Projects
Community-based REDD+
Established in 2013, the Community-based REDD+ initiative (CBR+) is a pioneering partnership between the UN-REDD Programme and the GEF Small Grants Programme for community action in the REDD+ domain. The main objective of CBR+ was to enhance the engagement and inclusion of indigenous peoples and forest communities in national REDD+ processes, helping channel grassroots experiences and perspectives into national policies to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation.
Results of the Pilot Phase
In its first phase (2014- 2017), the CBR+ initiative was conducted in 6 pilot countries: Cambodia, DRC, Nigeria, Panama, Paraguay and Sri Lanka. In total, CBR+ financed and helped implement over 100 community projects, as well as supporting policy dialogue, capacity building and knowledge management towards inclusive and rights-responsive REDD+ action in the beneficiary countries.
The pilot phase of CBR+ invested in communities engaging in a range of REDD+-related activities from implementing agroforestry practices to undertaking participatory land-use planning to piloting benefit sharing methodologies. The pilot phase of CBR+ was delivered in a timely and effective manner as a result of focused design, realistic planning, national multi-stakeholder governance, and the use of the SGP grant mechanism. Following this success, representatives of indigenous peoples and local communities, REDD+ country governments and UN-REDD Executive Board members called for a new phase, seeking the same aim of CBR+ as a catalyst of community-government partnerships for REDD+.
CBR+ Phase 2
In 2019, the UN-REDD Programme and the GEF Small Grants Programme launched an e-consultation on a new phase of the Community-based REDD+ Initiative to seek inputs from stakeholders on the design and focus of a potential second phase of CBR+. The consultation validated and enriched the proposed CBR+ Phase 2 approach which will engage and empower indigenous peoples and forest community stakeholders to harness and help advance emerging policy avenues, vital for the global response to the deforestation and climate crises.
These new policy avenues are:
The recognition of the critical role of nature-based solutions (NBS) to address the climate crisis:
For the NBS movement to yield meaningful results, the perspectives and experiences of indigenous and forest communities must be recognized, empowered and incorporated into national and international policy design and actions on forest, climate and land use.
The NDCs – driving climate action:
The successful implementation of the land & forest components of NDCs lies on robust multi-stakeholder partnerships, on the full and effective engagement of indigenous peoples and forest communities, and on the promotion of forest rights.
The shift to REDD+ implementation:
As REDD+ finance unlocks, there is a funding gap towards indigenous and forest communities. CBR+ provides viable examples of mechanisms to finance grassroots actions for forests & climate that contribute to national goals (SDGs, NDCs) at a time when there is urgent need to ensure REDD+ finance flows to the grassroots and empowers community actions for the forests.
The UNFCCC LCIP Platform:
Local and indigenous climate action, policy dialogue, and knowledge exchange supported via CBR+ can provide concrete and practical inputs to the UNFCCC LCIP Platform.
