REDD+ Finance: Counting the Investments

Many governments are supporting initiatives that are aiming to restore and conserve tropical forests under the REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation plus conservation) banner. Unfortunately, there is no comprehensive view of where all the invested money is going or what is done with it.

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Since at least five years, finance for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation plus conservation (REDD+) activities has been flowing. But there is still a lack of information about this money: Where did it come from? Where is it going and what is it spent on? The Forest Carbon Portal is reporting about several efforts to track REDD+ finance, though no two efforts seem to come up with the same numbers.

Two of the main efforts are the REDD+ Partnership’s Voluntary REDD+ Database and the Climate Funds Update. The Forest Carbon Portal is explaining the discrepancy between different analyses, clarifying the complexity of the financial movements and asking:

Who counts what as REDD+ finance?

Who’s open about REDD+ finance?

What do we know about private sector REDD+ finance?

Though individually working in their seperate spheres, these programs can help to reduce confusion to reveal a more accurate and comprehensive picture of the global state of REDD+ finance. Highlighting challenges in tracking REDD+ finance and the ways that initiatives are working might help with that.

 

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