AFOLU sub-Technical Working Committee (sub-TWC) Meeting Date: 10th September, 2020 CCDA Conference Room Ground Floor, Dynasty Tower 2   1. Background of AFOLU sector The Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use (AFOLU) sector is an important sector in PNG as it contains significant sources of GHG emission and sink. The sector plays an important role in PNG’s effort to climate change mitigation and adaptation as reflected in PNG’s Nationally Determined Contribution[1] (NDC). PNG’s forests cover about 78% [2]of PNG’s 46.2 million hectares of land which is home to the world’s third-largest tropical rainforest.  Agriculture accounts for about 21% of employment in PNG  and over 80% of Papua New Guineans are employed in subsistence-based or informal economic activities including community forestry, agriculture, fishing, and artisanal and small-scale mining (World Bank, 2011). Emissions from AFOLU sector has been increasing significantly between 2000 and 2015 according to PNG’s First Biennial Update Report [3](BUR1) to UNFCCC and such trend is expected to continue concurrently to national economic growth, as demand increases for forest and agricultural commodities—fueled by both domestic and international markets, and demands of the rural populace put increasing demands on the forest for food, fodder, fuel and building materials (PNG NDC, 2015). PNG’s existing NDC (NDC 2015) states that PNG’s primary mitigation effort lies in two main sectors: (1) Clean energy, generation and energy efficiency measures for the energy sector, and (2) Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD+) for the forestry sector. Forest conservation is also the priority adaptation measure considering that majority populations rely on forest for their living in many ways in PNG. The Government of PNG (GoPNG) through the Climate Change and Development Authority (CCDA) is currently revising its existing NDC to come up with an Enhanced PNG NDC 2020 which is due for submission in December 2020. This is done through partnership with development partners in PNG, namely AusAID, FAO, GGGI, GIZ, IRENA, JICA and UNDP. The process of revising the NDC provides an opportunity to support collaboration amongst GoPNG’s agencies and increase mutual understanding amongst government, industry and the community for top-priority actions, as well as the roles and responsibilities of different agencies. This will include awareness of additional finance requirements to implement achievable, cost-effective but socially inclusive emissions reductions in the energy and forestry sectors of PNG. In REDD+, PNG has been leading the international negotiations on reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+) since PNG together with Cost Rica submitted the agenda to the UNFCCC COP in 2005.  Since then, PNG has also been putting significant effort on REDD+ readiness.  PNG has established National Forest Monitoring System (NFMS) containing National Forest Inventory (NFI) and REDD+ Web-portal, which were launched by the Prime Minister in 2016.  REDD+ Forest Reference Level (FRL) was established using NFMS data and submitted to UNFCCC in 2017.  National REDD+ Strategy was formulated in 2017 based on the NFMS data on deforestation and forest degradation driver.  PNG submitted the first Biennial Update Report (BUR) and its REDD+ Technical Annex to UNFCCC in 2019.  REDD+ Technical Annex is the report of REDD+ results against the FRL and PNG was 8th country in the world to submit it. Although PNG has been making significant progress on monitoring and reporting on climate change, there are still significant gaps in PNG’s AFOLU/REDD+ MRV systems for example, with respect to (1) establishment of country-specific Emissions Factors and Activity Data (for IPCC Tier 2 reporting for key categories), (2) full determination of key sub-categories (3) establishment of metadata and quality-control protocols, (4) adaptation measurement and reporting (M&R) in the AFOLU sector, (5) near-real-time monitoring of forest and land use change (6) monitoring and reporting on the progress made in achieving GHG targets in PNG’s NDC, and (7) ensuring the financial and operational sustainability of MRV initiatives.  It is crucial for CCDA to continue putting effort to close these gaps to enable PNG to comply with the Paris Agreement Enhanced Transparency Framework (ETF) and the NDC requirements. Thus, the AFOLU sub- Technical Working Committee is established to provide technical guidance to CCDA’s MRV and National Communication Division to help improve on those present gaps as well as any future gaps to allow CCDA to provide quality information to stakeholders through climate change reporting (i.e. NDC, NC[4], BUR and BTR[5]) particularly from the AFOLU sector.   2. Objectives and Expected Outcomes from the 1st AFOLU sub-TWC meeting 2.1 Key objectives: The main objectives of the 1st AFOLU sub-TWC meeting are to: Inform key relevant stakeholders of the AFOLU MRV sub-TWC’s key functions; Confirm or suggest any changes in the AFOLU MRV sub-TWC membership and roles as per the Terms of Reference (ToR); Revising the tentative AFOLU GHG and non-GHG targets in the zero draft Enhanced PNG NDC 2020.   Briefing the AFOLU sub-TWC members on some of the other major activities currently undertaken by MRV and NC Division.   2.2 Expected outcomes: The expected outcomes from the 1st AFOLU sub-TWC meeting include: AFOLU sub-TWC members understand and agreeing on their roles and responsibilities as spelled out in the terms of reference (TOR), the sub-TWC members’ substitutes from each of the organizations are identified; The AFOLU GHG and non-GHG targets in the zero draft Enhanced PNG NDC are reviewed and final targets are identified.  AFOLU sub-TWC members are aware of some of the major activities relating to AFOLU sector that are currently being implemented under the MRV and NC Division for future engagements.   3. Attendance The first AFOLU sub-TWC meeting will be attended by representatives from the following public, academia and civil society organizations: Public Sector - Climate Change and Development Authority (CCDA), PNG Forest Authority (PNGFA), Conservation and Environment Protection Authority (CEPA), Department of Agriculture and Livestock (DAL), and Department of Lands and Physical Planning (DLPP). International Development Partners – Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Civil Society Organizations – The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) Academia – University of Papua New Guinea (UPNG)   [1] https://www4.unfccc.int/sites/NDCStaging/Pages/All.aspx  [2] PNGFA Collect Earth land use assessment results [3] https://unfccc.int/BURs [4] National Communication. PNG will submit its 3rd NC report in 2021. [5] Biennial Transparency Report. PNG will submit it First BTR in December 2024.