Comparative study of different forest definitions, in the framework of REDD+ and RSPO Ivory Coast
FORESTRY 
TRANSVERSAL
Services: Strategic analysis and foresight, Technical and economic advice
Countries: Ivory Coast
Dates of intervention: 2014/07 - 2014/10
Amount executed: 23 420 €
Total amount of the service: 23 420 €
Main backer: European Forest Institute - Client
Main beneficiary: National REDD+ Commission of Côte d’Ivoire
Co-contractors:
Support provider: SalvaTerra
Experts: Olivier BOUYER, Jérôme MAURICE
Certificate of satisfactory executionÉvaluer les avantages et inconvénients des différentes définitions de la forêt en Côte d'Ivoire - État de l'art des bonnes pratiques et expériences internationales en matière de système de suivi des forêtsNote technique sur la définition de forêt et le suivi de la déforestation dans la filière palmier à huile
Context of the service
The Ivorian government has set itself the goal of reaching 20% forest cover by 2030 and reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions related to deforestation through its commitment to REDD+. The private sector is organizing itself to meet a growing demand for products from responsible agriculture, or even "0 deforestation". The palm oil industry has therefore undertaken to interpret certain principles, criteria and indicators of the RSPO (Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil) certification standard, in order to adapt its requirements to the country's realities.
It is in this context that the National REDD+ Commission of Côte d'Ivoire requested a comparative study of the different definitions of forest in Côte d'Ivoire, in particular in the context of REDD+ and RSPO, in order to assess the implications of these definitions in terms of forest monitoring.
Services provided
The following services were provided:
- State of international good practices (IPCC guidelines in the AFOLU sector, GOFC-GOLD guidelines, REDD+ Sourcebook, RSPO guidelines, etc.);
- Collection of informations on the capacities and expectations of actors in terms of forest monitoring (CN-REDD+, BNEDT-CCT, AFD, CURAT, IGT, SODEFOR, OIPR, AIPH, FIRCA, GIZ, DPIF and FLEGT Unit);
- Quantitative and qualitative analyses of the economic and environmental implications of different forest definitions;
- Case studies in the cocoa and oil palm sectors based on Landsat, RapidEye and Ikonos images (with the support of the JRC of Ispra in the framework of the ReCaREDD project);
- Dissemination of the results of the study to the members of the RSPO round table of Côte d'Ivoire.
Summary of the service
Comparative study of different forest definitions, in the framework of REDD+ and RSPO: State of the art of international good practices in forest monitoring systems; Collection of information on the capacities and expectations of national actors in terms of forest monitoring; Analysis (with the JRC of Ispra) of the impact of forest definition on forest monitoring systems in the context of cocoa and palm groves based on Landsat, Rapideye and Ikonos images; Recommendations for the development of the Ivorian RSPO standard.