Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use

The Working Group is guided by a steering committee of 14 representatives of organizations, including Winrock International, the Center for International Forestry Research, the United Nations Development Programme, the Governors’ Climate and Forests Task Force, the US Agency for International Development,  the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Vietnam, US Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service, Lutheran World Relief, the Center for People and Forests, SouthSouthNorth, and SilvaCarbon. Winrock International currently serves as the Secretariat for the Working Group. The current Working Group co-chairs are Timothy Pearson (Winrock International) and Kimberly Todd (United Nations Development Programme). See the AFOLU Working Group factsheet Click here to read about our Steering Committee members Contact us to become a member

Workshops The Working Group has co-organized about eight workshops over the past two years on: Carbon accounting in mangrove ecosystems, forests, and croplands; mitigation and LEDS planning in the land use sector; rice production and accounting; and options to finance land use projects, including engaging the private sector. We expect to co-organize three to four workshops in 2017. AFOLU Working Group Steering Committee Products

• Winrock and FAO resources

Case studies

• The relationship between LEDS and REDD+: Case studies from Peru and Guatemala
• A Planning Framework for Low Emissions and Resilient Rural Development Strategies (Rural LEDS)

Publications

• ASEAN peatland management strategy 2006-2020
• Assessment on peatlands, biodiversity and climate change
• Developing forestry and land use policy in the context of climate change
• Gambut: ASEAN peatland forest project Malaysia component special publication
• Role of Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use Mitigation in INDCs and National Policy in Asia (review draft)
• Land and natural resource governance and tenure for enabling sustainable cocoa cultivation in Ghana

Technical reports

• Accuracy assessment for forest and land use maps From 1990 to 2010, Viet Nam
• Establishing a reference level for REDD+ from 1990 to 2010, Viet Nam
• Analysis of the raw data of sample plots in the National Forest Inventory and Monitor- ing Programme (NFIMAP) – Cycle IV From 2006 to 2010

Tools and training resources

• LEAF guidelines for stratification of REDD+: Using a national inventory
• Lowering Emissions in Asia's Forests (LEAF)
• LEAF technical guidance series: Emission factors for deforestation
• LEAF technical guidance series: Module AD-D: Activity data for deforestation
• LEAF technical guidance series: Developing a reference level for carbon stock enhancements
• Guidance on low emission land use planning
• LEAF technical guidance on development of a REDD+ reference level
• Decision Support Tool: Integrated REDD+ accounting frameworks: Nested national approaches 
• RSPO Manual on best management practices (BMPs) for existing oil palm cultivation on peat
• Financing land use mitigation: a practical guide for decision-makers
• Winrock International's destructive harvest data entry tool - version 2012

Webinars

• Mapping finance as a key tool for implementing NDCs: Lessons from Cote d'Ivoire

Presentations

• Introduction to the AFOLU Working Group - October 2017
• Engaging the private sector to finance LEDS: the AFOLU perspective
• Desarrollo rural resiliente y bajo en emisiones - un marco de planificacion

Communities of Practice The AFOLU (Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use) Community of Practice in Africa focuses on facilitating peer to peer exchange, providing training and technical assistance and sharing best practices on:

• Agroforestry action as a driver of socioeconomic development and emission reduction
• Linking agricultural production with small-scale energy sources to enable socioeconomic development and emission reductions
• Analytical approaches to assess greenhouse gas emissions and socioeconomic development impact of actions across the energy and agriculture sector through integrating models and translating approaches into policies and actions.

The Rural LEDS Community of Practice as a vehicle to facilitate peer to peer exchanges among LAC governments, private sector, international programs and other relevant stakeholders who are working on policies, measures and planning approaches that greatly impact rural development. Find out more here. Forestry: carbon accounting; mitigation methods: Several countries and organizations (e.g., SilvaCarbon program in Bangkok, Thailand; Asia LEDS Program; LEDS LAC Regional Platform) highlighted the need for more detailed methods for carbon accounting for mangroves; identification of types of finance available for land use activities. The Working Group co-supported and provided experts to technical workshops in 2016, including:

• Regional workshop on incorporating mangroves into national GHG inventories (March 2016, Siem Reap, Cambodia)
• National workshop on mangrove carbon stocks and implications for conservation and management (March 2016, Phnom Penh, Cambodia)
• Panel on “Private Sector involvement in achieving AFLU NDCs : ESGs and banking sector” (ALP Forum, Hanoi, June 2016)
• Presentation on interactions and contradictions between REDD+ readiness planning and finance, and LEDS land use plans (LEDS LAC annual meeting Sept, Panama City).

Outcomes: The mangrove workshops produced a rich summary of available methods, gaps in methods, and identified next steps in carbon accounting. The Hanoi finance panel assessed the potential of early work to reform environmental, social and governance standards at private banks to leverage lending practices to small and medium agricultural enterprises. Relationship of REDD+ to LEDS: The LEDS LAC Regional Platform expressed interest in starting assessment of the relationship of REDD+ and LEDS land use initiatives. At the regional annual meeting, Winrock experts identified how REDD+ readiness plans and finance do not yet integrate well with emerging LEDS plans and finance, which each having separate agencies driving them. Country mini case studies in Peru and Guatemala were presented and discussed. As a result of these discussions, LEDS LAC and the Working Group are collaborating to revise this work into an issue paper and webinar in late 2016-early 2017.

The Working Group welcomes requests for short-term technical advice and support at no cost to the requesting organization. Find out more about LEDS GP's Remote Expert Assistance on LEDS (REAL) service.