REDD+ has the potential to deliver substantial benefits beyond carbon savings. However, depending on how REDD+ is implemented, risks may also be incurred. These may include the conversion of natural forest to plantations or the displacement or loss of livelihoods for local people. The Cancun Safeguards were agreed by Parties to the UNFCCC at COP16 in Cancun in 2010 in order to address such risks. Parties agreed to promote and support these safeguards. Further decisions were agreed at the UNFCCC COP 17 in Durban in 2011.

Biodiversity refers to the variability among living organisms. It includes the diversity within and among species and the diversity within and among ecosystems. Biodiversity is the source of many ecosystem goods, such as food and genetic resources. Changes in biodiversity can influence the supply of ecosystem services.

Ecosystem services are the benefits that people obtain from ecosystems. These include provisioning services such as food, fibre and water; regulating services such as flood and disease control; cultural services such as spiritual, recreational, and cultural benefits; and supporting services, such as nutrient cycling, which ensure the conditions that enable life on Earth. For more information, please refer to the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment.

UNFCCC Parties agreed that countries should set up a national safeguards information system (SIS) that provides information on how the Cancun safeguards are being addressed and respected. Summary information would be provided periodically in what are known as “National Communications” to the UNFCCC. Decisions on such SISs were further elaborated at COP17 in Durban, while the timing and frequency of their reporting was decided on at COP 19 in Warsaw.

One reason why countries may wish to plan for REDD+ multiple benefits is that it helps to promote and support the Cancun Safeguards, which state that [REDD+] “actions are consistent with the conservation of natural forests and biological diversity, ensuring that the actions referred to in paragraph 70 of this decision are not used for the conversion of natural forests, but are instead used to incentivize the protection and conservation of natural forests and their ecosystem services, and to enhance other social and environmental benefits”.

One of the purposes of the SEPC is to support countries to develop national approaches to REDD+ safeguards. The SEPC are consistent with UNFCCC agreements on safeguards for REDD+ and can, in combination with other tools and approaches, help countries develop national approaches for promoting, supporting and building on the Cancun Safeguards. They can also provide information on how the Cancun Safeguards are being addressed and respected and demonstrate achievements beyond carbon savings (e.g. regarding poverty alleviation and biodiversity conservation).

The Strategic Environmental and Social Assessment (SESA) used by the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF) of the World Bank, the Social and Environmental Principles and Criteria (SEPC) developed by the UN-REDD Programme and the REDD+ Social & Environmental Standards (REDD+ SES) can all guide countries in developing a national approach to REDD+ safeguards. FCPF countries are required to carry out a SESA, while the UN-REDD SEPC acts as a guiding framework. REDD+ SES is a civil society initiative and hence is also voluntary. Applying more than one framework at a time is possible, though countries will need to determine whether these are beneficial in their particular case. Swan et al. 2012 propose three possible starting points for an in-country multi-stakeholder safeguards process and further elaborate on this question. More recently, the UN-REDD Programme’s Country Approach to Safeguards Tool (CAST) has been developed. One of its key objectives is to clarify how the processes and tools of various safeguard approaches – including those of the FCPF and the CCBA-CARE REDD+ SES initiative – relate to each other. It also covers how these relate to the generic steps and activities for planning and implementing a country approach to safeguards.

The UN-REDD Programme is currently providing direct support to a number of countries on these topics, through both Targeted Support funding as well as under National Programmes. Targeted support can be requested by partner countries of the UN-REDD Programme, which are undertaking REDD+ efforts with a view to designing and implementing a national REDD+ strategy or action plan (see Procedures for requesting UN-REDD Programme Targeted Support).