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Efeca Director Emily Fripp, in collaboration with CIFOR’s Cecilia Luttrell, explores in a CIFOR paper how lessons from Voluntary Partnership Agreements (VPAs) can inform effective benefit-sharing mechanisms under REDD+ initiatives.

In their joint paper, Emily Fripp and Cecilia Luttrell delve into the experiences garnered from Voluntary Partnership Agreements (VPAs) established under the Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) Action Plan. These agreements offer valuable insights into designing benefit-sharing mechanisms within the framework of REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) to enhance credibility and trust among stakeholders who stand to benefit from REDD+ initiatives.

The paper specifically focuses on three crucial aspects for designing effective REDD+ benefit-sharing mechanisms:

  1. Balance between State and Non-State Actors: Drawing from VPA experiences, the paper examines how the involvement of both governmental and non-governmental entities can contribute to the legitimacy and effectiveness of benefit-sharing institutions under REDD+. Achieving a balanced governance structure ensures equitable distribution and accountability in benefit distribution.
  2. Role of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in Monitoring: CSOs play a pivotal role in monitoring the implementation of benefit-sharing mechanisms. By leveraging lessons learned from VPAs, the paper underscores the importance of empowering and engaging CSOs in monitoring processes to foster transparency and ensure that benefits reach intended recipients.
  3. Design of Multi-Stakeholder Processes: Effective REDD+ benefit-sharing mechanisms require inclusive multi-stakeholder processes. The paper discusses lessons from VPAs on how to design and facilitate such processes to accommodate diverse perspectives, enhance decision-making transparency, and build consensus among stakeholders.

Emily Fripp and Cecilia Luttrell’s paper provides a comprehensive exploration of these key design aspects, offering practical insights and recommendations for policymakers, practitioners, and stakeholders involved in REDD+ initiatives globally.

For those interested in delving deeper into this topic, the full CIFOR paper can be accessed here. Explore more publications from CIFOR’s collection, click here.