Keywords

1 Introduction

Sustainable development, a prime policy goal of the new millennium, strives to reconcile economic development, environmental protection and social equity.Footnote 1 As a normative framework guiding state legal obligations to protect and promote human rights, it gives credence to third-generation rights to development, environment and democracy.Footnote 2 Small Island Developing States (SIDS)Footnote 3 are recognised as a ‘special case’ for sustainable development, meeting intrinsic challenges in its implementation as a result of their insularity and manifold vulnerabilities to external shocks.Footnote 4 Climate change adaptation and mitigation and the sustainable management of natural resources have recurrently been identified as key priority areas for sustainable development in SIDS.Footnote 5 Particularly, the management of forests and forest resources has consistently been underscored as a component of their sustainable development, notably in furtherance of food security, agricultural productivity and social development.Footnote 6 This has been reaffirmed more recently, during the Mid-Term Review of the SAMOA Pathway, the overarching framework on the sustainable development priorities of SIDS, whereby further action was called for in the development of policies for sustainable forest management to prevent and address desertification, land degradation and drought.Footnote 7 Although the extent of forest cover varies among SIDS and is insignificant in global terms, empirical research has illustrated their crucial role for soil and water conservation, coastal protection, the conservation of wildlife and biodiversity and the promotion of ecotourism.Footnote 8

The Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation, Conservation, Sustainable Management of Forests, and Enhancement of Forest Carbon Stocks in Developing Countries (REDD+)Footnote 9 mechanism can be a valuable instrument for sustainable development in SIDS, as a nature-based solution for climate change, marrying climate change mitigation and the conservation, management and expansion of forests. Sustainable forest management (SFM) is recognised as one of five core mitigation activities under REDD+, along with reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, and the conservation and enhancement of forest carbon stocks.Footnote 10 In addition, all of the mitigation activities under REDD+ are required to promote the sustainable management of forests.Footnote 11 Despite the prominence of SIDS in international climate change negotiations in the face of their pronounced susceptibility to climate change impacts,Footnote 12 REDD+ readiness and implementation by SIDS seem scarce, in contrast with the rest of the continent.Footnote 13 Guinea-Bissau is the only African SIDS that has engaged with REDD+. It is also a partner country in the UN-REDD programme which is intended to assist countries in REDD+ readiness and implementation.Footnote 14 The latter is undertaken in stages. The readiness stage entails the development of a national strategy or action plan for implementing REDD+ and an institutional framework which includes the development of national forest monitoring systems, the establishment of national forest reference emission levels, the establishment of systems for measurement, reporting and verification (MRV) and the establishment of safeguards and grievance mechanisms.Footnote 15 In their implementation of national policies and measures, countries are required to address the direct and indirect drivers of deforestation and forest degradation as well as land tenure and forest governance, while pursuing capacity-building, technology development and transfer and results-based demonstration activities.Footnote 16 In the results-based payments phase, REDD+ activities are measured and verified each year.

SFM refers to the practice of conservation and use of forest lands and resources to meet the social, economic, ecological, cultural and spiritual needs of present and future generations.Footnote 17 SFM is inherent in the international environmental governance regime, including the 1992 UN Convention on Biological Diversity,Footnote 18 the 1994 UN Convention to Combat Desertification,Footnote 19 the 1994 UN Framework Convention on Climate Change,Footnote 20 and the Paris Agreement.Footnote 21 It is increasingly integrated in regional and national policies and mechanisms in Africa.Footnote 22 The 2013 Revised African Convention on the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources requires state parties to introduce sustainable forestry measures in the context of the prevention of land degradation, the protection, conservation and sustainable use of vegetation cover and the maintenance and enhancement of genetic diversity.Footnote 23 The 2002 Southern African Development Community (SADC) Protocol on Forestry,Footnote 24 and the 2010 SADC Forestry Strategy provide a comprehensive framework on SFM and include climate change mitigation and adaptation as a strategic programme area.Footnote 25 The 2012 Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Convergence Plan for the Sustainable Management and Utilization of Forest Ecosystems in West Africa addresses the growing decline in forest cover and promotes SFM in view of the transboundary impact of deforestation on the environment.Footnote 26 The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) also adopted a Forest Strategy in 2009.Footnote 27 While the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) elaborated strategies for interventions in SFM in the context of agricultural productivity and lasting poverty reduction,Footnote 28 the African Union (AU) launched the first continental SFM Framework in 2020.Footnote 29 Moreover, over 90% of African countries have adopted forestry-related policies establishing institutional and financial arrangements for SFM.Footnote 30

