how We Deliver
Catalyzing Breakthroughs: The SRM

Addressing unforeseen threats and opportunities with the Strategic Response Mechanism

Unforeseen threats to indigenous and community land rights can arise quickly and require rapid action to be countered effectively. Just as rapidly, critical windows of opportunity to secure rights can appear–and if not seized, can easily be lost.

The Strategic Response Mechanism (SRM) is designed to enable timely, flexible responses to these unforeseen opportunities and threats. It complements RRI’s annual planning process by allowing for rapid response to unexpected and time-limited opportunities. Up to US$100,000 can be dispersed to grantees in as quickly as a few weeks, allowing Rights and Resources Initiative (RRI) to be effective in shifting political landscapes.

Since 2008, RRI has used the SRM to influence important legislation concerning land and resource rights, such as supporting civil society efforts to ensure passage of groundbreaking legislation that recognizes community land rights in Liberia. SRM projects have also been used to effectively respond to urgent threats, such as resisting the expansion of an oil palm company’s operations on indigenous lands in the Peruvian Amazon, as well as overturning a judicial ruling that had revoked traditional land rights from forest communities for the development of a superhighway in Nigeria. The SRM has also helped maximize opportunities to influence the private sector toward respecting local communities’ rights to their lands and resources.

Selection Criteria

SRM proposals are evaluated and approved through a simple, expedited process. In order for an activity or project to qualify for SRM support, the activity must meet all five criteria:

  • Capitalizes on a political window of opportunity, which is typically lost if not leveraged quickly
  • Supports a critical moment in a social mobilization process
  • Innovates, exploits higher risk opportunities, and has potential to accelerate impact or develop RRI partnerships
  • Is a new or newly-expanded activity
  • Has outcomes dependent on incremental funding and connectivity at the right moment

Search and view all past SRM projects below.

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Social Impact Assessment of the Dairi Prima Mineral mine in North Sumatra

Date 2021

Country Indonesia

Region Asia

Implementor BAKUMSU (North Sumatra People's Legal Aid and Advocacy Institute)

Funding Amount $9,950

Details

With RRI’s support, communities in Indonesia are pressuring the Indonesian government to refuse ongoing environmental approval to the Dairi Prima Minerals proposed lead and zinc mine in North Sumatra. The communities are engaging community-based monitoring and participation in the Environmental Impact Assessment process of the mining project to build their case against the company and the government. With CBM, the team has collected data in a participatory approach and is currently preparing an analysis. Preliminary findings confirm that the communities’ concerns are valid. Media link here.

Support for the Securitization of Customary Lands of the Community of Kialu through Community Forestry in the Bulungu Territory in Kwilu Province

Date 2021

Country DRC

Implementor CRI (Congolese Resources Institute)

Funding Amount 59,400

Details

CRI successfully facilitated the submission of a community forestry concession application to the governor’s office of Kwilu province. The concession is now approved resulted in the securing of 11,044 ha of the Kialu community lands in the province of Kwilu. To coordinate the submission, CRI trained local authorities on the process, ensured FPIC processes were adhered to, and identified representatives to sign the forestry concession application. Additionally, 41 cartographers were trained in participatory mapping and a participatory map was produced for the concession area in Kialu community.

Redressing Historical Injustice Among Hunter-Gatherer Communities in Kenya

Date 2021

Country Kenya

Implementor OPDP (Ogiek Peoples’ Development Program)

Funding Amount 26,728

Details

OPDP supported the compilation and submission of eight HLI claims, seven of which were for Ogiek communities and one was for an Endorois community, totaling 130,000 ha and affecting approximately 79,000 people. The communities were successfully trained on HLI processes, committees collected evidence by consulting communities, and the cases were consolidated. The HLI drafters were predominantly women and youth who also used oral and archival evidence to complement the technical legal expertise when submitting their claims. These claims were submitted to the NLC for review, and local news covered the submission.

These claims further link with the 2017 African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights to recognize Ogiek’s collective title to their ancestral territory, which lies in the Mau and Mt. Elgon forest complexes in Kenya’s Rift Valley.

Media link here.

Supporting Documentation and Submission of Historical Land Injustice Claims by Communities in Five Coastal Counties

Date 2021

Country Kenya

Implementor WG (Wumweri Ghodu)

Funding Amount 19,000

Details

This SRM supported the compilation of 35 claims from 21 communities in five counties (Taita Taveta, Kwale, Lamu, Tana River, and Kilifi), 29 of which were submitted to the NLC.

Community leaders in the five counties were also trained and mobilized to support the HLI petition process. Additionally, interviews, data collection, and technical support sessions assisted communities to compile their claims.

*This contract was terminated early due to accusations of fraud and the full scope of activities were not realized. However, a review of the reports and deliverables confirms that HLI claims were supported and submitted to NLC for redress. The original contract’s amount was 47,158.

Advocacy for the incorporation of the rights of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities in land-use planning reform in the DRC

Date 2021

Country DRC

Implementor CTIDD (Centre for Innovative Technologies and Sustainable Development)

Funding Amount 32,000

Details

This SRM supported CTIDD who participated in one workshop with sectoral ministries (land, land-use planning, agriculture, forestry, and others) and three exchanges with the Land-Use Planning Commission of the National Assembly and DRC Senate alongide local CSOs to advocate for Indigenous and local community  rights in land-use planning reform. Additionally, CTIDD produced a policy paper that integrated the rights of Indigenous Peoples and local communities  into formal recommendations for the land-use planning reform. This resulted in two press briefings and six published articles to further advocate for IP and LC rights. As a result, the draft law integrates 80% of CSO recommendations on community rights, intersectoral coordination for holistic management, FPIC and stakeholder consultations, gender justice, and more.

Supporting 10 communities in Kenya to Submit Their Historical Land Injustice Claims (HLIs)

Date 2021

Country Kenya

Implementor IMPACT (Indigenous Movement for Peace, Advancement and Conflict Transformation)

Funding Amount 39,922

Details

As a result of this SRM, IMPACT supported the compilation and submission of 10 HLI claims from three counties (Laikipia, Samburu and Meru) which affects roughly 439,259 ha of land. The communities were trained on HLI, supported to self-organize, give Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) for their claims, collect evidence, and submit legal claims to the National Land Commission (NLC). Legal research facilitated the work with the support of lawyers.

IMPACT also signed Memorandum of Understandings (MOUs) with NLC, facilitating the compilation of cases. NLC representatives participated in the community meetings and clarified the HLI process, confirming that the claims were well-received and will be reviewed.