Press Release Detail

The REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation through sustainable management of native forests and the establishment or enhancement of forest carbon sinks) work in Fiji began in 2009, through the support of the German Government funded GIZ project and the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC).

In 2011, the REDD+ Policy was launched to guide preparatory work towards emissions reduction with forests and other land-based sectors identified as the key development platform. Fiji became a participant country in the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF) with the World Bank in 2013 and a year later in December 2014, the FCPF authorized a grant funding of US$3.8 million to support preparations towards engaging in a future REDD+ performance-based system. The grant agreement for Fiji’s Readiness-Preparation Proposal  readiness fund was signed in May 2015. An additional $2 million was provided in 2017. This additional funding was to assist the Fiji National REDD+ Program to carry out more awareness campaigns to stakeholders and to strengthen the capacity of existing institutions in the forestry and agriculture related sectors dealing with sustainable land management and sustainable forest management.  

The grant has also supported the development and improvement of systems, processes and institutional arrangements that strengthen Fiji’s governance, management, monitoring and reporting of changes in forest cover and land-based activities, whilst facilitating its preparedness to enter into carbon trade. The key areas of development include: the development of district-level integrated land use plans, the National Forest Inventory and biomass calculation, establishment of a safeguard information system and the enhancement of the Forest Management Information System.

First SIDS to enter into Forest Carbon Trade

Fiji was included as 1 of 19 countries considered under the FCPF Carbon Fund (FCPF – CF) funding portfolio for carbon trade after presenting its national Emission Reduction Program (ER-Program) on July 10, 2019.  The Attorney-General and Minister for Economy, Honourable Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum, on behalf of the Fiji Government and its people, signed the landmark agreement – the Emission Reductions Payment Agreement (ERPA) with the FCPF-CF of the World Bank on January 28, 2021, making Fiji the first Pacific Island  Country and Small Island Developing State in the World to enter into an ERPA with the FCPF Carbon Fund. 

The five-year agreement, which is backdated to July 11, 2019 until December 31,2024, basically means that Fiji will implement and improve its forest and land based activities and management regimes in order to reduce deforestation and the incidences of degradation, whilst dedicating forests as carbon sinks to sequester 2.5 million tons of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. The FCPF Carbon Fund will make result-based payments of USD 12.5 million, equivalent to F$26 million, upon verification.  

Empowered by the Fiji Climate Change Act

With the enactment of the historical Climate Change Act 2021, Fiji’s ERPA has fulfilled both conditions of effectiveness and can now move forward in carbon trade agreement. This was confirmed by the World Bank’s Country Director Papua New Guinea & Pacific Islands East Asia and Pacific Region, Mr Stephen Ndegwa, in his letter on 8 October, 2021 to the Attorney-General and Minister for Economy and Climate Change. 

At the passing of the Climate Change Act, the Prime Minister and Minister for Forestry, Honourable Voreqe Bainimarama stated that the Act legally binds Fiji to its commitment of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. The Act further provides a legal framework for a carbon-neutral and climate-resilient Fiji by committing to the 100% sustainable management of Fiji’s ocean and climate mitigation and adaptation through nature-based solutions, with provisions that allow the transfer of a “title” to Emission Reduction (ER) to facilitate carbon trade; a title in this context is the lease issued over an area of land dedicated for the purpose of the ER-Program and on which REDD+ activities will be implemented to establish and/or enhance forest carbon sinks. 

Fiji’s Forestry ER program covers 90 percent of Fiji’s landmass, focusing on the islands of Viti Levu, Vanua Levu and Taveuni, in which 86 percent of the population live. The program aims to reduce forest carbon emissions by 2.5 million tonnes over five years and will also contribute to the restoration of ecosystem services essential for increasing resilience to climate change, such as soil retention and flood regulation. 

(To be continued on Saturday 20 November, 2021 with a focus on Benefit Sharing Plan, Carbon as an Alternative Income, Halving Carbon Emissions by 2030, and Fiji’s National Action Plan).