TEREA in Pakistan to assess private sector engagement in REDD+ and the potential of carbon trading mechanisms and markets in the country

Two missions to Pakistan were conducted as part of this project:

• In November 2021: to inform the private sector of REDD+ opportunities through three forums in collaboration with IUCN in Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad, and to conduct interviews with local businesses to assess their knowledge and engagement in REDD+. The last forum was an opportunity for the Minister of Climate Change to highlight the importance of private sector engagement in Pakistan's fight against climate change.
• In February 2022: two experts from TEREA and ONFI conducted workshops with the provincial forest departments of Sindh, Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit Baltistan, to identify and select three REDD+ pilot projects in different forest ecosystems of Pakistan (riparian forests along the banks of the Indus River and its tributaries, mangroves in the Indus Delta, chilgoza pine, juniper or coniferous forests...)

These REDD+ pilot projects will be selected according to three criteria:

• the potential to reduce emissions
• the value of the ecosystems to be protected and/or restored
• Opportunities to increase the livelihoods of local populations

These pilot projects will allow the national and international private sector to raise awareness of the potential for investment in Pakistan's ecosystems for nature-based carbon solutions, as well as to identify potential project development partners and foster opportunities for additional benefits for local people.