Moving Towards Results-based Payments to Reduce Deforestation and Restore Native Forests
Since 2017, the UN-REDD Programme has supported Chile in implementing measures to reduce deforestation and forest degradation, increase the country’s carbon sinks and help the country move towards result-based payments, to support forest owners in rural communities who want to maintain and restore their native forests.
One area of focus has been to strengthen the country’s forest monitoring and reporting system, and to implement the new forest management models included in the National Strategy for Climate Change and Vegetation Resources (ENCCRV). This has been done through a series of pilot projects and studies related to the restoration and recovery of two important types of forests: the Araucaria forests located in los Lagos, de los Rios, Araucania, Bío Bío and Maule regions; as well as the Patagonian forests in Magallanes Region. In addition, Chile has made important advancements in establishing reference levels for these regions. By 2020, they expect to have reference levels for the entire country.
As part of the country’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), Chile’s two forest-related goals require a change in legislation in order to move ahead with promoting forest restoration and sustainable management of native forests. The country is currently working to pass these laws before the upcoming COP25 conference in Chile.
If they have degraded forests, our goal is to get them to use silvicultural practices to promote regeneration
Jose Antonio Prado
“The idea is to interest landowners in managing forests,” says Jose Antonio Prado, head of the climate change unit for the Chilean Forest Commission (CONAF). “If they have degraded forests, our goal is to get them to use silvicultural practices to promote regeneration. But so far, the incentive from the state is too low, so people are not interested. Now, we are hoping to pass new legislation with more attractive incentives to forest owners so they will be more interested in managing the native forests in a sustainable manner.”
Chile is one of few countries to have completed its REDD+ technical annex, one of the REDD+ requirements for accessing results-based payments. If the results comply with the CoP decisions, the country will be eligible for results-based payments from the GCF. Chile has presented a concept note to the GCF as the first step of the approval process. “These payments will be fundamental to continue with the implementation of our national climate change strategy,” explains Prado. “It will allow us to mobilize resources towards activities that mitigate climate change such as sustainable forest management, recovery of degraded forests, restoration and the generation of new carbon stocks through planting native species.”
Most activities so far with the UN-REDD Programme have been pilot projects. With results-based payments, we will start
Jose Antonio Prado
generating benefits to forest communities across the country.
According to Prado, the benefits will be oriented towards rural communities, indigenous communities and vulnerable people in rural areas. “Most activities so far with the UN-REDD Programme have been pilot projects,” he says. “With results-based payments, we will start
generating benefits to forest communities across the country.”