UNEP Releases World Atlas of Mangroves

Climate-L.org - IISDRS — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 14:46:38 +0000

14 June 2010: The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) World Conservation Monitoring Centre (WCMC) and partners have released the first global assessment of mangroves in over a decade: the World Atlas of Mangroves.

According to the Altas, studies estimate that mangroves generate between US$2000-9000 per hectare annually, considerably more than alternative uses such as aquaculture, agriculture or insensitive tourism. It also underscores the link between these coastal forests and economically-important services from flood defences and fish nurseries to carbon storage to combat climate change.

The assessment highlighted various uses and ecological niches of mangroves related to climate change including: the importance of mangroves as greenbelts and carbon sinks that protect coastal areas from natural disasters such as tsunamis, cyclones and erosion resulting from sea-level rise, especially in small island countries; and the storage of organic carbon in mangrove soils, thereby mitigating climate change. According to the Altas, preliminary estimates indicate that the total above-ground biomass for the world’s mangrove forests may be over 3700Tg of carbon, and that carbon sequestration directly into mangrove sediments is likely to be in the range of 14-17Tg of carbon per year.

UNEP-WCMC partners in the assessment include: the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO); the International Society of Mangrove Ecosystems; the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO); the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)-Man and Biosphere; the UN University (UNU) Institute for Water Environment and Health; and The Nature Conservancy. [UNEP Press Release]

Event: International Conference on Biodiversity Conservation in Transboundary Tropical Forests

Climate-L.org - IISDRS — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 14:47:15 +0000

This Conference is organized by the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO), in the framework of the International Year of Biodiversity in collaboration with the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and IUCN, with the support of the Government of Ecuador. Its results, conclusions and recommendations will be brought to the attention of participants at the CBD COP 10 that will be held in Nagoya, Japan, in October 2010. The objective of the Conference is to review the status and ways ahead for the conservation, management and financing of biodiversity in tropical transboundary conservation areas (TBCAs).

dates: 21-24 July 2010
location: Quito (Pichincha), Ecuador
contact: ITTO Secretariat
phone: +81 45 223 1110
fax: +81 45 223 1111
e-mail: rfm@itto.int
www: http://www.itto.int/en/workshop_detail/id=2245

Event: Expert consultation for development of guidelines to integrate climate change considerations into forest management plans

Climate-L.org - IISDRS — Wed, 19 May 2010 19:17:37 +0000

This meeting hosted by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) and the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO). The objective of the meeting is to provide guidance on the development of guidelines to help forest managers to analyze the potential for and to implement adaptation and mitigation actions in forest management plans. The meeting is a part of a larger effort to develop guidelines that will help forest managers decide how best to take adaptation measures; to capitalize on mitigation opportunities; and to anticipate secondary impacts of climate change on the forest.

dates: 21-23 June 2010
location: Thun (Bern), Switzerland
www: http://www.fao.org/climatechange/49362/en/

CBD Publishes April e-Newsletter on REDD+ and Biodiversity

Climate-L.org - IISDRS — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 14:06:28 +0000

22 April 2010: The Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) has published its ninth volume of the “REDD-plus & Biodiversity e-Newsletter.” Aiming to inform CBD national focal points and partners about biodiversity aspects related to reducing emission from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries, conservation, sustainable forest management and enhancement of forest carbon stocks (REDD+), this volume highlights a new collaboration between the CBD and the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO), and several projects and publications related to REDD+.

The e-Newsletter includes a call for abstracts for the International Conference on Biodiversity Conservation in Transboundary Tropical Forests, to be held in Quito, Ecuador, from 21-24 July 2010, including a call for papers exploring the potential of REDD+ for transboundary conservation. This conference will be the first joint activity under the newly signed Memorandum of Understanding between the CBD and ITTO. The e-Newsletter also includes a call for participation in a survey on national implementation risks for REDD-plus from the Max-Planck-Institute for Biogeochemistry.
Also highlighted in the e-Newsletter are: a forest restoration project in the Atlantic Forest of Brazil that has been validated under the Climate, Community and Biodiversity Standards (CCBS); and a REDD project in Madre de Dios in the Peruvian Amazon that has achieved Gold Level CCBS status. The e-Newsletter further includes reviews of three publications: “The Little Climate Finance Book” released by the Global Canopy Programme; “Protecting Community Rights over Traditional Knowledge: Implications of customary laws and practices” by the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED); and “The Challenges of Environmental Mainstreaming: Experiences of integrating environment into development institutions and decisions” also from IIED. [The Newsletter]

Event: International Conference on Biodiversity Conservation in Transboundary Tropical Forests

Climate-L.org - IISDRS — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 15:41:24 +0000

Organized under the framework of the International Year of Biodiversity and by the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO), the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), IUCN and others, this conference aims to review the status and way forward for the conservation, management and financing of biodiversity in transboundary tropical forests. Its results and recommendations will be submitted to the tenth session of the CBD’s Conference of the Parties (COP 10), to be held in Nagoya, Japan, in October 2010.

dates: 14-17 July 2010
location: Quito (Pichincha), Ecuador
www: http://www.cbd.int/forest/doc/Announcement-Quito-Conference-14-17-July-2010-en.pdf

ITTO, FAO Publish Brief on Forest Governance and Climate Change Mitigation

Climate-L.org - IISDRS — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 15:26:18 +0000

