Local governments in Latin America and Caribbean countries are increasingly playing a greater role in forest administration due to an ongoing process of decentralization observed in most of those countries. Local governments may also play a key role in the REDD+ context, especially during its implementation phase. Corruption, however, may be a barrier to the success of REDD+, both at the national and sub-national levels. It is therefore essential that countries create safeguards against corruption risks in REDD+ design and implementation phases. As local governance institutions tend to be directly involved in the implementation of REDD+ activities, they should develop the capacity to prevent and suppress associated corruption risks. REDD+ can either improve forest governance or be undermined by its failures. UNDP has a crucial role in ensuring the success of REDD+, by assisting countries to prevent corruption and improve governance. UNDP support to local governance institutions and decentralization processes is needed to ensure that sub-national governments have political, administrative and fiscal capacities to implement REDD+.