UN-REDD MONGOLIA NATIONAL PROGRAM
Terms of Reference
ESTABLISHMENT OF CIVIL SOCIETY AND LOCAL COMMUNITY FORUM FOR REDD+
“Forrest-Sustainable Development Council”
1.0 Background
As a signatory to both the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC, in 1992) and the Kyoto Protocol (1997), Mongolia is fully aware of the causes and potential impacts of climate change. Mongolia is therefore striving to reduce its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions while maintaining its path of economic development.
The Conference of the Parties (COP) to the UNFCCC has taken a number of decisions to encourage developing country Parties to take climate change mitigation actions related to the forestry sector. These measures relate to ‘policy approaches and positive incentives on issues relating to reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries, and the role of conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forest carbon stocks in developing countries’, known as “REDD+”.
The Government of Mongolia has recently committed to a green development path, notably through the creation of the Ministry of Environment, Green Development and Tourism (MEGDT), and the preparation and approval of the Green Development Policy and Mid-Term Programme. REDD+ has the potential to contribute to green development by protecting global environmental resources (forest carbon stocks and biodiversity), helping to reverse land degradation, promoting the improvement of rural livelihoods and aiding adaptation to climate change.
To support this effort, the UN-REDD Mongolia National Programme was established to provide technical assistance to the Government of Mongolia in designing and implementing its National REDD+ Strategy and in meeting the requirements under the UNFCCC Warsaw Framework to receive REDD+ results-based payments. The Mongolia National Programme will support the development of four key components requited for REDD+:
- National REDD+ Strategy
- Forest Reference Level
- National Forest Monitoring System
- Safeguard Information System
The National REDD+ Strategy will enable the Government of Mongolia to formulate a strategic plan which will aim at maintaining and enhancing forest stocks, implementing sustainable forest management and reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation. The strategy will enhance national forest monitoring systems and the countries international reporting in greenhouse gas emissions, it improves stakeholder participation in policy making and ensures that social and environmental safeguards are formulated. In Mongolia, the maintenance and protection of forest stocks is vital towards supporting Green Development Strategy and Sustainable Development Visions, and in supporting the country towards reporting its Sustainable Development Goals. As part of the REDD+ readiness phase whereby a National Strategy will be developed, it is important to ensure that consultation and participatory mechanisms are in place, which incorporates feedback and issues from civil society which should be clearly articulated and mainstreamed to the draft REDD policies and the national REDD+ strategy.
2.0 Objectives
In order to facilitate this social inclusion in the policy development process a Civil Society Forum will be established which will contribute towards the inclusion and participation of civil society feedback and concerns.
The MET together with the UN-REDD Mongolia National Programme seek to establish a CSO forum with its members drawn from governance, social & environmental non-government organizations, and from local community to:
- Propose a framework to assist civil society stakeholders to self-identify their representation and establish a CSO Forum, and to coordinate it with existing forums in the related field; and
- Establish appropriate link between the CSO Forum, PEB, PMU, and Technical Working Groups.