Katoomba XVII: Taking the Lead: Payments for Ecosystem Services in Southeast Asia
Hanoi, Vietnam
Through-out Southeast Asia, there is increasing regional interest in market-based conservation strategies, including payments for ecosystem services (PES). While a number of projects are underway, PES in the Southeast Asia region primarily occurs on an ad hoc basis through small-scale pilot projects. However, information, capacity to design and manage PES deals, and institutions to support on-the-ground implementation are often lacking and have hindered efforts to scale up.
Carbon markets, both regulated and voluntary, have grown rapidly and offer opportunities for new investment in rural regions of SE Asia. The emergence of opportunities for Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) makes it even more important for countries in the region to build their capacity and put in place –’REDD readiness’ strategies.
Many SE Asian nations face a range of water-related challenges, including threats to reliable flows of water and the marine environment. While there are efforts underway to introduce market-based approaches — such as payments for watershed services (PWS) and user fees in marine protected areas — there remain outstanding questions, such as: how to identify additional prospective buyers; how to structure the contracts; how to distribute payments equitably to communities; how to monitor the schemes to ensure efficient and effective delivery of the service; and how to ensure that payments schemes are sustainable.
Mangrove ecosystems, in particular, are of particular interest to stakeholders in the region and represent an interesting vehicle to bridge forest and marine, adaptation and mitigation, and local and international financing schemes (e.g. REDD). Carbon pools of mangroves are now being shown to exceed that of upland tropical forests. Throughout the Mekong region, market-based instruments for the conservation of marine and mangrove ecosystems are still nascent, with only a few small-scale case studies or pilots.
In response to these questions and challenges, the 2010 South East Asia Katoomba Group meeting offers a unique opportunity to further develop:
- REDD readiness strategies including post-COP15 discussions on national-level REDD systems, international, regional and national experience, investor and other stakeholder engagement, pilot demonstration sites, capacity building / training needs, and research agendas; and
- Payment for Watershed Services sc
- Payment for Marine Ecosystem services throughout the region, by exploring how climate change adaptation strategies can be complemented by mitigation measures and revenues from carbon credits; and identifying buyers for a range of marine ecosystem services.
- Biodiversity Markets and Market-like Structures
Agenda
DRAFT: 4/15/2010
JUNE 23
8:00â 9:00am REGISTRATION
9:00â 10:30am WELCOME & CONFERENCE OPENING
Targeted Speakers
- Minister, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD)
- Minister, The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE)
- Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung
10:30â 11:00am COFFEE/TEA BREAK
11:00â 11:30am KEYNOTE SPEAKERS: CLIMATE AND LANDUSE LOOKING FORWARD
11:30 â 12:00pm STATE OF EMERGING VOLUNTARY MARKETS
12:00â 1:00pm LUNCH
1:00â 2:15pm FOREST CARBON AND REDD ARCHITECTURE
Post Copenhagen is a period of “interim financing” and the challenges of ensuring that investments flow efficiently to produce mechanisms for carbon emissions reductions, accountability, and equitable benefits distributions
2:15â 2:45pm COFFEE/TEA BREAK
2:45 â 4:00pm VOICES FROM THE MARKETS
Enabling policy environments which encourage public-private investment partnerships, catalyzing flows of private capital into local climate change mitigation and adaptation initiatives
4:00 â 4:30pm COFFEE BREAK
4:30 â 5:30pm PROJECTS, PRODUCTS AND MEASUREMENT REPORTING AND VERIFICATION (MRV) STRATEGIES
Identifying key roadblocks, priority action areas and research/capacity building needs, and generating a provisional road-map to measuring carbon.
6:00â 7:00pm COCKTAIL RECEPTION
JUNE 24
8:30â 9:00am WELCOME & RECAP ON DAY 1
9:00â 10:15am THE VIETNAM EXPERIENCE
Vietnamâs Pilot Forest Ecosystem Services Policy and other experiences
10:15â 10:45am COFFEE AND TEA BREAK
10:45â 12:00pm PAYMENTS FOR WATERSHED ECOSYSTEM SERVICES
Understanding how to maximize ability of market mechanisms to increase watershed services while also providing incentives for improved land use in catchment areas.
12:00â 1:00pm LUNCH
1:00â 2:00pm BIODIVERSITY MARKETS AND MARKET-LIKE INSTRUMENTS
How to get beyond public finance for biodiversity conservation and how markets can be used to achieve more and better cost effective conservation outcomes from infrastructure development.
