Representation in REDD: Who Speaks for Vulnerable Local People?

Representation in REDD: Who Speaks for Vulnerable Local People?

IUCN Brown Bag Lunchtime Seminar PresentationRed List Room B, IUCN Headquarters, Rue Mauverney 28 1196, Gland, Switzerland, 28 May, 2015

Emmanuel NuesiriMarie-Curie BRAIN Postdoctoral Research Fellow, University of Potsdam, Germany

and Visiting Researcher Social Dimensions of Environmental Policy (SDEP) University of Illinois Urbana Champaign

Brandenburg Research Academy and International Network (BRAIN)

Social Dimensions of Environmental Policy (SDEP)University of Illinois Urbana Champaign

CitationNuesiri, E. O. (2015). Representation in REDD: Who Speaks for Vulnerable Local People? [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from https://illinois.academia.edu/EmmanuelNuesiri

Case study: UN-REDD pilot project in Cross River State Nigeria

Vulnerability of forest dependent people in Cross River State (1)

Financial contribution of forest to livelihood in Cross River State

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Population

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Poverty level without

forest income (%)

Poverty level with

forest income (%)

Headcount Poverty gap Headcount Poverty gap

Akamkpa LGA 80 62 76 48

All Forested

LGAs (9 of 18)

77 64 69 43

Male 88 74 77 51

Female 79 51 62 44

Vulnerability of forest dependent people in Cross River State (2)

If access to the forest is denied, it would impact on exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity of forest dependent people in Cross River State

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Who wants to deny local people’s access to the forest?

Set up in 2008 by the UN with major funding from Government of Norway

Acknowledges livelihood threat from REDD+ projects including loss of access to the forest

Adopts 7 voluntary principles addressing the social and environmental impacts of REDD+

Nigeria received US$4 million for its national programme in 2012

Principle 1 – Apply norms of democratic governance, as reflected in national commitments and Multilateral Agreements

Principle 2 – Respect and protect stakeholder rights in accordance with international obligations

Principle 3 – Promote sustainable livelihoods and poverty reduction

Principle 4 – Contribute to low-carbon, climate-resilient sustainable development policy, consistent with national development strategies, national forest programmes, and commitments under international conventions and agreements

Principle 5 – Protect natural forest from degradation and/or conversion

Principle 6 – Maintain and enhance multiple functions of forest including conservation of biodiversity and provision of ecosystem services

Principle 7 – Avoid or minimise adverse impacts on non-forest ecosystem services and biodiversity

Source: UN-REDD Programme Social and Environmental Principles and Criteria (2012)

The super 7 principles P

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Principle 1 – Apply norms of democratic governance, as reflected in national commitments and Multilateral Agreements

Source: UN-REDD Programme Social and Environmental Principles and Criteria (2012)

Democracy as social safeguard

Criterion 1 – Ensure the transparency and accountability of fiduciary and fund management systems linked to REDD+ activities

Criterion 2 – Ensure legitimacy and accountability of all bodies representing relevant stakeholders, including through establishing responsive feedback and grievance mechanisms

Criterion 3 – Ensure transparency and accessibility of information related to REDD+, including active dissemination among relevant stakeholders

Criterion 4 – Ensure the full and effective participation of relevant stakeholders in design, planning and implementation of REDD+ activities, with particular attention to indigenous peoples, local communities and other vulnerable and marginalized groups

Criterion 5 – Promote coordination, efficiency and effectiveness among all agencies and implementing bodies relevant to REDD+

Criterion 6 – Promote and support the rule of law, access to justice and effective remedies

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Credit: CrossRiverWatch http://crossriverwatch.com/2015/03/governor-imoke-votes-laments-failure-of-card-readers/

What is democracy?P

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Democracy, which derives from the Greek word “demos,”or “people,” is defined, basically, as government in whichthe supreme power is vested in the people.

In some forms, democracy can be exercised[operationalized] directly by the people; in largesocieties, it is by the people [operationalized] throughtheir elected agents [representative democracy].

Or, in the memorable phrase of President AbrahamLincoln, democracy is government “of the people, by thepeople, and for the people.”

Source: Cincotta H., 2007. Democracy in Brief. Published by the US Department of State, pp. 1-2http://www.ait.org.tw/en/201001-democracyinbrief.pdf

Operationalizing representative democracy – forms of political representation

Descriptive –persons ‘typical’ of group they

are standing for (farmers standing in for farmers)

Symbolic –unelected aspirational persons

or institutions standing for a constituency

Substantive –elected persons acting for,

responsive and accountable to, a constituency

Influential individualsEssential for groups that have

experienced historical marginalization

Customary authority/CSOs/NGOs

High visibility and access to political leaders makes these

excellent for advocacy

Mayors/parliamentarians/

legislators

Statutory powers make these important allies for the fair

distribution of resources

Co

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Political representation should ensure proactive and responsive presence in decision making…

Political representation is a human and political right

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) article 21: (1) Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly or throughfreely chosen representatives. (2) Everyone has the right of equal access to public service in hiscountry. (3) The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this willshall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equalsuffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures.

The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966) article 25: Every citizen shall have the right and the opportunity, without any of the distinctionsmentioned in article 2 and without unreasonable restrictions: 1. To take part in the conduct ofpublic affairs, directly or through freely chosen representatives; 2. to vote and to be elected atgenuine periodic elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held bysecret ballot, guaranteeing the free expression of the will of the electors; 3. To have access, ongeneral terms of equality, to public service in his country.

The Human Right To Political Participation By Fabienne Peter Journal of Ethics & Social Philosophy Vol. 7, No. 2 | February 2013, p. 10

Representation during the design of Nigeria-REDD

Actors involved in the participatory consultative design process of Nigeria-REDD

• Elected Federal Government: National policy• Elected State Government: Land tenure• Non-elected NGOs: Local interests• Non-elected Chiefs: Local interests

Elected local government officials were excluded

Why me?

© EL GRECO/SHUTTERSTOCK)

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Credit: http://thewillnigeria.com/news/imoke-swears-in-local-government-chairmen-charges-them-on-transparent-leadership/

Institutional map of Nigeria-REDD: Who represents local interests?

Plenty of opportunities for elite capture in the proposed institutional structure for Nigeria-REDD…

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What accounts for UN-REDD blindside

Lack of clarity on the type of democracy it is promoting – direct or representative?

Conflates participation and political representation

A hands off approach to organizing the participatory consultations in Nigeria, leaving it to government authorities and accepting of results even when flawed – the sovereignty conundrum

Weak framing of democracy principle

+Concern for the interests of higher level government over local government

= Symbolic Politics

Dirk Matten (2003) – symbolic politics is used by policy makers when designing environmental regulations; they wish to be seen to be responsive to public concerns about the environment but do not wish to hurt powerful interest groups; they pronounce policies that do not get codified into law; or roll out strong regulations with weak enforcement mechanisms; or enact policies and laws that simply legitimize practices already adopted by industry.

Robert N. Stavins (1998) – symbolic politics works with respect to environmental regulations because ‘voters have limited information, and so respond to gestures, while remaining relatively unaware of details’.

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Defining symbolic politics P

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Where is the UN-REDD on the symbolic politics continuum

Source: Bluhdorn (2007)

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UN-REDD

Conclusion

Without a change in the way local people’s democratic participation in REDD+ is framed and operationalized, they will lose both access to, and compensation for their loss of access, to public forest!

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