Introductory course on reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD): a training manual

The technical material was developed in mid-2008 and is 'global' in nature. Starting at the 'global' level was a deliberate action by the developers of this program as the current global dialogue and debate will create the ground rules for national and project-led developments in REDD.

But equally important for this training program is allowing the many lessons now emerging from pilot activities to feed upwards to inform national and international dialogue, and recognizing that many technical and political issues are still be formulated. There is therefore much to be learned and this training program has been established to facilitate both a dialogue process and a learning process. This material is only a starting point for discussion, not an end point.

The combined efforts of The Climate, Community and Biodiversity Alliance (CCBA), Conservation International, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ), The Rainforest Alliance, The Nature Conservancy and World Wildlife Fund (WWF) led to the development of this training program. The reasons for doing this as a collaborative effort were to:

• Reduce duplication of effort by working together to create a common and uniform set of training materials;
• Disseminate a consistent and high quality message to governments and stakeholders;
• Reduce confusion among stakeholders and more effectively influence the way REDD is perceived and implemented in the countries where the consortium partners work.