Lowering Emissions in Asia's Forests (LEAF)

Background

The Lowering Emmissions in Asia's Forests (LEAF) program was USAID regiona initiative that ran for five years, from 2011 to 2016. This final report summarizes the challenges the LEAF program faced and the results it achieved.

Goals & Approach

The overall objective of the program was the strengthen the capacity of specific countries, including Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, and Papa New Guinea to achieve meaningful and sustained reductions in greenhouse gas emissions from the forestry-land use sector. The approach differed between countries. For example, Vietnam developed a Provincial REDD+ Action Plan in 2015 through the LEAF program while a payment for ecosystem services was implemented in Thailand. The LEAF program also pioneered the Asia-Pacific Leadership Initiative on Gender and Climate Change and a Climate Change Curriculum. 

Reported Takeaways

At the conclusion of the program, thirty-three laws, regulations, or policies were changed or adapted to benefit the goal of the LEAF program. Moreover, the capacity of numerous individuals and organizations was increased. With the end of the program, the final report calls for continued efforts to achieve sustained reductions in GHG emmissions throughout the region.