Maniatis, DanaeGaugris, Jerome YvesMollicone, DaniloScriven, JoelCorblin, AlexisNdikumagenge, CletoAquino, AndreCrete, PhilippeSanz-Sanchez, Maria-Jose2014-06-102014-06-102013-09Maniatis, D, Gaugris, JY, Mollicone, D, Scriven, J, Corblin, A, Ndikumagenge, C, Aquino, A, Crete, & Sanz-Sanchez, MJ 2013, 'Financing and current capacity for REDD+ readiness and monitoring, measurement, reporting and verification in the Congo basin', Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London - Series B : Biological Sciences, vol. 368, no. 1625, pp. 1-14.0080-4622 (print)10.1098/rstb.2012.0310http://hdl.handle.net/2263/40094This paper provides the first critical analysis of the financing and current capacity for REDD+ readiness in the Congo Basin, with a particular focus on the REDD+ component of national forest monitoring and measurement, reporting and verification (M&MRV). We focus on three areas of analysis: (i) general financing for REDD+ readiness especially M&MRV; (ii) capacity and information for REDD+ implementation and M&MRV; (iii) prospects and challenges for REDD+ and M&MRV readiness in terms of financing and capacity. For the first area of analysis, a REDD+ and M&MRV readiness financing database was created based on the information from the REDD+ voluntary database and Internet searches. For the second area of analysis, a qualitative approach to data collection was adopted (semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders, surveys and observations). All 10 countries were visited between 2010 and 2012. We find that: (i) a significant amount of REDD+ financing flows into the Congo Basin (+US$550 million or almost half of the REDD+ financing for the African continent); (ii) across countries, there is an important disequilibrium in terms of REDD+ and M&MRV readiness financing, political engagement, comprehension and capacity, which also appears to be a key barrier to countries receiving equal resources; (iii) most financing appears to go to smaller scale (subnational) REDD+ projects; (iv) four distinct country groups in terms of REDD+ readiness and M&MRV status are identified; and (v) the Congo Basin has a distinct opportunity to have a specific REDD+ financing window for large-scale and more targeted national REDD+ programmes through a specific fund for the regionen© 2013 The Authors. Published by the Royal Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/, which permits unrestricted use, provided the original author and source are credited.REDD+ readinessNational forest monitoringMeasurementReporting and verificationCentral African commissionFinancingArticle