Dr. Rosalind Reeve, Head of the Forest Team at Global Witness, has been selected from ten candidates to represent civil society on the UN-REDD Policy Board. The UN-REDD Programme is currently assisting nine countries to prepare for the implementation of REDD - reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation in developing countries, envisaged as a key component of the post-Kyoto climate agreement currently being negotiated. As the developed countries representative, Global Witness will put forward the concerns of civil society organisations to the Policy Board.
The Programme aims to help countries identify ways to address their specific drivers of deforestation; develop methods and tools for measuring and monitoring greenhouse gas emissions; facilitate the participation of national stakeholders; and access financial and technical assistance. Participating countries include the Democratic Republic of Congo, Panama and Papua New Guinea.
Global Witness has been actively lobbying at the UN climate negotiations, the World Bank's Forest Carbon Partnership Facility, and UN-REDD for improved civil society participation and consultation and the inclusion of monitoring and safeguards around social, environmental, and governance issues in REDD.
Dr. Reeve welcomed the announcement stating, ‘We look forward to the opportunity of ensuring the voices of the global civil society community are heard in the UN-REDD process and would like to thank all those that voted for us.'
Global Witness will bring to the table over ten years' experience representing civil society organisations in other schemes such as the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) and the Kimberley Process along with its work with northern and southern civil society partners on illegal logging and forest governance.
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Contact: Amy Barry +44 (0)7980 664397