| Overview : Papua New Guinea (PNG) has one of the most significant areas of largely-intact tropical forest in the world, although these forests appear to be facing acute and imminent threats. The Papua New Guinea Forest Authority (PNGFA) estimates that approximately 80 per cent of the total area of the country is covered by natural forests, of which 60 per cent are considered intact forests. Approximately 10 per cent of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are caused by land-use change and, in particular, the destruction of tropical forests. Slowing deforestation and forest degradation are a likely cost effective way of reducing carbon emissions compared to other mitigation strategies, such as curbing emissions from power stations. Since 2005, PNG has been at the forefront of intergovernmental negotiations under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to develop an international mechanism to compensate developing countries for reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+). To be eligible to receive results-based finance for REDD+ results-based actions under the UNFCCC, PNG should develop the following elements: - A National Strategy or Action Plan;
- A national forest reference emission level and/or forest reference level;
- A robust and transparent national forest monitoring system for the monitoring and reporting of the REDD + activities;
- A system for providing information on how environmental, governance and social safeguards are addressed and respected throughout the implementation of REDD+ activities while respecting sovereignty.
The Government of Papua New Guinea (GoPNG) is receiving international support from several bilateral and multilateral sources to prepare the country for implementing REDD+ under the UNFCCC, including through readiness support from the World Bank’s Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF). In 2016-2017, with the support of UNDP/FCPF project, a National REDD+ Strategy (NRS) was developed and officially endorsed by the Government of PNG in May 2017. The NRS marks a major milestone in PNG’s transition from the REDD+ Readiness Phase to REDD+ implementation. The NRS was developed over an 18-month period through a process of structured consultation and awareness raising with key stakeholders from government agencies, civil society and the private sector. It builds on the experiences of early REDD+ readiness activities in PNG, including the development of pilot activities, and the ongoing assessment and analysis work that has focused on key areas of action on REDD+ including reviews of forest sector financing, commercial agricultural development, stakeholder engagement processes and land use mapping. Much of this work was compiled in an Issues and Options Paper for REDD+ in PNG, which sets out the key decision and action areas for REDD+ in PNG, including identifying Madang and East New Britain as potential demonstration provinces, and was circulated widely for consultation, the feedback from which was central to creating the NRS[1]. PNG is still at an early stage of its REDD+ development process. Thus, while the NRS marks a critical step in the nation’s REDD+ development process further action is needed to ensure that the NRS is effectively financed, that proposed policies and measures are developed and tested, and that long term sustainable financing and management systems are in place. To achieve this the NRS will be supported by a National REDD+ Finance and Investment Plan (NRFIP), which will provide a detailed breakdown of activities to be undertaken in the coming five years, including clear budgets and approaches to financing. To ensure full and effective participation of key stakeholders, FCPF project is seeking a qualified non-governmental organization to coordinate the development of stakeholder engagement plans and tools that will be used in the implementation of the NRS in East New Britain and Madang. It will also lead the development stakeholder engagement plans for East New Britain. [1] The full paper is available from https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0B3E2Be9wElyUZDRCallQVWUyNk0?usp=sharing | 
