REDD-plus, forest people's rights and nested climate governance

Abstract

At Copenhagen, the Ad Hoc Working Group on Long-term Cooperative Action (AWG-LCA) was ready to endorse REDD-plus and to make explicit reference to the “rights of indigenous peoples and members of local communities” (UNFCCC, 2009). The reference is important because it acknowledges the historical background from which REDD-plus is developing: the historical dispossession, political exclusion and cultural marginalization of indigenous peoples and members of local communities (hereafter referred to as “forest people”). Recent experience with the recognition of forest people's rights suggests three broad principles for operationalizing rights under REDD-plus: participation in political decision-making, equitable distribution of forest benefits, and recognition of forest people's particular identities. In addition, the emphasis on rights requires the development of decision-making processes at multiple scales and related across scales. Global-scale institutions will be important but not sufficient in themselves. Effective and equitable REDD-plus requires nested forest and climate governance