REDD + AND SAFEGUARDS - Human Rights - Environmental Integrity - Governance Victoria Tauli Corpuz Executive Director, Tebtebba Chair, UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues

OUTLINE 1. STATE REACHED IN NEGOTIATIONS -HUMAN RIGHTS OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES AND LOCAL COMMUNITIES - ENVIRONMENTAL INTEGRITY - FOREST GOVERNANCE 1. ASSESSMENT 2. CHALLENGES AND WAYS FORWARD

1. State Reached in Negotiations in REDD Plus SBSTA Cop 15 Decision:(FCCC/SBSTA/2009/L.19/ Add.1). 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

Preambular Paragraphs: PP 5: Recognizing the need for full and effective engagement of indigenous peoples and local communities in, and the potential contribution of their knowledge to, monitoring and reporting of activities relating to decision 1/CP.13, paragraph 1 (b) (iii),

Preambular Paragraphs: PP 6: Recognizing the importance of promoting sustainable management of forests and co-benefits, including biodiversity, that may complement the aims and objectives of national forest programmes and relevant international conventions and agreements,

Operational Paragraphs: OP 1: Requests developing countries to.... ( a) identify drivers of deforestation and forest degradation and also the means to address these; (b) identify activities within the country that result in reduced emissions and increased removals, and stabilization of forest carbon stocks; (c) To use the most recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change guidance and guidelines,...

Operational Paragraphs: OP 1: (d) To establish, according to national circumstances and capabilities, robust and transparent national forest monitoring systems and, if appropriate, sub-national systems as part of national monitoring systems

Operational Paragraphs: OP 3: Encourages, as appropriate, the development of guidance for effective engagement of indigenous peoples and local communities in monitoring and reporting;

State reached in AWG-LCA: 1 (b) (iii) – REDD Plus (no decision) FCCC/AWGLCA/2009/L.7/Add.6 15 December 2009 Policy approaches and positive incentives on issues relating to reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries; and the role of conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forest carbon stocks in developing countries

OP 2. Further affirms that when undertaking activities referred to in paragraph 3 below, the following safeguards should be [promoted] [and] [supported]: (b) Transparent and effective national forest governance structures, taking into account national legislation and sovereignty;

OP 2. (c) Respect for the knowledge and rights of indigenous peoples and members of local communities, by taking into account relevant international obligations, national circumstances and laws, and noting that the General Assembly has adopted the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples; (d) Full and effective participation of relevant stakeholders, including in particular indigenous peoples and local communities...

OP 2. (e) Actions that are consistent with the conservation of natural forests and biological diversity, ensuring that actions referred to in paragraph 3 below are not used for the conversion of natural forests, but are instead used to incentivize the protection and conservation of natural forests and their ecosystem services, and to enhance other social and environmental benefits;

OP 4. Requests SBSTA to undertake a work programme to identify land use, land-use change and forestry activities in developing countries, in particular those that are linked to the drivers of deforestation and forest degradation, to identify the associated methodological issues to estimate emissions and removals resulting from these activities, and to assess their potential contribution to the mitigation of climate change,

OP 6: 6. Requests developing country Parties when developing and implementing their national strategy or action plan, [or subnational strategies] to address, inter alia, drivers of deforestation and forest degradation, land tenure issues, forest governance issues, gender considerations and the safeguards in paragraph 2 above, ensuring the full and effective participation of relevant stakeholders, inter alia, indigenous peoples and local communities;

OP 7: 7. Decides that the activities... [should][shall] be implemented in phases, beginning with the development of national strategies or action plans, policies and measures and capacity-building, Followed by the implementation of national policies and measures, and national strategies or action plans and, as appropriate, subnational strategies, involving further capacity-building, technology transfer and results-based demonstration activities, and evolving into results-based actions [that shall be fully measured, reported and verified];

Copenhagen Accord: “6. We recognize the crucial role of reducing emission from deforestation and forest degradation and the need to enhance removals of greenhouse gas emission by forests and agree on the need to provide positive incentives to such actions through the immediate establishment of a mechanism including REDD-plus, to enable the mobilization of financial resources from developed countries.”

Copenhagen Accord: “10. We decide that the Copenhagen Green Climate Fund shall be established as an operating entity of the financial mechanism of the Convention to support projects, programme, policies and other activities in developing countries related to mitigation including REDD-plus, adaptation, capacity-building, technology development and transfer.” Another para: - including additional finance to REDD +

2. ASSESSMENT : LCA Text and C Accord Depends on progress on wider talks (NAMA, MRV, Finance, etc.) Intractable issues Target for reducing or stopping deforestation ( conditioned on firm commitments of financial support from A1) Finance: placeholder (out of 30 B USD – 20% will be for avoided deforestation – UK/France) Leakage: national vs. subnational (IP- national accounting, subnational implementation

2. ASSESSMENT: SBSTA Decision full involvement of IPs and LCs on monitoring and reporting, excludes involvement design, development, implementation of policies and programs: UNDRIP out Drivers of deforestation only in developing countries; demand for forest and agricultural commodities in A1 countries not mentioned. methodology focused more on measuring and monitoring ‘forest carbon’, including the setting of baselines to account for changes in rates of emissions from deforestation. (carbon trading)

2. ASSESSMENT: SBSTA Decision reference levels absed on historical data opens for “hot air”. Low deforestation countries can bloat their baselines to get REDD Payments. National or sub-national passed on to LCA

3. CHALLENGES AND WAYS AHEAD Main Obstacles: Disunities among NGOs and between NGOs and IPs Underlying assumption that REDD+ will be financed through carbon offsets or comparable form of trade emissions unit Need to be more explicit on need to measure forest carbon Define more clearly relationship of REDD+ to NAMAs

3. CHALLENGES AND WAYS AHEAD Ways Ahead Build on language agreed upon so far. Guard gains (unbracketed language on safeguards, etc.) and identify and address key sticking points Expand the development of methodologies to include guidance for engagement of IPs and LCs in all phases of REDD + implementation. Push for an expert workshop under the SBSTA to develop guidelines for ensuring the engagement of IPs and LCs

3. CHALLENGES AND WAYS AHEAD Ways Ahead Learn from existing experiences in terms of readiness activities and pilot or demonstration projects. (e.g. Tebtebba activities; capacity enhancement programmes; research, awareness raising, policy reforms: UN-REDD Programme and FCPF, readiness projects,etc.) Focus on ways to reduce deforestation and forest degradation and specific recommended actions for both developed and developing countries

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