March 2013: The UN Collaborative Programme on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries (UN-REDD) has published a report titled “Tenure of Indigenous Peoples Territories and REDD+ as a Forestry Management Incentive – the case of Mesoamerican countries.”

The report draws on case studies from Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua and Panama to demonstrate how land tenure rights are linked to incentive mechanisms for good forestry management. The report specifically examines REDD+ and payments for ecosystem services, highlighting successful examples of payments for ecosystem services in Costa Rica and community forestry in Guatemala.

The report concludes that criteria for successful incentive mechanisms include: the provision of clear economic incentives; the ability to demonstrate community and livelihood benefits; ethnic belonging and associated agreement on resource use rules; and a strong sense of community or communal living.

With regard to REDD+, the report highlights concerns of indigenous peoples related to the lack of appropriate consultative bodies, risks of the erosion of traditional knowledge, innovations and practices, lack of benefit sharing at the local level and disincentives for the recognition of territorial rights in forests. [Publication: Tenure of Indigenous Peoples Territories and REDD+ as a Forestry Management Incentive: The Case of Mesoamerican Countries]