The Forest Carbon Partnership Facility and Indigenous Peoples

The Forest Carbon Partnership Facility and Indigenous
Peoples By Johnson Cerda, Asociacion Indigena de Limoncocha

In December 2007, the World Bank launched a program called the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF) at the climate change negotiations held in Bali. The FCPF is supposed to support various developing countries in their efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by reducing deforestation.

This process has had an initial stage, which has been completed in two rounds, in which interested countries have presented proposals containing their main ideas for developing national REDD plans. However, from an indigenous perspective there are some serious concerns. The proposals seek to include indigenous territories in the implementation of REDD programs. Yet Indigenous Peoples' involvement in the initial preparation of the Readiness Plan Idea Note (R-PIN) was not considered; this could jeopardize any plans in the future. Consultation mechanisms definitely need to be established or, where legislation already exists,improved. A brief discussion with Indigenous leaders from key organizations showed that in some cases limited briefings have been conducted, but many organizations are unaware of the process.

One of the main demands of Indigenous Peoples is the recognition and implementation of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). This must not be neglected in the project implementation process in REDD countries. Indigenous Peoples' concerns have been reinforced by the fact that the same governments that rejected the UNDRIP negotiations also fought against the inclusion of any mention of the rights of Indigenous Peoples in the REDD discussions at the climate change negotiations (COP-14), held in Poznan in Poland, even though these are now recognized by the same United Nations system. This feeds into the general concerns already held by Indigenous Peoples.

Issue No 28 December 2008
http://www.globalforestcoalition.org/paginas/view/32#Issues%20Forest%20Cover