Countries participating in the REDD+ scheme are in the readiness phase, designing policy interventions to address drivers of deforestation and forest degradation (DD). In order for REDD + interventions to be effective, it is essential that they take into account the specific drivers that they aim to address. Moreover it is crucial to design systems that monitor the effectiveness of the planned interventions. In this article we provide a comprehensive and comparative assessment of interventions proposed by 43 REDD+ countries in 98 readiness documents. We summarize the types of interventions and assess if they are formulated referring to the drivers of DD that they are aiming to address. Based on this assessment we consider the implications for systems for monitoring effectiveness of proposed interventions. Most countries reviewed link proposed interventions to specific drivers of DD. The majority of the countries making this link have better driver data quality, in particularly those that present their data in ratio or ordinal terms. Proposed interventions focus not only on activities to reduce deforestation, but also on other forest related REDD+ activities such as sustainable forest management, which reduce forest degradation and enhance forest stocks. Moreover, driver-specific interventions often relate to drivers not only inside but also outside the forest sector. Hence we suggest that monitoring systems need to assess not only deforestation rates through remote sensing, but also degradation and other carbon stock changes within the forest, using more detailed ground level surveys and measurements. In addition, the performance of interventions outside the forest need to be monitored, even if the impacts of these cannot be linked to specific changes in forest carbon stock in specific locations.

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This paper analyzes potential synergies between two recent sustainable development initiatives, namely the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD?), a climate mitigation mechanism negotiated under the auspices of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The paper elaborates a conceptual framework based on institutional interactions and distinguishes core, complementary, and supplementary synergies that may be realized between the SDGs and REDD?. Potential synergies are analyzed at the global level, as well as within two national-level contexts: Indonesia, with its long-standing REDD? programme, and Myanmar, which is in the early stages of implementing REDD?. Both are now also engaging nationally with the SDG implementation process. Our research draws on literature review and document analysis, direct observations of global policy processes relating to REDD? and SDGs, as well as extensive engagement (of one author) 123Int Environ Agreements (2017) 17:589-606 DOI 10.1007 at national level in Indonesia and Myanmar. Our analysis reveals that there are currently significant opportunities to pursue synergies in the implementation of these international initiatives at the national level, although pro-active interaction management is necessary, especially to achieve complementary synergies.

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Viet Nam’s Central Highlands are a priority region for its National REDD+ Action Plan (NRAP) to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation but are under strong pressures from rubber and coffee production and expansion into forests, and future climate stress. This research explores to what extent REDD+ and sectoral policy interventions have addressed both the direct and underlying drivers of deforestation and forest degradation in this region, with particular focus on the actors and scales that policy interventions must reach to affect driver pressure. National-level policy responses to driver pressures are assessed, with the results indicating poor correlations between the direct drivers and related underlying drivers. The research proposes a framework to guide the policy design and evaluation of response options to enable identification of the causal connections between direct and underlying drivers, and consider future pressures, which actors to target (or not miss) and which scales are best suited for interventions (from international to national, sub-national and local). This is highly relevant for countries pursuing forest and land use sector solutions through Nationally Determined Contributions to the Paris Agreement and REDD+.

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Payments for ecosystem services schemes: project-level insights on benefits for ecosystems and the rural poor. ICRAF Working Paper No 172, Nairobi: World Agroforestry Centre http://dx.doi.org/10.5716/WP13001.PDF Titles in the Working Paper Series aim to disseminate interim results on agroforestry research and practices and stimulate feedback from the scientific community. Other publication series from the World Agroforestry Centre include Technical Manuals, Occasional Papers and the Trees for Change series.