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UNEP-WCMC does not assert any intellectual property rights in the data made available to it by data providers.
Access to UNEP-WCMC datasets is provided on the understanding that you read and consent to be bound by the Terms and Conditions set out in the policies below.
Datasets, Tools & Reports
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Terms of Reference. Legal and policy frameworks analysis »
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Biodiversity monitoring for REDD+ »
UNEP-WCMC, with the financial support of the UN-REDD programme, wrote a paper on biodiversity monitoring for REDD+ published in the journal "Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability" as part of ongoing work on REDD+ safeguards. The paper observes the following three challenge to biodiversity monitoring for REDD: choosing which aspects of biodiversity to monitor, the difficulty of attributing particular changes to REDD+ and the likely scarcity of resources for biodiversity monitoring. It proposes three responses which may address these challenges: 1) agreed policy targets that identify what should be monitored; 2) making links to existing biodiversity monitoring and to monitoring to estimate GHG emissions and removals; and 3) developing clear theories of change to assist in determining which changes in biodiversity can be attributed to REDD+. The paper is available on the journal website here.
Resource Type: Tools / Applications -
UN-REDD Policy Brief: REDD+ Multiple Benefits »
On October 16, at the REDD+ Day of CBD COP 11 in Hyderabad, the UN-REDD programme launched a policy brief focusing on multiple benefits and safeguards under REDD+. The paper elaborated on the use of tools and data to support decisions, and presented examples from implementation in REDD+ countries.
REDD+ is increasingly considered to have the potential to contribute to a range of policy goals in addition to climate change mitigation in the forestry sector. It is also recognized that there are social and environmental risks that may arise as the REDD+ mechanism is being implemented.
What has been less widely acknowledged is that avoiding significant risks and securing additional benefits from REDD+ could be the key to the overall success of the mechanism. By securing benefits beyond carbon, REDD+ can draw support from broader social and political constituencies; demonstrate that it enables a wider range of values to be realized; and generates sustainable income sources.
For governments and other stakeholders to adopt a broader approach to REDD+, a strong evidence base is needed to demonstrate that additional benefits will indeed be achieved, and contributions to national and local priorities accomplished. The Policy Brief outlines a series of analytical approaches that can help provide an evidence base to inform REDD+ decisions. It focuses on addressing environmental risks and benefits, and provides examples from Panama, Nigeria, DRC and Indonesia of where these approaches are already used.The policy brief was drafted collaboratively with UNEP by UNEP-WCMC as part of their work for the UN-REDD Programme.
Resource Type: Tools / Applications -
Biodiversity Conservation: Challenges Beyond 2010 »
The continued growth of human populations and of per capita consumption have resulted in unsustainable exploitation of Earth’s biological diversity, exacerbated by climate change, ocean acidification, and other anthropogenic environmental impacts. We argue that effective conservation of biodiversity is essential for human survival and the maintenance of ecosystem processes. Despite some conservation successes (especially at local scales) and increasing public and government interest in living sustainably, biodiversity continues to decline. Moving beyond 2010, successful conservation approaches need to be reinforced and adequately financed. In addition, however, more radical changes are required that recognize biodiversity as a global public good, that integrate biodiversity conservation into policies and decision frameworks for resource production and consumption, and that focus on wider institutional and societal changes to enable more effective implementation of policy.
Resource Type: Journal Papers -
Carbon and biodiversity relationships in tropical forests »
This paper provides an overview of the current state of knowledge regarding relationships between carbon and biodiversity in tropical forests.
Resource Type: Reports -
Ecosystem services from new and restored forests: tool development »
This document provides a basis for estimating the probable impacts of different forest cover creation approaches on the ecosystem-derived benefits of biodiversity, water provision, soil conservation and non-timber forest products.
Resource Type: Reports -
Methods for assessing and monitoring change in the ecosystem-derived benefits of afforestation, reforestation and forest restoration »
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Multiple Benefits – Issues and Options for REDD »
This paper provides an overview of the issues surrounding and opportunities for achieving ‘multiple benefits’ from Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in developing countries (REDD). The UN‐REDD Programme understands the term ‘multiple benefits’ to include both the ecosystem and social benefits of REDD.
It is an output of the International Support Functions component of the UN‐REDD Programme, relating specifically to the development of output 3.2: ‘Tools to encourage the capture of ecosystem service co‐benefits developed’,focussing on the ecosystem aspects of multiple benefits.
Resource Type: Reports -
Getting ready for REDD+ in Tanzania: a case study of progress and challenges »
The establishment of the UN-REDD Programme in Tanzania illustrates real-world challenges in a developing country. These challenges are being addressed by combined donor support to implement a national forest inventory, remote sensing of forest cover, enhanced capacity for measuring, reporting and verification, and pilot projects to test REDD+ implementation linked to the existing Participatory Forest Management Programme.
Our conclusion is that even in a country with considerable donor support, progressive forest policies, laws and regulations, an extensive network of managed forests and increasingly developed locally-based forest management approaches, implementing REDD+ presents many challenges. These are being met by coordinated, genuine partnerships between government, non-government and community-based agencies.
Resource Type: Journal Papers -
UN-REDD in Tanzania. Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries (MSc Project) »
The conservation of world forests is an important measure in order to address the ever-worsening consequences of climate change. Tanzania has over 34 million hectares of forests and woodland habitats (more than 30% of the whole country). This report concludes that REDD strategies in Tanzania should be integrated with, and improve upon, current conservation strategies.
Resource Type: Reports
