Los pueblos indígenas y tribales y la gobernanza de los bosques

The forests of Indigenous and tribal territories in Latin America are key for mitigating climate change and conserving biodiversity. Indigenous peoples physically occupy 404 million hectares in Latin America, which is about one fifth of the total area of the region (Garnett et al., 2018). This includes all the places where inhabitants self-identify as indigenous, not just those where they manage forests or territories collectively, and not all 404 million hectares are forested. Of the 404 million hectares, 237 million (almost 60%) are in the Amazon Basin and are covered by forests: that is an area larger than France, Great Britain, Germany, Italy, Norway, and Spain combined (Garnett et al., 2018).

Traditionally, due to a combination of factors, these forests have been much better protected than other forests in region. (Porter-Bolland et al 2012). In 2019, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) cited findings showing that strong territorial rights play a role in the lower rates of deforestation and forest degradation found on Indigenous territories.

In just about every country in Latin America indigenous and tribal territories have lower deforestation rates than other forest areas. A study of intact forests released last year showed that, between 2000 and 2016, intact forests had declined worldwide. But forests managed by Indigenous Peoples had shrunk by far less than forests outside those areas: 4.9% compared to 11.2%. (Fa et al 2020). Between 2006 and 2011, the indigenous territories of the Peruvian Amazon were twice as effective at reducing deforestation than the protected areas with similar ecological conditions and accessibility (Schleicher et al 2017). The situation in the Brazilian Amazon was similar between 2001 and 2009 (Nolte et al 2013; Jusys 2018). The indigenous community forest management areas in the Maya Jungle (Selva Maya) in Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula have had lower deforestation rates than then National Protected Areas (ANPs) (ANPs) (Bray et al 2008).

Threats to these forests are increasing and it can no longer be assumed that they will continue to be well protected without greater support. Almost half (45%) of the remaining intact forests (large undegraded forest areas) in the Amazon Basin are in indigenous territories (Fernández-Llamazares et al., 2020). If the indigenous and tribal territories in the Amazon Basin were to lose a significant portion of their forests, the evidence suggests this could lead to a tipping point, causing a chain reaction, reducing rainfall and increasing local temperatures, which, in turn, leads to greater forest loss due to droughts and forest fires. Indigenous and tribal communities continue to outperform managers of other tropical forests, but fires, mining, and unsustainable logging have taken an increasing toll on forests in almost all the Amazon Basin countries since 2012 (Walker et al 2020).

This trend is reflected in research carried out throughout Latin America, suggesting that forests in the indigenous territories of Bolivia, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Paraguay have become increasingly fragmented. Between 2000 and 2016, for example, the area of intact forests in Indigenous and tribal territories fell by 20% in Bolivia, 30% in Honduras, 42% in Nicaragua and 59% in Paraguay (Fa et al 2020).

Research and experience show that to effectively protect these forests in the future, and the livelihoods and cultures of the indigenous peoples who depend on them will require greater investment in and political support for: Collective territorial rights, Indigenous community forestry; Payment for environmental services; cultural revitalization and traditional knowledge; and strengthening indigenous and tribal organizations, including the equitable participation of women and youth.

The territories of Indigenous and Tribal Peoples in Latin America store more carbon than all the forests in Indonesia or the Democratic Republic of Congo, the two countries with the most tropical forest after Brazil. Brazil (Walker et al., 2014). Indigenous and tribal peoples' territories in Latin America store about 34,000 million metric tons of carbon (MtC) (Saatchi et al., 2011; Walker et al., 2014; Frechette et al., 2018), or 14% of all the carbon stored in forests in the tropics worldwide. Even though indigenous territories cover 28% of the Amazon Basin, they generated only 2.6% of the region's (gross) carbon emissions (Walker et al., 2020).

If the carbon emissions from these territories' forests were to rise to the levels of other similar forests in the region it could greatly set back efforts to mitigate climate change. In many Latin American countries these forests are equally or more important for biodiversity conservation than protected areas. In Brazil alone, indigenous territories have more species of mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians than in all the country's protected areas outside these territories (Schuster et al., 2019).

Indigenous territorial rights, payments for environmental services, and community forestry have all been shown to effectively reduce deforestation and forest degradation in indigenous territories. At the current price paid by the Green Carbon Fund of $5 per ton of CO2-equivalent of reduced emissions, investing in the territories of Indigenous and tribal communities could save $570 million US per year in carbon emissions, as well as having many other social and environmental benefits (author's elaboration). Invested funds could be used to improve indigenous and tribal tenure security, pay for environmental services, support community forestry, and revitalize indigenous cultures and traditional knowledge.

Payment for Environmental Services programs in Ecuador, Mexico, Costa Rica and Peru have funded hundreds of indigenous and tribal communities to conserve more than four million hectares of forest. Brazil stands out as a country where large areas of indigenous territories were recognized prior to 2015 and that contributed markedly to a decline in deforestation. Mexico has been the country that advanced the most with indigenous community-based forest management, but there have also been notable success stories in Peru, Bolivia, Guatemala, and elsewhere. In most of these cases declining government funding and support for these efforts has put these successes at risk.

There is a mix of policies which are need to achieve this, including formal recognition of territorial rights to indigenous and tribal ancestral territories that have yet to receive such recognition; addressing illegal occupation of indigenous and tribal territories; respecting Indigenous and Tribal Peoples right to Free Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) in relation to any developmental intervention, but specially with regards to mining, logging, and energy projects in their territories.

