The Accra Caucus is a coalition of more than 100 non-governmental organisations from 30 countries. It was formed in August 2008, in Accra, Ghana at a meeting organised to discuss issues and concerns associated with REDD. Before COP-15 in Copenhagen, December 2009, the Accra Caucus produced a list of key messages to be included in any agreement on REDD.
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In 2004, a group of people’s movements and independent organisations met in Durban in South Africa. The meeting produced the Durban Declaration on Carbon Trading, which strongly opposes carbon trade: “We denounce the further delays in ending fossil fuel extraction that are being caused by corporate, government and United Nations’ attempts to construct a ‘carbon market’, including a market trading in ‘carbon sinks’.” During the Copenhagen meeting, the Durban Group produced a new statement opposing REDD: “No REDD! No REDD Plus!”. (Also available in Spanish, below.)
In the lead up to Copenhagen, letters, articles and reports about REDD are coming out thick and fast. Before looking at them, here’s some bad news. In 2005, a drought meant that in that year the Amazon rainforest did not sequester its usual 2 billion metric tons of CO2. It also released 3 billion tons of CO2 to the atmosphere from dying trees. The total 5 billion additional tons of CO2 is greater than the combined emissions of Europe and Japan. This year there is another drought in the Amazon. The photograph on the right was taken last weekend by Paulo Whitaker. It shows a fisherman paddling through dead fish that died because of lower water levels on the on the Manaquiri River, a tributary of the Amazon River.
“Honest Engagement“, a December 2008 briefing by London-based NGO Global Witness, points out the central importance of transparency and participation in REDD schemes. The briefing notes that “Almost all previous attempts to reform the forest sector have failed when these basic principles have been ignored in decision-making.” The briefing gives examples of both bad (Forest Carbon Partnership Facility and PNG) and good (Peru) practices, and explains what lessons can be learned from both the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative and the EU-Forest Law Enforcement Governance and Trade process. The briefing also sets out some “minimum requirements” for both transparency and participation. KpSHK (Consortium for the support of Community Based Forest Management) has produced the following statement emphasising the importance of respecting local communities’ rights to land use and tenure in developing REDD in Indonesia. The International Youth Delegation is a consortium of over 500 young people from over 50 countries. “We are the largest ever youth presence for a conference of this kind,” they say. “We are here in Poznan to provide the youth voice in the negotiations and to remind governments that they are bargaining with our future.” Here’s their position on REDD. The negotiations on REDD are heating up. After a week of mindnumbingly slow progress on REDD, the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand are now opposing the inclusion of references to the rights of Indigenous Peoples and local communities in the COP14 decision text on REDD. Needless to say, Indigenous Peoples, local communities and NGO representatives are outraged at this development.
The action, by Global Forest Coalition, the Wilderness Society and Global Justice Ecology Project also highlighted the danger that “the inclusion of REDD into the carbon market will mainly benefit the countries and actors that have caused most of the world’s deforestation,” in addition to allowing continued pollution in the North. Rights and Resources Initiative and Rainforest Foundation Norway have released a new briefing sheet on rights-based climate change mitigation and adaptation. The briefing sets out a framework of actions, including strengthening rights and governance, prioritising incentives for indigenous peoples and forest communities, monitoring more than carbon and establishing international and national advisory and audit mechanisms. We have received the following position statement from the Consortium for the support of Community Based Forest Management, which sets out some key concerns and demands concerning the development of REDD in Indonesia. |
 
 
 
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