SECURING FOREST TENURE RIGHTS FOR RURAL DEVELOPMENT Lessons from Six Countries in Latin America SECURING FOREST TENURE RIGHTS FOR RURAL DEVELOPMENT I Suggested Citation: Segura Warnholtz, Gerardo, with Mercedes Fernández, James Smyle and Jenny Springer. 2017. Securing Forest Tenure Rights for Rural Development: Lessons from Six Countries in Latin America. PROFOR, Washington DC.   ISBN: 978-0-9910407-8-0   Disclaimer: All omissions and inaccuracies in this document are the responsibility of the authors. The views expressed in this guide do not necessarily represent those of the institutions involved, nor do they necessarily represent official policies of these institutions.   Photo Credits: Gerardo Segura Warnholtz SECURING FOREST TENURE RIGHTS FOR RURAL DEVELOPMENT Lessons from Six Countries in Latin America By Gerardo Segura Warnholtz with Mercedes Fernández, James Smyle and Jenny Springer Acknowledgements This report presents the results of a comparative analysis of forest tenure rights and rural development led by Gerardo Segura and documented in a 2015 synthesis report co-authored by Gerardo Segura, Mercedes Fernández and James Smyle. The study was conducted with the valuable support of the Program on Forests (PROFOR) of the World Bank and in collaboration with Climate Focus, B.V and their affiliates in the study countries, who prepared country reports for each country: Universidad de Buenos Aires and Claudio Lutzky (Argentina); Guerrero Ruíz y Asociados (Colombia); Fundación PRISMA (El Salvador and Nicaragua); Mario Vallejo and Mark Wilkinson (Honduras), and Libélula (Peru). Gerardo Segura and Jenny Springer prepared this report of main findings, lessons and recommendations, based on the synthesis report. The following colleagues also contributed with important ideas and comments to the original design of the study and/or to previous versions of this report: Augusta Molnar, David Kaimowitz, Malcolm Childress, Enrique Pantoja, Stamatis Kotouzas, Maria Alejandra Bouquet, Christian A. Peter, Victoria Stanley, Omaira Bolaños, Nalin Kishor, Laura Ivers and Valerie Hickey. TABLE OF CONTENTS Foreword 3 Introduction 5 Approach and Methods 7 Main Findings and Lessons 9 Conclusion and Recommendations 19 Endnotes 23 SECURING FOREST TENURE RIGHTS FOR RURAL DEVELOPMENT 1 2 SECURING FOREST TENURE RIGHTS FOR RURAL DEVELOPMENT FOREWORD The mission of the World Bank Group is to end This study on Securing Forest Tenure Rights for extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity in Rural Development aims to contribute to efforts a sustainable manner. Clarifying and securing worldwide to reduce poverty and strengthen forest tenure rights around the world, and sustainable management in forest areas. It the associated management practices and does so by reviewing the progress of tenure livelihoods of indigenous peoples and local reforms in six countries in Latin America, and communities in forest areas, is critical to drawing lessons to help advance the realization achieving these goals. of these reforms and inform similar initiatives in other countries. We hope that the results Secure tenure is widely recognized as an will be useful for policy-makers who have essential foundation for achieving a range of responsibility for forests, climate change, land rural economic development goals. However, tenure, agricultural development and poverty forest areas in low and middle-income countries reduction programs in rural areas, as well as face particular challenges in strengthening the for civil society organizations and international security of land and resource tenure. Forest partners working on land tenure and natural peoples are often among the poorest and most resource governance. We also expect that politically marginalized communities in their this study will assist and inform the work of national contexts, and their tenure systems World Bank programs in rural development, are often based on customary, collective rights environment and natural resources, agriculture, that have insufficient formal legal protection. social development, climate change, and carbon Government presence and capacity in forest finance, by increasing attention and support to areas to support and defend local rights indigenous and community forest tenure as it may be limited, and forest lands also face relates to these areas of work. competing pressures for other land uses. These longstanding challenges have acquired new urgency with the keen focus on the role of forests in climate change mitigation, and increasing evidence showing that securing community tenure and supporting community- Laura Tuck based forest management are key strategies to Vice President for Sustainable Development, reduce deforestation. World Bank SECURING FOREST TENURE RIGHTS FOR RURAL DEVELOPMENT 3 4 SECURING FOREST TENURE RIGHTS FOR RURAL DEVELOPMENT INTRODUCTION One of the most important challenges that and human rights has been expressed in governments face in their efforts to reduce international frameworks such as the Voluntary poverty and inequality in rural landscapes, Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of and achieve environmental and climate goals, Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the is to recognize and secure the land and forest Context of National Food Security6 and the tenure rights of indigenous peoples and local UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous communities. There is growing recognition Peoples,7 and through the inclusion of land- that secure tenure rights provide a critical related targets in the Sustainable Development foundation for local economic development, Goals. In spite of this evidence and increased biodiversity conservation, carbon emissions