Peru’s first Summary of Safeguards Information was presented in April, 2020 to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, outlining the progress the country has made with REDD+ safeguards and their application. This is an important milestone in Peru's national safeguards process, one that has collected information on work carried out since 2012 under the leadership of the Ministry of the Environment (MINAM), with the support of different non-governmental and international cooperation organizations such as the UN-REDD Programme.
This first summary of information, which includes details on how REDD+ safeguards are addressed and will be respected in Peru, was developed from multi-stakeholder, multi-level and multi-sector participatory processes - with special involvement of indigenous peoples organizations - contributing to the development of the national safeguards approach. This approach is defined as a set of institutional arrangements and governance processes that allow a unified, coordinated and efficient response to the country’s various REDD+ safeguards commitments.
The participatory process is key and guarantees the full and effective involvement of the different stakeholders linked to REDD+. In addition, the approval of the Framework Law on Climate Change and its Regulations establishes that the integral management of climate change must take place in a participatory manner, taking into account gender, intercultural and capacity building approaches.
In its approach to safeguards, Peru sought to answer the question: what normative and institutional elements does the country present for the application of safeguards in REDD+ implementation? Various normative and institutional elements that contribute to addressing safeguards and their application during REDD+ implementation were identified. A clear example is the fact that the norms and policies related to the forestry, environmental and agricultural sectors complement each other and are compatible with the principles and measures defined in international conventions and agreements ratified by the country in relation to these issues and in the area of human rights.
Peru’s summary of information presents relevant information on the arrangements and processes implemented to address the environmental and social safeguards and reports on other advances related to REDD+ implementation.
These substantive advances include the definition of the national safeguards approach, the national interpretation of safeguards, the establishment of the National Safeguards Roadmap (see Box 1), the formation of the Technical Sub-Committee on Safeguards, the development of the strategic environmental and social assessment (SESA) and progress on the construction of the Safeguards Information Module (MIS, the Safeguards Information System of Peru).
Peru hopes that its following summaries will expand the information with an emphasis on respecting safeguards, based on the country's progress in the implementation of REDD+ actions. Once the indicators have been established in the Safeguards Information Module, the country will have tools to report periodically and consistently on how each of the safeguards is respected in the design and implementation of REDD+ actions. As part of the process of applying the REDD+ safeguards, the country is conducting a public consultation to inform the guidelines for the identification and classification of REDD+ actions, and guidelines are being defined for the operation of the Citizen Assistance Mechanism (MAC, for its acronym in Spanish), these are two elements through which Peru continues to implement the safeguards.
Peru joins other Latin American countries that have presented their summaries of safeguards information, sharing their progress regarding the application and reporting of safeguards. To date, there are nine countries in the region that have reported in this regard to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. These are: Argentina, Brazil, Chile (eng, spa), Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Mexico (eng, spa), Paraguay and Peru.