While SFM is emphasised under REDD+ and offers best practices for securing forest adaptation,Footnote 31 interactions between the two regimes are scarce in the African context,Footnote 32 which is characterised by a dearth of policy coordination and coherence across forestry-related initiatives.Footnote 33 In fact, forest policy coherence has been eminently deplored, despite its stark potential.Footnote 34 UN Agenda 2030 has stressed the need for enhancing policy coherence for sustainable development.Footnote 35 The call for improving cooperation, coordination, coherence and synergies on forest-related issues, has been underscored within the post-2015 global development agenda.Footnote 36 This chapter seeks to explore the potential for enhanced synergies between the SFM and REDD+ frameworks towards sustainable development in SIDS in the African context, where the implementation of forestry frameworks and policies is under-researched compared with other regions.Footnote 37 Following the introduction, the second Section describes the interactions between the REDD+ and SFM frameworks and sustainable development, from a rights-based approach. It provides an analysis of the relevant global, regional and sub-regional instruments informing REDD+ and SFM and the complementarity of the frameworks with the post-2015 development agenda. The third Section provides an overview of the state of implementation of REDD+ and SFM in African SIDS drawing from country reports under the UNFF, UNFCCC and UN Agenda 2030. The fourth Section underlines opportunities and challenges for enhanced REDD+ readiness and implementation by African SIDS, particularly by using extant SFM instruments and mechanisms. In Section five the chapter concludes with perspectives on optimising REDD+ readiness and implementation by African SIDS for catalysing their sustainable development.

2 REDD+, SFM and Sustainable Development

As natural resource management frameworks, REDD+ and SFM are critical enablers of sustainable development.Footnote 38 SFM is identified under sustainable development goal (SDG) 15 of the UN Agenda 2030 ‘Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss’ and is captured under Target 15.2.Footnote 39 Likewise, Aspiration 1 of AU Agenda 2063, ‘A Prosperous Africa based on inclusive growth and sustainable development’ highlights the need for forests to be conserved and their resources used sustainably towards ending food insecurity and hunger, the conservation of biodiversity and climate adaptation.Footnote 40 In addition, the contributions of SFM to the achievement of SDG 1 ‘To end poverty in all its forms, everywhere’ are also increasingly well-established, notably in supporting livelihoods and well-being.Footnote 41 In a similar vein, REDD+ is intrinsically linked to the global development agenda,Footnote 42 notably to SDG 13 ‘Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts’.Footnote 43 AU Agenda 2063 also underscores the reduction of deforestation by 90% as a target under climate resilience.Footnote 44 Furthermore, significantly, both frameworks have increasingly emphasised rights-based approaches.Footnote 45 In guiding states in identifying and implementing REDD+ actions, the Cancun Agreements stress that ‘parties should, in all climate change related actions, fully respect human rights’.Footnote 46 Human rights considerations are reflected under the Rio Forest Principles which require the integration of the rights of Indigenous Peoples, local communities and women in the development, planning and implementation of national policies on SFM.Footnote 47 This section further examines the linkages between REDD+ and SFM, and sustainable development, from a rights-based perspective. It outlines the governance frameworks underlying REDD+ and SFM at the global, regional and SIDS levels, before exploring areas of convergence with sustainable development.

2.1 Institutional Interlinkages

As SFM cuts across the mitigation activities under REDD+, the two regimes are guided by interrelated and overlapping norms, albeit they derive from distinct and separate instruments and mechanisms.

2.1.1 Global Initiatives

Since the emergence of multilateral policy dialogue on the conservation and the sustainable management of forests at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio in 1992, a number of entities were established to facilitate cooperation on forest-related issues.Footnote 48 The ad hoc Intergovernmental Panel on Forests (IPF) and Intergovernmental Forum on Forests (IFF) set up under the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD),Footnote 49 charted the first comprehensive proposals on SFM.Footnote 50 The United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF), created in 2000 as a permanent subsidiary body of the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations (ECOSOC), is mandated to promote the implementation of SFM.Footnote 51 The Collaborative Partnership on Forests (CPF), a voluntary inter-agency collective of international organisations, formed in 2001, supports the work of the UNFF and its member countries by enhancing cooperation and coordination in forest issues.Footnote 52