recognition, unclear and insecure land and reductions, and the realization of human rights. forest tenure rights remain widespread in the Moreover, promising progress has been made developing world, and continue to threaten the by many developing countries, particularly in integrity of local livelihoods and the provision Latin America, to introduce legal frameworks of environmental services, while impeding and targeted policies to transfer or devolve poverty reduction and increasing the negative forest rights to local people. In many cases, effects of climate change. however, these reforms remain partial, and their implementation and enforcement is still far This study explores the progress of tenure from materializing. reforms in six countries in Latin America, in order to understand and draw practical lessons These unfinished tenure reform agendas from their experience that can inform future have significant impacts on the ability of efforts within those countries and in other countries to achieve their poverty reduction parts of the world to strengthen, expand and and environmental goals. A substantial body of consolidate forest tenure, with a particular research documents the essential foundations focus on the rights of indigenous peoples land and resource tenure provide for food and local communities. Latin America has led security and sustainable livelihoods,1 including the way in undertaking legal and institutional contributions to women’s livelihoods and reforms for more robust and inclusive tenure gender equity.2 With regard to environmental rights, with the result that approximately 39% goals, a comprehensive review of relevant of the region’s forestlands were owned or studies undertaken in 2014 found that where controlled by indigenous peoples and local communities have legal rights to their forests communities as of 2013.8 However, limited and government support for management institutional capacity, cumbersome regulations, and enforcement, deforestation rates (and and powerful competing interests continue to associate carbon emissions) are significantly impede the full realization of community tenure lower than in areas outside those community security. Resolution of these constraints through forests.3 As one example, Nelson and Chomitz4 investment in a next phase of the reform found that multiple use protected areas in process is critical for the future of Latin America, Asia and Latin America limited fires more where forest ecosystems cover as much as than strictly protected areas, and indigenous 49% of the land9 and rates of deforestation territories were much more effective, with remain among the world’s highest10. Learning remoteness and environmental factors held from this experience is also critical for other constant.5 The global consensus on the countries embarking on or in earlier stages of importance of tenure security for development tenure reforms. SECURING FOREST TENURE RIGHTS FOR RURAL DEVELOPMENT 5 This report aims to contribute to the discussion and analysis currently under way in many countries in Latin America, and in other parts of the world, regarding the key policy, legal, institutional and technical elements that are needed to strengthen, secure and expand indigenous and community forest tenure. Following a brief introduction to the study methods, this report presents key overarching findings from the six country studies, and concludes with recommendations for future work, including recommendations on ways World Bank programs can support further recognition and realization of indigenous and community forest rights. 6 SECURING FOREST TENURE RIGHTS FOR RURAL DEVELOPMENT APPROACH AND METHODS This report summarizes the results of a development partners for strategic analysis on comparative analysis of forest tenure regimes the interplay of land policy and administration, in Argentina, Colombia, El Salvador, Honduras, forests and climate change, and management Nicaragua and Peru. The study was designed and conservation of natural resources. The six to assess the current status of forest tenure countries are currently being assisted by the reforms in Latin America and identify the actions Bank to formulate and implement national needed by governments to leverage sustained REDD+ strategies, and have identified insecure political, institutional, financial, and technical or unclear tenure as an underlying cause of support to strengthen and operationalize them. deforestation and forest degradation and an obstacle to REDD+ implementation. The study began with an in-depth review of official and non-official literature on the The studies used the Bundle of Rights status of forest tenure in each country. This conceptual framework originally introduced by work was complemented by field activities Schlager and Ostrom (1992), and modified to ground truth and expand on the results of by the Rights and Resources Initiative (2012). the desk review. Particular attention was given The Bundle is a group of seven different rights to the role of forest institutions and other that may or may not be formally recognized related government agencies responsible for in the legal frameworks adopted by states granting or implementing tenure rights.  Field regarding indigenous and community tenure. visit interviews were also conducted with key The seven rights are those of Access, Extraction, institutional, technical, and political informants Management, Exclusion, Alienation, Unlimited and stakeholders, including a sample of rural Duration and Due Process, or compensation communities and social organizations. (see Box 1 for definitions of each). 
