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- Indigenous rights and the impact of forest carbon trading are at the center of a moratorium called for by the Pathways Alliance for Change and Transformation (PACT), a coalition Iof Indigenous, community, and nonprofit organizations. Published in September 2023, the paper urges a halt in forest carbon trade until land rights for Indigenous peoples and local communities are clearly protected.
- At the U.N. climate conference in Dubai last December, carbon markets faced a setback when negotiators couldn’t agree on texts to guide the carbon trade, as outlined in the 2015 Paris climate agreement.
Mina Setra has vivid memories of West Kalimantan before oil palm plantations transformed the region where she grew up. As an Indigenous Dayak Pompakng, Setra’s childhood was surrounded by forests, which have since disappeared due to palm oil production. As an activist and deputy to the secretary-general on culture for AMAN, Indonesia’s largest Indigenous alliance, Setra has dedicated her life to protecting forests.
Now, the focus has shifted to carbon, a concern for Setra and many others in Indigenous communities who see a lack of consideration for their connection to the forests in carbon trading discussions. In September, Setra and her colleagues at PACT published a paper calling for a moratorium on forest carbon trade until safeguards for the land rights of Indigenous peoples and local communities are put in place.
Deforestation in West Kalimantan. The forests surrounding the village where Setra, an Indigenous Dayak Pompakng, grew up, is “all gone. Dried out.” Image by Rhett A. Butler/Mongabay.
A call for a pause
The 2015 Paris climate agreement allows the exchange of carbon credits between countries as part of efforts to achieve net-zero emissions. However, the impact of these arrangements on Indigenous rights and local communities has led PACT to call for a pause in carbon trading, including in voluntary markets, until their land rights are fully and explicitly protected.