In October 2012, an international delegation including indigenous leaders from Mexico, Brazil and Ecuador visited California, to oppose California’s proposed carbon offset scheme. The “No REDD! Tour” has generated a sometimes heated debate.
The most recent contribution to the debate is from The Amazon Working Group, posted on 14 November 2012 in Portuguese on GTA’s website and a few days later translated to English on Ecosystem Marketplace. The GTA was formed during the Rio Conference in 1992. It involves about 600 organisations representing farmers, gatherers, indigenous peoples, fishers, and others.
For the background to the open letter from GTA, see the following posts on REDD-Monitor:
19 October 2012: Indigenous Peoples speak out against California’s carbon offsets scheme: “You cannot trade pollution for nature” – press release from the delegation to California.
25 October 2012: California, REDD, carbon trading and Indigenous Peoples – a summary of the discussion so far.
30 October 2012: New video – Exposing REDD: The False Climate Solution – an anti-REDD video produced by The Mending News. The video includes footage of Ninawá Huni Kui, President of the Federation of the Huni Kui people of Acre, Brazil (one of the indigenous leaders who took part in the delegation to California), saying that, “one of the impacts REDD has brought is over the last 12 years, they’ve basically paralysed the demarcation process in the state of Acre”. Beto Borges of Forest Trends responded in the comments. A discussion followed between Elder de Paula Andrade, Lindomar Padilha, and Michael F. Schmidlehner on one side and Borges on the other.
1 November 2012: Problems with REDD and payments for environment services in Acre, Brazil – a post based on an article by Elder Andrade de Paula and including a leaflet produced by the Union of Rural Workers of Xapuri.
2 November 2012: A Response from Tashka Yawanawá about REDD in Acre, Brazil: “We have to fight for truth” – Tashka Yawanawá, Chief of the Yawanawá People, responds to the discussion so far.
Here is GTA’s open letter, in English and Portuguese, below.
Indigenous rights in discussions on REDD+
Amazon Working Group (Grupo de Trabalho Amazônico, GTA), 19 November 2012
A recent news report stated that indigenous peoples and Californian environmentalists meeting in San Francisco have spoken out against the possible use of REDD+ credits in the carbon market that is being developed in that state. According to the article, the complaint, with a strong ideological bias, presented the fear that the commercialization of these credits would be equivalent to the sale of the forest peoples’ natural resources, which is not true.
The Amazon Working Group (Grupo de Trabalho Amazônico, GTA) shares the concerns raised about the REDD+ mechanism and recognizes the challenges and risks that carbon markets can bring and is committed to the fight to guarantee the rights of forest peoples and communities, above all in regard to land rights and the use and access to forest resources.
To guarantee these rights, GTA participates in various national and international forums, contributing to the dialogue between the different stakeholders and demanding the inclusion of social and environmental safeguards which guarantee and protect the rights of forests peoples.
In the interest of forest peoples
However, GTA also recognizes that REDD+ can bring new opportunities and benefits for traditional peoples and populations, as well as forest conservation, ensuring income and keeping the forest standing.
One example of this is how the Suruí people in Rondônia have organized themselves to benefit from REDD+ resources in ways they have chosen, yet transparently, with monitoring by the National Indian Foundation (Funai). With the opportunities that have opened to them, the Surui are planning the future of their community for years to come.
The Suruí REDD+ Project is directly linked to the 50 year integrated management plan developed by the Suruí, whose territory extends over 248,000 hectares in the Brazilian Amazon. To learn the details of the Surui Carbon Project, visit the REDD Observatory.
In Acre, the example comes from the State Government, which created the State System of Incentives for Ecosystem Services (SISA), in which the rights of indigenous peoples were not forgotten. Created in 2010, SISA was openly debated for nine months, including specific consultations with indigenous leaders and local organizations.
Subsequently, the State Commission for Validation and Monitoring of SISA established the Working Group called Indigenous Working Group, with the mission to establish a dialogue between this system, indigenous communities and civil society.
