Governance and REDD Governance failures An illness Governance

Governance and REDD

Governance failures An illness

Governance failures n Weak institutions n Inconsistent & complicated laws n Poor forest law enforcement n Corruption n Lack of transparency – problems with land tenure and regulation

Governance in 37 REDD Countries n 80% of REDD readiness countries selected by FCPF & UN-REDD rank in bottom half of World Bank survey of governance in 212 countries (indicators on "control of corruption" and "voice and accountability“) n Nearly 30% are in the lowest quarter

REDD Countries

Demand Another illness Linked to governance

The link Poor governance + excessive demand = Illegal and unsustainable timber trade

Imports of illegal timber rising Trends in imports of illegal timber to the USA & EU from selected countries 1998 - 2006

World supply of Illegal Timber exports (2007) (includes pulp and paper) Western Russia Eastern Russia China Indo. China West Africa Congo Basin Malaysia East Africa Indonesia PNG & SI SI Other South America Estimated roundwood equivalent volume of Illegal Timber directly proportional to area of disc 5 million m 3 RWE 1 million m 3 RWE Source: based on importing country declarations adjusted for legality as assessed in http: //www. globaltimber. org. uk/Illegal. Timber. Percentages. doc Brazil

Estimated proportion of illegal timber exports from REDD candidate countries in 2007. Ghana Cameroon DRC Gabon Vietnam Laos Guyana Malaysia Tanzania Indonesia Papua New Guinea Indonesia PNG & SI Colombia Peru Rep. of Congo Illegal Legal Bolivia Paraguay Source: based on estimates from http: //www. globaltimber. org. uk/Illegal. Timber. Percentages. doc except Colombia (World Bank estimate).

Lost revenues n Lost revenues from trade in illegally harvested timber are in the range of US$11 billion a year

What are the solutions? Demand-side n Strong, uniform and coherent demandside measures – US Lacey Act – EU FLEGT – voluntary partnerships

Solutions - governance n Incentivise n Enhance good governance transparency n Strengthen law enforcement

Role of Civil Society n Watchdog – in an official or unofficial capacity n Engage in independent monitoring and verification n Enhance transparency and accountability in forest sector

How? What Global Witness is doing and how it is relevant to REDD www. globalwitness. org

Watchdog n Expose – illegal and unsustainable trade – corruption n Through – investigation on the ground

Transparency and Accountability n Independent n Governance project Forest Monitoring and Transparency Fund

IFM Independent Forest Monitoring n Monitors years n Bridges governance – established over 10 gap between State and CS in regulation and enforcement

Monitor’s functions n Based on contract between forest authority and IM organisation incorporating minimum standards n Monitors in: observes performance of officials – Detecting – reporting and – suppressing illegal activity

In the forest

And in the office

Reporting n Regular reports go to Reporting Panel – peer reviews conclusions and recommendations n Freedom to publish – Cannot change evidence base

Where has GW established IFM? n Cambodia n Cameroon n Honduras n Nicaragua

Benefits of IFM n Enhance transparency n Increase quality and quantity of information on the forest sector e. g. Cameroon published lists of infractors & legal cases n Improved law enforcement n Increase in revenue

Cost of IFM n Can pay for itself n US$3. 5 million is enough to fund an international provider of IFM in Cameroon for seven years n IFM led to an increase in revenue. Fines of US$2, 600 - US$3. 5 million were brought by the forest authority against individual infractors

Governance and Transparency Fund n Building civil society capacity in developing countries to enhance transparency in forest sector n 8 pilot countries, ₤ 3. 7 million over 4 years – Identify partner NGO and provide grants – Develop forest transparency report cards – Build capacity so CSOs can undertake IFM and advocacy themselves

Relevance to REDD n IFM could be adapted for use in independent national monitoring and verification in REDD n Transparency report cards could be used to assess progress with governance

ECA Policy recommendations on Governance n REDD funding must be linked to governance performance – law reform & enforcement – land tenure clarification n Independent national monitoring and verification is essential n Multi-stakeholder national REDD groups must include representatives of IPs, local communities and CSOs

Final recommendation Good fiscal governance or REDD funds will go the way of logging revenues