Grassroot newsletter 9th Fin

Newsletter

Welcome to the REDD+ Grassroots Newsletter

HIGHLIGHTs

•฀ Grassroots฀concerns฀and฀issues฀communicated฀to฀policy฀makers฀through฀

national฀consultation฀workshop฀in฀all฀countries.

•฀ Grassroots฀stakeholders’฀concerns฀and฀issues฀are฀synthesized฀and฀shared฀

during฀the฀Asia฀Paciic฀Forestry฀Week฀(22-26฀February฀2016,฀Clark฀

Freeport฀Zone,฀Philippines).

•฀ Lessons฀from฀using฀participatory฀approach฀to฀develop฀a฀capacity฀

development฀tool฀in฀Indonesia.

Training and Capacity Building of Forest Sector Grassroots Stakeholders for

Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Asia

Issue 9: April 2016

Grassroots Capacity Building for REDD+

INDoNEsIa

In฀the฀second฀half฀of฀2015,฀a฀series฀of฀nine฀consultation฀workshops฀ were฀ organized฀ to฀ document฀ key฀ aspirations฀ and฀ concerns฀ of฀ grassroots฀ stakeholders฀ on฀ climate฀ change฀ and฀ REDD+.฀ These฀ workshops฀ were฀ organized฀ at฀ village฀ and฀ district฀ levels฀ covering;฀ Jember฀ (Jawa฀ Timur฀ province),฀ Bantaeng฀ (Sulawesi฀ Selatan฀ province),฀Lombok฀(Nusa฀Tenggara฀Barat฀province),฀Ternate฀(Maluku฀ Utara฀ province),฀ Berau฀ (Kalimantan฀ Timur฀ province),฀ Merangin฀ (Jambi฀ province),฀ Bandarlampung฀ (Lampung฀ province),฀ Ketapang฀ (Kalimantan฀Barat฀province),฀and฀Biak฀Numfor฀(Papua฀province).฀The฀ concerns฀ and฀ issues฀ raised฀ at฀ these฀ workshops฀ were฀ synthesized฀ by฀ the฀ Indonesian฀ Communication฀ Forum฀ on฀ Community฀ Forestry฀ (FKKM),฀ a฀ partner฀ organization฀ of฀ the฀ project,฀ and฀ shared฀ at฀ the฀ National฀ Level฀ Grassroots฀ Consultation฀ Workshop฀ held฀ on฀ 20th฀ October฀ 2015,฀ in฀ Bogor.฀ A฀ total฀ of฀ 30฀ people฀ attended฀ the฀ sharing฀ workshop,฀ including฀ multi-stakeholders฀ from฀ the฀ Ministry฀ of฀ Environment฀ and฀ Forestry฀ (MoEF),฀ the฀ National฀ Council฀ for฀ Climate฀Change,฀the฀local฀government฀and฀local฀CSOs฀and฀NGOs.฀ Since฀one฀of฀the฀key฀objectives฀of฀such฀a฀workshop฀was฀to฀inform฀ policymakers฀ about฀ grassroots฀ stakeholders฀ concerns฀ and฀ issues,฀ grassroots฀participants฀reiterated฀their฀concerns฀and฀issues฀to฀MoEF฀ oficers.฀This฀was฀followed฀by฀a฀group฀discussion฀to฀prioritise฀the฀key฀ concerns.Based฀on฀three฀separate฀group฀discussions,฀the฀prioritized฀ concerns฀were:฀(1)฀lack฀of฀tenure฀security,฀(2)฀unclear฀beneit฀sharing฀ from฀ REDD+,฀ and฀ (3)฀ vulnerability฀ of฀ grassroots฀ communities฀ to฀ climate฀change.฀The฀prioritized฀issues฀were฀then฀discussed฀in฀further฀ detail฀ to฀ analyze฀ the฀ current฀ situation,฀ the฀ challenges฀ associated฀ with฀ those฀ issues,฀ and฀ to฀ generate฀ recommendations฀ in฀ order฀ to฀ address฀them฀within฀the฀current฀discourse฀on฀REDD+฀in฀the฀country.฀ The฀ results฀ of฀ such฀ participatory฀ discussions฀ were฀ compiled฀ and฀ key฀ policy฀ recommendations฀ were฀ generated฀ for฀ informing฀ policy฀ makers฀and฀stakeholders฀at฀large.฀The฀policy฀brief฀can฀be฀found฀here฀฀ -฀ http://www.recoftc.org/project/grassroots-capacity-building-redd/ policy-briefs/role-grassroots-stakeholders-forest-management-and-redd-bh-indonesia

