APA-Abidjan (Côte d’Ivoire) The country is preparing to propose an updated document on reference emission levels for forests and/or reference level for forests (Nerf/Nrf) to the United Nations Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
The document was submitted to stakeholders for validation this Wednesday, December 27, 2023, during a workshop organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations at its headquarters in Abidjan.
According to Colonel Kouame Aoulou, Permanent Executive Secretary of the international Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) mechanism, the workshop aims to update the emission and reference levels for forests.
“We are all experiencing the hazards of climate change, and to reduce these emissions, Côte d’Ivoire has committed to the Redd + mechanism, whose main pillar is the monitoring of deforestation and all activities linked to CO2 emissions,” Colonel Aoulou Kouame said.
He went on to explain that one of the instruments used for this monitoring is the forest reference level (Nerf/Nrf), which measures the performance of initiatives undertaken on the national territory.
“We’re not glossing over the fact that Côte d’Ivoire is committed to achieving its Determined National Contribution (CDN) targets, and the Nrf comes just in time to help channel efforts and all the initiatives and projects developed on the territory,” he pointed out.
According to Colonel Aoulou, an initial document submitted in 2017 (Nerf 2017) took into account a number of elements, including carbon dioxide (CO²). This reference document will enable us to submit an updated reference level.
Thanks to the FAO, the World Bank and technical and financial partners, the Ministry in charge of the Environment has been able to benefit from assistance to refine the technology and take into account a greater number of emitting gases.
“The challenge is to make it possible to measure the efforts of all players in the national territory in terms of emissions reductions in the forestry sector, as well as efforts to reduce deforestation,” Colonel Aoulou Kouame noted.
The permanent secretary of Redd+ emphasized that the ultimate objective is carbon payment, compared to the reduction of greenhouse gases. He added that it is necessary to have effective traceability of the data collected, in order to submit them to donors.
Côte d’Ivoire’s commitment to the Redd+ mechanism has led to forestry reform, which has reduced the rate of deforestation in the country. In addition, agroforestry and reforestation have been stepped up.
For Abraham Bio, in charge of notification and verification measures in terms of carbon accounting, this new reference framework (updated Nerf/Nrf document) is an asset for projecting into the future and seeing the actions already taken in the fight against carbon emissions.
He points out that the implementation of this project on the scale of Tai Park has generated 17 billion CFA francs in carbon credit reductions in Côte d’Ivoire. Data from Nerf 2023 show that the historical average is around 46 million tonnes of CO² per year in Côte d’Ivoire.
AP/fss/abj/APA