This publication is a knowledge product arising from the World Bank’s Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF) Capacity Building on REDD+ for Forest-Dependent Indigenous Peoples in East Asia and the Pacific and South Asia Regions Project, with Tebtebba Foundation as the Recipient. The project aims to strengthen: (i) the knowledge of targeted forest-dependent indigenous peoples on REDD+ Readiness at the national level; and (ii) knowledge exchange at the regional level.
The publication is the result of a regional research conducted by country researchers hired by the project in Fiji, Nepal and Vietnam. It focused on: a) Documentation of state laws and policies on land and forest tenure systems and how these enhance or weaken indigenous customary tenure systems; b) Description of the range of indigenous peoples’ customary tenure systems that are practiced by indigenous peoples in their territories; c) Determining the extent of recognition and practice of indigenous women's rights in customary tenure systems; d) Determining how customary tenure systems facilitate the implementation of REDD+ and help secure benefits from REDD+ (carbon and non-carbon); and e) Documenting how indigenous peoples are using REDD+ to assert, seek recognition, and strengthen their customary land and forest tenure systems.