Lao PDR

During฀ the฀ last฀ quarter,฀ the฀ Grassroots฀ Project฀ team฀ in฀ Lao฀ PDR฀ focused฀on฀capacity฀building฀for฀gender฀mainstreaming฀in฀Sustainable฀ Forest฀ Management฀ (SFM)฀ and฀ REDD+฀ in฀ collaboration฀ with฀ the฀ Women’s฀Advancement฀Committee฀of฀Department฀of฀Forests฀(DoF).฀ The฀trainers฀from฀national฀and฀sub-national฀trainings,฀held฀in฀April฀ 2015฀and฀July฀2015฀respectively,฀were฀trained฀and฀prepared฀at฀least฀ a฀week฀before฀delivering฀gender-mainstreaming฀knowledge฀at฀sub-national฀and฀community฀levels.฀The฀community฀level฀trainings฀were฀ conducted฀ in฀ three฀ target฀ provinces฀ -฀ Luang฀ Prabang,฀ Houaphan฀ and฀ Salavan฀ during฀ October฀ and฀ November฀ of฀ 2015.฀ The฀ team฀ of฀ national฀ and฀ sub-national฀ level฀ facilitators,฀ with฀ support฀ from฀ the฀ project฀staff,฀shared฀their฀experiences฀at฀a฀national฀level฀workshop,฀ organized฀ on฀ 22฀ December฀ 2015฀ in฀ Vientiane.฀ Deputy฀ Director฀ General฀of฀DoF฀chaired฀the฀workshop฀and฀a฀total฀of฀35฀participants฀ from฀relevant฀government฀agencies฀from฀the฀Ministry฀of฀Agriculture฀ and฀ Forestry,฀ the฀ Ministry฀ of฀ National฀ Resources฀ and฀ Environment฀ (MONRE),฀related฀REDD+฀and฀SFM฀pilot฀projects฀in฀the฀country฀such฀ as฀ CliPAD฀ and฀ SUFORD-SU,฀ and฀ other฀ NGOs฀ and฀ CSOs฀ attended฀ the฀workshop.฀More฀than฀50฀per฀cent฀฀of฀the฀participants฀(19)฀were฀ women.฀The฀sharing฀workshop฀also฀focused฀on฀discussing฀the฀gaps฀ and฀ challenges฀ in฀ mainstreaming฀ gender฀ in฀ forest฀ management,฀ followed฀ by฀ identifying฀ action฀ points฀ for฀ strengthening฀ gender฀ mainstreaming฀in฀forestry฀practices.฀Some฀of฀the฀key฀areas฀identiied฀ and฀ discussed฀ include:฀ conducting฀ contextualized฀ gender฀ analysis฀ in฀ each฀ project/intervention,฀ collecting฀ gender฀ and฀ sex-aggregated฀ data,฀ encouraging฀ active฀ participation฀ of฀ women฀ and฀ men฀ and฀ empowerment฀ and฀ enhancement฀ of฀ equal฀ opportunities฀ for฀ men฀ and฀ women฀ for฀ contributing฀ in฀ and฀ beneiting฀ from฀ forestry฀ interventions.฀ It฀ was฀ also฀ reported฀ that฀ the฀ understanding฀ about฀ the฀ concept฀ of฀ gender฀ mainstreaming฀ and฀ skills฀ and฀ how฀ to฀ put฀ this฀concept฀into฀practice,฀still฀needs฀further฀backstopping฀through฀ regular฀capacity฀development.