 Countries were selected based on interests and A particular contribution of this study is that requests from government agencies, World Bank it goes beyond previous assessments of program managers and task teams, and other legal frameworks or the geographical areas BOX 1: FOREST TENURE “BUNDLE OF RIGHTS” • Access: Right to enter or pass through a forest • Withdrawal or Use: Right to benefit from the forest’s resources • Management: Right to make decisions about forest resources and for a forest area over which the community has rights of access and withdrawal or use. • Exclusion: Right to refuse access to and use of the forest • Due Process and Compensation: Right to legally challenge a government’s efforts to take one, several, or all of a community’s forest rights • Duration: The length of time a community may exercise its rights – either limited or recognized in perpetuity. • Alienation: Right to transfer the forest to another by sale, lease or other means Source: WRI, Securing Rights, Combatting Climate Change – citing RRI 2012, Larson 2012. SECURING FOREST TENURE RIGHTS FOR RURAL DEVELOPMENT 7 recognized to examine the extent to which the international partners working in the fields of implementation of forest tenure reforms has land tenure and governance of natural resources. resulted in tenure security and the exercise Findings and lessons are also intended to assist of tenure rights. This is a critical area of focus Bank staff in a topic that is of increasing interest as countries move beyond the enactment of across the different Global Practices and task reforms to focus increasingly on the institutional, teams that work in rural landscapes, including land regulatory and other requirements needed for administration, environment and management of the effective realization of forest tenure rights. It natural resources, agriculture, social development is also important for countries seeking to enact - including indigenous peoples rights and other reforms to understand and anticipate design issues - climate change, and carbon finance. and implementation challenges that determine They may also help inform actions to meet the the success or failure of the desired forest requirements of the World Bank Environmental tenure devolution. and Social Framework, particularly as it relates to land and indigenous peoples. Although the The audience for this study includes national and study focuses on Latin America, its methodology, sub-national government institutions in charge findings, and recommendations are of high global of designing and implementing sectoral policies relevance and should be of interest to countries and programs, civil society organizations, and in other regions. 8 SECURING FOREST TENURE RIGHTS FOR RURAL DEVELOPMENT MAIN FINDINGS AND LESSONS Tenure reforms have arisen from the specific people of the Caribbean region. However, historical, social and political situation of most forests continue to be held as state each country. Major reforms have often been property, within which the State grants “usufruct associated with broader political changes, contracts” to organized groups or cooperatives such as shifts from military to democratic that enable them to access, use and manage governments and/or the resolution of civil forest resources. conflicts. Concrete outcomes have included legal frameworks and policies that recognize Nicaragua introduced tenure reforms more and consolidate collective tenure regimes, recently than other countries in this study, and promote participation and consultation in adopting in new legal frameworks in 2005. Since decision-making processes regarding land use. then, actions to implement the recognition of In Argentina, tenure reforms were enacted at tenure rights has focused mainly on devolving the end of the military dictatorship in 1985, tenure rights to indigenous peoples in the with the Law on Indigenous Policy and support Caribbean region. to Aboriginal Communities (Política Indígena y apoyo a las Comunidades Aborígenes). Tenure In Peru, despite prolonged and complex rights were strengthened by the constitutional historical conflicts over the recognition of reforms of 1994, which recognized indigenous community tenure rights, four tenure regimes peoples’ rights to collective ownership of land. have been enacted to devolve rights to indigenous and peasant communities. While Colombia has put in place robust legal and most were enacted prior to 2002, the category institutional frameworks for recognition of of Indigenous Reserves was created in 2006 indigenous and community tenure. The to protect the rights of indigenous peoples in a main subjects of these processes have been situation of isolation or initial contact.12 indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities, who benefited from the constitutional reforms These introductory points on each country of the early 1990s and Colombia’s ratification of provide context for the following main findings ILO Convention 169. of the study. In El Salvador, collective land ownership was 1. Significant progress has been achieved abolished in the late nineteenth century, and in the legal recognition of customary it has not yet been reestablished. Moreover, rights of indigenous peoples and local indigenous peoples were only legally recognized communities to forest lands as a minority in 2014, through constitutional reforms and government endorsement of ILO With the exception of El Salvador, all the Convention 169. countries studied have adopted legal regimes that recognize the rights of indigenous peoples In Honduras, the military government in 1974 and local communities to forest land, and have dictated that all forest lands and resources would taken substantial steps to formally recognize be controlled by the state, and established the lands under collective ownership. Progress is Honduran Corporation for Forest