Members are to come up with proposals on reducing rising greenhouse emissions.
A Prime Ministerial decree of June 13, 2012 created, organised and spelt out the functioning of the steering committee in charge of reducing gas emissions resulting from deforestation, environmental degradation and unsustainable management and conservation of forests.
The universally acclaimed Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (Redd+) process which is an effort to create financial value for the carbon stored in forests. It offers incentives to developing countries to reduce emissions from deforested lands in order to invest in low-carbon paths for sustainable development. Experts say Redd+ goes beyond deforestation and forest degradation by including the role of conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forest carbon stocks.
According to the Prime Ministerial decree, the steering committee is placed under the tutelage of the Ministry of Environment, Nature Protection and Sustainable Development. It has as mission to pilot activities geared towards reducing forest and environment-related emissions. It is expected to formulate policies and strategies to meet the Redd+ process and draw up criteria for the selection of projects through which the objectives could be attained, among others.
Chaired by the Minister of the Environment, Nature Protection and Sustainable Development and assisted by his counterpart of Forestry and Wildlife, the committee is assisted by a technical secretariat from where its activities will be coordinated. The Focal Point of the UN Forum on Climate Change as well as the National Coordinator of Redd+ are members.
Records show that deforestation and forest degradation through agricultural expansion, conversion to pastureland, infrastructure development, destructive logging, fires etc., account for nearly 20 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions, more than the entire global transportation sector and second only to the energy sector.
It is now clear that in order to contain the impact of climate change within limits that society will reasonably be able to tolerate, the global average temperatures must be stabilised within two degrees Celsius. This, analysts say, will be practically impossible to achieve without reducing emissions from the forest sector, in addition to other mitigation actions.
