Presentation by Mr. Mr. Anura Sathurusinghe, CGF, Sri Lanka Forest Department and Raushan Kumar Technical Session 01: Climate Change Mitigation Experience Sharing Forum on Climate Smart Initiatives of Sri Lanka Sri Lanka Next – A blue Green Era – Conference and Exhibition 2017 16 – 17 October 2017, BMICH, Colombo, Sri Lanka

1. Mr. Anura Sathurusinghe
CGF, Sri Lanka Forest Department
and
Raushan Kumar
FAO Sri Lanka
Date:16 October 2017
Reducing Emission from Deforestation and
Forest Degradation (REDD+)

2. • REDD+ is a climate change mitigation solution being
developed by parties to UNFCCC
• REDD+ incentivize developing countries to keep their forest
standing by offering result based payment for actions to
reduce or remove forest carbon emission.
• UN-REDD programme assist countries to develop the
capacities needed to meet the UNFCCC’s REDD+
requirements, so that they can qualify to receive result based
payment under the Convention.
• The UN-REDD programme support nationally – led REDD+
process and promotes the informed and meaningful
involvement of all stake holders including indigenous people
and other forest dependent communities.
What is REDD+ and UN-REDD

3. REDD+ vision in Sri Lanka
• REDD+ stands for countries' efforts to reduce emissions from
deforestation and forest degradation, and conservation of
carbon stocks, sustainable management of forests, and
enhancement of forest carbon stocks.
• Of the five REDD+ activities, Sri Lanka will start focusing on two
of the five activities:
- reducing emissions from deforestation
- enhancement of forest carbon stocks
• Over time, one activity – reducing emissions from degradation –
will be added once necessary measurement parameters have
been set, and the national forest emission levels have been
upgraded and resubmitted to the UNFCCC.

4. National Strategy
/Action Plan
Safeguards
Information
System (SIS)
Forest Reference
Emission Level
(FREL)
National Forest
Monitoring
System (NFMS)
Internationally Agreed Requirements
REDD+ Framework – the core elements of REDD+ (i.e. UNFCCC
Decisions 9 - 15/CP.19)
REDD+
Focal
Entity
Reporting
to UNFCCC
Bodies who will be leading/
coordinating these
elements

5. • The Sri Lanka UN-REDD National Programme (NP) commenced its
activities in June 2013 and finalized its core deliverable - the
National REDD+ Investment Framework and Action Plan (NRIFAP)
in May 2017.
• This is fully in line with key national strategies including Sri Lanka
Next –A Blue –Green era, as well as the commitments of the
country made with its Nationally Determined Contributions
(NDCs) under the UNFCCC as well as the domestic policy such as
the Forest Policy.
• The NRIFAP identifies 13 Policies and Measures (PAMs) within
three key policy areas that will be implemented to help achieve Sri
Lanka’s vision for REDD+.
National REDD+ Strategy / National REDD+
Investment Framework and Action plan (NRIFAP)

6. National REDD+ Strategy / National REDD+
Investment Framework and Action plan (NRIFAP)
Policies and Measures
PAM7: Support inclusion of Strategic Environmental
Assessment under Land Use Planning (LUP)
PAM8: Strengthening of Environmental Impact
Assessment process
Policies and Measures
PAM9: Improve land productivity and rehabilitation
practices
PAM10: Improve the tree cover of non-forested lands
(home gardens, urban centre, public lands and
settlements)
Policies and Measures
PAM11: Protection of Vihara Devalagam, Janataha Estate Development Board (JEDB), Sri Lanka State Plantations
Cooperation (SLSPC), Regional Plantation Companies (RPCs) & Land Reform Commission (LRC) forested lands
PAM12: Identify local supply chain for fuelwood demand
PAM13: Development of agroforestry models for addressing forest degradation
Policies and Measures
PAM5: SFM of forest plantations
PAM6: Protection of watersheds
Policies and Measures
PAM1: Improvement of law enforcement & monitoring on
the ground
PAM2: Forest boundaries survey, demarcation and
declaration in appropriate management categories
PAM3: Restoration of degraded forests and wildlife
ecosystems
PAM4: SFM of natural forests

7. Forest Reference Level
• REDD+ has defined FREL/FRLs as “benchmarks for assessing each
country’s performance in implementing REDD+ activities”
• As a signatory to the UN Framework Convention on Climate
Change (UNFCCC) and in recognition of Decision 12/CP.17 of the
UNFCCC, Sri Lanka submitted its Forest Reference Level (FRL) as
benchmark for performance measuring and monitoring of
implementation of policies and measures in forestry sector.
• A national forest reference level was developed in accordance
with national circumstances and submitted to UNFCCC in January
2017.

