Nairobi, 25 November 2015 - The UN-REDD Programme unveiled two new tools today that will help to build the capacity of policymakers, practitioners and communities on the frontlines of the battle against deforestation, providing them with knowledge and skills to promote the implementation of national REDD+ activities.
The REDD+ Academy e-course and the Learning Journals are the latest additions to the toolset of the REDD+ Academy, which was launched last year to enable systematic, focused capacity development to implement REDD+ on the ground. Since then, the Academy has trained over 500 people from 49 UN-REDD partner countries through three regional events in Asia Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Africa, as well as successive national training sessions.
Achim Steiner, United Nations Environment Programme Executive Director said in a video statement launching the online academy, "UNEP has designed the REDD+ e-Academy together with the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) to create a broad knowledge base for REDD+, which is the largest concerted, global effort ever undertaken to save the world's remaining forests. The REDD+ Academy is a comprehensive response to capacity-building needs identified by countries receiving support from the UN-REDD Programme."
Tim Christophersen of the UN-REDD Programme and Senior Programme Officer, Forests and Climate Change, UNEP, said, "The main goal of the REDD+ Academy is to broaden the knowledge base and the base for implementation of REDD+. In each of our partner countries we want to enable people in key economic and policy sectors to become REDD+ champions."
The REDD+ Academy Learning Journals
The first edition of the REDD+ Academy Learning Journals was developed by the UN-REDD Programme to support a continued learning process beyond the regular Academy sessions. Addressing the twelve key topics of REDD+, the Journals are a coherent source of basic information, detailed case studies and practical exercises designed to build capacity for REDD+ practitioners worldwide.
The Journals walk learners through the landscape of REDD+, from the carbon cycle and drivers of deforestation to financing approaches and stakeholder engagement. They also explore technical issues, such as the establishment of national forest monitoring systems and processes to address REDD+ safeguards.
Designed to be used as a complete course or as individual modules, the Journals are a comprehensive and flexible learning tool, easily adjustable to individual needs of REDD+ practitioners.
The Journals are available online in English, French and Spanish on the UN-REDD workspace.
The REDD+ Academy e-course
In order to extend the reach of the REDD+ Academy and grant access to high quality training on REDD+ to an unlimited number of participants, the UN-REDD Programme, with support from theUN CC:LearnSecretariat, has launched the first online version of the REDD+ Academy.
The REDD+ Academy e-modules provide the requisite knowledge for a better understanding of REDD+ components, planning and implementation, as well as tools to promote the implementation of national REDD+ activities on a national level.
Based on learning materials developed for the face-to-face REDD+ Academy sessions, as well as input from Academy participants, the REDD+ Academy e-course is a self-paced e-learning course open to all, free of charge and available on theUN CC:e-Learn platform. Access the course here.
NOTES TO EDITORS
To learn more about the REDD+ Academy and to download all the related materials and access the REDD+ Academy e-course, visit the UN-REDD workspace, here.
About the UN-REDD Programme
The UN-REDD Programme is the United Nations Collaborative Programme on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) in Developing Countries. The Programme was launched in 2008 and builds on the convening role and technical expertise of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The UN-REDD Programme supports nationally-led REDD+ processes and promotes the informed and meaningful involvement of all stakeholders, including indigenous peoples and other forest dependent communities, in national and international REDD+ implementation.
About the REDD+ Academy
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, fo¬cused capacity development to deliver REDD+ on the ground.
The REDD+ Academy is a comprehensive response to capacity building needs identified by the countries receiving support from the UN-REDD Programme. The main aim of the REDD+ Academy is to empower po-tential REDD+ champions with the requisite knowledge and skills to promote the implementation of national REDD+ activities.
It consists of twelve modules: Forests, Carbon Sequestration and Climate Change; REDD+ and the UNFCCC; Drivers of Deforestation and Forest Degradation; National Strategies and Action Plans; National Forest Monitoring Systems (NFMS); Forest Reference (Emission) Levels (FREL/FRLs); Policies and Measures for REDD+ Implementation; REDD+ Safeguards under the UNFCCC; REDD+ Finance; Approaches for Allocation of Incentives; Introduction to Stakeholder Engagement; and Good Governance.
About UN CC:Learn
UN CC:Learn is a partnership of more than 30 multilateral organizations supporting countries to design and implement systematic, recurrent and results-oriented climate change learning. At the global level, the partnership supports knowledge-sharing, promotes the development of common climate change learning materials, and coordinates learning interventions through a collaboration of UN agencies and other partners. At the national level, UN CC:Learn supports countries in developing and implementing national climate change learning strategies. Through its engagement at the national and global levels, UN CC:Learn contributes to the implementation of Article 6 of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) on training, education and public awareness-raising, and the 2012 2020 Doha Work Programme. Funding for UN CC:Learn is provided by theSwiss Government and UN partners. The Secretariat for UN CC:Learn is hosted by the UN Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR).
