Fundamentals on REDD+

The REDD+ Academy is a coordinated REDD+ capacity development initiative led by the UN-REDD Programme and the UNEP Environmental Education and Training Unit, which seeks to match the scale of the global climate change mitigation challenge and enable systematic, focused capacity development to deliver REDD+ on the ground.

The development of the REDD+ Academy responds to needs expressed by UN-REDD Programme partner countries for a regionally focused education initiative for those involved in national REDD+ programmes.

Accordingly, the design of the REDD+ Academy is guided by the following principles:

To engage new REDD+ practitioners in key policy and economic sectors relevant for reducing deforestation and forest degradation;
To build on existing REDD+ capacity development initiatives;
To ensure the delivery of a long-term and sustainable learning experience;
To adopt a demand-driven, region specific approach to training tied to REDD+ implementation; and
To facilitate South-South cooperation.

The REDD+ e-Academy comprises two e-courses which aim to ensure the material developed for the REDD+ Academy is accessible to all. The two courses are Fundamentals on REDD+ and Advancing on REDD+. While the first course provides the basics for a good understanding of REDD+ principles, the second provides content for a deeper understanding of how countries can benefit from applying REDD+ at a national level. Overall, the two courses provide an overview of key REDD+ issues with the aim of empowering participants to contribute to a well-informed national REDD+ process.

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Target Audience

The REDD+ e-Academy aims to train REDD+ decision-makers in economic and policy areas - essential for the success of Results-based Actions – in sectors such as agriculture, energy, mining, finance and development planning. Other REDD+ stakeholders, such as civil society and academia, will also find useful information in the two courses.

The course on Fundamentals on REDD+ is directed at the above-mentioned individuals, who are at the beginning of their REDD+ journey and who do not have pre-existing knowledge of the principles of REDD+.

Learning Objectives

After completing the course Fundamentals on REDD+, participants will be able to:

Explain the role of deforestation and forest degradation in the process of climate change;
Define REDD+ aspects in the context of the UNFCCC;
Explain the importance of analysing and prioritizing direct and indirect drivers of deforestation and forest degradation;
Explain the relationship between policies and measures (PAMs) and the five REDD+ activities;
Describe the process of developing a National REDD+ Strategy or Action Plan;
Identify the variety of perceptions of REDD+ finance in each of the three REDD+ phases.