Development11 both qualitative, in terms of the adoption of to manage forests and commercial extraction legal instruments that recognize the collective activities. Since ratifying ILO 169 in 1995, the rights of forest communities, and quantitative, government has transferred forestlands to some in terms of increases in recognized forest areas. indigenous communities, particularly the Miskito SECURING FOREST TENURE RIGHTS FOR RURAL DEVELOPMENT 9 TABLE 1. TENURE REGIMES AND THE BUNDLE OF RIGHTS CONFERRED Country Tenure Regime Rights conferred Withdrawal/Use Due Process and Compensation Management Alienation Exclusion Duration Access Argentina Community Forests Yes Yes Yes13 Yes Yes Unlimited No Colombia Resguardos Indígenas (Indigenous Yes Yes Yes 14 Yes Yes Unlimited No Reserves) Tierras de las Comunidades Negras (Afro- Yes Yes Yes15 Yes Yes Unlimited No Community Lands) El Salvador None _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Honduras Indigenous Community Lands Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Unlimited No Usufruct Contracts for Forest Management Yes Yes Yes16 Yes Yes17 30 years No Nicaragua Community Forests Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Unlimited No Peru Tierras de Comunidades Nativas con Aptitud Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Unlimited No Forestal (Native Community Forest Lands Suitable for Forestry)18 Reservas Indígenas (Indigenous Reserves)19 Yes --20 Yes Yes Yes Unlimited No Tierras de Comunidades Campesinas con Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Unlimited Yes21 Aptitud Forestal (Peasant Community Forests Suitable for Forestry) Reservas Comunales en Suelo Forestal Yes Yes Yes No Yes Unlimited No (Communal Reserves in Forest Land) Table 1 above shows the main forest tenure Reserves in Peru, designed to protect the lands of regimes in each country and the rights they indigenous peoples living in voluntary isolation, confer. As indicated in the table, seven of the ten allows use for subsistence purposes only. Also tenure regimes in the countries studied confer in Peru, in Communal Reserves in Forest Land, the full bundle of rights of access, withdrawal, the government retains formal ownership of management, exclusion, and due process and the land and transfers rights of access, forest compensation, for an unlimited duration, that management and use to communities. provide communities with the full legal basis for tenure security.22 In the remaining three cases, Substantial areas of land have also been devolved there are certain limitations on the bundle of to communities under these tenure regimes. rights. Honduras Usufruct Contracts for Forest For example, Colombia has recognized rights Management are for 30 years, while Indigenous of indigenous peoples and Afro-Colombian 10 SECURING FOREST TENURE RIGHTS FOR RURAL DEVELOPMENT communities to almost 50%23 of the country’s as regional courts. The Inter-American Court forest land. In Nicaragua, 49%24 of forests have of Human Rights, in particular, has had an been transferred to indigenous communities, important influence on national and local mostly in the Caribbean region. In Peru, governments in Latin America regarding approximately 26.1%25 of forests are formally held indigenous rights issues. Nicaragua is a good by indigenous peoples and local communities, example of a country where decisions of the mostly in the Amazon region. IACHR have had a direct impact on community tenure rights. The Court ruled in 2001 that 2. Political and judicial activism in favor the government had violated the rights of the of indigenous peoples has played an Mayagna indigenous community of Awas Tingni important role in transferring forest rights by granting a forest concession in their territory in 1995. The Court ordered the government of Much of the progress in recognizing and Nicaragua to pay compensation and create an transferring customary forest tenure in the effective mechanism for demarcation and titling six countries has resulted from direct action of indigenous territories. While these forms of and advocacy from indigenous peoples and external influence by judiciary institutions have community organizations, often with support been most pronounced in Latin America, recent and collaboration from wider civil society decisions by other regional tribunals – such as constituencies. For example, in Argentina, the the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights motivation and momentum for forest tenure - indicate that the role and influence of such reforms arose mainly from the land claims regional courts may increase in other regions. of indigenous movements in the northern region, which has the highest concentration In contrast to the active role played by of indigenous peoples. The mobilization of indigenous, civil society and judicial institutions, Amazonian indigenous peoples’ organizations none of the countries studied have had the at local, regional and national levels has also benefit of a sustained, national initiative from been a significant factor promoting tenure the executive branch to implement forest tenure reforms in Peru. reforms. This has, in turn, had implications for patterns of implementation and protection for In addition to bottom up demands from the forest tenure rights of indigenous peoples indigenous and civil society organizations, and local communities. judicial activism from courts and local grievance mechanisms has also played an 3. Implementation of forest tenure reforms important role. This phenomenon has been is uneven, and many communities have particularly important in Colombia, where the yet to receive forest tenure rights Constitutional Court declared certain laws on rural development issues