Rights, Forests and Climate Change:Introduction, Review of Current Situation,

Challenges, Need for Action

Andy White, CoordinatorRights and Resources Initiative

Oslo, 15 October 2008

Rationale – Why This Conference

1. Increasing recognition that must deal with the rights issues:• Indigenous People’s/Civil Society

statements in Bali, Accra; The Forest Dialogue, Eliasch Review, Etc.

2. Increasing crisis and urgency – dramatic local threats, Poznan is coming, funds are multiplying!• proliferation of “funds” and mechanisms

– without adequate coherence, oversight, or accountability built in

3. BUT – not adequate guidance or teeth – how to ensure effectiveness without undermining rights and livelihoods?

• We hope this conference will provide specific operational recommendations

A New Context: Must Focus & Prioritize

SOURCE: Bloomberg.com

Implications:1. Poverty, vulnerability, and political instability are back!!

(a new crisis to deal with)

2. Mixed effects on local people, new baselines!

3. Likely decrease in funds for ODA ($, NOK, SEK, £)

4. Just the latest in string of “crises” – so we all must prioritize:

• What’s low cost and what contributes to

addressing multiple crises?

• food, energy, political, climate?

Outline

1. Review:

• Realities of Forest Areas – Old Problems

• Past Attempts/Future Challenges• New Opportunities: Bases to Build

On

2. Realities of (trying to) REDD

3. Ideas about a “Framework for Effectiveness”

4. Hoping for REDD +

Forest Areas – The Hinterland – Left Behind and Used

High rates of poverty – at least 1 billion use, depend on forest resources

Limited citizenship, respect for customary rights At least 15 million people lack

citizenship recognition – all hill tribes of Thailand, most Pygmies of Congo Basin

Governments claim 75% of world’s forests – illegal conservation, dispossession, preference for BIG industry

Corruption, limited rule of law Limited accountability, judicial

redress

Lack of basic services: schools? Clean water? Health?

Old Problems (1): Violent conflict common

Source: D.Kaimowitz ETFRN NEWS 43/44

In the past twenty years 30 countries in the tropical regions of the world have experienced significant conflict between armed groups in forest areas. Continent Forest

Threatened (million

hectares, % of total)

Population Threatened (x 1.000.000)

Africa 130(53%)

52

Latin America 50 (21%) 13South/ Southeast Asia 52 (22%) 63

Europe/ Central Asia/ N America

10 (4%) -

Total 242 127

Old Problems (2): Extensive Poverty; Slow/No Growth

• forest rich countries are ½ of “Bottom Billion” –“falling apart and falling behind” (P. Collier ’07)

• “growth” located in urban, coastal areas

• “forest rich” countries doing significantly worse

• ITTO producer countries doing significantly worse

-1.00%

-0.50%

0.00%

0.50%

1.00%

1.50%

2.00%

2.50%

3.00%

3.50%

Africa Asia & Oceania L America & Caribbean Developing World

Aver

age

Annu

al G

DP P

er C

apita

Gro

wth

197

5-20

04

High Forest Countries* Low Forest Countries

Old Problems (3): Weak Governance

Old Problems (3): Weak Governance

Sources: http://www.transparency.org/news_room/in_focus/2008/cpi2008/cpi_2008_table http://www.freedomhouse.org/template.cfm?page=410&year=2008 Wily, Liz. 2008. Conflicts around the world.

1. 50’s – today: industrial extraction and export• Some jobs and government revenue – but well documented failure – in terms of growth,

governance, corruption, human rights – so why continue to support it today?

2. 70’s – today: environmental protection, public protected areas– Some contributions to ecosystem protection – but well documented human rights abuses,

failures of effectiveness, can’t scale up

3. 80’s – 90’s: social, participatory forestry• Well intentioned, but had limited effect because did not address underlying rights

constraints (to land, to markets)

4. 90’s – today: market-based conservation • Improved approach, but not poverty alleviation tool, in fact, often undermines market

opportunities for the poor, criminalizes the poor

All imposed from outside, continuation of feudal, external control of hinterland, the “forest” for centrally-defined “public good”

Most important is what was NOT done: recognize local rights, allow local people to pursue THEIR aspirations

Nagging Questions: (1) Why do we treat forest areas and forest peoples differently than agrarian or urban places and people?

(2) How in the world will REDD (really) work?

Past Attempts, Future Challenges

1. Climate and water crises and shocks – political turbulence

2. Continued growth in market demand and shifts in source of investment, direction of trade and political influence – “global land grab”

3. All driving “wall of capital” and “wall of speculation” – colliding with the poor, and poorly governed hinterland

Shape of Things to Come

Source: Sunderlin, Hatcher, Liddle 2008, “From exclusion to ownership”. RRI

Forest Tenure Transition Continues

Key Finding – Some progress, but not much.

9 of top 30

New Opportunities – Bases to Build On

Source: Economist; iAfrica

1. “Democracy”/openness continues to spread

2. We have learned a lot:• mapping rights, facilitating community

negotiations, appropriate legal structures, even how to engage in contentious political issues

3. New market opportunities for small scale enterprises, and trade levers (e.g. VPA)

4. Independent, multi-stakeholder consultation processes more common

5. Vast attention and sums going towards climate change could be made useful

6. People are organizing and gaining capacity and tools to hold us all accountable

• But – what are the mechanisms that will enable them to hold us accountable?

OUTCOMES

· Carbon sequestered and maintained· Rights respected· Livelihoods supported· Forests conserved

Framework for Ensuring Effective Investment in Climate Change Adaptation & Mitigation in Forest Areas

What we need is R E D D +

+ Diminish · conflict · poverty · social exclusion

+ Advance · livelihoods · culture · development

R

E

D

D

IGHTS

NSURED

IMINISH

EFORESTATION

Thank You

The climate has changed, have we?

Substantial opportunity to

address underlying problems

www.rightsandresources.org