This brief presents a review of the nominal progress made in the national-level laws and regulations that govern the carbon trade and define the rights of parties—across a sample of 24 countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America. These countries collectively hold more than 50 percent of global tropical and subtropical forests.

The Green Climate Fund: Accomplishing a Paradigm Shift?
The Green Climate Fund: Accomplishing a Paradigm Shift?

Drawing on international standards and Green Climate Fund policy documents, this report traces the adequacy and implementation effectiveness of the Fund’s current institutional frameworks across a representative sample of approved projects. Noting critical gaps in nearly every aspect of the Fund’s operational modalities and project approval processes, the report calls on the GCF to take progressive steps to make Indigenous Peoples’ and local communities’ rights a key part of its climate actions going forward.

From Risk and Conflict to Peace and Prosperity
From Risk and Conflict to Peace and Prosperity

Amid the realities of major political turbulence, there was growing recognition in 2016 that community land rights are key to ensuring peace and prosperity, economic development, sound investment, and climate change mitigation and adaptation.

Promise and Performance: 10 Years of the Forest Rights Act in India
Promise and Performance: 10 Years of the Forest Rights Act in India

This report highlights FRA’s potential in transforming forest governance by empowering local communities and the gram sabha to protect and conserve forests; ensuring livelihood security and poverty alleviation; securing gender justice; meeting SDG, especially the goals of eliminating poverty and achieving ecological sustainability; and dealing with climate change.

Land Conflicts in India: An Interim Analysis
Land Conflicts in India: An Interim Analysis

This analysis provides a powerful instrument to understand land resource conflicts in India. Based on the emerging patterns from the analysis of the 289 conflicts, our assessment is that this brief has captured roughly 25- 40 percent of active and substantive land conflicts in the country.

Land Disputes and Stalled Investments in India
Land Disputes and Stalled Investments in India

This analysis seeks to provide evidence-based insight into the thousands of investment projects stalled to date in India.

Toward a Global Baseline of Carbon Storage in Collective Lands
Toward a Global Baseline of Carbon Storage in Collective Lands

A new report quantifying the carbon stored aboveground in tropical forests that are legally owned or traditionally held by Indigenous Peoples and local communities in 37 countries across tropical America, Africa, and Asia.

Community Rights and Tenure in Country Emission Reduction Programs
Community Rights and Tenure in Country Emission Reduction Programs

New research from RRI reveals that 13 submissions to the World Bank’s Carbon Fund–one of the most advanced REDD+ initiatives–either fail to recognize the importance of land rights or adequately include local peoples in key decision-making processes.

Indigenous Peoples & Local Community Tenure in the INDCs
Indigenous Peoples & Local Community Tenure in the INDCs

A review of submitted Intended Nationally Determined Contributions to determine the extent to which Parties made clear commitments to strengthen or expand the tenure and natural resource management rights of Indigenous Peoples and local communities as part of their climate change mitigation plans.

Securing Rights, Combating Climate Change
Securing Rights, Combating Climate Change

An analysis of the growing body of evidence linking community forest rights with healthier forests and lower carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from deforestation and forest degradation.

Re-envisioning REDD+
Re-envisioning REDD+

This chapter is based on the authors’ recent study for USAID on gender and REDD+ in the Asia region. The study aims at identifying and…