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People who contribute to conservation and the sustainable management of forest resources are being trained and encouraged to take part in decision making
By Jan Willem den Besten, International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)
Discussions on the fledgling U.N.-backed Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) scheme are dominated by the issues of how to consult local people and how they can participate. There is concern the voices of indigenous peoples and local communities might be lost in complex decision-making processes that aim to make forest functions in developing countries part of global climate action.
The preparation phase, however, does offer opportunities to engage vulnerable groups who depend on forests going beyond token consultations. In Guatemala - which means "the land of trees" in the Maya-Toltec language - grassroots organisations show that bottom-up initiatives can indeed bear fruit.
"We sometimes notice that people think that, as indigenous groups, we lack any sort of capacity to engage and get a project off the ground," says Inocenta Macz Caal, a 35-year-old woman from the Maya-Q'eqchi community of the Lachu� Region in the north of Guatemala.
"It should, however, not be forgotten that over a decade ago our communities were destroyed by civil war. We learned the hard way what it is to initiate and manage programmes. Members of our communities quite literally sat together, discussed, decided and developed plans for reconstruction and subsequently rebuilt our communities. We are ready to take on the REDD challenge."
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is working in Guatemala as part of a project funded by the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA) that aims to promote REDD strategies targeted at helping poor communities in five developing countries with forests.
IUCN shares the position of grassroots organisations in Guatemala that such an approach should focus on strengthening good governance of forests, developing mechanisms to share benefits, and the meaningful participation of relevant groups. Those that contribute to conservation and the sustainable management of forest resources are being trained and encouraged to take part in decision making.
Local groups in Guatemala have over the years gained valuable experience with what that can now be considered as REDD activities. Baselines of deforestation have been developed that can be used to establish future reductions in deforestation.
Encouraged by external organisations supporting progress on REDD "readiness" - building capacity and preparedness for implementing REDD - the same Guatemalan organisations are analysing the factors driving deforestation in a participatory way.
WHO HAS THE RIGHT TO CARBON?
Through these initiatives, community groups and non-government organisations have helped shape REDD preparedness in Guatemala. Most importantly, they encouraged the government to develop a national REDD strategy that builds grassroots initiatives into a clear framework for its implementation.
When groups like the Maya-Q'eqchi began discussions on REDD with the government, the lack of a legal and political framework for a REDD strategy with benefit-sharing mechanisms emerged as a major issue. The government and civil society then agreed to start working together on a review of forest and environmental legislation, land tenure and property rights.
Tree tenure and carbon rights are crucially important for the development of systems through which REDD benefits can be shared. This is one way in which local people and authorities can be incentivised to protect forests and reduce deforestation.
In many cases, however, the land rights of local groups whose help is needed to achieve these goals are not formalised. Even land owners sometimes don't have rights over the environmental services provided by trees, including carbon. Rules have to be developed regarding who has the right to the carbon stored in forest trees when they are conserved or sustainably managed by local groups.
Local NGOs and indigenous groups are working with the Guatemalan government to clarify this issue. Carbon rights and tenure issues are analysed, and a legal framework is being developed that would make it possible for indigenous groups with concessions on government forest land to obtain the right to receive REDD payments. This legal framework will feed into a proposal for REDD financial mechanisms, which will form the basis for later consultations with REDD interest groups.
MORE EQUITABLE POLICIES
The government has proven it is serious about consultations and recognises the importance of the role of local organisations in the development of a national REDD strategy. This summer it postponed the submission of Guatemala's Readiness Preparation Proposal (RPP).
This is a proposal that, if accepted, makes a country eligible for World Bank funding through the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility. After advice from its partners, the Guatemalan government delayed submission in order to create time for more consultations with civil society and community groups.
"The engagement between the government and community organisations such as the Maya-Q'eqchi in the national readiness process is an exciting example of the kind of community participation that can help us build more effective and equitable REDD policies," says Mario Escobedo, who leads the IUCN project in Guatemala.
"REDD in Guatemala has a long way to go but with the process having just started I am happy with the strides that we have managed to make so far with our partners both at the centre, as well as at the grassroots."
Climate experts and negotiators might learn from positive developments taking place in various countries that are preparing for REDD. While these should not distract from the challenges that lie ahead, they can provide a welcome distraction from the myriad of discussions over all that is going or could go wrong.
With all eyes on December's U.N. Climate Change Conference in Cancun in Mexico, the hope is that REDD negotiations will capitalise on the progress that has been made on the scheme so far.
The world's remaining tropical forests will continue to fulfill their important functions for climate, nature and people only if the communities whose livelihoods depend on those forests are included in the decision-making process.
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