The UN Forest Instrument, the foremost international instrument on SFM, was adopted in 2007.Footnote 53 Reaffirming the Rio Forest Principles adopted at the Rio Conference in 1992, it centres on four global objectives, including reversing the loss of forest cover worldwide through SFM, enhancing forest-based economic, social and environmental benefits, increasing the area of protected forests worldwide and sustainably managed forests as well as the proportion of forest products from sustainably managed forests, and reversing the decline in official development assistance for SFM.Footnote 54 It identifies seven thematic elements, as indicators for SFM, namely the extent of forest resources, forest biological diversity, forest health and vitality, productive functions of forest resources, protective functions of forest resources, socio-economic functions of forests and legal, policy and institutional framework.Footnote 55 The global architecture on SFM, including the key functions of its main organs have been reaffirmed, and their links to the SDGs reinforced in 2015.Footnote 56 In this vein, the UNFF developed the UN Strategic Plan for Forests 2030 in 2017, which includes a target to increase forest area by 3% worldwide by 2030 as well as six voluntary Global Forest Goals and 26 associated targets.Footnote 57 Member countries are required to monitor and assess progress towards the UN Forest Instrument and the UN Strategic Plan for Forests and submit national reports on a voluntary basis to the UNFF.Footnote 58

Besides the international arrangements on forests, various programmes assist countries in SFM policy implementation. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Forestry Programme, guided by the FAO Committee on Forestry (COFO), focuses on SFM as one of its priority areas.Footnote 59 The International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO), an intergovernmental organisation promoting SFM and sustainable tropical timber industries and trade, assists member countries in tropical forestry policy implementation.Footnote 60 The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) also runs programmes relating to SFM, including the Financing Sustainable Land Use for People and the Planet Programme which seeks to scale up and direct private finance to sustainable land use including SFM.Footnote 61 The Global Forest Expert Panels (GFEP) Programme of the International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO) supports international policy processes and informed decision-making at the regional and global level through independent scientific assessments of key forest-related issues of high concern, including global assessments, follow-up studies and regional activities.Footnote 62 The World Resources Institute (WRI) Forest Programme is focused on partnerships and research to advance SFM, and includes the Global Forest Watch initiative, a global forest monitoring tool.Footnote 63

The Warsaw Framework for REDD+ provides the institutional framework for REDD+ implementation under the UNFCCC.Footnote 64 REDD+ is also recognised as an integral part of the Paris Agreement.Footnote 65 State parties to REDD+ are required to report on relevant activities through biennial update reports to the UNFCCC, and national forest levels through the REDD+ Web Platform, which also hosts information submitted by relevant non-governmental organisations and stakeholders.Footnote 66 They are also required to submit social safeguards in their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement or through the REDD+ Web Platform. The United Nations Collaborative Programme on REDD+ (UN-REDD) led by UNEP, FAO and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) supports country-level REDD+ processes, including the participation of all relevant stakeholders as well as national REDD+ readiness efforts.Footnote 67 The Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF), a global partnership of governments, businesses and civil society organisations, supports REDD+ efforts in developing countries.Footnote 68 Other initiatives such as the Green Climate Fund (GCF),Footnote 69 the Forest Peoples ProgrammeFootnote 70 and the Architecture for REDD+ Transactions (ART)Footnote 71 also support REDD+ readiness and implementation in countries.

Multiple interlinkages can be drawn from the global institutional arrangements on REDD+ and SFM. Notably the measuring, reporting and verification (MRV) functions under REDD+ contribute to enhanced access to forest-related data and information as highlighted in the UN Forest Instrument.Footnote 72 Biodiversity is a thematic element of SFM and a Cancun safeguard under REDD+. Similarly, the reduction of forest degradation and rehabilitation, activities under REDD+, are central to the SFM thematic element of forest health and vitality.Footnote 73 Furthermore, economic development, which is an SFM thematic element, is also a critical aspect of REDD+, as a financial mechanism rewarding efforts to reduce emissions from deforestation and to conserve forests. Likewise, both regimes call for the respect of the rights of Indigenous Peoples and members of local communities as well as traditional knowledge and use. They also both lay emphasis on transparency, public participation and capacity transfer from developed to developing countries.

2.1.2 Regional Initiatives

The institutional frameworks supporting SFM in Africa span the African Union, the Regional Economic Communities (RECs) and civil society organisations. The African Union’s Specialized Technical Committee (STC) on Agriculture, Rural Development, Water and Environment (ARDWE) provides the overall policy direction on forest-related issues on the continent.Footnote 74 The African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN), set up in 1985 to promote advocacy for environmental protection in Africa and formulating common positions in international negotiations, has highlighted forest issues since its first session.Footnote 75 The SADC Regional Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) Programme, coordinated by the SADC Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources (FANR) Directorate, is mandated to address forest law enforcement and governance as well as legal harvesting and trade in forest products in the region.Footnote 76 In addition, the FAO African Forestry and Wildlife Commission (AFWC), established in 1959, provides a policy and technical forum for countries within the continent to discuss and address forest issues.Footnote 77 It meets every two years. In the past, the AFWC endorsed the seminal Forestry Outlook Study for Africa (FOSA), a programme to study the future of forestry in Africa from 1998 to 2020.Footnote 78

