Tropical forest carbon markets and the indigenous critique - seminar

About the topic

More than one-third of the world’s remaining intact tropical forests lie within territories claimed by Indigenous Peoples. This seminar focuses on ART (Architecture for REDD+ Transactions), the certifier of tropical forest carbon credits, part of a new international carbon trading architecture initiated and financed by the Norwegian Ministry of Climate and Environment. The system aims to generate billions of dollars in forest financing and slow tropical deforestation. ART-certified credits would be sold by tropical country governments to multinational companies like Amazon, Nestlé and BCG. Rather than focusing on small project areas, each sale would cover the forest carbon held in vast administrative areas (provinces or even entire countries) – known as “jurisdictional REDD+.”

These proposed sales will in many cases include carbon stored in Indigenous forests. Since 2021, Indigenous leaders have been warning of an inherent risk with the ART mechanism: that governments will sell off Indigenous carbon without the communities’ knowledge or consent.

This seminar gives space for the emerging Indigenous critique of ART and offers an opportunity for the Norwegian International Climate Forest Initiative (NICFI) - ART’s principal funder - as well as a representative of the ART Board, to respond to the concerns raised by indigenous leaders. ART is currently revising its standard. The discussion may hopefully provide valuable input to that process.

Arild Angelsen and others will discuss ART - the Architecture for REDD+ Transactions - and the critique from indigenous peoples of tropical forest and carbon credits

Programme:

13:00 – 13:30 Introduction

• Arild Angelsen, professor of economics at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences – background on REDD+, forest carbon trading, and ART
• Ann Danaiya Usher, journalist with Development Today – status on ART certifications and the indigenous critique of ART over the past four years
  

13:30 – 14:20 Indigenous critique of the ART standard

• Levi Sucre Romero, Mesoamerican Alliance of People and Forests (AMPB) and former co-coordinator of the Global Alliance of Territorial Communities (GATC) - pioneered the dialogue with ART since 2021
• Mario Hastings, former Toshao (indigenous leader) and President of the Amerindian People’s Association, which lodged a formal complaint and then an appeal to ART about credits issued to the Guyanese government
  > Questions, comments
• Julia Naime, senior advisor, Rainforest Foundation Norway - coordinated the latest international letter from indigenous organisations to ART calling for reform of the standard
  > Questions, comments
  

14:20-14:40 Break

14:40-15:15 The Architecture for REDD+ Transactions (ART) carbon standard

• Andreas Dahl-Jørgensen, head of the Norwegian International Climate Forest Initiative (NICFI), member of ART’s first interim board. NICFI has financed the ART standard since its establishment in 2018
  > Questions, comments
• Christina Voigt, professor of law at University of Oslo and member of the ART Board – formerly with NICFI, Norway’s REDD+ negotiator over several years
  > Questions, comments
• Darragh Conway, senior programme officer with Tenure Facility, who coordinates the organisation’s work to support Indigenous Peoples and local communities in understanding and navigating carbon markets and REDD+.
  > Questions, comments
  

15:15-15:45 Panel discussion – ART in theory and practice:

• Mario Hastings, Anders Dahl-Jørgensen, Christine Voigt, Darragh Conway. Ann Usher moderates

This seminar is co-organised by the Norwegian University for Life Sciences (NMBU) and Development Today journal, with support from Fritt Ord.

Link for seminar registration