Benefit-sharing systems for REDD+ from a safeguards approach

Presentations
 

The session began with a welcome by Judith Walcott, Coordinator of the UN-REDD Team UNEP LAC, who highlighted the strategic relevance of the BSS in the context of REDD+. Judith emphasized that BSSare a key element for the success and sustainability of REDD+ by ensuring a fair distribution of benefits.

In her opening remarks, she said that well-designed BSS have the potential to contribute to ensuring that the benefits derived from REDD+ reach key stakeholders involved in forest protection, including Indigenous Peoples, local communities, women and other priority groups, in a fair and appropriate manner. At the same time, she noted that the BSS face several challenges, including the identification of beneficiaries, the definition of priorities, the alignment with legal frameworks, and the need to ensure effective participation in the design and implementation of the BSS. 

In this regard, Walcott stressed that the safeguards approach is fundamental not only to design inclusive and transparent BSS, but also to ensure their effective implementation in practice.

The first presentation was given by Mariano Cirone, senior safeguards expert of the UNEP LAC team. Cirone provided an introduction on BSS highlighting their strategic importance for REDD+ and their potential to consolidate safeguards principles in practice. Mariano explained that the BSS have an essential role to play at several levels. They can strengthen the engagement of those responsible for REDD+ activities; generate concrete and positive impacts for different stakeholders, including Indigenous Peoples and local communities. The also help consolidate effective compliance with key rights and safeguard standards, such as gender equity and inclusive participation, Cirone added.

To describe some aspects of how it works in practice, Cirone presented a general structure of an BSS(Figure 1). He explained that financial resources from various sources - such as public budgets, performance payments and carbon markets - can be channelled into a centralised fund or national mechanism, such as a trust or forest fund. This fund can manage different types of assets and redistribute them through specific "sub-funds" or accounts. For example, one percentage of revenues can be allocated to monitoring systems, another to Indigenous Peoples, and another to sustainable forest management activities. To ensure fair and effective distribution, this process must be governed by clear and transparent rules, with inclusive governance involving technical, financial and civil society actors.

Furthermore, Cirone stressed that the identification of beneficiaries is a crucial step in the design of the BSS. Benefits can be linked to the efforts of different actors to reduce emissions, with an equitable and results-based system. He also mentioned that it is relevant to consider that benefits are not limited to financial incentives but also include elements that strengthen the technical and organizational capacity of the actors involved.

In his concluding remarks, Cirone pointed out that there is wide discretion in the design of BSS, which represents both an opportunity and a challenge. Although specific rules vary according to funding sources, equity and transparency are key criteria to ensure the legitimacy of the systems. Furthermore, he highlighted that safeguards serve as a framework for designing and evaluating BSS, as these systems represent an opportunity to bring the benefits of REDD+ directly to the people and communities who play key roles in protecting forests.

The second presentation was given by María Elena Herrera Ugalde, Director of the Directorate for the Development and Commercialisation of Environmental Services of the Ministry of Environment and Energy of Costa Rica. She focused on Costa Rica's experience in the design and implementation of its own Benefit Sharing System (BDS) in the framework of REDD+. Herrera Ugalde emphasised that a benefit sharing plan must consider fundamental elements such as legality, legitimacy, equality, transparency, efficiency, effectiveness and interculturality. These principles were the basis of the plan developed by Costa Rica for its Emissions Reduction Programme, which included consultation processes with various stakeholders, including private sector players and Indigenous Peoples. In Costa Rica, emission reductions are managed both by the public sector, given that forest resources are the natural heritage of the state, and by the private sector.

Costa Rica's benefit-sharing scheme is structured around four main monetary instruments. First, the Forest Emission Reduction Contract, designed by the government to recognise and reward carbon mitigation. Second, an Inclusive Fund for Sustainable Development, designed to support projects with an impact on vulnerable communities. Third, a plan to strengthen the National System of Conservation Areas (SINAC), focused on addressing the causes of deforestation and forest degradation, as well as developing conservation policies. Finally, a Green Business Fund, aimed at promoting sustainable economic activities for those people or communities that do not own forest areas, but can undertake projects that reduce emissions or contribute to environmental improvement.

In closing, Herrera Ugalde shared several lessons learned from the Costa Rican process. Among them, she underlined the importance of having clear legal and institutional conditions, political support at the highest level and the integration of safeguards as an indispensable component for the development and success of the benefit-sharing plan. These lessons position Costa Rica as a good example for the region in the design of mechanisms that integrate sustainability, inclusion and effectiveness in the management of REDD+ resources.