Nick Benitos Goll, II Environmental Safeguards Coordinator

1. The Status of REDD+ in Liberia: The REDD+ Strategy and SESA, a guide to facilitate REDD+ Implementation in Liberia Nick Benitos Goll, II Environmental Safeguards Coordinator Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)/LFSP SIS National Workshop Golden Gate Hotel, Paynesville, Liberia June 14, 2018

2. REDD+ : Global Perspective • The Concept of REDD+ (Reducing Emission from Deforestation and Forest Degradation, plus Conservation of forest, carbon stocks, Sustainable management of forests, Enhancement of forest carbon stocks) is evolving and kind of new to many forest rich countries around the globe . • Proposed 2005 by developing countries @ COP 11, Montreal RED (Deforestation) REDD (Degradation) REDD+ (Cons, SFM Carbon stock) Also, the idea of “safeguards” (social, environmental) is now firmly embedded, and the importance of non-carbon benefits is being underlined in official policy.

3. REDD+ : In Liberia • In 2009, Liberia submitted the R-PIN • The Government of Liberia received $3.6 million in 2012 from the World Bank’s Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF) to develop Liberia’s national plan for engaging in REDD+.  The Forest Development Authority (FDA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are the key government agencies involved in the program, which is offering Liberia a new opportunity to benefit financially from serving global conservation goals. • The first phase of Liberia’s REDD+ Readiness was successfully completed in November 2016. Liberia received additional funding in the tune of US$5 million from the FCPF for continuation and consequent completion of REDD+ Readiness Activities • With the support of the REDD+ Readiness Grant and also from Norway, Liberia is now moving towards achieving REDD+ Readiness and utilizing innovative approaches to protect its forests, including in order to contribute to its achievement of carbon reduction targets set out in the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC), under the UNFCCC and to enhance livelihoods of forest dependent communities.

4. REDD+ Programme Goal: • Promoting local livelihoods through sustainable forest management, biodiversity conservation; carbon emissions reduction and equitable benefit sharing. •  Objectives: • To implement a system that targets reduction of major drivers of deforestation and degradation in Liberia. • To work with local communities in improving forest management by introducing sustainable livelihood programs • To improve community’s stewardship of natural resources through capacity development initiatives. • To ensure benefits and co-benefits are accessed and distributed equitably to all affected parties under the program.

5. REDD+ in Liberia FDAis the designated national authority to implement REDD+ activities in collaboration with key partners: • Government institutions • Civil society, • Academia, • Private sector; • Local communities This is to help Liberia fulfill its obligations in the implementation of the Kyoto Protocol and the United Nations Framework Convention for Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the recent Paris Agreement of 2015.

6. Readiness Preparation Activities for REDD+

7. Brief Introduction to the SESA Process • The Strategic Environmental and Social Assessment (SESA) is used to integrate social and environmental considerations into a policy or program, in a manner consistent with applicable environmental laws and regulations and the WB’s environmental and social safeguard policies. • The SESA Process had 4 Steps: • Inception • Definition of the scope, scale and broad approach adopted during the process • July- August 2014 • National Validation Workshop • REDD+ Programme Goal: • Promoting local livelihoods through sustainable forest management, biodiversity conservation; carbon emissions reduction and equitable benefit sharing. •  Objectives: • To implement a system that targets reduction of major drivers of deforestation and degradation in Liberia. • To work with local communities in improving forest management by introducing sustainable livelihood programs • To improve community’s stewardship of natural resources through capacity development initiatives. • To ensure benefits and co-benefits are accessed and distributed equitably to all affected parties under the program.

8. SESA Process Con’d • Step 1: Situational Analysis • Identified range of E&S issues that the REDD+ intervention affected • Characterized by data collection, field case studies, Literature review of policy and legal documents • March to September 2015 • Step 2: Prioritization of Issues • Focused validation, then prioritization of ES identified in phase 1, with particular emphasis on the findings derived in the case studies • Workshops held in different communities • Regional workshops • ES priorities were validated at a workshop in Monrovia • Oct 2015 to Feb. 2016 • REDD+ Programme Goal: • Promoting local livelihoods through sustainable forest management, biodiversity conservation; carbon emissions reduction and equitable benefit sharing. •  Objectives: • To implement a system that targets reduction of major drivers of deforestation and degradation in Liberia. • To work with local communities in improving forest management by introducing sustainable livelihood programs • To improve community’s stewardship of natural resources through capacity development initiatives. • To ensure benefits and co-benefits are accessed and distributed equitably to all affected parties under the program.

