The document discusses the importance of clarity on forest and carbon tenure for achieving REDD+. It notes that most REDD+ countries do not specify carbon ownership and that forest owners will be direct beneficiaries of carbon sequestration rights. It also discusses that securing tenure rights is fundamental to determining who owns carbon and defining beneficiaries for results-based payments. The document recommends using voluntary guidelines on tenure to improve governance, transparency, and institutional capacity for tenure as it relates to REDD+.

1. December 1, 2012
15:30 -19:30

2. Tenure and REDD+
Tiina Vahanen
FAO

3. Tenure and REDD+
• Including tenure rights and access to resources
under the respective legal frameworks should
provide clarity in carbon ownership and carbon
rights
• Tenure is the foundation for the eventual
benefit sharing structures and systems
• However, insecure forest and land tenure and
limited recognition of customary land rights are
severe constraints to achieving REDD+

4. Why clarity on forest and
carbon tenure is fundamental to achieve REDD+
• Most REDD+ countries do not specify ownership of
sequestered carbon
• Yet forest owners and right holders will be the direct
beneficiaries of carbon sequestration rights
generated by REDD+ activities
• Many forest-dependent communities reject the
notion that carbon can be divided and sold
separately from other forestry assets.

5. …Why clarity on forest and carbon tenure is
fundamental to achieve REDD+
• A clear understanding of forest &land tenure and
ownership should be the first step to determine who
owns carbon
• Carbon rights have been defined in different ways by
“international experts”
• Yet definition of beneficiaries and modalities of
payment distribution is essential before results-
based payments can materialize

7. Voluntary Guidelines on Tenure
• Improve tenure governance by providing guidance on the
rights to use, manage and control land and forests
• Contribute to the improvement and development of the
policy, legal and organizational frameworks that regulate
tenure rights
• Enhance transparency and improve functioning of tenure
systems
• Strengthen the capacities of implementing agencies,
including judicial authorities; local governments;
organizations of farmers and small-scale producers

8. & Tenure
• Strengthen institutional capacity for tenure for
REDD+, to tackle more deeply the drivers of
deforestation and forest degradation
• Provide tailored technical assistance to
countries, on the policy, legal, administrative
and operational aspects of tenure, drawing on
the Voluntary Guidelines for the Responsible
Governance of Tenure

9. Thank You!