invalid, including the Despite advances in the adoption of legal Forest Act (Law 1021 2006), on the grounds frameworks recognizing forest tenure rights, of inadequate consultations with indigenous the implementation of those frameworks in peoples and Afro-Colombian communities. In terms of the transfer of rights to specific areas a similar way, the Ombudsmen (Defensorías has progressed unevenly across different del Pueblo) in Peru have played a central role communities and geographical regions within in questioning political powers in their actions each country. In some cases, this uneven to recognize and transfer tenure rights to recognition reflects patterns of organized indigenous communities. advocacy for the recognition of land claims. In Peru, for example, titling efforts have proceeded In some cases, pressures to strengthen the at a slow rate, and have focused mainly on the recognition of community rights have also Amazon region – particularly in the regions come from supra-national institutions, such of San Martín, Loreto and Ucayali – where SECURING FOREST TENURE RIGHTS FOR RURAL DEVELOPMENT 11 mobilization of local and national indigenous while commitments to title communal lands federations has been most active. Still, according of other indigenous communities (such as the to the Institute of the Common Good (IBC),26 Pech, Tolupan, and Tawaka) remain unfulfilled. 6.5 million hectares remain to be titled for One factor affecting these transfers of land to native communities in the Peruvian Amazon.27 indigenous communities in the Caribbean coast In other cases, uneven implementation reflects was the former status of these regions as British differences in the responses from government protectorates, under international treaties signed institutions at different levels. In Argentina, where by Nicaragua and Honduras with the United under the federal system provincial governments Kingdom. This history created a unique legal share responsibilities for transferring forest tenure framework for the recognition of indigenous rights with the National Institute of Indigenous land rights in those areas.28 Affairs (NACI), the more progressive provincial governments have taken greater initiative to 4. Limited institutional capacities and coordination implement and enforce policies recognizing the are constraining the implementation and rights of indigenous communities. enforcement of forest tenure reforms Historical factors also play a role in patterns of implementation of forest rights. For example, in A common denominator in all six countries Nicaragua, most of the successful recognition is limitations in institutional arrangements of indigenous forest lands has occurred in the and capacity to recognize and implement Autonomous Territories of the Caribbean coast, community rights, including financial and while in the north and Pacific regions little technical limitations of national and sub- progress has been made. Similarly, the Miskito national government agencies and weak judicial people of the Caribbean coast in NE Honduras systems. Even in countries like Colombia, which recently received title to a large area of land, has a robust legal and institutional framework, 12 SECURING FOREST TENURE RIGHTS FOR RURAL DEVELOPMENT the institutional presence and capacity in to local forest communities. In Honduras, for local provinces, particularly in Amazon and example, decentralization has strengthened Pacific Coast regions, has been very limited. local institutions and promoted more active The Amazon region of Peru is in a similar civil society participation in processes for tenure situation, where a weak institutional setup recognition and territorial planning. Even so, care limits the capacity of the government to grant may be required to ensure that empowerment and regularize land titles, assist communities of local authorities goes hand-in-hand with with conflict resolution over land disputes, and support for inclusive decision-making systems. provide communities with permits and technical In the Honduras case, indigenous communities assistance to manage their forests. oftentimes did not perceive themselves as having a voice in municipal governments. This One significant factor impeding institutional study also indicates that central governments support for tenure reforms is the division and commonly have transferred land regularization lack of clarity in mandates to transfer, regularize mandates to local governments in a very top- and enforce the bundle of forest tenure rights down manner, without careful consideration of among a variety of government agencies at both local institutional conditions, and with limited national and sub-national levels. Specific agency technical, institutional and financial support. mandates are often not clearly defined or In countries like Argentina, where provincial overlap, particularly when there is more than one governments have had responsibility for the sectoral entity operating in a particular political recognition of indigenous forest rights for more district (e.g. agriculture, forestry, conservation, than ten years, titling has moved slowly, mainly mining). The lack of harmonization and because of unclear and overlapping mandates continuity of actions among relevant agencies is between central and local governments. In particularly acute in regions such as the NW of Peru, regional governments have been only Argentina or the Amazon region of Peru, where marginally involved in the design of an ambitious titling of indigenous customary lands is well decentralization reform, and often face behind expectations. pressures from local constituents demanding action on claims that have been unresolved In addition to serious delays by central for many years. Local