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

ecosystem service which implies that activities related to this ecosystem service are subjected to
the granting of a forest concession in the form of “forest concession with non-timber purposes”,
according to Article 10.2 of the forestry law. 115
Even though there is no regulation that specifies the laws for so-called non-timber
harvesting, according to Article 12 of the same forestry law, native and rural communities can
harvest forest and non-forest resources in community lands if a management plan that guarantees
the sustainable harvesting of said resources has been approved by INRENA. 116
At this point in time, the law that applies to non-timber harvesting has yet to be defined.
Still, this type of provision only affirms the ownership of the State over forest resources, which will
eventually hinder indigenous people from being the direct beneficiaries of REDD projects in their
territories, given that the legislation permits that they can be concessionaries, and not owners, of
the forest resources, and therefore will not have full legal rights to execute avoided deforestation
and conservation activities in native forests, except apparently, carbon sequestration activities
for the recuperation of areas that are concessions.
As there is no clarity regarding the legal norms for non-timber forest concessions, and
since they fall under a concessionary system and are not owners, indigenous people have few
possibilities of being the direct beneficiaries of REDD mechanisms in the Peruvian Amazon.
Venezuela
Venezuela is one of the countries in the region that has taken the longest to recognize the
existence of indigenous people in its territory, and therefore also to develop and guarantee their
differentiated rights. However, the current problem in this country is not the lack of legislation
115 Thus, the cited law establishes that: “(…) 2. Forest concessions with non-timber purposes. Harvesting with
commercial and industrial purposes of non-timber forest resources is performed under the specific conditions
that the present Law establishes in its regulations, in the following manner: (…) b. Concessions for ecotourism,
conservation, and ecosystem services. Concessions in lands with capacity of greater forest use or in protection forests
for the development of ecotourism, conservation of wild species of flora and fauna, carbon sequestration and other
ecosystem services are granted by the competent authority under the conditions established in the regulations. The
size of the unit of exploitation and the procedure for its promotion are determined by technical studies through
INRENA and approved through ministerial resolution by the Ministry of Agriculture.” (Emphasis by author.)
116 Law 27308 of July 2008. Forestry and Wild Fauna Law. Article 12. Harvesting of forest resources in community
lands. Native and rural community lands, prior to the harvest of their timber and non-timber resources of wild
fauna with industrial and commercial purposes, should have their management plan approved by INRENA,
according to the legal requirements to ensure the sustainable harvest of said resources. The appropriate authority
will advise and assist, on a priority basis, Community and Rural communities with this purpose.
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 61