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

Indigenous Peoples as Protagonists of Reduced Emissions from
Deforestation and Forest Degradation and Reforestation Activities
Another point worth noting is the ethical and legal need to guarantee action and
participation by indigenous peoples in all kinds of projects and activities carried out on their
lands. Initiatives on indigenous lands will only be possible, if indigenous peoples are involved as
decision-makers. Indigenous peoples must not be treated as objects or mere indirect beneficiaries
of projects or activities.
In accordance with the constitutional and international principles of human rights,
indigenous peoples have recognized their right to control their lands as part of their social
autonomy. 23 The right to self-determination guarantees indigenous peoples the administration and
control over their lives, including the control over their lands, within the structure of the State.
When considering the principles established in international treaties of which Brazil is a
signatory country and considering those existing in the Brazilian constitution, (not including the
constitutional exceptions (Art. 231, §3), it becomes clear that neither third parties nor the State
may carry out any type of work, projects or activities within indigenous lands, if they are not of
interest to indigenous peoples or explicitly authorized by them.
The Brazilian Constitution affirms this through a specific provision for cases of thirdparty
territorial use without the indigenous peoples’ consent: it declares null and void the “acts
striving for the occupation, dominion, and tenure of the lands referred to in this article, or the
exploitation of natural resources of the soil, rivers, and lakes found therein” (Art. 231, §6). Thus,
another determining factor for undertaking REDD+ and reforestation activities on indigenous
lands is that the people consulted for negotiation are the true owners of the areas, representing
their communities or organizations. Third parties occupying indigenous lands cannot benefit
from REDD+ and reforestation activities developed there. According to Brazilian constitutional
norms, a third party could not carry out deforestation on indigenous lands, if it were not in
partnership with, or in service to, the peoples living there.
In addition, considering that the general environmental law is respected, the State could
not impose limitations to the right of indigenous peoples to deforest areas that are indispensable
23 Federal Decree nº 5051/04 transformed the ILO Convention 169 into federal law (ratified by Brazil on July
25, 2002) which recognizes the aspirations of indigenous peoples to control their institutions, ways of life and
economic development in addition to respecting their desires to maintain and develop their identities, languages
and religions within the structure of the State in which they live, and establishes in its Articles 6, 7, 14 and 15, the
indigenous right to self-determination and participation.
86 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