Group discussion at National Level Grassroots Consultation Workshop Group photo of the national sharing workshop of the Capacity Building Programs on Gender Mainstreaming in SFM and REDD+ in CC

In฀ Myanmar,฀ grassroots฀ level฀ consultation฀ workshops฀ took฀ place฀ in฀ three฀ target฀ regions.฀ The฀ information฀ gathered฀ from฀ these฀ workshops฀was฀฀then฀brought฀to฀a฀national฀level฀consultation฀and฀ sharing฀workshop.฀This฀national฀level฀sharing฀workshop฀was฀jointly฀ organized฀with฀POINT฀(Promotion฀of฀Indigenous฀People฀and฀Nature฀ Together),฀ one฀ of฀ the฀ collaborators฀ of฀ the฀ Grassroots฀ project.฀ The฀ workshop฀was฀attended฀by฀the฀members฀of฀the฀national฀level฀REDD+฀ townships฀ (Layshee,฀ Khantee,฀ Yate฀ shae,฀ Paukkhaung,฀ Pharpon,฀ Bogalay),฀ project฀ trained฀ grassroots฀ facilitators฀ and฀ ethnic฀ groups฀ representatives.฀ REDD+฀ Social฀ and฀ Environmental฀ Safeguards฀ and฀ challenges฀associated฀with฀implementing฀them฀on฀the฀ground฀were฀ the฀key฀topics฀for฀the฀discussion฀in฀the฀workshop.฀฀Representative฀ from฀the฀Forest฀Department฀presented฀the฀seven฀principles,฀in฀line฀ with฀ Cancun฀ Agreement,฀ and฀ 28฀ criteria฀ of฀ the฀ REDD+฀ social฀ and฀ environmental฀ safeguards฀ for฀ Myanmar,฀ developed฀ by฀ the฀ REDD+฀ taskforce,฀ consisting฀ of฀ multi-stakeholders,฀ and฀ members฀ from฀ different฀units฀and฀divisions฀of฀the฀Forest฀Department.฀These฀seven฀ principles฀are฀listed฀below:

•฀ The฀REDD+฀program฀recognizes฀and฀respects฀rights฀to฀lands,฀ territories฀and฀resources;

•฀ The฀ beneits฀ of฀ the฀ REDD+฀ program฀ are฀ shared฀ equitably฀฀ among฀all฀relevant฀rights฀holders฀and฀stakeholders;

•฀ The฀REDD+฀program฀improves฀long-term฀livelihood฀security฀ and฀ well-being฀ of฀ Indigenous฀ Peoples฀ (ethnic฀ groups)฀ and฀ local฀ communities฀ with฀ special฀ attention฀ to฀ the฀ most฀ marginalized฀and/or฀vulnerable฀people;

•฀ The฀ REDD+฀ program฀ contributes฀ to฀ good฀ governance,฀฀฀ sustainable฀development฀and฀to฀social฀justice;

•฀ The฀ REDD+฀ program฀ maintains฀ and฀ enhances฀ biodiversity฀ and฀ecosystem฀services;

•฀ All฀relevant฀rights฀holders฀and฀stakeholders฀participate฀fully฀ and฀effectively฀in฀the฀REDD+฀program;฀and

•฀ The฀ REDD+฀ program฀ complies฀ with฀ applicable฀ local฀ and฀ national฀ laws฀ and฀ international฀ treaties,฀ conventions฀ and฀ statement฀regulations.