8. historic emissions
Start REDD+ implementation
Difference with FRL
should reflect
performance
MRV: consistency in methodologies,
definitions and comprehensiveness over time

9. Forest Inventory and Geographical
Information System Division (FIGISD) of FD
Forest Reference Emission Level (and submission)
Functional capacities Technical capacities
 Data management (collection and
analysis) and quality control
 Preparation of technical reports
(results and FREL)
 Time series assessment of historical
land-cover change and associated
emission
 Understanding of national
development circumstances and
resulting emission/removal
 Understanding of UNFCCC and IPCC
guidance and guidelines
CEA SD / LUPPD CCS
FD and
DWC
 provision of data and technical support to analyze them (AD and EF)
Data
Providers
FREL
coordination
and
preparation
CCS
Reporting
Entity
UDA

10. National Forest Monitoring System
• National Forest Monitoring System (www.nfms.lk) has three major
components that includes:
• Satellite Land Monitoring Systems, which collects and assesses activity data (over
time) related to/from forest land;
• National Forest Inventory (NFI), which holds information relevant for estimating
emissions factors such as forest carbon stocks and forest carbon stock changes,
among other; and
• Greenhouse Gas Inventory data.
• Currently, the geo-portal comprises of base maps, country
boundaries, provinces, districts and DS Divisions, forest assistant
divisions, forest masks and maps, NFI plots and grids, land use and
land cover data, satellite imagery, agroecological regions, soil
maps, protected areas that include wildlife areas, world heritage
sites, environmental protection areas, conservation forest areas
and forest reserves, terrain and water bodies such as river basins,
rain gauge stations, and reservoirs.

11. National Forest Monitoring System (and reporting)
NFMS Web Portal,
Data Server and User
Interface
FD
NFI Database
FD, SD, CCS
GHG Inventory
(LULUCF)
SD
SLMS
Community
Monitoring
FD and DWC
Other Forest / Vegetation
Biophysical Parameters
Data
Providers
 Data provisioning
 Hosting
 FD and SD - Data
provisioning
 CCS – Compilation and
Reporting to UNFCCC
 LULC Data
provisioning
 Data Accuracy
 Reporting on natural
and human induced
incidences
 Data provisioning
Forest Inventory and Geographical
Information System Division (FIGISD) of FD
Functional capacities Technical capacities
 Data management (collection and
analysis) and quality control
 Cross agency coordination and data
gathering
 Assessment of land-cover change
and emission levels and linkages
with economic and social
development and policy
environment
 Management of web-based user
interface
 Implementation of a National Forest
Inventory
 Understanding of UNFCCC and IPCC
guidance and guidelines
CCS
Reporting
Entity

12. Safeguard Information System
• This provides information on how REDD+ safeguards are being
addressed and respected.
• The Sri Lankan approach to REDD+ safeguards has been developed
and include the national safeguards, the Policy and Measures
(PAMs) risks/benefits, the Policies, Laws and Regulations (PLRs)
analysis and subsequent gap-filling actions, the institutional
arrangements and preliminary guidance on the future summary of
information.
• Based on this several safeguards and indicators were identified for
inclusion in the SIS.
• A SIS structure was also developed for reporting safeguards
information to UNFCCC.

13. Safeguards Information System (and reporting)
UNFCCC Focal
Point
Central Environmental
Authority
- collection of information on relevant PLRs
- QA/QC
Forest Department
- collection of information on relevant
PLRs
- QA/QC
Dept of Wildlife
Conservation
- collection of information on relevant
PLRs
- QA/QC
Ministry of Mahaweli
Development and Environment
- overseeing direction of UNFCCC Focal Point
- collection of data on relevant PLRs
- QA/QC
Rights to Information
Commission
- collection of information on relevant
PLRs
- QA/QCMinistry of Agriculture
- collection of information on relevant
PLRs
- QA/QC
Functional capacities Technical capacities
 Interagency coordination
 Data management (collect and
analysis) and quality control
 Reporting to UNFCCC
 Understanding UNFCCC
requirements on safeguards
 Capacity to manage the Safeguards
Information System

14. Coordination
of a SIS
Coordination
of FRL+ NFMS
NRIFAPimplementation
Reporting
Entity
NC / BUR
Fund Management EntityUNFCCC
Donors
Gov
Sub-national institutions
Gov Gov Gov Non
Gvt
actors
Ministry of MD&E
National priorities
REDD+ Secretariat
REDD+ ADVISORY &
COORDINATION BOARD
National arrangements for REDD+ implementation

15. Climate Change Secretariat
Functional capacities Technical capacities
 Facilitate international coordination
/ support on REDD+
 Cross government communication
 Capacity to coordinate among
REDD+ stakeholders to
produce/assess and submit technical
reports.
 Understanding of REDD+ within
context of UNFCCC
 Understanding of REDD+ in relation
to national circumstances
Reporting to UNFCCC
NFMS data SIS data
FREL data

16. Thank you