Read up on the latest from the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility 

Greetings!

Thank you for reading updates from the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF). This issue highlights the latest news, publications and events from December 2015 through March 2016. Please enjoy and contact us with any question or feedback. 

Why Forests are Key to Climate, Water, Health, and Livelihoods
March 21, the International Day of Forests, was an opportunity to highlight the central role forests play in ecology and climate change, and the significant economic, social and health benefits that forests can provide.
Guatemala, Uganda to present mid-term progress, Mexico to present Readiness Package in May
The next Participants Committee meeting (PC21) will take place from May 3-5 in Washington, DC.

At PC21, Guatemala and Uganda will present their Mid-Term Progress Reports (MTRs) with requests for additional funding, and Mexico will present its Readiness Package. 

In February, Ethiopia's MTR was reviewed virtually; there was no request for additional funding.
DRC, Costa Rica to be first countries to present Emission Reductions Program Documents in June
The next Carbon Fund meeting (CF14) will take place from June 20 - 22 in Paris.

At CF14, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Costa Rica will be the first countries to present Emission Reductions Program Documents. 

Updated technical training materials online
A refreshed version of the technical training material page on the FCPF site makes it easier to access resources like the REDD+ Decision Support Toolbox and complementary GOFC-GOLD Training Modules along with the REDD+ Cost Assessment Tool. 

Ethiopia establishes baseline carbon emissions from forests 

Looking at increasing its climate action, Ethiopia was the first African country to submit its Forest Reference Level to the United Nations Framework Conference on Climate Change earlier this year.  It is a national reference level (baseline) calculated based on a historical average of emissions and removals between 2000 and 2013.

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Buffer Guidelines approved 
In January 2016, Carbon Fund Participants approved the FCPF Emission Reductions Program Buffer Guidelines. The guidelines are useful because they establish rules for how to handle the buffer emission reductions that are set aside in case emission reductions that are already generated are reversed for some reason (due to a fire, for example). 

These guidelines also represent the final piece of the jigsaw for the approval of the FCPF Methodological Framework. 
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Letters of Intent signed for four Carbon Fund countries 
Mozambique, Madagascar, Cote d'Ivoire and Nicaragua are the most recent countries to sign Letters of Intent with the Carbon Fund. 

The Letter of Intent is a legally-binding agreement between the country's government and the World Bank in which both parties agree to negotiate in good faith and in due time a carbon financing agreement for a large-scale REDD+ program. 


In the news
Upcoming meetings

May 3 - 5, 2016: 21st Participants Committee Meeting (PC21), Washington, DC

June 20 - 22, 2016: 1 4th Carbon Fund Meeting (CF14), Paris

September 25 - 30, 2016: 22nd Participants Committee Meeting (PC22) and 9th Participants Assembly (PA9), e xact dates and venue to be confirmed

End of November/early December, 2016: 15th Carbon Fund Meeting (CF15)e xact dates and venue to be confirmed

Submission deadlines 

May 20, 2016: Submission deadline for MTRs to be reviewed virtually (between PC21 and PC22)

July 15, 2016:  Deadline for PC/Observers to submit comments for virtual MTRs

July 29, 2016: Submission deadline for MTRs and R-Package to be reviewed at PC22


March 21 photo credit: Arne Hoel/World Bank, Letters of Intent photo credit: Cynthia Flores Mora, Upcoming meetings/submission deadlines photo credits: Vincent Tremeau/The World Bank, all other photos courtesy of World Bank, used with permission.