[GCF] Priming Financial and Land-Use Planning Instruments to Reduce Emissions from Deforestation
Reducing deforestation in Ecuador by investments to support sustainable agricultural production and conservation of forests.
The Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD) mechanism has been boosted by the Warsaw Framework on REDD+ under COP19. The decisions taken specified that countries would develop work programmes to address deforestation, and anticipated that applications for support in results-based financing could be made to the Green Climate Fund.
Deforestation levels in Ecuador amounted to 109,000 hectares per year between 2000 and 2009, with over 99% of deforested land being transformed into agricultural areas. Ecuador’s REDD+ Action Plan addressed the drivers of this deforestation, with the aim of achieving net zero deforestation by 2020.
GCF’s investment will co-finance the Action Plan. Targeted investment will control agricultural expansion into forest areas, whilst agricultural and livestock production practices will be implemented to reduce deforestation. Land-use zoning plans will be aligned with national climate change-related targets, and measures will be implemented to support restoration, conservation and sustainable production in vulnerable watersheds. The project will also ensure that financial instruments are aligned with the objectives of the action plan, by orienting public credit lines towards sustainable agricultural production practices, promoting tax incentives for REDD-supportive activities, and strengthening purchasing policies for deforestation-free commodities, their certification and traceability.
The project has an estimated lifespan of 5 years