After฀an฀introductory฀presentation฀and฀setting฀the฀context,฀workshop฀ participants฀ were฀ divided฀ into฀ three฀ main฀ representative฀ groups฀ -฀ community฀groups,฀CSO฀groups฀and฀government฀groups,฀to฀discuss฀ and฀identify฀challenges฀associated฀with฀the฀application฀of฀the฀above฀ listed฀REDD+฀safeguards฀principles.฀

This฀was฀followed฀by฀a฀breakup฀group฀discussion฀to฀prioritize฀three฀ key฀ principles฀ and฀ discuss฀ them฀ in-depth฀ to฀ analyze฀ the฀ causes,฀ and฀ generate฀ recommendations฀ to฀ address฀ them฀ based฀ on฀ the฀ roles฀ and฀ possible฀ contributions฀ from฀ group฀ participants.฀ Some฀ of฀ the฀key฀challenges฀discussed฀by฀the฀participants฀include:฀livelihood฀ security฀of฀local฀inhabitants฀due฀to฀a฀limited฀job฀opportunities฀in฀the฀ forestry฀ sector,฀ land฀ tenure฀ insecurity฀ due฀ to฀ unclear฀ demarcation฀ of฀ boundaries,฀ lack฀ of฀ information฀ to฀ design฀ an฀ effective฀ beneit฀ sharing฀mechanism,฀the฀capacity฀to฀effectively฀manage฀forest,฀poor฀ participation฀ of฀ stakeholders฀ in฀ REDD+฀ implementation฀ and฀ forest฀ management฀and฀weak฀law฀enforcement.

Group discussion in the national level consultation meeting in Naypyitaw

MyaNMaR

NEPaL

Between฀October฀2015฀and฀January฀2016,฀the฀Nepal฀team฀conducted฀ about฀ 30฀ community฀ level฀ consultation฀ events฀ as฀ planned.฀ The฀ objective฀of฀the฀consultation฀was฀to:฀(1)฀raise฀awareness฀on฀SMF,฀CC฀ and฀REDD+;฀and฀(2)฀document฀key฀issues฀and฀concerns฀of฀grassroots฀ stakeholders฀ on฀ these฀ topics.฀ Such฀ consultations฀ were฀ led฀ by฀ the฀ team฀of฀trained฀facilitators฀under฀the฀project.฀Besides฀learning฀about฀ grassroots฀concerns฀and฀issues,฀these฀events฀also฀proved฀very฀helpful฀ to฀local฀facilitators฀to฀practice฀their฀REDD+฀knowledge฀and฀facilitation฀ skills฀and฀thus฀gain฀more฀conidence฀as฀local฀level฀trainers.฀The฀major฀ issues฀and฀concerns฀discussed฀and฀shared฀during฀the฀consultations฀ are:

•฀ It฀is฀still฀uncertain฀what฀฀the฀monetary฀beneits฀to฀the฀local฀ communities฀from฀forest฀carbon฀trading฀will฀be;

•฀ Clear,฀ secure฀ and฀ comprehensive฀ tenure฀ rights฀ are฀ still฀ not฀ explicit฀ in฀ any฀ documents฀ or฀ policies,฀ even฀ after฀ REDD+฀ discourse฀has฀advanced;฀

•฀ REDD+฀mechanisms฀may฀bring฀restrictions฀to฀forest฀resource฀ use฀and฀management,฀as฀per฀the฀need฀of฀local฀communities; •฀ The฀sustainability฀of฀the฀REDD+฀concept฀itself,฀mainly฀because฀

the฀concept฀has฀so฀far฀followed฀a฀top฀down฀approach฀and฀ lacked฀active฀consultation฀with฀grassroots฀communities;฀and •฀ In฀ regards฀ to฀ carbon฀ measurement,฀ there฀ is฀ uncertainty฀

regarding฀how฀to฀accurately฀measure฀the฀amount฀of฀carbon฀ stored฀ in฀ forests฀ and฀ forest฀ soils฀ and฀ how฀ to฀ allocate฀ the฀ rights฀of฀carbon฀stored฀in฀different฀forms.฀

