Indigenous peoples and the UN-REDD Program in Panama

Following a series of disputes regarding the participation of indigenous peoples in the United Nations REDD Programme in Panama, the National Coordinating Body of the Indigenous Peoples of Panama (COONAPIP) announced their withdrawal from the climate change mitigation program on February 25, 2013.^[1] COONAPIP, which brings together the country´s seven indigenous peoples and their 12 traditional indigenous representative structures, cited a failure to ensure guarantees of respect for indigenous rights and the full and effective participation of indigenous peoples, and a breach of agreements made during the process of the program´s approval.^[1] In March 2013, the UN REDD Program suspended activities in the country pending the results of an independent investigation and evaluation.^[2] The dispute has been highlighted as an important development in the broader context of global policy efforts to implement initiatives to Reduce Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD), which are currently grappling with issues around the participation of indigenous peoples and forest communities in related initiatives, including the implementation of Free, Prior and Informed Consent.^[1] Preliminary results of the independent investigation and evaluation commissioned by the Global UN-REDD Program have been published,^[3] as well as a study of the conflict by a Central American non-governmental research center.^[1]

References

1. Cuellar, Nelson, Susan Kandel, Andrew Davis and Fausto Luna. “PRISMA Report Indigenous Peoples and Governance in REDD+ Readiness in Panama: Case Study on COONAPIP, ANAM and the UN-REDD Program”. The PRISMA Foundation. Retrieved July 7th, 2013
2. "UN-REDD Launches Independent Evaluation of National Programme in Panama” UN-REDD Programme". Retrieved July 5th, 2013.
3. “Preliminary Report of the Independent Investigation and Evaluation Presented to the UN-REDD Policy Board” UN-REDD Programme. Retrieved July 11th, 2013.