Institutional Assessment Tool for Benefit Sharing Under REDD+ Property Rights and Resource Governance Project (PRRGP)

The tool is intended to help countries design and implement effective REDD+ programs that share financial benefits equitably among domestic stakeholders, particularly local resource users. The concept of Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation and enhancing forest carbon stocks (REDD+) has gained significant momentum in the last five years as a strategy for mitigating greenhouse gas emissions in developing countries. REDD+ has been envisioned as a performance-based global incentive mechanism, which will financially reward developing countries that are able to demonstrate reduced emissions or increased carbon sequestration from forest areas. Under a global REDD+ regime, it is anticipated that billions of dollars of public and private finance could be channeled to developing countries. These countries must decide how to spend and distribute funds domestically in order to achieve the objectives of REDD+. Their decisions will likely depend on their particular drivers of deforestation, socio-economic contexts, and institutional and legal frameworks. As a result, countries may differ significantly in how they design and implement REDD+ programs. Nonetheless, the ways in which the financial benefits of REDD+ are shared with domestic stakeholders – and particularly local resource users – will be critically important to the success of REDD+ in all countries. Emerging international standards and safeguards suggest that REDD+ benefit sharing arrangements should be: equitable in the way that benefits are shared among stakeholders, cost efficient in delivering benefits, and effective in providing incentives and rewards that change the behavior of resource users over the long term in order to reduce emissions. The institutional assessment tool is divided into two parts: Institutional Mapping and Institutional Assessment. Part I, Institutional Mapping, provides an overview of the vertical and horizontal distribution of REDD+ finance, including sources of finance, management of finance, and redistribution of finance. It also examines benefit sharing institutions, types of beneficiaries and benefits, and the structure of benefits. Part II, Institutional Assessment, evaluates the financial management, governance and oversight, distribution of REDD+ finance, distribution of REDD+ benefits, monitoring, conflict resolution, and community institutions. It assesses the independence and capacity of staff, the quality of accounting and financial management practices, the presence of independent financial audit and oversight, and the transparency and inclusiveness of decision-making. The tool also provides guidance on data collection and using assessment results. It is anticipated that the tool will be used to support the development of new institutions and/or build the capacity of existing ones, with the ultimate goal of achieving equitable and effective REDD+ benefit sharing arrangements. The tool is designed to be flexible and adaptable to the specific needs and contexts of different countries. It is intended to be used in conjunction with other tools and approaches, such as the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) guidelines for REDD+ benefit sharing, to ensure that REDD+ programs are designed and implemented in a way that is consistent with international standards and safeguards. The institutional assessment tool is a critical component of the Property Rights and Resource Governance Project (PRRGP), which is implemented by Tetra Tech ARD and funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The tool is expected to contribute to the success of REDD+ programs in developing countries by helping to identify and address institutional and governance challenges that may be barriers to achieving equitable and effective benefit sharing arrangements.