27 March 2015 – Cambodia and Sri Lanka become the first of six pilot countries to launch their Community-based REDD+ (CBR+) initiatives after issuing calls for proposals for community grants in February.

Currently in its pilot phase, CBR+ is a partnership between the UN-REDD Programme and the GEF Small Grants Programme, directly delivering grants of up to US$ 50,000 to indigenous peoples and local communities. CBR+ aims to empower local-level stakeholders to fully engage in the design, implementation and monitoring of REDD+ readiness activities and to develop experiences, lessons, and recommendations at the local level that can feed into national REDD+ processes. The partnership is being piloted in six countries: Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Panama, Paraguay, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Nigeria.

By supporting the protection of forests and the empowerment of forest communities who live in and depend on them, CBR+ aims to contribute to the fulfilment of broader environmental and social goals, including biodiversity conservation, enhanced food security, improved rights and livelihoods for indigenous peoples and local communities and climate change adaptation.

The launch of CBR+ in Cambodia and Sri Lanka followed a series of stakeholder consultations which fed into the development of CBR+ country plans. These country plans, which are being developed in each pilot country, guide the selection of CBR+ projects and ensure that CBR+ activities align with national REDD+ readiness processes.

In Cambodia, three regional consultations were held in the Northern Plain and Dangrek Mountain, North-eastern and Coastal Zone and Cardamom Mountain regions, involving approximately 135 participants from local communities, NGOs and academia. Three community-level thematic consultations were also held to identify the specific needs and experiences of communities involved in community forestry, community fisheries and community protected areas. Each of the thematic consultations involved approximately 25 community members. Following the consultation process, a national-level validation workshop was held in Phnom Penh in December 2014 attended by 52 representatives of previously consulted stakeholder groups, as well as government officials, NGOs, indigenous peoples and the private sector.

In Sri Lanka, community-based consultations were carried out through two meetings held in the North-west – covering the districts of Mullaithivu, Vavuniya, Anuradhapura and Puttlam – while three meetings were held in the North-east, covering the districts of Pollonnaruwa and Ampara. A separate consultation was held with over 20 indigenous representatives in Dambana. These consultations helped to collate information on the experiences and needs of local communities, as well as their views on how they could contribute to the success of REDD+. A validation workshop was furthermore held in the Sri Lankan capital in January 2015.

Calls for proposals in the remaining four pilot countries are expected to be issued in the coming weeks.

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