Other solutions include compensating indigenous and tribal peoples for their efforts to protect and manage their forests, reaching agreements with Indigenous and tribal authorities and leaders about plans related to territorial management (land use, water use, forest management, biodiversity preservation, patrimonial and sacred places, etc.) and coordinate actions to ensure those are respected, and funding efforts to support cultural revitalization and traditional knowledge, as well as recognizing and supporting traditional indigenous and tribal organizational structures and authorities and encourage the equitable participation of indigenous women and youth.

Land tenure and territorial insecurities due to illegal encroachment by ranchers, invasions by loggers, farmers, small-scale miners, drug traffickers, land speculators, and others, mining and energy projects established without their consent, declining government funding for forest conservation and management, over-regulation of community forest management, which limits the profitability of these activities. The pandemic has made these problems worse, as governments have cut back their presence in rural areas or been forced to impose restrictions to mobility due to sanitary measures.

The per-hectare cost of formally recognizing and ensuring on-going respect for indigenous territorial rights is low. These measures have been shown to significantly forest loss and carbon emissions. There are several hundred million hectares of forest in Latin America - an area the size of Mexico or twice the size of Bolivia - where it would probably cost less than $10 dollars per ton of CO2equivalent to reduce carbon emissions. That is cheap compared to other climate mitigation options.

Many Indigenous and Tribal Peoples are better forest managers because their traditional production and consumption patterns are less harmful for forests and because they have more practical experience and traditional knowledge managing forests. The great majority of the forests managed by indigenous and tribal peoples do not practice extensive cattle ranching or mechanized agriculture - two of the biggest threats to Latin American forests.

Indigenous and tribal communities often hold more knowledge about medicinal plants, forest fruits and vegetables, fire management, knowledge that is lacking in communities with less experience living and working in forests. For example, between 2006 and 2011, the indigenous territories in the Peruvian Amazon reduced deforestation twice as much as protected areas with similar ecological conditions and accessibility. Indigenous areas in Latin America have fewer forest fires than other areas (Nelson and Chomitz, 2011). One can find exceptions, where indigenous and tribal peoples have not managed their forests well. Those exceptions do not invalidate this generally conclusion.

With formal recognition of their territorial rights and support for their livelihood activities, they can demarcate their forests so that outsiders know they cannot use that land, monitor illegal invasions of their forests, coordinate with authorities to have intruders removed, and engage in various types of forest management activities to keep their forests in good condition.

Yes. There is solid data from the Amazon Basin and most other forested areas in Latin America that the CO2 emissions from Indigenous and Tribal territories are much lower than those of other areas with similar ecological conditions and remoteness. Many indigenous territories prevent deforestation as well or better than non-indigenous protected areas. For example, between 2006 and 2011, the indigenous territories in the Peruvian Amazon reduced deforestation twice as much as protected areas with similar ecological conditions and accessibility. Indigenous areas in Latin America have fewer forest fires than other areas (Nelson and Chomitz, 2011). With formal recognition of their territorial rights and support for their livelihood activities, they can demarcate their forests so that outsiders know they cannot use that land, monitor illegal invasions of their forests, coordinate with authorities to have intruders removed, and engage in various types of forest management activities to keep their forests in good condition.

They are important because they allow these communities to keep out external groups that want to engage in activities that threaten the forests. They are much more crucial now than in the past because the threats from these external groups are increasing rapidly. They are also important because they provide a framework for these communities to elect their authorities and manage their affairs and those local authorities and institutions can help ensure that the forests are managed well.

Up until a few decades ago, in general the forests of the Indigenous and tribal territories were rather well protected. This was partly due to the cultural characteristics and traditional knowledge of these groups, but also to government policies, the remoteness of many of these communities, and other factors. With growing demand for agricultural, forestry and mineral commodities, energy, and illicit crops, infrastructure investments that have made the indigenous territories more accessible, and changes in government policies the threats to these forests have grown, especially in the last decade.

Between 2016 and 2018, deforestation rose 150% in the indigenous territories in Brazil (Walker et al.,2020). As a result of deforestation and forest fragmentation the area of large undisturbed forest in indigenous territories fell by 20% in Bolivia, 30% in Honduras, 42% in Nicaragua, and 59% in Paraguay between 2000 and 2016(Fa et al.,2020) Hundreds of indigenous and afro-descendant community leaders have been killed since 2017, especially in Brazil, Colombia, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Peru, where governments have yet to implement effective measures to stop the violence (Global Witness, 2018, 2019, 2020). Almost one quarter of the land in indigenous territories in the Amazon Basin has overlapping mining and petroleum concessions (Walker et al 2020)

The main solutions are to increase government efforts to recognize and ensure respect for indigenous and tribal territorial rights; to increase investments in community forestry, payment for environmental services, cultural revitalization, traditional knowledge, and indigenous and tribal organizations. Greater international climate and biodiversity funding for these efforts is key because these activities provide global benefits and the pandemic has limited Latin American governments' ability to pay for these activities themselves.

It costs less than $6 per hectare per year to establish and maintain indigenous territorial rights in the Amazon Basin regions of Brazil, Colombia, and Bolivia. That means you could provide secure land rights to 100 million hectares of indigenous forests - an area almost twice the size of all Central America for less than $600 million per year. The researchers also concluded that the climate and environmental benefits of such efforts greatly outweighs the cost. So indigenous and tribal peoples win because they get secure territorial rights and the international community wins because they get climate and biodiversity benefits that are much larger than what they invest.