Lokalbefolkningers rettigheder bliver krænket, når man indfører globalt program for skovbevarelse, konkluderer ny undersøgelse, der har studeret fem afrikanske landes erfaringer med den internationale klimamekanisme REDD+.
The Dutch-based NGO, FERN, has been producing Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) updates since 2010, writes FERN Wednesday.
These have proven to be very popular and so we are following their success with new six monthly updates on Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD+) for five countries in the Congo Basin: DR Congo, the Republic of Congo, the Central African Republic, Cameroon and Gabon.
This first update shows that although REDD+ processes are ongoing in four of the five countries, they are not inclusive, and are led in a top-down manner.
Not only has consultation been minimal, in none of the countries did civil society organisations have the possibility to effectively participate in the drafting of the REDD+ documents and make decisions, as had been the case with the VPAs in most Congo Basin countries.
Donors increasingly request that governments ensure REDD+ builds on FLEGT VPAs, but this is not yet happening in practice, hampered among others by REDD+ and VPAs being dealt with by different ministries.
Selv lovreformer risikerer mest at gavne mægtige interesser
Both REDD+ and VPAs require legal reforms, which could improve governance and respect for local peoples’ tenure rights, but in all five countries these reforms risk opening the way for large scale investment from mining and agriculture companies, rather than strengthening local peoples’ tenure rights (ejendomsrettigheder).
The original Readiness Preparation Proposals (R-PPs) also blamed ‘local communities for deforestation’, making it unlikely the process would strengthen community tenure rights, even though this is widely seen as a pre-condition for reducing deforestation.
There is therefore growing scepticism that REDD+ will effectively address the underlying and direct causes of deforestation in the region.
With no forest carbon market in sight, it is also increasingly unclear how REDD+ will be funded in the long term.
Rather than focusing on creating carbon accounting schemes for a market that may not materialise, countries must ensure REDD+ finance directly contributes to strengthening tenure security for local communities and improves forest governance.
This should come about, among others, through legal reform processes that create transparency, and improve accountability and participation in decision making
Man kan læse mere og downloade undersøgelsen fra
http://www.fern.org/REDDupdate
