Paraguay has experienced important changes in its forest cover over the last several decades mainly due to land use change.  The forest cover of the Eastern Region has been reduced from 55% of the surface area in the 1940s to 24% in the 2000s, that is, some 6.7 million hectares.  The Western Region or Chaco on the other hand has suffered a reduction of 7% of its forest cover or 1.15 million hectares between the 1990s and 2000s.  These are factors that have increased Paraguay´s status as a country vulnerable to the impacts of Climate Change.

Several causes underlie the deforestation and degradation of forests, among them those causes related with insufficiencies and weaknesses of the agricultural policies that promote extensive and intensive production of export crops, the lack of land zoning as well as the lack of compliance, gaps in the legal framework and institutional capacities.  The Government of Paraguay has been making efforts to improve the reference frameworks by developing sector policies such as the environmental and forest policies, plans and strategies, and regulations.  These frameworks will serve as the basis to implement the REDD National Joint Programme, which will support the Government of Paraguay in its efforts to overcome the drivers of deforestation and degradation of forests, ensuring that the country is REDD-ready.  To achieve the proposed objective the Joint Programme will pursue the following three Outcomes and respective Outputs:

Outcome 1: Improved institutional and technical capacity of Government and Civil Society organizations to manage REDD activities in Paraguay

Output 1.1: National Action Plan for Reduction of Emissions due to Deforestation and Degradation of Forests (REDD-Plan)

Output 1.2: National Environmental (SEAM) and Forest (INFONA) Information System to measure and evaluate reduction of emissions from deforestation and degradation of forests

Output 1.3 National system of carbon accounting and data management

Output 1.4 Equitable and transparent system of payments and benefit sharing

Outcome 2: Capacity established to implement REDD at local level

Output 2.1 REDD Demonstration project

Output 2.2: REDD project proposals designed for other forest areas

Outcome 3: Increased knowledge and capacity building on REDD for forest dependent communities, especially indigenous peoples and other relevant stakeholders in the country

Output 3.1 National awareness campaign on REDD

Output 3.2 Training and consultation on REDD with Indigenous Peoples

Output 3.3 Training and consultation on REDD with small, medium and large producers and other stakeholders

The selected intervention strategy will allow mainstreaming the REDD components into the plans, programmes and budgets of the concerned institutions while at the same time their capacities are strengthened to ensure that Paraguay is REDD ready within the expected time frame and the results are sustainable in time.  The contribution that the Programme may make through its components to improve the implementation of policies in regard to human rights and poverty alleviation is of particular importance.  During all its stages the Joint Programme will emphasize engagement and participation of all stakeholders, especially the forest-dependent stakeholders, in order to ensure an adequate ownership and the sustainability of REDD as well as of the instruments to be developed within the framework of the programme.

For more information on the programmatic and techical aspects of this programme, please see the UN-REDD website.