Participant’s reflection from the consultations: The฀ Simamai฀women-only฀CFUG฀was฀granted฀over฀18฀hectares฀of฀ mostly฀ barren฀ forest฀ in฀ 1998฀ to฀ practice฀ community฀ forestry.฀ Frequent฀looding฀and฀over-grazing฀were฀the฀key฀drivers฀of฀forest฀ degradation.฀ Consultation฀ workshop฀ participants฀ relected฀ on฀ their฀efforts฀to฀protect฀forest฀blocks฀from฀loods,฀grazing฀and฀ plantation฀activities฀to฀regenerate฀degraded฀forest.฀With฀these฀ efforts,฀the฀CFUG฀members฀proudly฀share฀about฀the฀richness฀of฀ regenerated฀forests,฀fully฀covered฀with฀trees,฀enough฀to฀supply฀ fuelwood฀ and฀ fodder฀ for฀ daily฀ needs฀ of฀ CFUG฀ members฀ and฀ even฀to฀sell฀timber฀in฀the฀market.฀Despite฀such฀a฀success฀story,฀ the฀Simamai฀women-only฀CFUG฀raised฀a฀few฀concerns.฀While฀ on฀one฀hand฀they฀expressed฀the฀need฀for฀support฀from฀male฀ counterparts,฀ particularly฀ to฀ extract฀ and฀ sell฀ timber฀ from฀ the฀ forest฀and฀keep฀accounts฀and฀negotiate฀with฀contractors,฀a฀few฀ of฀the฀women฀also฀raised฀the฀issue฀of฀male฀members฀trying฀to฀ replace฀women฀from฀the฀executive฀committee฀due฀to฀increasing฀ revenue฀from฀the฀CF.฀Recognizing฀the฀role฀of฀forests฀in฀reducing฀ carbon฀ emissions,฀ the฀ female฀ CFUG฀ members฀ committed฀ to฀ share฀the฀lessons฀learned฀to฀the฀CF฀general฀assembly.฀

Mrs.฀ Chandra฀ Maya฀ Bal฀ -฀ Simamai฀ women-only฀ forest฀ user฀ group,฀Chhatiwan,฀Makwanout

Group photo of participants of the community level consultation on CC and REDD+ in Budakhani area of Kavre district. 25-26 November 2015.

VIET NaM

Similar฀to฀other฀countries,฀in฀the฀second฀half฀of฀the฀year,฀the฀Viet฀nam฀ project฀ team฀ organized฀ a฀ number฀ of฀ consultation฀ workshops฀ with฀ key฀target฀grassroots฀stakeholder฀groups฀in฀four฀provinces฀-฀Bac฀Kan,฀ Ca฀Mau,฀Lam฀Dong฀and฀Ha฀Tinh.฀Such฀consultation฀workshops฀were฀ held฀at฀district฀and฀community฀levels.฀At฀district฀levels,฀consultation฀ workshops฀were฀attended฀by฀representatives฀from฀the฀District฀and฀ Commune฀staff฀from฀the฀District฀People’s฀Committee,฀the฀Commune฀ People’s฀Committee,฀the฀Agriculture฀and฀Rural฀Development฀Ofice,฀ Forest฀ Stations฀ and฀ Forest฀ Companies.฀ At฀ the฀ community฀ level,฀ the฀consultation฀workshops฀targeted฀the฀village฀members,฀women฀ groups฀and฀women฀union฀members.฀In฀total,฀at฀the฀district฀level฀11฀ consultation฀workshops฀were฀held฀and฀attended฀by฀more฀than฀250฀ people฀(21฀per฀cent฀women)฀and฀at฀community฀level฀13฀events฀were฀ held,฀which฀were฀attended฀by฀more฀than฀340฀participants฀(48฀per฀ cent฀ women).฀ Through฀ these฀ consultation฀ workshops,฀ the฀ project฀ identiied฀and฀documented฀grassroots฀stakeholders’฀aspirations฀and฀ concerns฀ about฀ REDD+,฀ and฀ then฀ brought฀ them฀ up฀ to฀ the฀ policy฀ makers฀at฀higher฀levels.฀Key฀concerns฀identiied฀and฀shared฀include฀ the฀ following:฀ (1)฀ how฀ to฀ ensure฀ REDD+฀ project฀ information฀ is฀ suficiently฀and฀timely฀shared฀with฀local฀people;฀(2)฀how฀to฀reach฀the฀ consent฀of฀the฀communities฀about฀REDD+;฀(3)฀how฀to฀ensure฀land฀ allocation฀is฀clear฀and฀fair;฀and฀(5)฀how฀to฀ensure฀livelihoods฀for฀local฀ communities฀when฀REDD+฀comes.

