29 April, 2013
Among the many aspects of REDD+[i] under close scrutiny by indigenous peoples and civil society organisations, the issue of safeguards and their implementation is the one that continues to attract the most concern. This is particularly true now in the current debate on REDD+ and its degree of implementation and operationalisation. Since 2010, when the 16th Conference of the Parties of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change adopted its decision on REDD+ and related safeguards, a continuous process of elaborations, negotiations, and adjustments has taken place at various levels. The debate on safeguards has become both an opportunity for indigenous peoples and civil society to further enhance their calls for respect of internationally recognised rights and standards, and a leverage opportunity for donors to seek compliance for the use of funds transferred to REDD+ countries. As with other REDD+-related issues the safeguard debate has developed in a very complex manner, and has bifurcated into two streams. One stream is aimed at establishing norms and tools to prevent REDD+ from doing harm to the environment and forest peoples, the other is aimed at ensuring a proper assessment of potential benefits, known in technical jargon as a “do good” approach.
1 March, 2013
Indigenous peoples' organisations in Panama have withdrawn from the UN-REDD National Joint Programme (NJP) due to the inadequate attention to rights issues by the government and UN agencies and the lack of full and effective consultations with indigenous peoples on the various stages and implementation of the programme.
20 February, 2012
From 8–11 February 2012, indigenous peoples’ representatives, civil society, NGO and state representatives gathered in Geneva to discuss the draft UN-REDD Programme Social and Environmental Principles and Criteria and the draft UN-REDD Programme Guidelines on Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC). Forest Peoples Programme (FPP), along with a number of NGO, state, and indigenous organisations (including FPP’s local partners from Paraguay, Indonesia and Panama), submitted written comments to both documents in advance. At the meeting in Geneva they then provided significant feedback to United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) representatives facilitating the event and taking the lead in drafting and revising the documents.
Forest Peoples Programme found the dialogues and exchanges to be very rich; reflective of an increasing understanding of indigenous peoples’ rights and the nature of human rights-based development. FPP also found the UNDP staff responsive to the suggestions for improvement as well as to the criticisms of content.
Francesco Martone, Forest Peoples Programme
24 January, 2012
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Forest Peoples Programme
20 January, 2012
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FPP, Pusaka, Yayasan Merah Putih
11 October, 2011
THIS BRIEFING IS PART OF THE FPP SERIES ON RIGHTS, FORESTS AND CLIMATE
Read CENTRAL SULAWESI: UN-REDD Indonesia's Pilot Province in English here.
This briefing is also available in Bahasa Indonesia.
Federation for the Self-Determination of Indigenous Peoples (FAPI)
17 May, 2011
The Federation for the Self -Determination of Indigenous Peoples (FAPI) in Paraguay has published a Protocol for free, prior and informed consent (FPIC). The guidelines are issued as a general FPIC framework applicable to all decisions, measures, projects and programmes, including forest and climate change projects and programmes, that may affect indigenous peoples' lands, territories and resources and other rights and interests in general. Only available in Spanish.
7 December, 2010
Indigenous Peoples and indigenous organisations in Paraguay have worked hard in 2010 to obtain guarantees from the government and the United Nations that any policy, decision or initiative relating to REDD readiness will respect their collective rights, including rights to land and the right to free, prior and informed consent (FPIC). Through its participation in the national REDD Committee, for example, the Coordinadora por la Autodeterminación de los Pueblos Indígenas (CAPI) has stressed that the UN-REDD programme must comply fully with its own Operational Guidance on Indigenous Peoples. At the same time, CAPI has insisted that the government must fulfil its obligations under international and regional human rights treaties that the country has ratified.
6 December, 2010
While inter-governmental climate negotiations (UNFCCC) still face major stumbling blocks to achieving a global agreement on climate change finance, independent initiatives on REDD+ have multiplied in the past few months. At the same time, indigenous peoples continue to express concerns that insufficient measures are being taken to respect their rights. The Governments leading the ‘Interim REDD+ Partnership’, for example, have held meetings in recent months that have not given enough space for indigenous peoples’ participation. Meanwhile the key donor agencies in the ‘Partnership’ are seeking to harmonize their REDD-related activities and finance: the World Bank’s Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF) has responsibility for ‘readiness planning’ and preparation activities (the so-called ‘first’ phase’) and then a ‘third phase’ of actual REDD actions; the World Bank’s Forest Investment Programme (FIP) has funds for a ‘second phase’ of implementing the ‘readiness plan’; and UN-REDD, which deals with measuring, reporting and verification (MRV), stakeholder engagement and indigenous peoples’ participation.
