Drawing on successful pilot REDD+ initiatives supported by the UN-REDD Programme and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in Nepal and Viet Nam, the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) have released a manual for facilitators to guide planners and stakeholders in the development of subnational plans for REDD+ action.

In countries with a wide range of forest ecosystems such as Nepal, subnational REDD+ planning is essential for operationalizing a REDD+ National Strategy. Based on participatory planning methodologies, local REDD+ action plans in Nepal are being developed following consultation to identify key challenges and solutions as well as use expert technical input to prepare intervention packages – a series of initiatives, actions and projects – that will address the challenges. 

In 2017, with the support of FAO and the UN-REDD Programme, ICIMOD prepared a REDD+ action plan for the district of Ilam in Nepal, building on the success of the first REDD+ action plan for the Chitwan district in 2014.  In Ilam, six intervention packages were developed, ranging from the use of alternative energy sources and more fuel-efficient technologies to the control and management of forest fires. Each intervention package not only identifies tasks, budgets and safeguards, but also how the package of activities will be monitored.

In conjunction, ICIMOD also developed five-year strategy plans for four agroforestry cooperative networks in Chitwan, one of the key intervention packages identified in the Chitwan REDD+ action plan. The networks include beekeeping, fruit and vegetable production; and agroforestry cooperatives.

The manual is already being used to inform the Sri Lankan national REDD+ strategy development and is now being applied for Mongolian aimag-level (province) planning.

First published on the UN-REDD Workspace.

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