Empowering Communities
Respect Rights and Improve Livelihoods

Respect Rights and Improve Livelihoods

Empowering Communities
Respect Rights and Improve Livelihoods

Overview

Indigenous peoples and local communities are among the most important stewards of the land. They care about natural resources – from forests to oceans to grasslands – because they depend on these resources for their livelihoods and cultures.

WWF supports conservation that respects and contributes to community rights and livelihoods. We do so through partnerships with communities based on:

appreciation for the contributions of indigenous peoples and local communities to conservation
recognition of their rights and interests
understanding the links between biological and cultural diversity

What WWF Is Doing

Integrating Human Rights

WWF works to improve the practice of conservation by promoting the integration of human rights in conservation policy and practice. We do so, in part, by working with the Conservation Initiative on Human Rights (CIHR), a group of international conservation non-governmental organizations.

CIHR members want to promote positive links between conservation and rights of people to secure their livelihoods, enjoy healthy and productive environments and live with dignity. WWF believes that by working collectively and sharing information we can better advance our work in this field. Other partners in this initiative are Birdlife International, Conservation International, Fauna & Flora International, IUCN, The Nature Conservancy, Wetlands International and the Wildlife Conservation Society.

Securing Community Rights and Benefits

Indigenous peoples and local communities are affected by climate and land use changes, and have key roles to play in addressing them. For example, global climate initiatives to reduce emissions from deforestation and degradation and conserve, sustainably manage and enhance forest carbon stocks (collectively referred to as REDD+), offer potential to increase support to the forest stewardship activities of indigenous peoples and local communities by:

strengthening community land and resource rights
empowering community institutions
increasing income through benefit sharing

REDD+ has also sparked concern about possible adverse impacts on indigenous and community resource rights, institutions and livelihoods. WWF believes that for REDD+ to be effective in mitigating climate change, it must have strong social safeguards and benefits, including contributions to community livelihoods and respect for the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities. To address these issues, WWF:

promotes innovative approaches to social safeguards and benefits within demonstration projects
shares knowledge and experience on social aspects of REDD+
advocates for high standards in REDD+ policy frameworks

Publications

Rights-based Approaches to REDD+

application/pdf, 1.77 MB
A report from the Rights-based Approaches to REDD+ workshop held in Lima, Peru in January 2012 and sponsored by the Conservation Initiative on Human Rights.
Community Tenure and REDD+

application/pdf, 638 KB
The emergence of reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, and conserving, sustainably managing and enhancing forest carbon stocks (collectively referred to as REDD+) has generated great interest as a possible means of increasing support for the forest stewardship activities of indigenous peoples and local communities. If done well, REDD+ initiatives could contribute to strengthening community land and resource rights, empowering community-based management and diversifying livelihoods through participation in REDD+ activities.