The countries participating in the REDD+ SES initiative are following a series of steps in order to use the standards. The process for using the standards in countries that are participating in the REDD+ SES initiative is explained in Guidelines on the Interpretation and Application of the REDD+ Social & Environmental Standards at Country Level.

• Download the Guidelines: English | Español | Français | Português

1 – Governance

 
Country-level governance defines how decisions are made and who participates in the oversight and facilitation of the use of the REDD+ SES in each country.

A country-level Standards Committee is created to oversee the interpretation and application of the REDD+ SES in the country. The committee is convened by the government, reflecting their leadership in applying the standards to a government-led REDD+ program, and includes members from government departments (probably including different departments relevant to REDD+ such as economic development, forestry, agriculture, rural development, environment and also potentially including regional/local government); Indigenous Peoples; local communities; civil society non-governmental organisations (including both environmental and social NGOs); and the private sector. The committee reviews and approves the country-specific interpretation and assessment reports, and ensures that a participatory and transparent process is followed for their development.

A Facilitation Team composed of government and non-governmental technical experts facilitates the process of interpreting and applying the REDD+ SES in the country. This team organizes meetings; ensures record keeping; prepares drafts and comments on REDD+ SES for discussion and review; organizes consultations; organizes the implementation of the assessment process; and participates in exchange and learning events of the REDD+ SES initiative.

2 – Interpretation

 
Country-specific interpretation adapts the REDD+ SES to the country context and includes two key elements: creation of country-specific indicators and design of the country-specific assessment process. It results in production of a set of country-specific indicators, and a monitoring, review and reporting plan. The creation of country-specific indicators is a process of interpretation that provides an opportunity to make the international REDD+SES locally-relevant, referencing local terms, stakeholders, governance processes, institutions and legislation. The assessment process is also adapted by each country, and aims to promote participation and ownership by stakeholders, to ensure transparency and accountability and also to encourage improved performance.

3 – Assessment

The assessment process has three components:

• Monitoring - identifying, collecting, and compiling 'specific monitoring information' to evaluate the performance of the REDD+ program for each of the indicators in the standard.

• Reviewing the specific monitoring information to ensure that the assessment is accurate and credible.

• Reporting - communicating the analysis of the monitoring and the review of the performance of the REDD+ program against the standards.

After review by stakeholders, the report assessing the performance of the REDD+ program with respect to the REDD+ SES is approved by the country-level standards committee prior to publication. The periodicity of each subsequent assessment is defined by each country.