In Touch l Related resources 199
world’s remaining forests in developing
countries are located in their ancestral
and customary lands, where they have for
centuries played a historical and cultural
role in the sustainable management of
these forests with relative success.1
Inadequate mechanisms for effective
participation of local communities in land
use decisions could seriously compromise
the delivery of both local and global
benefits and the long-term sustainability
of REDD+ investments.
Recognising the critical role of
indigenous and local communities to the
long-term sustainability and effectiveness
of REDD+, the UN-REDD Programme
has prioritised stakeholder engagement
from its inception. Following a series of
extensive consultations with indigenous
peoples and local communities, the UNREDD Programme developed guidelines
on stakeholder engagement, which have
since been harmonised with guidance
from the Forest Carbon Partnership
Facility (FCPF) on the same topic. These
Joint FCPF UN-REDD Guidelines on
stakeholder engagement for REDD+
readiness with a focus on the participation
of indigenous peoples and other forestdependent communities focus on
principles for effective participation and
consultation and concrete guidance on
planning and implementing
consultations.
n Download the guidelines in English,
Spanish and French: www.unredd.net/index.
php?option=com_docman&task=cat_view&
gid=1333&Itemid=53
recognised in the UN
Declaration on the
Rights of Indigenous
Peoples, and is
included in the
safeguard policies of
the European Bank for
Reconstruction and
Development.
Voluntary standards for REDD+ also
require proponents to respect the right to
free, prior and informed consent (FPIC).
The Carbon, Community and Biodiversity
(CCB) standard requires REDD+
proponents to respect the right of
indigenous peoples and local communities
to FPIC. Many governments, NGOs and
businesses seeking to develop REDD+
pilot sites, demonstration activities or
relevant policy are asking what they need
to do to respect the right of communities
to FPIC. To start to address this need, with
funding from GIZ, the Center for People
and Forests has just published a book for
REDD+ practitioners that describes in
practical terms the steps involved to
ensure that REDD+ proponents respect
the right of communities to FPIC. There
are plans to eventually translate the book
into the national languages in Southeast
Asia. Future versions of the book will
contain revisions and additional material,
so your comments and feedback are
warmly welcomed.
n Online:
www.forclime.org/images/stories/RECOFTCGIZ_FPIC_in_REDD_2011.pdf
Free, prior and informed consent in
REDD+: principles and approaches for
policy and project development
l Center for People and Forests, 2012
The right of indigenous peoples to give or
withhold their free, prior and informed
consent to proposed developments that
may affect their customary lands is
1
United Nations Collaborative Programme on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and
Forest Degradation in Developing Countries (REDD+). See: www.un-redd.org
Biocultural
diversity conserved
by indigenous
peoples and local
communities –
examples and
analysis
l Companion
document to