REDD+ and Gender Policy Brief 1: Barriers and Entry Points for Women’s Inclusion in REDD+ in Asia-Pacific

Summary

At the sixteenth session of the Conference of the Parties (COP-16) meetings of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Cancun, 2010, it was agreed that, along with good governance, REDD+ safeguards - including transparency, full and effective participation of relevant stakeholders, biodiversity conservation and protection of the rights of local people - could help ensure that social and environmental risks (including the exacerbation of existing inequalities) are minimized and co-benefits through REDD+ activities are maximized. Paragraph 72 of the COP-16 outcome document, known as the “Cancun agreement”, also stated the need to address gender considerations when developing and implementing national strategies and action plans on REDD+.

On the basis of these arguments, USAID-funded Lowering Emissions in Asia’s Forests (USAID LEAF) Program, Women Organizing for Change in Agriculture and Natural Resource Management (WOCAN) and the United Nations Collaborative Programme on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in developing countries (UN-REDD) Programme launched a Joint Initiative in 2012 in response to the need to identify practical entry points for women’s inclusion in REDD+.