9. SESA Process Con’d • Step 3: Assessment and Draft ESMF • The SESA outcomes derived from the primary issues were used as criteria • Step 4: Reporting • - Reports were generated documenting the SESA process and its outcomes • REDD+ Programme Goal: • Promoting local livelihoods through sustainable forest management, biodiversity conservation; carbon emissions reduction and equitable benefit sharing. •  Objectives: • To implement a system that targets reduction of major drivers of deforestation and degradation in Liberia. • To work with local communities in improving forest management by introducing sustainable livelihood programs • To improve community’s stewardship of natural resources through capacity development initiatives. • To ensure benefits and co-benefits are accessed and distributed equitably to all affected parties under the program.

10. SESA Process Flow Chart • REDD+ Programme Goal: • Promoting local livelihoods through sustainable forest management, biodiversity conservation; carbon emissions reduction and equitable benefit sharing. •  Objectives: • To implement a system that targets reduction of major drivers of deforestation and degradation in Liberia. • To work with local communities in improving forest management by introducing sustainable livelihood programs • To improve community’s stewardship of natural resources through capacity development initiatives. • To ensure benefits and co-benefits are accessed and distributed equitably to all affected parties under the program.

11. Key outputs of the SESA process • A list of proposed Strategy Adjustments.These relate to areas where, without modification, the strategy options could promote interventions that give rise to significant adverse environmental or social impact (or fail to harness available opportunities to enhance performance in these areas). • Institutional and legal measures.These measures focus on building institutional capacity for implementation, or address legal gapsthat exist in the current framework but are required to ensure the SESA outcomes are achieved. • Proposed Mitigation Measures. These are the most important measures to consider for the ESMF. These measures relate to performance areas where, without specific measures, interventions (or projects) implemented under the strategy could give rise to adverse impacts. However, these can be addressed through established measures (e.g., siting considerations, the development of ESMPs, pest management plans, etc.). An ESMF is required under WB4.01 for the REDD+ Strategy since implementation of the strategy will involve multiple sub-projects (interventions) for which the specific impacts and associated mitigation and management measures cannot yet be fully determined.

12. Relationship b/w ESMF and SESA • The Liberia REDD+ Strategy (produced as part of the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility Readiness Phase of the REDD+ process) establishes, under five different priority areas, a set of Strategy Options (SOs) through which the country will achieve a reduction in emissions from forest loss and degradation. The Strategy identifies a “Roadmap” to implement the Strategy. • The REDD+ Readiness Phase also requires that a Strategic Environmental and Social Assessment (SESA) be undertaken concurrently with the REDD+ Strategy development to inform its development. • An ESMF is required under WB4.01 for the REDD+ Strategy since implementation of the strategy will involve multiple sub-projects (interventions) for which the specific impacts and associated mitigation and management measures cannot yet be fully determined. The ESMF sets out the procedures to be followed for identifying, assessing, and managing the E&S impacts once such details are more fully defined. It ensures that both WB and Liberian processes with respect to environmental safeguarding (including the WB EA and Liberian EIA processes) are followed

13. Links with R-PP components Redress Mechanism Forest LC Mapping Reference Levels LC Map Land classes LU Options Analysis Comms Strategy REDD+ Strategy SESA Messaging REDD+ SO

14. National REDD+ Strategy • Was developed and approved in mid 2016, • Guided by Five Strategic priorities:

15. REDD+ Strategic Priorities and Strategy Options

16. Readiness Preparation Assessment REDD+ Readiness in Liberia is at an advanced stage: Liberia has submitted its R-Package to the FCPF and the Carbon Fund- this is consistent with the Reference Emissions Level Report (Aug 2017) The R-Package, prepared in accordance with FCPF requirements as per the R-Package Assessment Framework, is intended to provide an overview of a country's REDD+ Readiness Preparation process. The country’s R-Package needs to be endorsed by the FCPF Participants Committee (PC) before the Carbon Fund can consider an Emission Reductions Program Document (ERPD) The R-Package Assessment Framework was adopted at the 14th session of the FCPF PC, see Resolution PC/14/2013/1 and FMT Note 2013-1 rev, available on the FPCF website (www.forestcarbonpartnership.org)

