Doing better: How REDD+ safeguards can advance indigenous rights in Peru

The Amazon is not only essential to addressing the climate and biodiversity crises, it is also the ancestral territories of Indigenous Peoples and local communities. Forest conservation efforts, therefore, cannot be separated from the rights of those who have lived in and managed these lands for centuries.

In 2010, at the 16th Conference of the Parties (COP16) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), a milestone was reached with the adoption of the Cancun Safeguards. These safeguards are guidelines commonly designed to prevent the potential social and environmental impacts of an activity—in this case, REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) initiatives.

What makes the  Cancun Safeguards unique is that they don’t only aim to prevent harm—they also promote positive social and environmental outcomes. Therefore, their potential goes beyond just “doing no harm”; they offer a strategic opportunity to strengthen the rights of Indigenous Peoples and local communities living in forest areas.

However, the UNFCCC did not define detailed implementation guidelines, leaving REDD+ countries freedom to interpret and apply the safeguards within their own legal and political framework. In practice, this has sometimes limited their transformative potential and scope. As a result, the implementation of REDD+ and its safeguards brings both opportunities and challenges.

A recent InfoBrief, published as part of the Center for International Forestry Research and World Agroforestry (CIFOR-ICRAF)’s Global Comparative Study on REDD+, highlights how countries can use safeguards not only to avoid negative impacts but also to “do better” in recognizing and upholding the rights of Indigenous Peoples and local communities. The study focuses on two key safeguards: 

• respect for the knowledge and rights of Indigenous Peoples and local communities and 
• full and effective participation in REDD+ design and implementation.

The case of Peru

Peru has a relatively robust legal framework recognizing the rights of Indigenous Peoples—including provisions for collective land titling and the right to Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC). Yet, in practice, the interpretation and application of safeguards remain limited.

“Peru’s interpretation of the Cancun Safeguards is a significant step forward compared to what other REDD+ countries have achieved. However, it still falls short of fully embracing the broader spectrum of Indigenous Peoples’ rights as recognized in UNDRIP and UNFCCC decisions,” said Juan Pablo Sarmiento Barletti, CIFOR-ICRAF scientist and co-author of the study.

In this context, the study compares Peru’s existing legal protections for Indigenous Peoples with how they could be further applied through REDD+ initiatives. The findings highlight how Peru’s legal framework offers an opportunity for safeguards to play a more structural role in strengthening and respecting community rights.

“If the national interpretation of the safeguards merely reflects the legal and political status quo, how can REDD+ ‘do better’ in recognizing and respecting Indigenous Peoples’ rights?” asked co-author Tamara Lasheras. “Safeguards have the potential not only to protect—but also to clarify, to respect,  and strengthen rights that are still ambiguous in Peruvian law.”

Recommendations to “do better”

To ensure REDD+ helps strengthen the rights of Indigenous Peoples and local communities in Peru, the authors call for a more ambitious approach that goes beyond simply avoiding harm. Key recommendations include:

• Promote self-determined lands and natural resource management: Legal recognition of collective land rights, along with Indigenous-led forest governance, is essential to achieving REDD+ goals. Safeguards could help eliminate legal and administrative barriers that restrict collective forest ownership and access to forest resources, resolve overlapping land claims, and improve recognition of collective lands.
• Ensure effective prior consultation processes: Transparent, accountable mechanisms that provide timely information and informed technical support are needed to uphold the right to Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC). This is essential for meaningful participation by communities and Indigenous organizations in decisions affecting their territories.
• Define carbon rights: Peru’s Constitutional Court has affirmed that the right to natural resources includes the right to benefit from their use. In this context, clarifying whether this principle applies to collective carbon rights under REDD+ is critical.
• Establish an equitable REDD+ benefit-sharing mechanism: Peru’s national law recognizes the right of Indigenous Peoples to benefit from development in their territories and to help define its priorities. A formal REDD+ benefit-sharing mechanism—one that also recognizes women’s participation—would enhance access and strengthen decision-making roles within communities.
• Develop a monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) system for safeguards: While the UNFCCC does not require a safeguards-specific MRV system, such a tool would improve transparency, track progress and help identify implementation gaps or barriers.

This article was translated from the original Spanish version, available on Los Bosques: https://forestsnews.cifor.org/91751/salvaguardas-redd-en-peru-como-pueden-contribuir-a-mejorar-los-derechos-de-las-comunidades?fnl=

For more information about this study, you can contact Juan Pablo Sarmiento Barletti at j.sarmiento@cifor-icraf.org

This work was carried out as part of the Global Comparative Study on REDD+ by the Center for International Forestry Research and World Agroforestry (CIFOR-ICRAF). The research was supported by the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation, the International Climate Initiative of Germany’s Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety and the CGIAR Research Program on Forests, Trees and Agroforestry (CRP-FTA), with funding from the CGIAR Trust Fund.