Fair and equitable REDD+ agreements

 

Implementing partner: 2023-2024 CCAP (Center for Clean Air Policy) and 2024-2025 OPIAC (National Organization of the Colombian Amazon Indigenous Peoples)

 Implementation period: January 2023 - April 2025 

 Sector: Just Rural Transition
 
 
The ARJE - Fair and Equitable REDD+ Agreements project aimed to enhance the understanding, skills, and governance of community organizations regarding voluntary carbon markets. It sought to promote high environmental integrity, reduce the risk of unfair agreements, and ensure proper implementation of environmental and social safeguards.  

The project was implemented with the objective of strengthening the governance processes of indigenous peoples and local communities in relation to voluntary carbon markets in the Amazon and Pacific regions by: 
  • Analysing the status of agreements between intermediaries and indigenous peoples and local communities in the Amazon and Pacific regions and assessing communities' perspectives and needs on voluntary carbon markets to assess their understanding of carbon markets and needs.
  • Establishing REDD+ Working Groups, a model for capacity building and governance strengthening for voluntary carbon markets in the Pacific and Amazon regions.
  • Providing recommendations for the appropriation of best practices in REDD+ projects in the context of the voluntary carbon market, with an emphasis on environmental and social safeguards.

Click here to know more about the project and its results.

"The project has taught us that dialogue and active listening are essential, that collective efforts increase impact, and that timely engagement in critical discussions makes a difference. It has provided WWF with a deeper understanding of the REDD+ framework, solidified its leadership in social and environmental safeguards at the national level, and provided a practical tool benchmark in the country, setting the stage for broader discussions and attracting more stakeholders to join the effort to benefit both people and nature."

-Maritza Florina, Climate Change Specialist, WWF Colombia

 

Project photos LATAM-31-WWF Arje - project Colombia

 

 

 

                      

 

 

 Main results

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  • Enhance the knowledge on the current situation of voluntary carbon markets of ethnic communities and other governmental and non-governmental actors involved in REDD+ process.

  • The project tackled the lack of tools and materials necessary to strengthen the capacities of community-based organizations in relation to REDD+ projects for the VCM. More recently, it has also focused on enhancing understanding of other financial mechanisms. To support these efforts, the project developed a series of tools and knowledge products, including: 

    - A guide to get to know fair and equitable REDD+ Project.
    - A detailed database was created for 86 REDD+ projects in Colombia’s Pacific and Amazon regions. Also, a methodology document was produced detailing the creation process of the database.   
    - A report was completed analyzing financing models and agreements between intermediaries and ethnic communities involved in REDD+ projects.  
    - A comprehensive analysis, aimed at supporting the design and implementation of social and environmental safeguards in financial mechanisms for biodiversity conservation in Colombia, specifically in the Amazon and Pacific regions was conducted. 
    - Analysis of international human rights and biodiversity and climate finance experiences, alongside domestic laws and jurisprudence. Legal recommendations were presented to support the development of fair and equitable REDD+ mechanisms in ethnic territories.      
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  • A pedagogical model was developed during the first phase of the project (2023-2024) which was one of the central pieces for the consolidation of OPIAC's Escuela REDD+ Amazónica. 

  • Multiple knowledge products were developed as part of the capacity building support. For instance, a website focused on the Prior consultation (Consulta previa in Spanish)

  • Adoption of the pedagogical model and tools to better understand and explain the voluntary carbon markets.

  • The project supported the understanding and adoption of recommendations to regulate the REDD+ agreements in the VCM to safeguard rights of local and indigenous communities by creating and promoting recommendations for key stakeholders, particularly concerning the rights of local and indigenous communities.

About UK PACT

UK PACT (Partnering for Accelerated Climate Transitions) is a unique capacity-building programme. Jointly governed and funded by the UK Government’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) through the UK's International Climate Finance, it works in partnership with countries with high emissions reduction potential to support them to implement and increase their ambitions for tackling climate change.

 

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