17. Drivers of Deforestation and Degradation….*Land Uses • Palmoil is the third largest land use that is a cause of deforestation, based on the maximum area that is permitted for development by concession agreements. (Shifting Cultivation** and Forest Management Contracts) • The aim of REDD+ interventions is to alter this business-as-usual scenario so that the level of deforestation and forest degradation is reduced through other programs such as the VPA-FLEGT, LFSPetc

18. Implementing the REDD+ Strategy THE REDD+ ROADMAP • What routes does it provide? • How planned projects contribute • How to take forward additional measures • What the geographical scale for action is • What needs to be coordinated • the Institutional arrangements

19. Implementing Programs to impact REDD+ Outcomes

20. Geographical scale of actions

21. Linking the strategy to the ground REDD+ Strategy and Climate Change Policy implementation & revision Knowledge & evidence National Sub-national / Jurisdictional REDD+ County County/District LU Planning District Lesson learning Clan/Village REDD+ demonstration activities e.g. Wonegizi Pilot Project

22. Institutional arrangements Office of President National Climate Change Steering Committee Policy formulation and coordination National Climate Change Secretariat Project Financial Management Unit Ministry of Finance REDD+ Implementation Unit RIU leads implementation and monitoring REDD+ Technical Working Group Consultation and Advisory level FDA EPA National Multi-Stakeholder Monitoring Committee Ministry of Agriculture Land Authority LISGIS Ministry of Land, Mines & Energy Multi-agency regional task teams

23. Institutional arrangements National Climate Change Secretariat REDD+ Implementation Unit RIU leads implementation and monitoring REDD+ Technical Working Group Consultation and Advisory level SESA Working Group Environmental & Social Management Framework REDD+ Strategy Task Force Monitoring and review of REDD+ Strategy • Mandate with RTWG • Nominated members of RTWG to join Task Force • Responsible for: • Collecting/documenting comments and proposed changes to the REDD+ Strategy • Recommending to RTWG and RIU when to launch review of REDD+ Strategy • Monitoring outcomes and lessons from REDD-related projects (LFSP, VPA, Wonegizi) • Inputs to the Strategy : MRV, ESMF, PF, IDH landscapes

25. Lessons learned National Recovery-Post Ebola+ Economic crisis + Election seasons :Consultancies awarded under the current phase were slow to meet schedule delivery but fortunately, we ensured the tasks were completed. However, as we transition to election, priorities are now focus on country leadership and rebuilding the nation’s economy.Readjustment in sectorial priorities at subnational and national levels Continual National Technical Expertise deficits: inadequate technical expertise in key areas within the forest sector still exists. Post Ebola has seen mass exodus of technicians for better opportunities, thus resulting into deficits within the sector. The remaining stakeholders, while available, lack a rounded approach and input on key issues. This has impeded the level of stakeholders’ inputs to technical documents and issues in the forest and natural resource management sector. Information and data management: Liberia’s forest sector lacks infrastructure and human capacity for data storage and management. Efforts to manage and store data within the sector have been in an ad-hoc manner. Overtime, this has resulted to several reports and data being lost due to the challenge of data storage. Balancing stakeholders’ immediate expectation against project scope: REDD+ is a radical shift from ‘business-as-usual’ to a more transparent and participatory approach to forest governance and equitable benefit sharing of natural resources through community and stakeholders stewardship. Interpreting the concepts of ‘benefits’ and the processes for reaching “equitable-benefit-distribution” under the current REDD+ Readiness Phase has been a challenge for the FDA. FDA is improving its communication strategy to keep stakeholders informed and mange expectations. Strengthening Civil Society Organizations (CSO) and Development Partners and Private Sector Institutions participation and representation in REDD+ Implementation

26. Liberia Forest Sector Project PDO: Improved management of, and increased benefit-sharing in, targeted forest landscapes Project Components: Strengthened Regulatory and Institutional Arrangements for Implementation of REDD+ Strengthened Capacity for Management of Targeted Forest Landscapes Forest Monitoring Information System Project Management, Monitoring and Communication

27. 12 Component

28. 2 Component

29. 3 Component

30. 4 Component

31. REDD+ is Everyone's Business…together we can improve management of and increase benefit-sharing in targeted forest landscapes….. Thank You