The Private Sector in the REDD+ Supply Chain: Trends, challenges and opportunities (Policy Paper)

A key determinant of REDD+ success will be ensuring effective private sector engagement.

Funding is a major concern in the implementation of REDD+ activities and involving the private sector will be absolutely critical to scale up investment in REDD+. The private sector can also make vital contributions to REDD+ initiatives through the range of its expertise and be part of the solution to mitigating climate change by addressing key drivers of deforestation under attractive conditions. Nevertheless, little has been done to identify who the key private sector players are, the roles they play and the sector's diversity in terms of scale, expertise, motivations and forms of involvement.

At the 17th Conference of the Parties, the willingness to diversify funding approaches for REDD+—including "public and private, bilateral and multilateral, and alternative sources" as well as the recognition of the possibility of developing "appropriate market-based approaches for REDD+"—were significant moves forward to help facilitate the mobilization of private finance for REDD+.

The ASB Partnership for the Tropical Forest Margins and the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) explored the role of the private sector in REDD+ under a three-year REDD+ capacity-building initiative supported by Norad.

The policy paper is the result of substantive research that included an extensive desk study, in-country semi-structured interviews with REDD+ experts and practitioners, and regional expert meetings. A policy brief and key messages are also available here.

Using the REDD+ supply chain as an analytical framework and drawing on information gathered through expert meetings and interviews with over 40 developing-country REDD+ decision-makers and implementers, the research examined:

• In the REDD+ supply chain, who are the private sector players and what are their motivations and types of interventions?

• What are the current challenges for private sector engagement in REDD+?

• How can private sector engagement in REDD+ be enhanced?

In exploring these key areas, the research aims to increase the scope and scale of effective private sector involvement in REDD+. The research concludes that while challenges exist, private sector involvement can help bridge the financing gap between public sector financing and developing country needs, as well as make vital contributions to REDD+ initiatives by providing technical expertise.