Based on PNG’s Vision on REDD+, and the guidance of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the approaches of REDD+ in Papua New Guinea will be based on the five approaches for decisions to be actioned.
a) support a transformational change in the way that the country approaches economic and land use development to enable PNG to achieve a low emission, green development pathway.
b) support sector agencies, communities and landholders to take actions in line with the policies and measures described within the strategy through support based on non-carbon indicators of improved forest management.
c) be in line with the guidance of the UNFCCC.
d) initially focus on reporting emissions and removals related to three of the five REDD+ Activities, namely; (1) reducing emissions from deforestation, (2) reducing emissions from forest degradation and (3) the enhancement of forest carbon stocks.
e) require any projects targeting the voluntary carbon market to follow guidelines linked to the national REDD+ development process and UNFCCC guidance.
The actions identified within the NRS are structured in two components:
This component addresses the specific actions (policies and measures) that will be undertaken to achieve emission reductions. It is divided into three action areas that are intended to provide a comprehensive and interlinked approach to addressing the direct and indirect drivers of forest cover change. Within each of these areas there are a series of proposed policies and measures that will be led by key sector agencies.
To achieve PNG’s emissions reduction targets and to safeguard the future of one of the country’s most important strategic assets PNG must reduce the impact of the primary direct and indirect drivers of forest cover change. This will require action that cuts across government sectors and stakeholder groups and is undertaken at every level from the national to provincial, district, local and ward levels. These actions must not stop the processes of economic and social development but ensure that the country’s forests are utilized in ways that are in line with the principles of responsible and sustainable development and that deliver the maximum long-term benefits to the people of PNG. The range of policies and measures that will be needed have been grouped within three main REDD+ Action Areas that will address the direct and underlying drivers of forest cover change namely:
This component addresses the institutional and technical elements required to measure, report, and provide information to the UNFCCC in order to access and subsequently manage results-based payments. It is divided by the four core elements of REDD+, coordination of the National REDD+ Strategy, the Forest Reference Level, the National Forest Monitoring System, and the Safeguards Information System.