“Climate change is one of the greatest social and economic challenges of our time. It is a global problem requiring a global solution. Australia must play its part in reaching that global solution through our actions at home and abroad.” Senator Penny Wong, Australian Minister for Climate Change and Water.

The Howard Government of Australia was among the first to commit significant financial support to the development of reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD). The Rudd Administration, which took office immediately before the Bali COP in December 2007, has followed through with this commitment and in May 2008 announced a AUD 3 million grant to CIFOR for REDD-related research.

In collaboration with a range of partners in Indonesia and elsewhere, CIFOR’s project, REDD: Research to Support Design and Implantation for Effectiveness, will assess the relative effectiveness, efficiency and equity of alternative approaches to REDD.

The grant was announced on May 26 by Australia’s Minister for Climate Change and Water, Senator Penny Wong and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Stephen Smith. The funds are part of the Rudd Government’s International Forest Carbon Initiative.

“Climate change is one of the greatest social and economic challenges of our time,” said Senator Wong. “It is a global problem requiring a global solution. Australia must play its part in reaching that global solution through our actions at home and abroad.”

“The Rudd Labour Government has delivered 2.3 billion dollars over the four years of this budget to help individuals, communities and businesses meet the challenges of climate change as we work in partnership with other nations to develop cooperative, global solutions.”

“In Bali, the international community agreed that demonstration activities were needed to show that activities to reduce deforestation could be effective, long-lasting, support local economies, and reduce greenhouse emissions,” added Senator Wong.

The research undertaken by CIFOR will seek to identify: cost efficient methods for determining REDD baselines and for monitoring changes in carbon stocks; improved policies, institutional arrangements and reward mechanisms for cost-efficient and pro-poor REDD schemes at the national level; and appropriate REDD architecture at the global level, taking into consideration the barriers to adoption by key forest nations such as Indonesia.

“There’s a lot of expectation surrounding the potential of REDD to mitigate climate change,” said Frances Seymour, CIFOR’s Director General. “And while the international community must move quickly on these issues, our priority at CIFOR is to ensure that we get it right.”

“In the near term, research findings can inform the design, selection, and implementation of demonstration activities, while further research will be used to develop recommendations for policy and institutional design and implementation, including consistent policies linking local contexts to national and global regimes.”

“The Australian Government has been a strong supporter of CIFOR dating back to CIFOR’s establishment, and we look forward to a long and fruitful collaboration in tackling crucial issues such as climate change,” added Seymour.

The International Forest Carbon Initiative builds on Australia’s existing commitments to reducing deforestation and has a particular focus on countries in the region including Indonesia and Papua New Guinea.

CIFOR will carry out this research in collaboration with a range of partners, including the Indonesian Ministry of Forestry, Australia’s Department of Environment and Water Resources, the Australian Greenhouse Office, the Australian National University (ANU).

Story by Widya Prajanthi, CIFOR