This inception workshop was held in November 2011 to launch the UN REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) Participatory Governance Assessment (PGA) and REDD+SES programmes in Ecuador. The background for this workshop was to provide a forum for initial discussions on the PGA approach, potential targets, milestones and the next steps of the PGA. 

REDD+ goes beyond deforestation and forest degradation, and includes the role of conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forest carbon stocks. REDD+ SES (The Social and Environmental Standards)consists of principles, criteria and indicators that define high social and environmental performance of government-led REDD+ programs. They provide a framework for country-led multi-stakeholder assessment of REDD+ program design, implementation and outcomes.

Representatives  from the following organizations were present during the two-day workshop: the Ecuadorian Ministry of Environment, UNDP Oslo Governance Centre, FAO Ecuador, Monitoring Committee of UN-REDD,  Conservation International Ecuador, CARE Ecuador, and the Climate, Community, Biodiversity Alliance (CCBA).

Main Objectives

• Introduce the concept of PGA in detail to key stakeholders
• Present to the GoE and a selected set of actors the Concept Note for the PGA, its format and content, and the most important information in detail.
• Initiate discussion on how to identify relevant stakeholders and participants that should be involved during the preparation of the Concept Note, taking into account the existing platforms of dialogue at the national and sub-national levels.
• Discuss how to implement the following in Ecuador:  the PGA, REDD + SES, the Social and Environmental Principles and Criteria (SEPC) and  National Forests Monitoring  and Assessment's (NFMA) work on data collection. 
• Agree on next steps in the preparation of the concept note for the PGA for REDD +1

Resources

Agenda (Spanish)	Event Report (Spanish)

Presentations included the following

Introduction to Participatory Governance Assessment (English)

PGA in Practice - Drawing from other pilots (English)

Socioeconomic analysis of forest in Ecuador (Spanish)

Advancements in the implementation of social and environmental UN-REDD+ Standards (Spanish)