Carbon-Cutting May Harm Indigenous Communities Bryant Harris - Inter Press Service
go to original March 25, 2014

U.S. Native American leader Tom Goldtooth (Franz Chávez/IPS)

WASHINGTON - Civil society and advocacy groups are warning that a prominent carbon-reduction initiative, aimed at curbing global emissions, is undermining land tenure rights for indigenous communities, putting their livelihoods at risk.

Last week, an international dialogue here focused on the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation Plus (REDD+) program, overseen primarily by the United Nations and World Bank.

The Rights and Resources Initiative (RRI), a coalition of organisations focused on land tenure and policy reforms, presented new research highlighting the lack of legal protection and safeguards for indigenous communities living in forests.

... RRI’s new research, which examines 23 countries, finds that only Mexico and Guatemala have laws meant to clarify tenure rights over carbon. Meanwhile, none of the countries have a legal framework or institutions in place to determine who receives REDD+ benefits for carbon emission reductions.

Read the rest at Inter Press Service

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