Engaging indigenous peoples in climate change policy

Marina Campos
RF-US Program Manager

“Without our forests we will became strangers in our own land” this was one of the most powerful statements I heard during a recent visit to Georgetown, Guyana. Indigenous peoples have a connection to their forests that is material, cultural and spiritual.

Multiple interests are now focusing on finding ways to compensate countries that actively conserve their rainforests. In theory the idea of paying countries to keep their forests standing and give benefits to indigenous communities for doing this job seems like a good one. These types of programs are known internationally as REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation). However, in most initiatives REDD has failed to include indigenous peoples in the design, implementation and monitoring of the programs. REDD’s top down structure raises serious concerns about whether participation in these programs will respect indigenous peoples rights and address the real drivers of deforestation.

The Government of Guyana is promoting a number of initiatives related to climate change mitigation that have potential for benefits but also negative impacts on indigenous communities in the country. In 2009, the government launched its Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) with a goal of securing finances for keeping the country’s forests standing. The government actively promoted its LCDS initiative and claimed they had the unqualified support of indigenous peoples. In truth some indigenous communities expressed serious concerns that needed to be addressed before they felt comfortable moving forward with REDD. The Rainforest Foundation-US feels it is critical to provide more in depth and balanced information so that these individuals and communities are able to make informed choices; and we are partnering with the Amerindian Peoples Association (APA) to provide just this support to indigenous communities.

In March of 2011, I traveled to Georgetown, Guyana on behalf of RFUS to host with APA a “Training of Trainers” Workshop on Climate Change and Indigenous Peoples. The purpose of the training was to enable indigenous leaders to inform their communities about climate change issues and ensure that they can confidently voice their concerns to policy makers in Guyana regarding both the opportunities and challenges presented by REDD. The workshop trained 25 indigenous leaders on issues related to climate change and indigenous rights. My role was to provide information on climate change, REDD and international initiatives. The challenge here is to include the technical information necessary to properly explain the issues, but keep the language accessible and easy to understand. Workshop participants went back to their villages with the skills necessary to conduct a similar workshop at the community level. This model has proven to be an efficient and effective way to reach a large amount of people spread out over a large area.

I left Guyana with a feeling of great satisfaction with the results of the workshop. It was exciting to see participants understand the basic concepts of climate change, but more important to me was the understanding of their rights. With that understanding came questions about the actions of government and corporate interests with respect to the Rainforests. Armed with more knowledge, they can be more active participants in policy formation in their country, and reinforce their role as forest stewards. The workshop was a rewarding experience, as is participating in this process of information sharing. I am now looking forward to going back to Guyana to participate in some of the local workshops.