21 April 2009: “On the Frontlines of Climate Change,” an internet forum launched by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in partnership with the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the Secretariat of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), has published an article on reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD).

The article, titled “The Complexities of Deforestation and Indigenous Rights: Perspectives from Central Africa,” highlights perspectives from Central Africa. The forum poses questions related to whether REDD provides an effective response to the diverse sources of deforestation and forest degradation, and whether REDD can meet expectations that have been generated among indigenous groups. The forum contains views from the Shirika La Bambuti organization in the Democratic Republic of Congo. [On the Frontlines of Climate Change website]