REDD+ PROJECT REGARDING THE CAPACITY BUILDING PROGRAM FOR INDIGENOUS PEOPLES, CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANIZATIONS AND LOCAL COMMUNITIES IN LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN (LAC) OF THE FOREST CARBON PARTNERSHIP FACILITY (FCPF)

Latin America
2017 – 2023

The REDD mechanisms for climate change mitigation were first discussed in 2005, during the 11th Conference of the UNFCCC (COP 11) in Montreal. Due to the relevance of REDD and the strong interest from developing countries, the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF) was launched in 2007 to provide financial and technical assistance for countries to establish the building blocks needed to implement REDD+. Over the past few years, the FCFP has been working with countries through various initiatives and interventions, as well as regional discussions, highlighting the need for detailed guidelines and capacity building initiatives aimed at preparing Indigenous Peoples (IPs) (and especially women) for REDD+ implementation.
In 2008, the FCPF’s Capacity Building Program (CBP) was created to provide forest-dependent and forest-dwelling IPs, and subsequently local communities (LCs) and civil society organizations (CSOs), with information, knowledge and awareness about REDD+ to enhance their capacity to effectively engage in REDD+ implementation. In both Latin America and the Caribbean regions, two organizations were selected for PBC implementation: Sotz’il Association in Guatemala, which represents IPs; and the Asociación Coordinadora Indígena y Campesina de Agroforestería Comunitaria Centroamericana (ACICAFOC) in Costa Rica, which represents CSOs and LCs.

Goal of Project Development:

Strengthen the participation of forest-dependent peoples and Southern CSOs in REDD+, both nationally and regionally in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Project Beneficiaries:

The direct beneficiaries of the project are forest-dependent Indigenous Peoples, civil society, local communities and their networks in the 17 FCPF countries within Latin America and the Caribbean: Argentina, Belize, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname and Uruguay.

Project Components:

Component 1: National Capacity Building, Awareness Raising and Local Dissemination. REDD+ capacity building and awareness-raising subprojects for forest-dependent Indigenous Peoples, CLs and CSOs were supported under this component. It also compiled, produced and disseminated information documents culturally adapted to local languages. Additionally, it developed activities to disseminate and raise awareness about REDD+ processes at both local and national levels. 

Component 2: Educational programs and knowledge-sharing events. This component supported educational programs for current and future REDD+ leaders, including those aimed at strengthening the organizational capacities of IPOs, CLs and CSOs in the region, exchanges at the international level and publications on regional REDD+ issues with priority given to FCPF member countries in LAC. In addition, knowledge products were shared through different media, including digital platforms that offer open access for the exchange of information and knowledge between IPOs, CSOs and CLs. 

Component 3: Project Management and Financial Capacity Building for subproject CSOs. Two activities were included in this component: project management and training courses on financial management (FM), procurement, and monitoring and evaluation (M&E). Project management teams in each of the SOs were responsible for procurement, financial management and implementation of the Environmental and Social Framework (ESF) and M&E for their respective activities. Webinars and workshops were also held on how to strengthen the organizational capacities of IPs, CLs and CSOs in the region, including project and budget management, monitoring and evaluation, and grant application, among others.