Avoided Deforestation (REDD) and Indigenous ... - Amazon Fund

Reducing Risks: Framework for Project Development and Effective
Indigenous Engagement in REDD
While the threats of deforestation are clear, present, and widely recognized throughout
the Amazon, the REDD finance frameworks to address them are still taking shape, presenting both
the Surui and any potential investors with an array of risks that make long-term commitments
challenging.
Internationally there is a global consensus about the need for action to reduce forest loss,
the need for significant financial flows, and the central role of national government-led approaches
to setting baselines and monitoring emissions reductions. However, how finance will be distributed
and flow to the communities and landowners on the ground is still to be determined.
Likewise, while there is frequent mention of the need to mobilize significant private
finance, there is far less clarity on how the conditions and mechanisms to make this occur will
be framed, and whether this is expected to occur through government securities, project-level
direct investment or other vehicles. From an investor perspective, there are market, regulatory,
and delivery risks associated with carbon markets, which are more pronounced for REDD (a new
asset class not recognized to date under climate change agreements) and for an indigenous
project in an area undergoing rapid cultural and economic change.
The Surui likewise face risks – with more significant consequences – in staking the future
of their forests and local economies on REDD commitments in a climate of uncertainty. How
does REDD compare to their other options? How does it align or conflict with their development
aspirations as a people? What are equitable and sustainable terms in market and policy context
where the only certainty is extremely dramatic change over the next few years?
This cumulus of risks for all parties tends to urge caution, and yet the imminent threats
of deforestation require bold action and significant finance in the short term. This requires of the
Surui that they build capacity to take informed decisions rapidly, and investing in a process for
reducing the risks of potential transactions for all parties. For the Surui, only by fully understanding
their rights, options, and the potential value of the resources under their control, can they
effectively engage in and shape REDD finance. Many issues need to be worked through at a high
level, in the UNFCCC negotiations, in Brazilian and other national policies, but these decisions
– and certainly those of the Surui about their forests and their future – are best informed by
looking at the specifics of local contexts.
The Surui have been working with the partners described above to build capacity, tools,
and information to make informed decisions about whether and how to participate in REDD
Av o i d e d d e f o re s t A t i o n (redd) A n d i n d i g e n o u s p e o p l e s: experiences, chAllenges A n d o p p o r t u n i t i e s in t h e A m A zo n c o n t e x t 113