REDD Early Movers (REM) Programme

The global REM programme provides the overarching framework for the different REM country programmes. It is jointly implemented by KfW Development Bank and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ). The programme was commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). KfW manages the carbon finance component while GIZ provides targeted technical support to partners.

To learn more about the REM programme – its approach, its features and implementation experiences – fact sheets are available at the following links:

REDD+: Protecting forests and climate for sustainable development

The state of Acre, located in the western region of the Brazilian Amazon, is a global pioneer in forest protection. For almost two decades, Acre has demonstrated leadership and a high level of commitment to low-deforestation development: since 1998, the state’s government has adopted a comprehensive set of policies that supports forest protection, sustainable land use and incentives for sustainable development. These policies put a strong focus on forest-dependent communities, including indigenous peoples and rubber tappers. Since 2005, Acre has managed to reduce deforestation significantly – by approximately 60% by 2017.

In recognition of Acre’s environmental leadership and achievements in reducing deforestation, the German government supports Acre’s state government through the REDD Early Movers (REM) programme. REM provides performance-based payments for Acre’s reduced emissions from deforestation. The funds are invested into further strengthening forest and climate protection and yield a broad array of benefits for people and the environment in the state of Acre.

From 2012 to 2017, the first phase of the programme was implemented with funds from BMZ (EUR 16 million) and BMUB (EUR 9 million). By the end of 2016, a total of EUR 25 million had been disbursed as results-based payments for reducing emissions from deforestation between 2011 and 2015.

At the end of 2017, agreements for a new phase of the REM programme were signed, with EUR 10 million from Germany and GBP 17.84 million from the United Kingdom. Implementation started in late 2017 and is scheduled to continue until 2022.

Acre’s Ministry of Environment IMC / SISA

REDD+ Brasil Info Hub

Colombia is highly committed to reducing deforestation in the Amazon, harbouring one of the world’s most diverse rainforests. Deforestation in the region has recently started to decline. The government has set an ambitious goal of zero net deforestation by 2020. To achieve this goal, Colombia significantly expanded the area of forest under protection. A core strategy for forest protection and sustainable land use is the Amazon Vision Programme, a progressive low-deforestation project that aims to promote sustainable development in the region in a post-conflict scenario. A great challenge for REDD+ in Colombia is the increased pressure on forests in the wake of the Colombian peace agreement and the still limited institutional capacity in the Amazon region due to decades of insecurity.

Recognizing these promising developments and the decline in deforestation since 2012, the governments of Colombia, Germany, Norway and the UK have formed a new partnership to support the goal of zero net deforestation. As a key component of this partnership, the four governments have agreed on an initiative for results-based REDD+, providing over USD 100 million for verified emission reductions from reduced gross deforestation in the Amazon Biome.

Colombia’s Ministry of Environment / Visión Amazonia

Ecuador has comparatively low - and, for some time now, shrinking - deforestation rates. Moreover, the country runs various effective implementation mechanisms for forest protection (such as the Socio Bosque Programme). This makes Ecuador an early mover in REDD+. The German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) provides 11 million Euro for the programme, adding to 300 million Norwegian Crowns (ca. 30 million EUR) from the Government of Norway. The funds are meant to reward reductions in deforestation in the years 2015 to 2019. The partner on the Ecuadorian side is the Ministry of Environment (MAE). In the framework of the benefit sharing component, 70% of the funds are used for local implementation measures. These include forest protection in rural and indigenous communities, restoration and reforestation, promotion of sustainable - non-wood-products, commercialisation of deforestation-free products, and financing for initiatives run by indigenous communities. 30% go towards strengthening structural measures and policies regarding forest governance.

Factsheet – REM in Ecuador(PDF, 177 KB, non-accessible)

In recent years, the governments of Germany, Norway and the United Kingdom – the “GNU” – have formed a partnership to address deforestation and promote forest restoration. The GNU governments have issued several joint statements to support ambitious and credible action in the context of REDD+. The GNU partners endorsed the New York Declaration on Forests as well as the Paris Leaders’ Statement on Forests and Climate, which include commitments towards cutting natural forest loss in half by 2020, striving to end deforestation by 2030, restoring forests and croplands on a large scale, and reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+).

The REDD Early Movers (REM) programme is among several important instruments the GNU will use to deliver on its intentions to scale up financial support for reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+).

BMZ: Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development

BMU: Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety

IKI: The International Climate Initiative

Norway: International Climate and Forest Initiative (NICFI)

United Kingdom: Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy