Guide on Climate Change and Indigenous Peoples

is to ensure that indigenous peoples’ rights to their forests and forestresources (including carbon) are recognized and respected. This is anopportunity to strengthen the capacities of the indigenous organizationsand communities to pursue, further, this goal. It is also the right time topush for the rectification of the wrongs and injustices done against themin the name of forest conservation or “sustainable forest management.”• Opportunity to strengthen traditional livelihoods and generateadditional resources from alternative livelihoods which are forestrelatedor not. Other potential benefits from REDD include: direct payments based on the maintenance of intact forest, otherecosystem services and quantity of CO2 emissions reduced or keptin the ground; pursuit and enhancement of traditional natural resourcemanagement practices; continued use of the forest for traditional livelihoods and othercultural values. REDD does not preclude the use of the forest forother activities like ecotourism; REDD activities operate over a long time scale, and the benefits havethe potential to be continuous for decades.• Awareness raising on indigenous peoples sustainable resourcemanagement systems. The debate on REDD is also a chance to educategovernment and the broader society on how indigenous peoplesmanaged to save the forests in their territories and, therefore, theirknowledge and forestmanagement systems shouldbe protected and enhanced.The work by indigenouspeoples in Indonesia,through AMAN, is a goodexample of what indigenouspeoples can do to maketheir issues more visible andto get the needed responsesfrom government and theinternational community.(See p. 82) This exampleis a model which otherindigenous peoples canfollow.• Further implementation ofthe UNDRIP. If designed properly,REDD+ can helpPART V: REDD/REDD+ and Indigenous Peoples 79