The฀Grassroots฀Project฀participated฀in฀the฀Asia-Paciic฀Forestry฀Week฀ (APFW),฀held฀in฀Clark฀Freeport฀Zone,฀Philippines฀during฀22-26฀February฀ 2016.฀ Ms.฀ Februanty฀ Suyatiningsih,฀ National฀ Project฀ Oficer฀ of฀ the฀ Grassroots฀Project฀in฀Indonesia฀shared฀effectiveness฀of฀the฀project’s฀ participatory฀approach฀for฀awareness฀raising฀and฀a฀communication฀ tool฀ developed฀ for฀ awareness฀ raising฀ with฀ support฀ from฀ the฀ Asia-Paciic฀Forest฀Communication฀Network.฀Also,฀Ms.฀Yuliatin,฀a฀female฀ preacher฀and฀Grassroots฀Project฀trained฀facilitator฀from฀Jember,฀was฀ invited฀as฀one฀of฀the฀key฀speakers฀and฀shared฀her฀experiences฀about฀ delivering฀and฀advocating฀REDD+฀knowledge฀to฀grassroots฀people฀in฀ a฀session฀focusing฀on฀“gender-inclusive฀communication฀for฀achieving฀ the฀SDGs.”฀This฀was฀irst฀ever฀opportunity฀for฀Ms.฀Yuliatin฀to฀come฀ out฀of฀her฀village฀and฀represent฀her฀community฀and฀experience฀in฀an฀ international฀event,฀(see฀box฀below).฀

Ms. Yuliatin’s experience at APFW:฀ I฀ was฀ very฀ surprised฀ and฀happy฀when฀I฀was฀invited฀to฀attend฀a฀training฀on฀climate฀ change,฀as฀this฀had฀never฀happened฀before฀in฀my฀community฀ (a฀female฀getting฀invited฀to฀a฀meeting฀or฀training).฀I’ve฀shared฀ knowledge฀ and฀ information฀ I฀ received฀ from฀ training฀ with฀ my฀ husband,฀ particularly฀ about฀ the฀ need฀ to฀ grow฀ forests฀ to฀ balance฀out฀carbon฀emissions.฀At฀irst,฀my฀husband฀rejected฀the฀ argument฀ because฀ he฀ was฀ fearful฀ that฀ it฀ would฀ reduce฀ crop฀ yields,฀but฀gradually฀he฀listened฀to฀me฀and฀agreed฀to฀plant฀more฀ trees.฀

Before฀ joining฀ trainings,฀ I฀ was฀ no฀ one,฀ just฀ a฀ housewife.฀ But฀ now,฀the฀community฀regards฀me฀as฀someone฀who฀can฀advise฀ them฀about฀how฀to฀protect฀the฀environment.฀Because฀of฀the฀ knowledge฀ gained฀ in฀ the฀ training฀ program,฀ I฀ was฀ given฀ the฀ opportunity฀ to฀ learn฀ from฀ other฀ people฀ and฀ to฀ attend฀ APFW฀ 2016฀in฀the฀Philippines.฀I฀always฀share฀my฀knowledge฀(that฀I฀got฀ from฀the฀trainings)฀with฀other฀women฀that฀they฀too฀can฀be฀a฀ female฀facilitator฀like฀me฀and฀can฀attend฀more฀trainings,฀have฀ more฀knowledge฀and฀conidence.฀