A myriad of civil society organisations and regional networks support SFM policy development and implementation in the continent. The African Forest Forum (AFF) is the leading stakeholder platform for African forestry issues and SFM.Footnote 79 The Africa Forest Enterprises Connect Network (AFECONECT) is a knowledge network committed to the development of locally controlled forest enterprises for livelihood improvement in Africa.Footnote 80 The Global Forest and Trade Network (GFTN) project, Forest & Trade Networks for Legal and Sustainable Forest Management in Africa and Asia, promotes the conservation and sustainable management of tropical forests by assisting developing countries to improve forest governance.Footnote 81 The African Women’s Network for Community Management of Forests (REFACOF), established in 2010, is involved in sustainable forest resource management in Africa.Footnote 82 The African Community Forestry Network, launched in 2015, brings together community-led organisations working in agroforestry and forestry across Africa.Footnote 83

Similarly, REDD+ is supported through a wide range of initiatives. The NEPAD Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) Programme supports progress towards the 2014 Africa Climate Smart Agriculture Vision 25X25.Footnote 84 The Africa CSA Alliance Forum, established in 2015, provides the platform for cooperation towards the attainment of the goals of Vision 25x25. The ECOWAS Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECREE) runs a Programme of REDD+ activities, assisting countries in REDD+ readiness.Footnote 85 The Great Green Wall for the Sahara and the Sahel Initiative (GGWSSI) launched in 2008 by the UNCCD and the AU also addresses land degradation and desertification in the Sahel and Sahara, in view of boosting food security and supporting local communities to adapt to climate change.Footnote 86 The Africa NDC Hub, established by the Climate Change and Green Growth Department of the African Development Bank, provides an opportunity for stakeholder engagement on climate action policies and supports African countries in mobilising finance to support sustainable development priorities.Footnote 87

Regional initiatives have highlighted the connectedness between SFM and REDD+. The AU SFM Framework underlines the role of SFM in climate change mitigation while also identifying REDD+ as an opportunity to increase resources and action for SFM.Footnote 88 The SADC Forestry Strategy also highlights the role of SFM in climate regulation and calls upon the creation of regional mechanisms to enable protection, sustainable management and restoration of forests, toward climate resilience and mitigation.Footnote 89

2.1.3 SIDS Initiatives

There is no specialised SIDS organ dedicated to forestry and forest-related issues. The International Conferences on SIDS are the primary SIDS forum for discussion on SFM and climate-related forestry issues. In this respect, the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), the coalition of island states representing the interests of SIDS in international climate change negotiations and sustainable development processes, is involved in the implementation of the SAMOA Pathway.Footnote 90 Biodiversity and the sustainable management of marine and coastal areas as well as climate adaptation are strategic areas of the Indian Ocean Commission (IOC), an intergovernmental organisation regrouping Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius, Reunion and Seychelles.Footnote 91 The Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA), an international organisation consisting of 23 member countries bordering the Indian Ocean, runs the IORA Sustainable Development Program (ISDP), focused on strengthening regional cooperation on sustainable development issues.Footnote 92 In addition, civil society organisations aimed at the promotion of environmental conservation and climate action such as Eco-Sud and EPCO in Mauritius, Nature Seychelles in Seychelles and BioGuinea Foundation in Guinea Bissau also support SFM and REDD+.

Frameworks on the sustainable development of SIDS have underlined the interlinkages between the objectives of SFM and REDD+. The SAMOA Pathway underlines the need for enhancing coherence of the issues related to SIDS in UN processes, at national, regional and global levels.Footnote 93

2.2 Synergies with Sustainable Development

Sustainable development rests at the intersection of the rights to development, environment and participation.Footnote 94 While linkages between the SFM and REDD+ paradigms and the rights to development and environment are more palpable, their correlation with democratic tenets is reflected in the concepts of inclusive participation, accountability and transparency embedded in the frameworks.

2.2.1 Right to Development

The right to developmentFootnote 95 is defined as ‘an inalienable human right by virtue of which every human person and all peoples are entitled to participate in, contribute to, and enjoy economic, social, cultural and political development, in which all human rights and fundamental freedoms can be fully realized’.Footnote 96 Article 22 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (African Charter) recognises the right to development as follows:

  1. 1.

    All peoples shall have the right to their economic, social and cultural development with due regard to their freedom and identity and in the equal enjoyment of the common heritage of mankind.

  2. 2.

