Forests & People First |
"Forests & People First" is a consultation initative proposing a set of minimum principles/standards that enshrine the strong safeguards necessary for REDD+ and other forest and climate programmes to deliver the desired benefits to local communities and their forests. Strong safeguards (understood here as required measures to prevent potential harm and maximise effectiveness) can also serve to block non-desirable, damaging activities that would do more harm than good.
The consultation document does not seek to endorse or reject REDD+ as a concept, but rather to ensure that a minimum set of robust and effective safeguards be complied with where REDD+ and other forest programmes are implemented. The current standards and architectures of international institutions do not provide sufficient instruments to ensure that rights are respected and forests protected in such programmes, increasing the risk that REDD+ interventions lead to perverse outcomes.
This is meant to serve negotiators, policy makers, civil society and others involved in financing, designing and/or implementing REDD+ programmes to develop, implement and monitor policies and measures in a more coherent and effective way. If agreed by a large number of actors, strong safeguards can also be a powerful tool for affected communities to defend their rights and interests.
We hope that this initiative will be a step towards greater harmonisation and stronger recognition of an international safeguards framework for REDD+ and other forest initiatives.
The consultation document does not seek to endorse or reject REDD+ as a concept, but rather to ensure that a minimum set of robust and effective safeguards be complied with where REDD+ and other forest programmes are implemented. The current standards and architectures of international institutions do not provide sufficient instruments to ensure that rights are respected and forests protected in such programmes, increasing the risk that REDD+ interventions lead to perverse outcomes.
This is meant to serve negotiators, policy makers, civil society and others involved in financing, designing and/or implementing REDD+ programmes to develop, implement and monitor policies and measures in a more coherent and effective way. If agreed by a large number of actors, strong safeguards can also be a powerful tool for affected communities to defend their rights and interests.
We hope that this initiative will be a step towards greater harmonisation and stronger recognition of an international safeguards framework for REDD+ and other forest initiatives.