Project news

Ms. Februanty Suyatiningsih, Grassroots Project’s National Project Oficer in

Indonesia, shared an effective participatory awareness raising tool with the

Asia-Paciic Forest Communication Network during APFW 2016

Community outreach through

Participatory Development

Communication

by฀ Februanty฀ Suyatiningsih,฀ Grassroots฀ Project’s฀ National฀ Project฀ Oficer฀in฀Indonesia

Organizations฀and฀individuals฀working฀with฀grassroots฀communities฀ are฀ familiar฀ with฀ participatory฀ processes,฀ but฀ perhaps฀ not฀ many฀ are฀aware฀of฀the฀Participatory฀Development฀Communication฀(PDC)฀ approach.฀

PDC฀ is฀ a฀ methodology฀ that฀ encourages฀ communities฀ to฀ get฀ involved฀ in฀ development฀ processes฀ using฀ participatory฀ processes฀ and฀the฀media.฀The฀approach฀emphasizes฀two-way฀communication฀ processes.฀ It฀ facilitates฀ exchanges฀ between฀ various฀ stakeholders.฀ PDC฀has฀sixteen฀main฀steps฀that฀are฀divided฀into฀three฀phases.฀Phase฀ 1฀is฀understanding,฀relating฀and฀researching;฀Phase฀2฀is฀formulating฀ and฀ developing฀ the฀ communication฀ strategy,฀ and฀ Phase฀ 3฀ is฀ the฀ validating฀and฀organizing฀that฀should฀be฀considered฀when฀we฀use฀ PDC.฀ The฀ steps,฀ or฀ components,฀ can฀ be฀ implemented฀ at฀ different฀ stages฀depending฀on฀the฀situation,฀and฀are฀not฀necessarily฀sequential.฀ Although฀the฀Grassroots฀Project฀has฀not฀used฀a฀PDC฀approach฀since฀ the฀ beginning฀ of฀ its฀ implementation,฀ in฀ Indonesia฀ the฀ project฀ was฀ adjusted฀ and฀ we฀ chose฀ some฀ components฀ relevant฀ to฀ our฀ project฀ stages,฀such฀as฀“pre-testing”฀communication฀materials฀and฀activities.฀ For฀instance,฀we฀involved฀the฀communities฀to฀ensure฀that฀awareness฀ raising฀content,฀tools฀and฀training฀materials฀are฀properly฀developed฀ and฀contextualized฀to฀local฀circumstances฀–฀problems฀and฀solutions฀ -฀ and฀ materials฀ are฀ culturally฀ appropriate฀ for฀ local฀ facilitators฀ or฀ targeted฀stakeholders.฀

Based฀on฀experiences฀from฀Indonesia,฀and฀feedback฀from฀pre-testing฀ of฀the฀draft฀awareness฀tool฀revealed฀that฀the฀local฀level฀knowledge฀ on฀ forest฀ and฀ climate฀ change฀ and฀ situations฀ vary฀ signiicantly฀ and฀ therefore฀ knowledge฀ products฀ need฀ to฀ be฀ developed฀ considering฀ local฀ context฀ and฀ variations฀ in฀ the฀ socio-cultural฀ settings,฀ local฀ conditions,฀existing฀knowledge฀and฀the฀skill฀level฀of฀target฀audience.฀ Pre-testing฀ helps฀ in฀ further฀ reining฀ the฀ knowledge฀ products฀ by฀ understanding฀the฀gaps฀between฀the฀concept฀and฀the฀real฀situations฀ about฀awareness฀raising฀process.฀This฀approach฀also฀helps฀in฀building฀ trust฀with฀the฀target฀communities,฀which฀proves฀useful฀in฀rolling฀out฀ capacity฀development฀programs.฀฀

