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Addressee: UN-REDD
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The Permanent Forum recommends that the renewed political focus on forests stimulated by current policy debates on reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation (REDD) under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change be used towards securing the rights of indigenous peoples living in forests and rewarding their historical stewardship role and continuing conservation and sustainable use of forests. According to the principle of free, prior and informed consent, indigenous peoples must not be excluded from, and should be centrally involved in and benefit from, deciding forest policies and programmes at all levels that deliver justice and equity and contribute to sustainable development, biodiversity protection and climate change mitigation and adaptation.
Responses
On behalf of the UN-REDD programme, UNDP has undertaken a number of dialogues and consultations with indigenous peoples and other forest-dependaent communities as part of the design phase. These idalogues brought together indigenous and local participants, UN agencies, Governments, conservation experts, and the private sector.
In November 2008, the UN-REDD Programme, in partnership with the secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Tebtebba Foundation and the traditional knowledge initiative of the United Nations University, hosted the Global Indigenous Peoples Consultation on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest
Degradation, held in Baguio City, Philippines.
The UN-REDD Programme Policy Board will include a high-level indigenous representative. Policy Board members will set the overall direction for the UN-REDD Programme and approve projects for funding through the UN-REDD Programme Fund. UN-REDD Programme has requested the input of an independent civil society advisory group including representatives of indigenous peoples organizations to provide advice and recommendations on the design and implementation of programme activities.
The UN-REDD Programme is also developing a set of guidelines for the engagement of indigenous peoples and other forest-dependent communities, which will be approved in draft form by the UN-REDD Programme Policy Board in March 2009. The guidelines will build on the principles and recommendations made at the Global Indigenous Peoples Consultation on reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation and will outline the necessary steps that must be taken at the global and national levels to ensure that the rights of indigenous peoples are upheld and respected by UN-REDD Programme activities.
Final Report of UNPFII Session 7 (2008)
Area of Work
