The contribution of REDD+ in Peru - the second country with the largest extension of Amazonian forests - goes far beyond mitigating climate change. It also considers the important role that forests play in the resilience of biophysical and socioeconomic systems thanks to their multiple functions. For Peru, REDD+ is conceived as a means to finance and implement actions that allow reducing emissions according to the actions proposed in the National Strategy on Forests and Climate Change (ENBCC, acronym in Spanish) and the development of the populations that live in the forests. In this context, safeguards are a key element to ensure that REDD+ actions are implemented properly.
Peru has made substantial progress in terms of safeguards, with the support of the UN-REDD Program, as part of its Safeguards Roadmap, the guiding document that indicates the necessary steps to build and consolidate the national safeguards process, including processes of participation and capacity building of actors. The key milestones of the Roadmap are highlighted below.
The country defined the National Approach to Safeguards based on various inputs from the relevant legal framework; existing institutional framework; interpretation of the Cancun safeguards; progressive incorporation of other safeguard requirements (e.g. World Bank, Green Climate Fund), this built through multi-stakeholder and multi-level participatory processes. The National Interpretation of Safeguards considered the constitutive elements or key components of each safeguard to specify the scope of its application.
The Strategic Environmental and Social Assessment identified the potential social and environmental impacts associated with the implementation of REDD+ actions, within the framework of the ENBCC, and formulated measures to avoid risks and negative impacts. In a complementary manner, the Environmental and Social Management Framework establishes procedures and protocols to be followed to mitigate, minimize or reverse the risks and negative impacts identified in the evaluation.
The Framework Law on Climate Change (No. 30754) establishes clear mandates and defines specific guidelines on comprehensive management of climate change for government sectors and non-state actors; including issues related to REDD+. Its regulations consider guidelines for the application of safeguards.
Also, the Technical Subcommittee on Safeguards, formed in February 2019, is established as a dialogue and participation space to provide contributions and recommendations to the Ministry of the Environment (MINAM, acronym in Spanish) on issues related to REDD+ safeguards. It currently has 25 members belonging to national public institutions, Amazonian regional governments, research centers, indigenous organizations, representatives of civil society, and natural persons with experience in REDD+ safeguards.
The First Summary of Information, submitted to the UNFCCC in 2020, was developed with inputs from various stakeholders. It presents a recapitulation of the country's progress in terms of safeguards, along with relevant information on the arrangements and processes implemented to address environmental and social safeguards. The document can be found at the following link: Here.
The Safeguards Information Module (MIS, acronym in Spanish) is the most recent milestone, launched in December 2021. The MIS is an instrument that processes, manages and provides periodic information on how safeguards are addressed and respected as REDD+ implementation progresses. The role of the MIS is essential, as this platform helps access and disseminate information. The application can be found at the following link: Here.
Linked to the MIS, Peru also developed the Mechanism for Complaints and Citizen Attention for REDD+ (MAC) that seeks to promote transparency in monitoring and access to information in a decentralized manner through three modalities for collecting doubts, queries, and/or claims: face-to-face, by phone and virtually. Procedures for receiving, processing, answering and registering information will be established. The application can be found at the following link: Here.
In 2022, the piloting of the MIS and MAC REDD+ instruments is planned, with the participation of main actors linked to REDD+ Actions. Also, the normative guidelines for both instruments will be published soon.
Peru's trajectory and the achievements mentioned result from the work carried out since 2012 in the different activities associated to REDD+ safeguards. They would not have been possible without the participatory processes that have reinforced the national approach to safeguards and that have allowed the incorporation of contributions from key actors linked to REDD+. More information can be found on the Safeguards web portal: Here.
With the aforementioned elements, the preparation phase of REDD+ in relation to safeguards is completed and in this way Peru's commitments to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) are fulfilled.
