A place to turn to when you’re stumped by forest governance issues
In case you haven’t heard of it yet, there’s a place to go when you face a challenge related to forest governance in your REDD+ -related work.
With 494 members from 78 countries, the online discussion group on REDD+ and Forest Governance – or the ‘D-Group’ as it is referred to – is a popular forum for informal exchange of information and ideas on issues of fundamental importance to the success of REDD+. Often the best advice can come from a peer who has faced a similar issue, sometimes in a distant country. The D-Group aims to facilitate the sharing of technical knowledge and insight across national boundaries to stimulate and inspire new effective approaches to forest governance challenges.
The D-Group grew out of a 2012 workshop on legal preparedness for REDD+ at FAO headquarters in Rome, where forestry experts gathered from around the world. Participants expressed great interest to continue the exchange and expand discussions into a larger “community of practice” on REDD+ law. The initial focus of this group was legal preparedness. Forest law is still an important area of discussion, but the group’s scope has expanded to cover forest governance generally, including topics like indigenous people´s rights, free prior and informed consent, land tenure, gender, benefit sharing, and safeguards. Relevant documents may also be uploaded to an online library.
The group eagerly welcomes new members. Currently members includes legal experts, gender and indigenous people’s specialists, government representatives, decision-makers, civil society leaders, academics, and representatives from forest dependent and indigenous communities, as well as small forest producer organizations. The group also welcomes people who would like to learn more about legal and governance reforms in the context of REDD+, taking into consideration developments under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), relevant tools like the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure (VGGT), and protection of human rights.
To join the D-Group, please register at: https://dgroups.org/fao/law-for-redd-plus/