Furthermore, during the public consultation process, workshops with representatives of 22 indigenous territories in Acre were held, with participation from GTA, COIAB, FUNAI, Comissão Pró-Índio, and other organizations.
Thus, the SISA has sought to guarantee the rights of indigenous and local communities, in line with the discussion on the topic within Brazil and with international agreements signed by the federal government.
The GTA network believes, first of all, that questions about REDD and the carbon market should not be an obstruction to the social development of traditional communities, but a means to build more just social policies aiming to benefit forest peoples.
Os direitos indígenas nos debates sobre REDD+
Grupo de Trabalho Amazônico (GTA), 14 November 2012
Notícia recente informou que povos indígenas e ambientalistas californianos reunidos em São Francisco teriam se manifestado contra a possibilidade de utilização de créditos de REDD+ no mercado de carbono que vem sendo desenvolvido naquele estado.Segundo o noticiado, a queixa, com forte viés ideológico, apresentava o temor de que a comercialização desses créditos seria o equivalente a venda dos recursos naturais dos povos da floresta, o que não é verdade.
O GTA compartilha com as preocupações apresentadas sobre o mecanismo de REDD+e reconhece os desafios e riscos que os mercados de carbono podem trazer e se empenha na luta pela garantia dos direitos dos povos e comunidade da floresta, sobretudo no que se refere ao direito a terra e uso e acessos dos recursos florestais.Para garantir esses direitos, o GTA participa de vários fóruns nacionais e internacionais, contribuindo com o diálogo entre as partes interessadas e exigindo a inclusão de salvaguardas socioambientais que garantam e protejam os direitos dos povos das florestas.
Em benefício dos povos da floresta
No entanto, o GTA também reconhece que o REDD+ pode trazer novas oportunidades e benefícios para os povos e populações tradicionais, assim como a conservação das florestas, garantindo renda e mantendo a floresta em pé.Exemplo disso é como o povo Surui, em Rondônia, tem se organizado para se beneficiar de recursos do REDD+ de forma auto determinada, mas transparente, com acompanhamento da Fundação Nacional do Índio (Funai).
Com as oportunidades que se abrem, os Surui estão planejando o futuro da comunidade para os próximos anos.O Projeto REDD+ dos Surui está diretamente ligado ao Plano de 50 anos de gestão integrada e autônoma dos Surui, cujo território se estende por 248 mil hectares na Amazônia brasileira. Para conhecer os detalhes do Projeto Carbono Surui, visite o site do Observatório do REDD, aqui.
No Acre, o exemplo vem do governo do estado, que criou o Sistema Estadual de Incentivo a Serviços Ambientais (SISA), no qual os direitos dos povos indígenas não foram esquecidos. Criado em 2010, o SISA foi debatido abertamente durante nove meses, incluindo consultas específicas com lideranças indígenas e organizações locais.Posteriormente, a Comissão Estadual de Validação e Acompanhamento do SISA instituiu o Grupo de Trabalho denominado de GT Indígena, tendo como missão estabelecer o diálogo entre este sistema, as comunidades indígenas e a sociedade civil.
Além disso, durante o processo das consultas públicas, foram realizadas oficinas com representantes de 22 terras indígenas do Acre, as quais contaram com participação do GTA, COIAB, FUNAI, Comissão Pró-Índio, entre outras organizações.Desta forma, o SISA vem buscando garantir os direitos das populações indígenas e comunidades locais, em sintonia com o debate sobre o tema dentro do Brasil e com os acordos internacionais assinados pelo governo federal.
A Rede GTA acredita, antes de tudo, que os questionamentos a respeito do REDD e do mercado de carbono não devam ser uma forma de obstrução ao desenvolvimento social das comunidades tradicionais, mas seja um meio para a construção de políticas sociais mais justas visando ao benefícios dos povos da floresta.
Comments following the original post on REDD-Monitor.org are archived here: https://archive.is/OpPbS#selection-895.4-895.14