Services risks & opportunities Indigenous Communities Respond - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Payment for Environmental Services – risks &

• pportunities

Indigenous Communities Respond to Threats: Conflict Resolution and Negotiation Strategies: 18 July 2017 Polly Grace, Legal Officer

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PES: Risks & opportunities

• 1. What is ‘Payment for Environmental Services’?
• 2. What are the potential threats and risks to Indigenous people and local communities?
• 3. What opportunities do these present for Indigenous people and local communities?
• 4. Case study: Indigenous savanna burning (carbon offset) projects in the Kimberley, Australia
• 5. Conclusion: lessons and tools

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What is ‘payment for environmental services’?

• 1. Payments for environmental services are ‘payments to landholders who have agreed to

manage their land or waters in such a way as to deliver an ecological outcome.’

• 2. Who pays?
• 1. The people making the payment may be the Government, the private sector,

philanthropic or non government organisations

• 3. Who benefits?
• 1. Generally, environmental services are understood to deliver a ‘public good’, so it the

general population who benefits;

• 2. The person being paid – the landholder – also receives a financial benefit, and there

may be some indirect benefits from the new form of land management

• 4. Examples
• 1. A hydropower company pays a landowner to conserve the vegetation in a watershed
• 2. A community group raises money to pay farmers to amend their farming practices, in
• rder to protect a threatened species.
• 3. A Government pays a local community to manage their forests and maintain their

trees as a carbon sink

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Potential challenges & risks from PES?

• 1. Governance
• 1. Who is leading the PES initiative?
• 2. Is it Indigenous/community owned or motivated?
• 3. What is the role of Indigenous people/community in the design and outcomes of the

PES?

• 4. Does it have the free, prior and informed consent of the Indigenous

people/community?

• 2. Land ownership and tenure

Policies which creates incentives for third parties to use and benefit from activities on areas of traditional country should provide specific protections for Indigenous rights.

• 1. Are there sufficient protections in place for Indigenous or community land rights?
• 2. Does the PES system recognise and uphold Indigenous forms of land ownership?
• 3. Does the PES affect underlying land rights?
• 1. Opportunity cost and benefit sharing
• 1. What are the long-term opportunity costs of the PES?
• 2. Do the benefits adequately recognise these lost opportunities?
• 3. How and over what time frame are benefits distributed?

Opportunities provided by PES

• 1. Potential alignment with aspirations for management of country;
• 2. Alternative source of revenue – reduce reliance on grants
• 3. Long-term sustainability of land use;
• 4. Potential to provide greater recognition and strength to Indigenous land rights

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Case study: Indigenous savanna carbon projects

The tropical savanna of northern Australia – the largest intact savanna landscape in the world – is an area of high biodiversity values with more than half of Australia’s bird species and around

• ne third of its mammal species.

Indigenous people own, or have rights to ~60% of this region, and around 100,000 Indigenous people (~30% of Australia’s Indigenous population) live here. Uncontrolled, hot late season fires in northern Australia’s savannas account for up to 16.9 million T CO2-e/yr, about 4% of Australia’s total CO2-e emissions. Wildfire devastates bush tucker resources, ecological communities, threatened species and national heritage areas.

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Case study: Indigenous savanna carbon projects

Savanna carbon projects reduced greenhouse gas emissions from out of control wildfires through reintroducing traditional strategic fire management practices at the right time of year.

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Case study: Indigenous savanna carbon projects

32 registered Indigenous carbon projects Value of Indigenous carbon projects $100M + Most revenue is reinvested into

• ngoing fire
• perations and

Indigenous land management.

Co-benefits

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Case study: Indigenous carbon projects: essential elements

• 1. Protecting Indigenous knowledge

The technology behind these projects is based on the traditional burning practices of Indigenous people in Australia. Policy settings must recognise the central role of Indigenous people.

2. Recognising Indigenous rights

Due to the unique nature of Indigenous land rights in Australia (Native Title and Aboriginal Land Rights) a potential challenge existed for Indigenous people to participate. To overcome this, the legislation contained specific enabling provisions deeming Indigenous people to hold the right to participate in certain circumstances.

3. Accessing opportunities

Indigenous land sector projects generally have higher start-up and ongoing costs than carbon projects in other sectors. Targeted industry support at the introduction of the scheme was essential to enabling Indigenous participation.

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Case study: Indigenous carbon projects: essential elements

How were these elements achieved?

• Pilot project in partnership with Indigenous communities;
• Strategic lobbying;
• Long-term engagement and relationship building – 10 years of lobbying on carbon
• ffsets!
• Information gathering & exchange
• Workshops; information sessions; exchanges
• Partnerships and lobbying
• Indigenous Carbon Industry Network
• Carbon Producers Developers Council
• Carbon Market Institute
• Demonstrated outcomes

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Payment for Environmental Services: tools and lessons

• 1. Informed
• 1. What is the opportunity?
• 2. What are the potential benefits and risks?
• 2. Vision
• 1. What outcomes do we want from this opportunity?
• 2. What pathway is there to achieve this?
• 3. Early engagement
• 1. How can we engage with Government?
• 2. Who else can we engage with to assist?
• 4. Outreach and network
• 1. Who else can benefit from this opportunity and how can we work with them?
• 2. Can we establish a network to engage with Government and corporate?
• 5. Demonstrated outcomes
• 1. Why is this important?
• 2. Why should it be supported?

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Example: Key policy principles to support Payment for Environmental Service

• 1. Does it enable Indigenous participation?
• 1. Indigenous people able to participate equally to other stakeholders;
• 2. Enabling frameworks to overcome legal, policy, financial or other barriers
• 2. Is it aligned with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights on Indigenous People?
• 1. Free from force, manipulation or pressure;
• 2. Prior – before decisions are made, before projects are registered
• 3. Informed – sufficient information to understand practical and future implications
• 4. Consent – Indigenous people have the right to say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to a project, and to

input on how the project is implemented

• 3. Does it promote and protect Indigenous and community land rights?
• 1. Protecting Indigenous and community land rights
• 2. Projects which impact what can and cannot be done on Indigenous land require

Indigenous engagement.

Polly Grace Legal Officer, Land & Sea Management Unit Kimberley Land Council Ph: +61 08 9194 0100 Email: Polly.Grace@klc.org.au