Submission to the SBSTA regarding a System of Information for Safeguards in REDD+

Key Recommendations

THE SYSTEM OF PROVIDING INFORMATION ON SAFEGUARDS (SIS) SHOULD BE BASED ON RIGHTS-BASED INDICATORS TO ASSESS, AMONG OTHERS:

• the degree of implementation of the safeguards
• the level of compliance of existing national legislation to international obligations and standards related to indigenous peoples and human rights such as the UNDRIP and ILO 169
• the extent by which the REDD country has secured or intends to secure  indigenous peoples’ rights throughout the REDD cycle, programs and project

THE SYSTEM OF PROVIDING INFORMATION ON SAFEGUARDS’ (SIS)  SHOULD BE EFFECTIVE, TRANSPARENT, RELIABLE AND PARTICIPATORY AND BASED ON THE FOLLOWING PILLARS:

• Respect of highest standards contained in international human rights, environmental and social obligations, standards and instruments (including at national level)
• Free Prior Informed Consent, independent recourse mechanisms and parallel reporting by indigenous peoples

Introduction

This submission to the SBTSA is presented by the Forest Peoples Programme (FPP) in collaboration with the Indigenous Peoples Network of Malaysia in response to the invitation to Parties and Observers made by the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice at its Thirty-fourth session Bonn, 6–16 June 2011 under Agenda Item 4 “Methodological guidance for activities relating to reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation and the role of conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forest carbon stocks in developing countries”.

More specifically this submission refers to the “systems for providing information on how safeguards referred to in appendix I to decision 1/CP.16 are addressed and respected” and notably on Guidance on systems for providing information on how safeguards are addressed and respected:

(a)    Characteristics;

(b)    Design;

(c)    Provision of information;

(d)    Potential barriers, including barriers, if any, to providing information, on addressing and respecting safeguards;”

The remaining forests of developing countries are spaces inhabited by indigenous peoples. These spaces have been shaped, protected and expanded by indigenous peoples over generations. The relationship of indigenous peoples to forests is linked to livelihoods, cultures, world views and traditional knowledge and may be expressed through forms of customary tenure, land use and resource use. By proposing social and rights-based indicators and building blocks, this submission promotes a holistic view of REDD+ that protects carbon stocks as well as the rights and benefits of the forest peoples.

Click here to read the full submission.