    States shall have the duty, individually or collectively, to ensure the exercise of the right to development.Footnote 97

It was more recently recognised that the implementation of the right to development should be guided by international frameworks on climate change, financing for development and sustainable development.Footnote 98 The substantive content and standards of the right to development draw from a number of international human rights law instruments,Footnote 99 establishing the principles for the promotion of higher standards of living, conditions of economic and social progress, development, and peace and stability. Both the SFM and REDD+ frameworks have salient links to the right to development. SFM is geared to the promotion of sustainable patterns of production and consumption of forest resources, poverty reduction, rural livelihoods and food security.Footnote 100 A key component of Africa’s agricultural sector, it is underscored in various regional development strategies, including the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) Pillar 1 Framework on Sustainable Land and Water Management,Footnote 101 and the African Development Bank ‘Feed Africa’ Strategy.Footnote 102 REDD+ urges actions to address the drivers of deforestation and reduce human pressure on forests.Footnote 103 The right to development also infers the right of peoples’ to self-determination, including full sovereignty over all their natural wealth and resources. The elaboration of REDD+ national strategies is required to address forest tenure issues, forest governance, gender considerations and ensure the full participation of Indigenous Peoples and local communities.Footnote 104 Along with tenure reform, some countries have defined carbon rights in national policies and provided for the enhancement of transparency and accountability in the distribution of benefits.Footnote 105 Secure ownership and long-term property rights are considered prerequisites for SFM.Footnote 106

2.2.2 Right to Environment

The links between human rights and the environment are increasingly well established, with environmental rights being incorporated into regional treaties, constitutions and soft law.Footnote 107 Article 24 of the African Charter, enshrines the right to a satisfactory environment as follows:

All peoples shall have the right to a general satisfactory environment favorable to their development.Footnote 108

The substantive elements of the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment span from clean air and water, adequate sanitation, healthy and sustainably produced food, non-toxic environments in which to live, work, study and play, healthy biodiversity and ecosystems to a safe climate.Footnote 109 As a climate mitigation mechanism, REDD+ is closely linked to the promotion of environmental rights. The implementation of REDD+ is also required to address environmental safeguards. SFM also plays a key role in the enjoyment of the right to environment as a result of its implications for the climate, biological diversity, sustainable food production and livelihoods.

2.2.3 Right to Participation

The right to participation and its derivative rights have been increasingly defined and reinforced in international human rights law.Footnote 110 The African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance requires that states ‘promote democracy, the principle of the rule of law and human rights’.Footnote 111 Notably, amongst other relevant duties, it recognises the promotion of good governance, including transparency and accountabilityFootnote 112 as well as citizen participation in the development process.Footnote 113 REDD+ and SFM both place special emphasis on the participation of forest communities and marginalised groups in decision-making and their implementation. REDD+ requires states to address forest governance issues, gender considerations and social safeguards,Footnote 114 which include transparent and effective governance structures, respect for indigenous rights and knowledge and the full and effective participation of all stakeholders, particularly indigenous and local communities, when developing and implementing national strategies.Footnote 115 States are also required to periodically report on these safeguards through the development of national Safeguards Information Systems (SIS).Footnote 116 SFM also requires the provision of opportunities for participation of women, indigenous communities, non-governmental organisations and forest dwellers,Footnote 117 and the recognition and knowledge of indigenous knowledge and capacity.Footnote 118

3 SFM and REDD+ Implementation in African SIDS

Drawing upon national country reports to the UNFF, the NDCs to the UNFCCC, the Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs) on the implementation of UN Agenda 2030 and reports on mitigation activities under REDD+, this section reviews SFM and REDD+ implementation in African SIDS.

3.1 Cabo Verde

About 11% of Cabo Verde’s land area is currently forested.Footnote 119 Cabo Verde was the first African country to ratify the UN Convention to Combat Desertification,Footnote 120 which calls for the sustainable management of forests.Footnote 121 It ratified the UN Convention on Biological DiversityFootnote 122 and the UN Framework Convention on Climate ChangeFootnote 123 in 1995. Forest cover on the island has increased by 10% in the last 30 years as a result of afforestation and reforestation measures.Footnote 124 Forest products constitute an important part of local economies, with an estimated 268,000 tonnes of fuelwood produced per year.Footnote 125 Forests are also recognised to contribute significantly to climate adaptation, notably the protection of soil and regeneration of water.Footnote 126 Cabo Verde introduced forest legislation in 1998 which regulates forestry activity within the country.Footnote 127 It has been strongly committed to enhancing climate resilience and capacities in adaptation, an important part of its sustainable development strategy ‘Cabo Verde Ambition 2030’.Footnote 128 From 2014 to 2021, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment and FAO ran the ‘Building Adaptive Capacity and Resilience of the Forestry Sector in Cabo Verde’, aimed at the development of a gender responsive, climate resilient and sustainable forest management strategic plan, capacity building of national stakeholders and the promotion of policy dialogue. In its last NDC, it has underlined enduring challenges in data gathering on forestry emissions and removals.Footnote 129 Whereas it has not yet introduced climate-related forest policies, Cabo Verde set broad targets for 2030, including to further pursue afforestation and reforestation measures, to formulate forest management plans and forest fire prevention plans and enhance the collection and management of data in the land sector including forest, current forest, wetlands and soil inventory from 2012.Footnote 130 It has also committed to improve access to and sharing of data and methodologies, integrate forest, wetlands and soil information into municipal development plans and capacity building in forestry, conservationism and entrepreneurship in the sustainably and locally sourced products business.Footnote 131 It is worth noting that Cabo Verde has not submitted a report to UNFF.

