There is growing interest globally in REDD+ initiatives to help mitigate climate change; the Philippines is no exception. In this paper, we review early REDD+ project experiences in the country. The guiding document for REDD+ in the Philippines is the National REDD+ Strategy (PNRPS) which was prepared by a multisectoral group of authors. There are five REDD+ projects that are underway. The critical factors emerging from these early REDD+ actions are the following: external support, local participation, free prior and informed consent, capacity building, sustainability, national laws and policies, biodiversity conservation, and use of safeguards. The pioneering projects reviewed here as well as the emerging lessons from them will hopefully provide a firmer basis for future REDD+ actions in the country. 1. Introduction Land use, land use change, and forestry (LULUCF), especially tropical deforestation, are estimated to account for 1.6？Gt？C/yr of anthropogenic emissions [1, 2] or around 17–20% of the total greenhouse gas emissions [3, 4]. More recent calculations have lowered this to 1.2？Gt/yr or about 12% of global emissions [5]. Despite its substantial contribution to total emissions, implementation of strategies to reduce LULUCF emissions is still in its infancy, especially in developing countries. The socioeconomic costs of these initiatives, such as alteration of livelihood practices, remain a challenge in crafting an effective strategy that would reduce emissions and address community benefits as well. Effective participation by affected local communities is essential in shaping the project success to reduce emissions [2]. A practical solution is to provide compensation to land managers and farmers for the opportunity costs of shifting land uses from high carbon stocked to lower ones, for example, not to clear forests for agriculture. Carbon market, also known as cap and trade mechanism, enables nations to meet their mitigation targets by counting emission reductions even outside their national territory [6]. In the Philippines, there is a rising interest to participate in the emerging carbon market such as the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) [7] and REDD+. Under CDM, developed or Annex I countries can achieve their mitigation targets by supporting emission-reducing projects in developing or non-Annex I countries [6]. REDD+, on the other hand, is more specific. It refers to reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, conservation of forest carbon stocks, sustainable management of forests, and enhancement of forest carbon stocks in
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