The Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF) assists developing countries in their efforts to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation and foster conservation, sustainable management of forests, and enhancement of forest carbon stocks (all activities commonly referred to as "REDD+") by providing value to standing forests through the FCPF Readiness Fund and Carbon Fund.

Feature Stories

Carbon Fund Extended to 2025; Nine More Early Ideas Presented

At the 12^th Meeting of the Carbon Fund in Paris, Carbon Fund Participants approved an extension of the Fund to December 31, 2025. (The extension is pending approval by the World Bank Board of Executive Directors.) Nine additional countries (Argentina, Cameroon, Cote d'Ivoire, Dominican Republic, Fiji, Guyana, Lao PDR, Mozambique and Nicaragua) presented Early Ideas to the Carbon Fund. These nine countries, plus Madagascar who presented an Early Idea at a previous meeting, as well as any country that has already signed a Readiness Grant Agreement under the FCPF Readiness Fund, are eligible to present ER-PINs at CF13. Read more

DRC Readiness Package Endorsed by Participants Committee

At the 19^th Meeting of the Participants Committee, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) was the first country to present and have its Readiness Package endorsed by the Participants Committee. The R-Package provides a snapshot of readiness progress relative to a country's circumstances, recognizing that capacity continues to be built beyond the R-Package milestone. The core of the assessment process is a thorough self-assessment by multiple REDD Country stakeholders. The Participants Committee also allocated additional funds of US$5 million each to support the readiness processes of Mexico, Republic of Congo and Vietnam, who presented their mid-term progress reports on their national REDD+ readiness processes. Read more

Actions speak louder than words: Opportunities abound for forests in combating climate change

In a blog post Ellysar Baroudy, FCPF Coordinator, shares reflections on the developments at the FCPF Carbon Fund and Participants Committee meetings and the potential of REDD+ to combat climate change and promote shared prosperity. Read more

Fast Facts

	$129.2 million in Readiness grants signed, $61 million disbursed to countries as of June 2015.

	To date 9 countries in the Readiness Fund have reached the mid-term of their Readiness Grant.

	There is potential to expand the pipeline of the Carbon Fund beyond the current 11 Emission Reduction Program Idea Notes (ER-PINs), with 10 more countries now having presenting Early Ideas to the Carbon Fund.

FAQs on ERPA General Conditions now available

A collection of Frequently Asked Questions related to the ERPA General Conditions is now available on the FCPF website. The General Conditions are the legal underpinning of large-scale carbon transactions. They provide for general rules for the sale of and payment for Emission Reductions to be generated and verified under an Emission Reductions Program. Read more

FCPF Launches Decision Support Toolbox and Training Materials

In May the FCPF introduced a new online Decision Support Toolbox and online training materials to support FCPF countries as they consider key design and technical components of their national or subnational REDD+ programs. The Toolbox and Training Materials are readily available from the FCPF website. More detailed information is highlighted below. Access the Toolbox and Training Materials...

Forest Governance Assessment Report for REDD+ Implementation in Lao PDR

In May the FCPF and PROFOR published a report on the participatory forest governance diagnostic exercise using the PROFOR forest governance tool on REDD+ implementation in Lao PDR. Read the report

Spotlight on the New FCPF REDD+ Decision Support Toolbox and Training Material

The FCPF REDD+ Decision Support Toolbox is a new internet-based, interactive and data-driven decision support tool to help countries build their REDD+ programs. Users can explore options to develop a forest reference emission level and a forest monitoring system, both of which are essential to measure, report and verify the impact of REDD+ interventions. The toolbox can be used by FCPF countries as they consider key design and technical components of their national or subnational REDD+ programs. While the REDD+ Decision Support Toolbox facilitates decision-making, a comprehensive set of training material produced jointly with the Global Observation of Forest and Land Cover Dynamics (GOFC-GOLD) initiative provides complementary technical guidance.

Watch an introductory video to learn more about the FCPF REDD+ Decision Support Toolbox and the Global Observation of Forest and Land Cover Dynamics (GOFC-GOLD) training material.

Voices from the FCPF

Victor Kabengele wa Kadilu, National REDD+ Coordinator, Democratic Republic of Congo, on the endorsement of DRC's Readiness Package:

" The success of the DRC Readiness Package is the result of a vision and a high level political commitment spanning nearly 10 years. The DRC is now entered fully into the phases of investments and results-based payments."

Images from the FCPF

Click the links for some photo impressions from the 12^th Carbon Fund Meeting and the 19^th Participants Committee Meeting.

Events & Deadlines

Aug 15, 2015 Submission deadline for FCPF Country Progress Reports

Sep 4, 2015 Submission deadline for MTRs for PC20

Sep 4, 2015 Submission deadline for R-Packages for PC20

Sep 11, 2015 Submission deadline for ER-PINs for CF13

Sep 18, 2015 ER-PINs for review at CF13 available on website

Sep 18, 2015 MTRs for review at PC20 available on website

Oct 2, 2015 R-Packages for review at PC20 available on website

Week of Oct 12, 2015 (TBC) 13^th Carbon Fund Meeting (CF13), Europe

Week of Nov 2, 2015 (TBC) 8^th Participants Assembly/20^th Participants Committee Meeting

Please submit suggestions for your stories and other feedback on the newsletter. This newsletter is issued every 2-3 months. For more information about FCPF please visit: www.forestcarbonpartnership.org.
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