In an increasingly changing climate, the National Action Programme on reducing deforestation, forest degradation, sustainable management of forest resources, conservation and enhancement of forest carbon stocks (NRAP) is among the most critical strategy Viet Nam has developed to implement its commitments towards the Paris Agreement on climate change, ratified in December 2016. The NRAP will address key drivers of deforestation and forest degradation at national and local levels, as well as regional displacements. The aim is to increase forest cover and forest quality, thereby contributing to a sustainable economic and social development.
Engagement of key stakeholders, including civil society organisations (CSO) in NRAP implementation is crucial. CSOs can play a diversity of roles, from planning for implementation to monitoring to evaluation. These roles were also recognized and agreed during the 4th Executive Group meeting of the UN-REDD Viet Nam Phase II Programme in early December 2016, attended by high-level officials representing Gov. of Viet Nam, Gov. of Norway and the three participating UN agencies (FAO, UNDP and UNEP).
In response to this recognition, VNGO-FLEGT, a network of more than 50 VNGOs working on law enforcement, forest governance and timber trading chaired by Ms Vu Thi Bich Hop, and the UN-REDD Programme are extending its collaboration to organize a one-day workshop on "Strengthening the roles of CSOs in REDD+ process in Viet Nam" on 16 February 2017. The workshop is designed for CSOs to identify and define their roles further, including joint areas for effective collaboration, in addition to sharing updates about the progress of REDD+ at national and provincial levels.
As planned, 26 CSOs from national level and 4 provinces: Lam Dong, Ha Tinh, Bac Kan and Lao Cai have actively participated in the workshop. The key output of the workshop is a plan of relevant actions for 2017 is agreed and committed for implementation by the CSOs network and UN-REDD Programme Viet Nam Phase II.
"This is a very important event for our VNGO-FLEGT network as it helps building capacity for CSOs members to be actively and effectively engaged in REDD+" said Ms Hop.
Written by UN-REDD Vietnam, workshop's co-organizer
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