Understanding Community-Based REDD+ A Manual for Indigenous Communities

In December 2010, after years of negotiations, an agreement on REDD was finally reached at the 16th Conference of Parties (COP 16) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Cancun, Mexico. The agreement includes references to indigenous peoples and their rights, and in paragraph 72 of the agreement, country Parties are requested to ensure “the full and effective participation of relevant stakeholders, inter alia, indigenous peoples and local communities” when developing and implementing their national strategies or action plans on REDD.

But what does “full and eective participation” mean? This question is the main motivation for writing this manual.

To ensure not just “participation”, but community control and empowerment, REDD+ projects should be planned, designed and implemented in such a way that they fully comply with the safeguards referred to in the UNFCCC agreement on REDD, as well as the provisions of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. We have chosen to call projects with such an approach “Community-based REDD+”.

While the first community guide in our manual series, “What is REDD?”, aims to help indigenous communities to understand what REDD+ is and what its implications may be for them more generally, this manual looks at REDD+ at the project level and tries to provide some guidance to finding answers to questions like: How does REDD+ fit into the overall livelihood and forest management systems of indigenous peoples? How does REDD+ work on the ground? What are the typical activities of a REDD+ project? Who is involved in a REDD+ project? What are the particular knowledge and skills needed for implementing a REDD+ project?

By assisting communities in finding answers to such questions, the purpose of this manual is to help indigenous communities acquire the knowledge and skills needed to take a decision on whether to join a REDD+ project, and if they do, to be able to fully and effectively participate in it.

This community manual is accompanied by a manual for community trainers, providing guidance on how to conduct a training on Community-based REDD+.

Both are being translated into several Asian and other languages, in order to make them more accessible and useful to indigenous communities and trainers in the region.