The purpose of the Nepal visit was to build awareness about UNFCCC REDD+ in developing countries and to have face-to-face meetings with authorities, including senior leaders of the REDD+ Implementation Centre of Nepal. Led by Dr. Jagdish Kishwan, CfRN REDD+ Policy Expert Asia Pacific Region, CfRN met with Haribol Gajurel, Political Advisor to the Prime Minister of Nepal and briefed him about CfRN programs, work in Americas, Africa and Asia-Pacific regions, and building capacity for implementation of UNFCCC REDD+. Dr Kishwan also met with officials within the forestry sector.

The visit also explored the possibility of CfRN working with Nepal’s REDD+ Implementation Centre, providing support in review of their REDD+ documents and helping update their 2017 Forest Reference Emissions Level submitted to the UNFCCC. Notable areas of interest included CfRN’s South-South Knowledge Exchange Program whereby countries benefit by sharing of information with other rainforest countries who are at an advanced stage of implementing UNFCCC REDD+.

CfRN seeks to work with Nepal in the category of Light Touch Countries in its capacity building program, and invites the country to participate in its South-South Knowledge Exchange Program.

For Bhutan, the CfRN team held an online meeting on 10 February 2023 for the purpose of taking forward its collaborative work on UNFCCC REDD+ implementation. The meeting included Bhutan’s REDD+ team, including Kinley Shering, REDD+ Chief, Sonam Peldon, Community Expert, and Tashi Waiba, REDD+ Expert.

During the meeting, the teams discussed Bhutan’s REDD+ submissions, including its National Forest Monitoring System (NFMS), National REDD+ Strategy (NRPS), and its Safeguards Information System (SIS). It was agreed that CfRN would review each submission.

CfRN will also start training sessions with Bhutan’s REDD+ teams on the REDD+ framework, including UNFCCC decisions related to REDD+, updates on the Paris Agreement, Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) guidelines and requirements as well as CfRN’s approach to land representation, harmonization between Greenhouse Gas (GHG) inventories, and REDD+ & Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). As part of the training, the CfRN’s Land Use Assessment App and the CfRN Foundational platform will be introduced to the team as tools to improve Land Use and Land Use Changes (LULUC) data collection and data processing and reporting.