Strengthening Zimbabwe’s National REDD+ Strategy Development
Context
Zimbabwe has a diverse range of flora and fauna, with 45% of its land covered by dryland forests. These forests play a crucial role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement. The integration of forestry into Zimbabwe’s Nationally Determined Contribution highlights the critical role of forests in sequestering carbon and addressing climate change mitigation while increasing resilience.
Climate change and forest degradation have severely impacted the country, with challenges including lack of land use mapping information and data on land use changes, unclear land tenure issues, absence of a safeguard information system, lack of coordinated institutional arrangements in implementing forestry policies, and limited understanding of climate impacts on forestry systems and drivers of forest loss. These challenges hinder effective implementation of REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation and Enhancement of Carbon stocks).
Women and local forest user communities are particularly vulnerable due to gender inequality in land ownership and weak governance structures that limit their participation in sustainable forest management and benefit-sharing mechanisms. Existing governance frameworks often lack the capacity to accurately monitor, report, and verify emissions reductions, thereby restricting the ability of local communities to participate in sustainable REDD+ practices.
The technical assistance addresses barriers to REDD+ readiness through integrated, gender-responsive strategies. The initiative will consolidate previous studies on drivers of deforestation and forest degradation while developing a roadmap for Zimbabwe’s National REDD+ Strategy. Social safeguard systems and stakeholder engagement plans will ensure that adaptation plans address the needs of women and marginalized communities while strengthening institutional capacities for sustainable forest governance.
Goal
To enhance capacity and resources for implementing climate change mitigation actions that improve Zimbabwe’s REDD+ readiness and forest governance, and to ensure that necessary mechanisms are in place—including strengthening various forest-related laws and regulations to promote the sustainable management and utilisation of forest resources.
CAA Technical Assistance
The technical assistance will deliver:
- A comprehensive report outlining existing policy, legal, and institutional issues related to forest governance, consolidating outputs from national studies on key drivers of deforestation and forest degradation, conservation activities, sustainable forest management, and emissions reduction.
- A gender-responsive roadmap for the development of Zimbabwe’s National REDD+ Strategy, specifically addressing priorities of forest user communities and women, and designing mechanisms for community participation and benefit-sharing.
- A proposed social safeguards information system based on UNFCCC COP 16th Cancun Guidelines for REDD+, ensuring that knowledge and rights of local communities, particularly women, are appropriately captured and respected.
- A gender-responsive stakeholder engagement plan for the drafting of the REDD+ Strategy, promoting collaboration among stakeholders and integration of REDD+ initiatives into national and local policies.