March 2010: The International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) have published a policy brief summarizing the main findings of five workshops that aimed to promote a multi-sectoral dialogue among countries on improving forest law compliance.
The brief highlights lessons learned from experiences on the ground and sets out the key elements of an approach to forest law compliance and governance that will ensure the optimal role of forests in mitigating climate change. The key messages that emerged from the five workshops, which were jointly funded and convened by ITTO and FAO in Southeast Asia, West Africa, Central Africa, the Amazon Basin and Mesoamerica between August 2006 and July 2008, include that: forest-related laws need to be harmonized with those in other sectors; and reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries (REDD) requires effective forest governance and clarifying rights to land, forests and carbon.
The policy brief highlights the causes of poor forest law compliance, including failings in the policy and legal frameworks, insufficient enforcement, lack of information, corruption, and market distortions. It also states that REDD initiatives should build on the lessons learned through forest law enforcement, governance and trade initiatives. [The Brief]

ITTO Newsletter Examines the Competitiveness of REDD and Oil Palm

Climate-L.org - IISDRS — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 15:22:44 +0000

1 February 2010: The latest issue of the International Tropical Timber Organization’s (ITTO) newsletter, Tropical Forest Update, includes an article that questions whether payments for reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries (REDD) can make natural forests competitive with oil palm plantations.
Palm oil plantations, while highly lucrative economically, have replaced large swaths of tropical rainforests in Southeast Asia. The authors, Lian Pin Koh and Rhett A. Butler, note that since REDD carbon credits are currently limited to voluntary markets, such as the Chicago Climate Exchange, they are unlikely to compete financially with oil palm on most types of land. The authors add that if REDD is recognized as a legitimate activity for reducing carbon emissions, REDD credits would be compensated at higher prices through either a UN-sanctioned market mechanism or a global fund, potentially making forest protection an economically competitive land-use option. [The Article]

Forest Day 3 Supports Including REDD in Copenhagen Outcome

Climate-L.org - IISDRS — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 17:01:25 +0000

13 December 2009: The third Forest Day event convened in Copenhagen, Denmark, on 13 December 2009. It took place in parallel with the UN Copenhagen Climate Change Conference, which convened from 7-18 December 2009, and was co-hosted by the Centre for International Forest Research (CIFOR), the Government of Denmark and the Collaborative Partnership on Forests (CPF), a partnership of forest-related international organizations formed in 2000 to enhance cooperation on forest issues.
The 1600 registered Forest Day 3 participants heard keynote statements from Elinor Ostrom, Indiana University, Rajendra Pachauri, Chair, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Gro Harlem Brundtland, UN Special Envoy on Climate Change, and Nicholas Stern, London School of Economics. Participants also convened in three subplenary sessions to discuss mitigation, adaptation and degradation, respectively, as well as eight learning events.
A summary statement from the event was developed based on participants’ responses to a series of questions posed to the subplenary sessions, and was presented to Yvo de Boer, Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC, during the closing plenary. The statement indicates that participants supported including “REDD+ (including conservation, sustainable forest management (SFM) and stock enhancement)” in the climate change agreement.
In his statement to Forest Day 3, de Boer called for capitalizing on the present historical moment, with 43,000 participants registered at the Conference of the Parties and 120 Heads of State and government currently scheduled to attend the high-level segment. He noted that, with the adoption of the Kyoto Protocol, attention to climate change shifted away from a broader agenda on sustainable development, biodiversity and food security, and added that the Bali Roadmap provides an opportunity to address other issues than industrialized country emission reduction targets. He suggested that, while politicians will focus on targets, finance and monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV), other relevant constituencies should ensure that attention is not diverted from the four building blocks, capacity building and REDD+ “when the spotlight shifts elsewhere.” He thus called on Forest Day 3 participants to contribute to ensuring the social and environmental integrity of the architecture of the Copenhagen outcome.[IISD RS Coverage][Forest Day 3 Website]

Event: ITTC 46

Climate-L.org - IISDRS — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 13:44:29 +0000

The 46th meeting of the International Tropical Timber Council (ITTC-46) will take place together with associated sessions of the four committees.

dates: 13-18 December 2010
location: Yokohama (Kanagawa), Japan
contact: ITTO
phone: 81-45-223-1110
fax: 81-45-223-1111
www: http://www.itto.or.jp

ITTC-45 Pledges US$575,000 to Thematic Programme on REDD and Environmental Services, Discusses UNFCCC Forest-Related Developments

Climate-L.org - IISDRS — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 15:55:49 +0000

16 November 2009: The 45th session of the International Tropical Timber Council (ITTC-45) and the associated sessions of its four Committees were held in Yokohama, Japan, from 9-14 November 2009.
During the session, donors pledged an additional US$575,000 to its Thematic Programme on reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD) and enhancing environmental services in tropical forests (REDDES), bringing the total pledge to this Thematic Programme to US$4.4 million since its pilot phase was initiated in 2008.
Also during the session, Jürgen Blaser, International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) consultant, reported on developments within the UNFCCC regarding REDD and their implications for tropical forests and tropical timber producers. He noted differences in terminology that have arisen, including ITTO’s use of “sustainable forest management,” as opposed to “sustainable management of forests” under the UNFCCC. He identified other key technical issues such as reference levels, additionality, monitoring, reporting and verification, leakage and permanence. He noted ITTO’s work on forest restoration, tropical timber production forests as carbon reservoirs, and the REDDES Thematic Programme. He called for strengthening ITTC’s capacity to participate in the UNFCCC process to ensure that its experience is included in discussions on REDD and for further developing REDDES.
In the ensuing comments, some countries cautioned against overlaps, duplications and conflicts between different instruments with regard to climate change. Brazil recommended limiting ITTO’s role to reporting on UNFCCC-related negotiations. The US emphasized that climate change negotiations do not affect the core work and relevance of the ITTO on slowing deforestation and furthering sustainable forest management. [IISD RS Coverage of ITTC-45][ITTO Press Release]