Establishment of a Reference Level (FRL) for Forest Land and Development of a System for Monitoring, Reporting and Verifying (MRV) Carbon Emission Reductions from Forests for Fiji’s National REDD+ Programme (Fiji 2017 - 2019)

Establishment of a Reference Level (FRL) for Forest Land and Development of a System for Monitoring, Reporting and Verifying (MRV) Carbon Emission Reductions from Forests for Fiji’s National REDD+ Programme

Background and Objectives:

The Republic of Fiji has been actively engaged in the UNFCCC REDD+ process and advancing in its national REDD+ readiness process since 2009. As a part of National REDD+ Readiness Programme, the country is establishing a forest reference level (FRL), a national forest monitoring system (MFMS) and a functional national forest database in compliance with national and international requirements. The FRL and NFMS are two of the four Cancun Elements agreed at COP 16 of the UNFCCC in 2010 in Cancun that Fiji should have in place to obtain and receive result-based finance. The information that becomes available through the NFMS may be used to develop the REDD+ National Strategy or Action Plan. The Government of Fiji has commissioned the Department for World Forestry, University of Hamburg, Germany to accomplish the assignment. Besides, the assignment includes capacity building of relevant stakeholders in forest inventory, data analysis, and reporting and maintaining the database.

Besides the accomplishment of the assignment, the Department for World Forestry, through the project, aims at strengthening the capacity of Melanesian countries to implement their climate change mitigation actions, improving academic and research networks with institutions active in the similar policy issues in Asia-Pacific region and disseminating the results to the relevant stakeholders.

 Project Tasks:

1. Development of a forest reference level (FRL) for Fiji’s National REDD+ Programme;
2. Development of a national forest monitoring system (NFMS),  including monitoring, measuring, reporting and verifying (M&MRV) carbon emissions;
3. Implementation of a forest carbon (test) inventory;
4. Development of national forest database;
5. Preparation of a guidance document on linking for sub-national REDD+ MRV and FRL in the national MRV and FRL;
6. Preparation of standard operating procedures (SOP) for quality assurance and quality control;
7. Capacity building of relevant stakeholders involved in the Tasks mentioned above; and
8. Development of a long-term (post-consultancy) capacity development plan.

Project country:

• Republic of Fiji

Project client:

• Ministry of Fisheries and Forests for and on behalf of the Government of the Republic of Fiji

Project implementation:

• Department for World Forestry, Center for Wood Sciences, University of Hamburg, Germany

Project partners:

• INTEND Geionformatik GmbH, Kassel, Germany
• Fiji National University, Department of Environmental Science, College of Engineering, Science and Technology, Fiji
• Fiji National University, Department of Forestry, College of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Fiji
• Pacific Community – Geoscience Division (SPS-GSD), Suva, Fiji
• Remote Sensing Solutions GmbH, Baierbrunn, Germany
• University of Southern Queensland, Institute for Agriculture and Environment, Toowoomba Campus, Australia

Funding:

• Readiness Fund, Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF), The World Bank
• Government of the Republic of Fiji

Project status:

The contract of the assignment between the Ministry of Fisheries and Forests, Fiji and the University of Hamburg was established on the 7th day of April, 2017. The consultancy began on 18th April, 2017.

Project duration:

• April 2017 –  February 2019

Project team leader:

• Prof. Dr. Michael Köhl

Contact person:

• Dr. Prem Raj Neupane

Email: prem.raj.neupane@uni-hamburg.de