3.2 Comoros

Comoros has one of the highest rates of deforestation in the world, as a result of growing population pressure, dependence on agriculture and forest fires.Footnote 132 From 2001 to 2021, it lost 4.3% of tree cover, equivalent to 2.67 Mt of CO2 emissions.Footnote 133 This has led to the extinction of plant species, endangered fauna and flora and land degradation.Footnote 134 Currently, around 18% of its land area is forested.Footnote 135 Comoros ratified the UN Framework Convention on Climate ChangeFootnote 136 and the UN Convention on Biological DiversityFootnote 137 in 1994, and the UN Convention to Combat Desertification in 1998.Footnote 138 Forest legislation introduced in 1988 provided the legal framework for reforestation and forest management.Footnote 139 Its 1995 Framework Law on the Environment regulates activities related to the sustainable management and conservation of land biodiversity.Footnote 140 The 2012 Law on Forest Management governs forest management activities.Footnote 141 Forestry has been identified as one of the most vulnerable sectors to the adverse effects of climate change in Comoros, alongside agriculture, fisheries, water resources and health, in its last NDC.Footnote 142 The state has undertaken various reforestation programmes.Footnote 143 It has committed to conduct further afforestation and reforestation measures and establish protected areas of forest domain.Footnote 144 The management of forests and the strengthening of capacity in climate change adaptation for food security is part of the 2018–2021 FAO Country Programming Framework for Comoros.Footnote 145 Comoros submitted a national report to the 11th session of the UNFF.Footnote 146

3.3 Guinea Bissau

Guinea Bissau is host to rich tropical forests, extending over 70% of its land area.Footnote 147 Forestry represents one of the three key sectors of the economy, alongside agriculture and fisheries, altogether constituting 44% of GDP for most of the last two decades.Footnote 148 Deforestation is driven by the increase in demand for timber, biomass needs and the illegal logging of hardwoods, leading Guinea Bissau to become a net CO2 emitter from a carbon sink, since 2013.Footnote 149 It ratified the UN Convention on Biological Diversity,Footnote 150 the UN Convention to Combat DesertificationFootnote 151 and the UN Framework Convention on Climate ChangeFootnote 152 in 1995. It introduced forest legislation in 1991Footnote 153 which was repealed and superseded by a new forest law in 2011Footnote 154 which promotes SFM, and also included a five-year moratorium to ban the felling and export of timber. Its national forest policy has been revised in 2015 to integrate the SDGs. Guinea Bissau however has a fairly comprehensive institutional and financial framework on SFM, which includes a national forestry plan, national plan on agricultural investment and the national investment plan in forestry. It highlights institutional issues, conflicts between national actors and the dearth of public funding as challenges to the implementation of SFM policies.Footnote 155 Furthermore, it stresses the need to better integrate climate change in forest management plans. In its last NDC, it highlighted the need for strengthening enforcement, monitoring, inspection, and regulatory measures as well as the creation of incentives for SFM.Footnote 156 It committed to develop a national forest land restoration and reforestation programme, establish a new forestry policy which would enhance socioeconomic balance and account for the needs of communities and conduct a nationwide forest inventory.Footnote 157 Guinea Bissau has engaged with REDD+. It established a Working Group on REDD+, tasked with running REDD+ readiness activities which developed the Roadmap of Preparation to REDD+ 2016–2020.Footnote 158 In 2019, it submitted a Forest Reference Emission Level towards results-based payments.Footnote 159 Guinea Bissau has also submitted a national report on progress on the UN Strategic Plan for Forests to the UNFF in 2019.Footnote 160

