Berau Forest Carbon Program - REDD+ Database

compensate concessionaires for set-asides or special management beyond legal compliance.Information for decision-makingThe program will address:1. Data generation: Gathering improved data on carbon stocks, land suitability for agriculture andforestry, High Conservation Value Forest mapping, opportunity costs of land uses, andmacro-economic impacts of large-scale forest carbon program.2. Data integration: Working with University of Queensland’s Spatial Ecology Laboratory to develop anoptimization tool for district decision-makers so they can easily see the trade-offs between differentland use decisions, as well as the return on investment from different strategies to reduce carbonemissions.3. Data use and sharing: Developing systems for ongoing data collection, protocols for sharing databetween and across levels of government, and processes for factoring appropriate data into decisions,such as allocation of oil palm permits.Actors’ roles and responsibilities (p. 5)The Nature ConservancyUSAIDProviders of technical,socioeconomic, and othercritical knowledge to theprogramREDD Working GroupAll stakeholder groupsTNC has played a significant role in the program design and development, but plans to play asmaller role in implementation, focusing on areas of expertise. TNC’s main roles during the designphase have been: (1) convening key parties, (2) supporting the Joint Working Group to design theprogram and (3) supporting negotiation of the overall program agreement.See the section ’Implementation activities’Many institutions are lending technical, socioeconomic, and other critical knowledge to the program,including: ICRAF (The World Agroforestry Center), Sekala, the World Resources Institute,Universitas Mulawarman, Winrock International, The University of Queensland, World Education.In April 2008, the Bupati of Berau created a REDD Working Group — which includes government,private sector, and civil society representatives — to explore opportunities for developing a REDDpilot program in Berau. The Berau REDD Working Group is now formally linked through a JointWorking Group with Ministry of Forestry representatives (p. 4).The Berau program will engage communities and people living in and near forest areas; privatesector investors and employees; government officials and agencies at all levels; and a range of civilsociety organizations through a variety of activities and governance mechanisms (p. 5).Community participation (p. 8-9)To have long-term success at protecting Berau’s forests while providing economic development for itspeople, it is critical to link communities more effectively to land use planning, management, andgovernance, while ensuring that the benefits of effective management are shared equitably. The BerauForest Carbon Program will build on site-level experiences, and work with a range of stakeholders tocreate a more systematic approach across Berau. These efforts will include:(1) Establishing governance structures and consultative mechanisms to include communities in overallprogram decisions;(2) Strengthening community institutions to facilitate effective participation;(3) Investing in alternative livelihoods programs in target areas to support low-carbon developmentstrategies.Project financingFunding in the order of $50 million over five years will be required for successful implementation of theprograms and strategies anticipated during the demonstration phase in Berau (p. 2).Given uncertainties about future forest carbon markets, the program is focused on attracting financialsupport for program design and institutional development that are critical foundations for any form of