Cross River State (CRS) has made significant strides towards REDD+ readiness. The State has developed (1) a CRS REDD+ Strategy; (2) submitted a sub-national forest reference emission level (FREL) to the UNFCCC, (3) established a sub-national approach to safeguards. This proposal aims to simultaneously complete and operationalize the Warsaw Components of REDD+ in order to seek result based payment and catalyze private finance for sustainable land-use practices which will deliver carbon emissions reductions on a jurisdictional-scale (sub-national level). The project will be led by the Cross River State Government through a multi- stakeholder, participatory approach to forest and land use in community forests, forest reserves and farmlands.

The project will have two components: firstly, activities will focus on supporting future access to REDD+ results-based payments from both market and non-markets sources through improving the forest emissions monitoring and reporting capability, improving safeguards implementation capacity, as well creating a framework for market transactions by adopting appropriate regulations, setting up a registry and operationalizing a nested approach for REDD+.

Secondly, GCF financing will serve to create enabling condictions and a mechanisms for low emission rural development through structuring of strong investible institutional entities of forest right-holders who will develop/strengthen investment plans. The project will explore options, create partnerships and attract investors to engage in the design and implementation of a mechanism to finance these low-emission rural development plans. This mechanism set up by the time the project ends will result in improved agricultural and forest practices that would provide a win- win for poverty reduction and climate change mitigation.