3.4 Mauritius

Forest cover constitutes 19% of Mauritian territory.Footnote 161 Mauritius ratified the UN Convention on Biological Diversity,Footnote 162 the UN Framework Convention on Climate ChangeFootnote 163 in 1992, and the UN Convention to Combat DesertificationFootnote 164 in 1996. Mauritius also has a fairly intricate legal and institutional framework on SFM, which includes the Forests & Reserves Act 1983,Footnote 165 the 2006 National Forest Policy,Footnote 166 the 2016 Strategic Plan for Food crops, Livestock and Forestry Sector (2016–2020),Footnote 167 and the 2017 National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan 2017–2025.Footnote 168 It has underlined implementation challenges as a result of insufficient financial resources, inadequate capacity building on SFM and climate change, fragmented institutional and legal arrangements and the lack of protection of private forest lands in forest legislation. In this view, it is undertaking wide-ranging institutional reforms, supported by FAO.Footnote 169 It has also benefitted from the SADC Project for Forest Conservation and Sustainable Management of Forest Resources in Southern African Development Community, which aims at improving national policies and programmes on forest information systems, forest fire management and participatory forest management.Footnote 170 Mauritius introduced climate legislation in 2021 which provides for mitigation in the forestry sector.Footnote 171 In its last NDC, it highlighted efforts to integrate climate adaptation in forestryFootnote 172 and pursue reforestation efforts through the National Tree Planting Campaign.Footnote 173 It has committed to promoting agroforestry development sites.Footnote 174 Mauritius submitted a national report to UNFF-11.Footnote 175

3.5 Sao Tome and Principe

Sao Tome and Principe is home to one of the most diverse forest ecosystems globally. Most of its forests have been transformed into shade plantations and agro-forestry systems for coffee and cocoa production and to meet growing food demand.Footnote 176 It ratified the UN Convention to Combat DesertificationFootnote 177 in 1998, and the UN Convention on Biological DiversityFootnote 178 and the UN Framework Convention on Climate ChangeFootnote 179 in 1999. It introduced forest legislation in 2001.Footnote 180 The FAO Project ‘Supporting Landscape and Livelihoods Resilience in Sao Tome and Principe’ is geared to promote forest restoration and SFM in the country to reduce carbon emissions from deforestation and reverse forest and soil degradation.Footnote 181 Sao Tome and Principe is one of 30 participating countries in the AfDB Project ‘Support to Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) investments in Africa’, seeking to strengthen the capacity of African countries in resource mobilisation for REDD+ projects and SFM,Footnote 182 further to the Abidjan Resolution on REDD+ in Africa.Footnote 183 In its updated NDC, it commits to the development of a national programme for the sustainable management of forest and managed forest ecosystems by 2025.Footnote 184 It has also pointed to the development of a National Strategy for Forest Communication, and a National Platform of Forests.Footnote 185 Sao Tome and Principe has not submitted a national report to UNFF.

3.6 Seychelles

Over 70% of Seychelles is forested,Footnote 186 of which 50% constitute protected forests. It ratified the UN Convention on Biological DiversityFootnote 187 and the UN Framework Convention on Climate ChangeFootnote 188 in 1992 and the UN Convention to Combat DesertificationFootnote 189 in 1997. In 2019, it initiated an FAO-funded project to establish a national forestry policy and legal framework, which will include SFM.Footnote 190 As part of its climate adaptation efforts, it has undertaken forest restoration work programmes under the Project ‘Ecosystem Based Adaptation to Climate Change in Seychelles’ in collaboration with the UNDP and the Global Environment Facility Programme Coordination Unit.Footnote 191 In its last NDC, it committed to pursue the promotion of agroforestry.Footnote 192 Seychelles has not submitted a national report to UNFF.

4 Enhancing REDD+ Readiness and Implementation across African SIDS

An inquiry into the state of REDD+ readiness and implementation across African SIDS highlights that forests and the forestry sector constitute an important part of local economies and livelihoods while also having critical environmental functions. This is eminently recognised by African SIDS in their national sustainable development agendas and consistently highlighted in their reports on progress towards sustainable development and climate action. Most African SIDS have a relatively comprehensive national legal and institutional framework on forestry, although these instruments do not currently adequately integrate climate adaptation and mitigation. This corroborates the missed opportunity highlighted in research, of tackling the twin crises of climate change and biodiversity conservation more generally across other SIDS.Footnote 193 African SIDS have mostly committed to remedy this gap in their latest NDCs. While only half of the African SIDS have submitted reports to the UNFF, these reports provide more detailed insight into the distinct challenges they face in meeting standards in SFM and REDD+ readiness and implementation. These reflect the broader challenges met by developing countries and Africa states in particular, including most importantly financial and technical shortcomings in data gathering and sharing as well as the development of monitoring and reporting processes coupled with a lack of policy coordination and coherence across sectors and governance frameworks.Footnote 194 This echoes key constraints identified in implementing biodiversity conservation more broadly by SIDS, including challenges in concessional financing, resource mobilisation, capacity-building and development, notably in environmental governance, scientific cooperation, technology transfer and knowledge management and conducting public awareness.Footnote 195

