29 October 2015: Focusing on the theme ‘Status of Community Land Rights and the Role of Climate Finance on the Eve of the Paris Agreement,’ the Rights and Resources Initiative’s (RRI) 18th Dialogue on Forests, Governance and Climate Change explored the implications of key 2015 developments in climate change policy and financing for the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities. It highlighted that the challenge is how to ensure strong links between climate financing mechanisms and efforts to secure rights to lands, territories and resources.

The Dialogue was held on 26 October 2015, in Washington DC, US, where over 70 participants took part in four separate panel discussions, featuring key representatives from governmental, non-governmental, intergovernmental, indigenous peoples’ and research organizations. In the morning, participants engaged in a panel discussion on taking stock of the recognition of land rights and the agenda for the Paris Climate Change Conference. Participants considered new research on the global baseline on indigenous and community land rights, indicating a large gap between the land areas held by communities in practice and those which are legally recognized by states; discussed indigenous peoples’ proposals and recommendations for Paris; and addressed issues related to rights and tenure in the Paris agreement. A second panel focused on the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF) Carbon Fund and challenges and opportunities to secure community rights, highlighting, among other issues, the complexity of implementing REDD+.

In the afternoon, a panel discussion addressed climate finance and support for tenure recognition, noting, among other issues, research on the economic costs and benefits of securing community forest tenure in Brazil and Guatemala, and on the demand and supply of support for scaling-up tenure recognition. A panel session on the way forward on tenure rights in climate policy, financing and action emphasized challenges related to carbon financing. [IISD RS Coverage of the Dialogue] [RRI Event Webpage] [RRI Dialogue Series on Forests, Governance and Climate Change]