governments must often governments in transferring or regularizing respond to high expectations among indigenous community tenure rights, land administration communities while grappling with serious gaps agencies have been criticized for their inefficient in technical, financial and legal support. management of information, including gaps and inconsistencies in registry and cadaster With the exception of Colombia and Nicaragua, information between central and local countries also do not have specific administrative government agencies. This is one area where or judicial institutions to resolve conflicts and the World Bank and other donors have been enforce forest tenure rights. The few conflicts that able to help, although work to strengthen land reach the judicial system are channeled through agencies has mostly focused in urban and peri- the general courts, which are not prepared or urban areas, where taxation and urban planning inadequate to address forest tenure issues. needs have given land administration reforms more political urgency and geographical access This finding points to the need to anticipate is less problematic. and ensure sufficient investment in the institutional capacities needed to see through Decentralization processes have also become the implementation of reforms, beyond their an important factor affecting the progress enactment in law. For example, in Nicaragua, of forest tenure reforms. Decentralization the Autonomous Governments of the north offers potential to accelerate and create more and south territories of the Caribbean, which responsive tenure recognition processes, closer are predominantly indigenous, play a key SECURING FOREST TENURE RIGHTS FOR RURAL DEVELOPMENT 13 intermediary role with the central government has been the growing occupation of peasants and have developed local capacities to assist and landless farmers. These regions have in the processing of community land titles. In become the last agricultural frontier, which is Honduras, participatory zoning plans led by also affecting important protected areas such the municipalities have helped indigenous and local Bosawas Biosphere Reserve. Titled indigenous communities identify and resolve boundary territories in this region extend across large, conflicts with neighboring communities and sparsely populated, and remote areas, and public forest lands. In Colombia, conflict peasant invasions have not been controlled by resolution needs have been addressed by the regional authorities or the central government. establishment of specific government entities and procedures to support land restitution. The lack of action to resolve many of these conflicts, including limitations of judicial systems in 5. Overlapping claims to forest lands and addressing and managing grievances, contributes weak enforcement of rights to Exclusion to a quasi-null exercise of the right of Exclusion. are major obstacles to tenure security Tenure regimes frequently recognize the rights of communities to exclude third parties seeking In conjunction with the institutional constraints to access land or resources on their territories, described above, a significant factor contributing and responsibility for enforcement is normally to delays in the titling process is the need for assigned to the State (as with other forms of communities to establish a clear title to their property). Unfortunately, in all six countries this land, free of boundary disputes and overlapping important government function is very weak, claims.29 However, as the agricultural frontier particularly in remote areas under high pressure expands into customary forest lands, many for development. An alternative interpretation of indigenous communities face a situation of third the causes of insufficient or negligent government parties residing within the territory they claim performance in regularizing and enforcing and accessing communal lands and resources, community tenure rights is a lack of political will in with or without legal titles. These third parties the face of large scale investments in agri-business, include landless farmers as well as private sector forestry, mining, and oil and gas production, usually actors seeking to extract timber and other forest through government concessions. These pressures resources from community lands. from private sector interests and migrants from other parts of the country are another critical issue Demands for land from social movements of that must be addressed to sustain and advance landless farmers present a significant challenge tenure reforms. to the establishment of clear titles. The social and economic impact of massive resettlement of these 6. The scope of the rights of Extraction third parties (terceros) makes removing them from and Management is undermined by indigenous territories unfeasible in many cases, overregulation as many governments do not have the financial resources or sufficient arable public land to With regard to Management, all the countries respond adequately to their demands. In addition, studied, except El Salvador, recognize the right large scale agriculture, mining and commercial of communities to make decisions on how logging operations tend to be promoted by to manage their forest lands. In countries like governments and evidently benefit from irregular Colombia, Honduras and Nicaragua, the legal or absent formal tenure arrangements. framework provides for the establishment of administrative and territorial entities with Problems with multiple claims and the power to exert the management rights. encroachment also impact titled lands. In Furthermore, in all six countries, communities Nicaragua, for example, one of the main threats have rights of Extraction of forest