Governance is key to reducing greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+). Through internationally agreed principles, safeguards and standards, a roadmap for progress towards the good governance required for successful REDD+ will be developed. Importantly, it will be owned by the countries concerned. A clear conflict of interest exists if governments monitor their own performance. A set of ten principles can be dervied from Independent Forest Monitoring (IFM), developed over a decade to address precisely this problem. All ten principles are essential for effective independent monitoring that provides credibility that the governance system is working, and apply equally to monitoring REDD+. While the scope of the monitoring for REDD+ differ; the principles and methodology remain the same.
Briefing Document / Feb. 2, 2012