Transcript Local communities in the Asia-Pacific region are actively

Asia Regional Workshop on REDD-plus after Cancun:
Moving from Negotiation to Implementation
Building REDD-plus Policy Capacity for Developing
Country Negotiators and Land Managers
IISD, ASB-ICRAF, Norad and MARD
Hanoi, 18-20 May 2011
Yam Malla, Executive Director
Chandra Silori, Coordinator, Grassroots Capacity Building for REDD in Asia
Regan Suzuki, Coordinator, REDD-net Asia Pacific
Nguyen Quang Tan, Country Program Coordinator, Vietnam
RECOFTC - The Center for People and Forests
Bangkok, Thailand
RECOFTC – The Center for People and Forests
• Independent not-for-profit
international organization
• Strategically positioned between
organizations that are
responsible for field
implementation of activities and
those responsible for research
that generates empirically-based
knowledge
Local and indigenous people hold the key to
healthier and better management of forests
• VISION: Local communities in
the Asia-Pacific region are
actively involved in the
equitable and ecologically
sustainable management of
forest landscapes
• MISSION: To enhance
capacities at all levels to
assist people of the AsiaPacific region to develop CF
and manage forest resources
for optimum social,
economic and environmental
benefits
Core Functions - Capacity Building
Training
Action
Research
Networks
Advocacy
Advisory
Services
Target Audience and Approach
• Beneficiaries: local people, esp.
poorer households in and around
forests
• Strengthening capacities of
concerned stakeholders at all
levels
• Working with partners and
collaborators
• Developing accessible, flexible,
dynamic capacity-building tools
• Addressing practical needs
• Using local language
• Simplifying complex ideas
Geographical and Thematic Focus
Asia-Pacific region (> 20 countries)
6 focal countries
Four thematic areas
People, Forest & Climate Change
Expanding Community Forestry
Livelihoods & Market Access
Conflict Management
Three guiding principles
Clear and stronger rights
Good governance
Fair share of benefits
Cross-Cutting Issues
Gender and equity
Environmental sustainability
People, Forests and Climate Change
REDD+ Related Initiatives
• Community Forestry—a key strategy for addressing climate change
and forest related issues (mitigation & adaptation)
°
Analysis of policies and lessons from field implementation
°
Using the knowledge/information for sharing and discussion at local,
national, international meetings, conferences and workshops
°
Disseminating knowledge through publications and other channels
°
Incorporating new knowledge from own and other people’s work in
capacity-building products and services
• REDD+ Initiatives
°
Grassroots Capacity Building for REDD in Asia-Pacific
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REDD-net Asia-Pacific
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REDD Learning Network
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ASEAN-RECOFTC-Swiss Partnership on SF and CC
°
ForInfo
Safeguards and Free, Prior and Informed Consent
• REDD and other CC-Forest Initiatives
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Whose perspective? Whose agenda?
How do different stakeholders view REDD+ and why?
• What policy implications?
°
One possible negative outcome is re-centralization of forest management –
thereby undermining:
 CF’s three decades of achievements
 Forest rights and benefits
• Safeguards for what? What is FPIC and why?
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Areas with supportive policy framework
 Realizing the forest rights and benefits
Areas with no supportive policy framework
 Focusing on policy and institutional reforms
Various indigenous groups are proactively developing IP sensitive MRV
processes and safeguards to ensure IP rights are upheld
Training and capacity building activities (2009-10)
• 64 trainings delivered
• Over 2,000 participants involved
(over 800 females)
• 20 countries covered
9
Example 1: Grassroots capacity building for REDD+ in Asia
• Pilot trainings in 5 countries
• National programs in 4 countries
– Indonesia, Vietnam, Laos and
Nepal
°
Training of trainers
°
Awareness raising
°
Material development
°
Engaging local media
• Local language delivery of training
programmes
• ToT Manual developed in Nepali,
Laotian and Bahasa Indonesia
languages
Example 2: Action Research
• Back up theories with practical evidence
• Local-level mitigation and adaptation
• Demonstrate, analyze and synthesize tools
• Forest restoration, data generation,
incentives, alternative livelihoods
• 25+ analytical outputs
• Policy briefs (6)
• Media briefs (3)
• Resear. article (10+)
• Resear. reports (5)
• Interactive
bibliography & blog
(1 each)
Example 3: Strengthening Regional Networks
REDD-net Asia-Pacific
• Bridge b/w global and national networks,
facilitate constructive dialogue and harness
enhanced interest in forest sector
• REDD+ through the civil society lens
° Supports Southern civil societies in
promoting the interests of local people in
REDD+ dealings
• Knowledge-sharing platform
° Sharing of knowledge, analysis, and tools
to foster a better understanding of how
REDD+ initiatives can address local needs
• Regional and global bulletins: Key themes
° Equity in REDD+
° Trust in REDD+
° Carbon Rights
° Benefit Sharing, Gender, Adaptation,
Conflict, Opportunity costs
Example 4: Strengthening Regional Networks
REDD Learning Network
• RECOFTC leads the Network in
eight countries as part of our
work under the RAFT program
• Key stakeholders are informed
on latest REDD+ issues
• Contributes to the development
of national REDD+ scheme
°
reduce poverty
°
strengthen the rights of local
people
• Decoding REDD Workshop Series
Example 4: Strengthening Regional Networks
REDD Learning Network (cont…)
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Engaging media - Development of
REDD+ Media Pack
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Media brief on an overview of
REDD+
REDD decoding publications
Carbon, conflict and communities
Press Conference at the UN
Climate Change Talks in Tianjin,
China
°
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Over 20 Chinese and international
journalists
Media Training Workshop
°
12 journalists from South and East Asian
countries, including 8 RAFT countries
Example 5: Advisory Services
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Free, Prior and Informed
Consent (FPIC) in REDD+
UN-REDD
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FPIC evaluation and verification
toolkit developed with AsiaPacific IG and FPIC experts for
UN-REDD global program
Evaluation of FPIC processes
using toolkit for UN-REDD
Vietnam country program
GIZ – Guidelines for FPIC
applications
Way forward … future action research focus
• How social safeguards are defined and
applied under different socioeconomic
and cultural settings?
• Role of indigenous knowledge
°
Identify significant opportunities, constraints,
and risks for adaptation and mitigation
• What are risks and opportunities—will
REDD-plus escalate conflict in forestry
sector?
• How to ensure equitable access to and
benefit sharing from carbon trade
• What is the cost of REDD+
Way forward … future policy focus
• Develop policies on safeguards
including roles of local communities in
the FPIC process
• Review and learn from existing policies
on safeguards—FPIC in Philippines,
various certification systems
• Create conducive policy environment
for good governance and stronger and
clear forest rights of local communities
• Mechanism to avoid dilution or
misinterpretation of safeguards by
participating countries
Conclusion
• Climate change-related forest strategies can succeed when they
complement, rather then conflict with, the forest peoples
interests
• Community Forestry:
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Offers a basket of robust social safeguards
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Helps building resilience and social and natural capital for
local communities
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Ensures both biodiversity conservation and social safeguards
• Community Forestry is a robust model to approach the current
question of REDD+ implementation
Thank You!
Healthy forests…
local people hold the key
Website: www.recoftc.org