Scarce reporting to the UNFF and limited reporting on SFM within other intergovernmental processes by African SIDS hint at the dearth of political impetus and interest by policymakers and other national stakeholders into forest-related issues. Insufficient political strategies for promoting monitoring and reporting typically lead to inadequate funding, lack of expertise and low data availability.Footnote 196 These processes, however, are vital for facilitating transparency and evidence-based decision-making, enhanced forest-related dialogue and communication and the inclusion and participation of a broad range of national stakeholders, including civil society.Footnote 197 In this view, political will and capacities on SFM and the climate benefits of forests should be further consolidated in African SIDS. REDD+ promotes the role of relevant organisations and stakeholders in supporting efforts, notably by addressing drivers of deforestation and forest degradation, sharing experiences, supporting capacity-building, providing technical assistance and mobilising resources. It can be noted nonetheless, from an analysis of its written submissions and statements, that at the global level, AOSIS has engaged sparingly on forests and climate-related forest issues. An inquiry into the position of AOSIS and its individual members over the span of 1995 to 2011 underlines the lack of consensus on forestry, notably REDD+.Footnote 198 In the past, AOSIS notably stressed forest conservation as a long-standing practice of SIDS, and called for more conducive incentives:

The international community must better assist us to increase the awareness, creation and enforcement of national legislation to ensure sustainable rotational logging practices and replanting initiatives, as well as stakeholder participation, and action plans to address deforestation and sustainable forestry.

We note that the Kyoto Protocol rewards countries that re-forest and afforest after degrading their forests, but potentially penalizes countries that have encouraged conservation or sustainable forestry. We call for increased international recognition of the long-standing conservation practices of many of our member states.Footnote 199

In 2009, it further stated that:

Robust environmental integrity will need to be maintained if a REDD mechanism is linked to the international carbon markets.Footnote 200

It has also highlighted the critical role of indigenous communities in furthering forestry protection in the context of efforts to combat climate change.Footnote 201

More recently, it has been acknowledged that there is an urgent need for responsive interventions in biodiversity conservation in SIDS and a case to raise the profile of SIDS concerns in the global arena.Footnote 202 SIDS highlighted the need for a SIDS-based approach in implementation, which would help in providing better suited means of implementation to the specific vulnerabilities in SIDS, in pushing the biodiversity agenda at the national level and in supporting alignment and synergies with other global processes.Footnote 203 In this vein, stronger advocacy on SFM and an enhanced integration of forestry in climate action plans and legislation is critical for advancing a SIDS-based approach in the international arena and for enabling implementation in SIDS. AOSIS should leverage momentum in climate talks to shed more light on forest policy coherence and synergies across various sectors for achieving overall global biodiversity and sustainable development gains. In so doing, it should ensure further account of regional contexts. This would entail coordination with regional SIDS organisations such as IORA and IOC. Moreover, leveraging the potential engagement of RECs in the continent, as drivers of African integration, and central to the implementation of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development and sustainable development, would contribute in harmonising SFM policy and steering REDD+ readiness and implementation.

As there is also a stark shortage of empirical evidence on the experiences and challenges in the implementation of forestry and SFM frameworks by African SIDS, further research would also be vital to help to shape adapted solutions for enhancing REDD+ readiness and implementation.

5 Conclusion

This chapter sought to explore the scope for enhanced REDD+ readiness and implementation in African SIDS by leveraging its synergies with SFM. It highlighted the nexus between SFM, REDD+ and sustainable development from a rights-based approach. The SFM and REDD+ frameworks tie closely with the rights to development and environment. The requirements for participation of indigenous and local communities as well as MRV in these processes also ensure their alignment with the right to participation. The international institutional framework supporting SFM and REDD+ is intricate. A review of SFM and REDD+ implementation in African SIDS through national reports to the UNFF as well as NDCs, VNRs and mitigation activities under REDD+ reveals that whilst most African SIDS dispose of relatively comprehensive policy and institutional frameworks for SFM, which can be further leveraged toward REDD+ readiness and implementation, these should be further integrated with climate mitigation and adaptation. It suggests that the extant regional framework supporting SFM in Africa should be further leveraged for the benefit of African SIDS by enhancing partnerships with SIDS-led networks and intergovernmental organisations. It also highlights the need for further engagement by AOSIS on the linkages between SFM and REDD+ in international climate change negotiations and sustainable development processes.