Featured publications

Best case example of gender mainstreaming in REDD+ Capacity Development

The฀ project฀ contributed฀ and฀ shared฀ its฀ experiences฀ in฀ an฀ IUCN฀ publication฀ (2015),฀ Roots฀ for฀ the฀ future:฀ the฀ landscape฀and฀way฀forward฀on฀gender฀ and฀climate฀change.฀฀The฀paper฀shared฀ the฀ approach฀ and฀ process฀ applied฀ by฀ the฀ project฀ in฀ mainstreaming฀ gender฀ in฀REDD+฀capacity฀development.฀It฀also฀ presents฀the฀lessons฀and฀key฀results฀of฀ gender฀ mainstreaming.฀ ฀ The฀ paper฀ (page฀ 452-455)฀ can฀ be฀ found฀ in฀Chapter฀7:฀http://genderandenvironment.org/roots-for-the-future฀ or฀https://portals.iucn.org/union/sites/union/files/doc/rftf_2015_ chapter_7.pdf

Awareness raising posters on CC, SFM and REDD+ in Bahasa Indonesia

The฀ Indonesia฀ team฀ of฀ the฀ Grassroots฀Project฀produced฀A2฀ size฀posters฀for฀local฀facilitators,฀ using฀ PDC฀ approach,฀ to฀ communicate฀ climate฀ change฀ and฀ REDD+฀ issues฀ in฀ a฀ simple฀ language฀to฀the฀local฀villagers.฀ Some฀ of฀ the฀ key฀ topics฀ covered฀ in฀ the฀ poster฀ include฀ sustainable฀ forest฀ management฀ in฀ the฀ context฀ of฀ climate฀ change฀ and฀ local฀ livelihoods.฀Besides฀the฀short฀and฀simple฀message,฀the฀poster฀uses฀ descriptive฀ drawings฀ that฀ are฀ related฀ to฀ local฀ daily฀ activities฀ so฀ grassroots฀stakeholders฀can฀easily฀understand.฀The฀link฀can฀be฀found฀ at฀http://www.recoftc.org/project/grassroots-capacity-building-redd/ posters-infographics/sustainable-forest-management-community-livelihood-bh-indonesia

Equity in climate change and REDD+: A handbook for grassroots facilitators in Myanmar

This฀handbook฀has฀been฀contextualized฀ and฀ translated฀ from฀ the฀ English฀ version.฀ The฀ objective฀ of฀ this฀ question฀ and฀ answer฀ handbook฀ is฀ to฀ support฀ grassroots฀facilitators฀who฀are฀engaged฀ in฀ delivering฀ training฀ programs฀ on฀ promoting฀ social฀ equity฀ in฀ climate฀ change฀ mitigation,฀ speciically฀ in฀ REDD+.฀ The฀ handbook฀ is฀ available฀ at฀

h t t p : / / w w w. re c o f t c . o r g / p ro j e c t / grassroots-capacity-building-redd/q-and-booklet/equity- climate-change-and-redd-handbook-grassroots-facilitators-myanmar-language

Poster of “Concerns and aspirations of grassroots stakeholders for REDD+”

Grassroots฀Project฀was฀invited฀to฀make฀ a฀ poster฀ presentation฀ during฀ APFW฀ in฀ the฀ Philippines.฀ While฀ highlighting฀ the฀ effectiveness฀of฀the฀cascade฀approach,฀ the฀ project฀ listed฀ key฀ issues฀ and฀ concerns฀of฀the฀grassroots฀stakeholders฀ on฀ climate฀ change฀ and฀ REDD+,฀ along฀ with฀ lessons฀ learned฀ and฀ key฀ recommendations฀ for฀ policy฀ makers.฀ The฀poster฀can฀be฀downloaded฀at฀http://