FAO is pushing West African countries to build stronger REDD+ systems so they can access results based climate finance. At a workshop in Ghana, representatives from Benin, The Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau and Sierra Leone discussed the policy, institutional and technical capacity needed for monitoring, reporting and verification of carbon reductions. Ghana's Forestry Commission also stressed that forest protection has to work for local communities. Cocoa farmers living near reserves need support to raise productivity on existing land, not incentives to clear more forest. Stronger coordination between agriculture agencies and the cocoa board is part of that. REDD+ finance depends on credible measurement. Countries that can prove emissions reductions and manage the institutional side will be in a better position to receive payments. This workshop is part of that readiness process.
