National Technical Committee on REDD Inaugurated

National Technical Committee on Reducing Emission from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) has been inaugurated. While inaugurating the   committee members, Minister of Environment, Mr. John Odey, said the inauguration marks another milestone in Nigeria's efforts towards implementing concrete actions and programs for mitigating the effects of climate change in Nigeria.

"You will recall that Nigeria actively participated in the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark in December, 2009, with the main outcome being the Copenhagen Accord.

Although the Accord fell short of expectations, it made progress on REDD, through its provision that, "There should be immediate establishment of a mechanism including REDD+ to mobilize capital from developed countries for reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation and enhancing removal of greenhouse gas emission by forests", said the minister.

"The Partnership is to support the implementation of REDD+ actions in developing countries with scaled up financial support from developed countries. Nigeria recognizes that support to developing countries would reduce emissions from deforestation, and forest degradation (REDD+) is a critical factor in the efforts towards developing natural strategies for climate change mitigation in our countries.

The National Afforestation Program is designed to address issues of carbon sequestration, bio-diversity and economic empowerment.

In his remarks Daouda Toure, UNDP Resident Representative and Resident Coordinator for United Nations in Nigeria, said that Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries (REDD+) is a proposed environmental finance mechanism to simultaneously address forest conservation and climate change mitigation within the framework of sustainable development.