Tropical forest countries that seek to reduce deforestation and participate in REDD+ are being challenged to develop policies that conserve forests in the long term
create incentives for local actors to protect forests
and align forest policies with agricultural and rural development and other land-use policies. Developing a REDD+ implementation strategy requires consideration of government budgetary resources as well as the various types of international finance that are available to support REDD+. In assessing this landscape of potential funding sources, policymakers can determine which types of finance to access
which financing conditions they can realistically achieve
and within what time frame it can be done, given national circumstances and institutional constraints. Many countries are participating in, or hosting initiatives to reduce deforestation. Since 2007, when REDD+ was first considered in the negotiations of the United Nations Framework Convention for Climate Change (UNFCCC), several initiatives for implementing REDD+ have been developed. The REDD+ activities advanced under these initiatives have operated at various levels, ranging from the project level, (geographically demarcated areas within which an activity takes place), to subnational and/or country-wide programs. Many countries already have received, or are seeking, payments for subnational and national REDD+ results. Many of these same countries already host, or intend to host, REDD+ projects, which are usually developed by private actors.