2:00â 3:00pm Time Slot Pending
3:00â 4:00pm COASTAL AND MARINE MARKETS (INCLUDING MANGROVE ECOSYSTEMS)
Payments for ecosystem services and other innovative mechanisms for marine and coastal conservation.
4:00â 4:30pm COFFEE AND TEA BREAK
4:30â 6:00pm THEMATIC WORKSHOPS (occur simultaneously):
- BENEFITS DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS
Meeting expectations for equity, transparency, additionality and performance while managing PES revenues in an effective and efficient manner
- COMBINING MULTIPLE PES MARKETS: STACKING AND BUNDLING
Designing markets which integrate ecological values while also allowing landholders to tap multiple sources of potential revenue.
6:00pm CLOSING
7:00-8:00pm DINNER
Logistics
Location
The Katoomba Meeting XVII will be held at the Sheraton hotel, Hanoi, from June 23 to 24 2010
Sheraton Hanoi
K5, Nghi Tam, 11 Xuan Dieu Road, Tay Ho District, Hanoi, Vietnam
Tel: (84-4) 3719 9000
Fax: (84-4) 3719 9001
Toll-Free: 12065111
Website: http://www.thesheratonhanoi.com/
Registration and Identification
All participants are requested to register and obtain meeting badges and documents either when checking into their hotel upon arrival or at the Registration Desk, located outside of the meeting room, between 8.00 â 8.30 am on June 23. Only the names of participants duly registered will be included in the list of participants.  For identification and security reasons, all participants are requested to wear the meeting badges at all times during the meeting.
Immigration requirements
Business visa upon arrival is required of most participants.  If you are from a country requiring a visa and have not yet obtained one, you will need to fill the form located here: http://www.katoombagroup.org/signups/vietnam_visa/
Weather
Hanoi has a humid tropical climate, characterized by monsoons, like most of northern Vietnam. Summers, between May and September, are very hot with plenty of rain. The average temperature in summer is 29.2 degrees Celsius (84.6 degrees Fahrenheit), but can reach up to 39 degrees Celsius (102.2 degrees Fahrenheit).
The conference room where the meeting is to be held is air-conditioned and the temperature is maintained in the range of 23-24 degrees Celsius (72-73 degrees Fahrenheit).
Foreign exchange
Currency exchange facilities are available at the hotel. The Dong (D) is the official currency in Vietnam. Exchange rate is approximately 1 USD = 19,000 Dong. You can also exchange money upon arrival at the airport.
Hotel accommodation  Â
Participants should stay at either Sheraton or Thang Loi hotel. Hotel details are below:
Sheraton Hanoi
K5, Nghi Tam, 11 Xuan Dieu Road, Tay Ho District, Hanoi, Vietnam
Tel: (84-4) 3719 9000
Fax: (84-4) 3719 9001
Toll-Free: 12065111
Website: http://www.thesheratonhanoi.com/Thang Loi
200 Yen Phu Str, Tay Ho District, Hanoi, Vietnam
Tel: (84-4) 3823 8161
Fax: (84-4) 3829 3800
Email: thangloihtl@nullhn.vnn.vn
Website: http://www.thangloihotel.vn/
Transportation
Domestic participants should make their own transportation arrangements from your provinces to the meeting venue.  International participants should take a taxi from the airport to the hotel. The price for the taxi will be approximately 20 USD. Taxi drivers will accept either US dollars or Vietnamese dong. There are two taxi companies at the airportâ Airport taxi and No Bai taxiâ we recommend you use one of these services rather than an uncertified cab. They will be parked just outside the luggage area in the airport.
Language
The meeting will be conducted in English, however, interpretation services into Vietnamese will be available. Â All documents created for this event will be in English and Vietnamese.Â
Medical services and Health Advisories
For information on available first-aid and medical services please contact the Sheraton or Thang Loi hotel front desk.
Although yellow fever is not a disease risk in Vietnam, the government requires travelers arriving from countries where yellow fever is present to present proof of yellow fever vaccination. If you will be traveling to one of these countries where yellow fever is present before arriving in Vietnam, this requirement must be taken into consideration.
Tourist Information
http://travel.nytimes.com/travel/guides/asia/vietnam/hanoi/overview.html
http://wikitravel.org/en/Hanoi
http://traveltips.usatoday.com/hanoi-vietnam-tourists-11734.html
Contact Us
For further information please contact
Christine Lanser:Â clanser@nullforest-trends.org
Christina Swan: cswan@nullforest-trends.org
Registration
Thank you for your interest in attending Katoomba XVI. Registration and waitlist registration is currently closed. If you would like to request special consideration, please contact Christina Swan at cswan@nullforest-trends.org.
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