resources for to titled indigenous territories of the Caribbean their own direct consumption.30 14 SECURING FOREST TENURE RIGHTS FOR RURAL DEVELOPMENT Communities may also conduct commercial on community efforts to sustainably use and timber extraction and connect with local or manage forests, such overregulation commonly international timber markets to sell their products leads to logging which is illegal (without the in five of the six countries (excluding El Salvador). required permits and plans) and foments a However, commercial forestry activities in both black market in timber. communal and private lands are highly regulated by the State, usually by forestry agencies, who Overregulation has also been regressive, in that must approve forest management plans and it tends to reward larger commercial entities at extraction permits to forest land owners. The the expense of smaller and poorer community transaction costs to comply with the complex forest enterprises. A common trend observed in and top-down regulatory frameworks normally all six countries is that most commercial forestry involved in commercial forestry are very high is conducted by third parties, usually private for communities. Management plans tend to companies who establish long term concession be difficult to prepare, unnecessarily detailed contracts with governments in public lands, and costly. They must be prepared or endorsed including in areas where customary rights of and supervised by professional foresters who local communities are still in dispute. In some charge a fee for their services and are seldom cases companies establish concessions directly members of the community, nor necessarily with communities in which communities lose understand and respond to their interests. It is control over decisions about the management also common that forest management permits of their forests for long periods, and receive have, as an additional legal requirement, an only marginal economic benefits. Greater environmental impact assessment that must relative investment in community-based forest be sanctioned by environmental authorities. In management, along with more appropriate Honduras, for example, the usufruct contracts and less cumbersome regulations, will be an communities establish with the government important focus for ongoing reform efforts in already contain provisions to manage extractive these countries, and are a critical consideration activities, but additional conditions such as a for other countries seeking to devolve forest management plan are required for commercial rights to communities. extraction of timber. It was consistently observed in all countries that communities often fail to 7. Rural development policies and comply with regulations for two understandable programs are creating competing reasons; first, they are cumbersome and costly, pressures on forest lands and second, they commonly discriminate or do not take into account local needs and conditions. In all the countries studied, national macro- economic policies have favored the rapid It is important to distinguish between expansion of large-scale agriculture, mining, the technical and administrative capacity and energy sectors in rural areas, leaving of communities to regulate and conduct forest tenure reforms and community-based forest management in their own lands and production systems at a very low priority. While the problems associated with prescriptive countries understandably seek to promote regulatory demands imposed by governments. investments and growth in rural areas, these Communities may seek technical support to developments are often adversely affecting both develop their capacities for commercial forest the environment of indigenous and community management. However, legal frameworks for lands and prospects for the consolidation and government control of community productive protection of community forest tenure rights. processes which are unrealistic, and do not respond to local socioeconomic and biophysical Policies and programs to promote large-scale conditions, have been counterproductive. By investments in rural areas are an urgent issue imposing institutional and financial limitations affecting forest tenure reforms in all the countries SECURING FOREST TENURE RIGHTS FOR RURAL DEVELOPMENT 15 studied. In Argentina, the agri-business sector and projects of the energy sector continue to generates most of the economic growth, and be a challenge for the implementation of forest exerts strong pressure to convert forest land to large tenure reforms. scale agriculture, mainly targeting international markets for soy and other commodities. These Recent developments in Peru illustrate these agricultural investments have resulted in serious dynamics. Here, land management policies threats to the regularization of customary lands have prioritized the expansion of agricultural, to indigenous communities, as lands claimed by mining, and large scale forest concessions. In communities are sometimes allocated to private many cases, forestry, oil and gas, and mining sector concessions. In Colombia and Peru, concessions have been granted in areas where mining and energy policies prioritizing large-scale local communities have customary rights or investments have slowed the pace and limited where forest management plans and permits had the geographical scope of land regularization been previously approved to local communities. policies and programs, particularly for indigenous The government has also recently approved peoples of the Amazon in both countries, and legislation that simplifies procedures for the for Afro-Colombian communities in Colombia. government to grant concessions to investors Land use and territorial planning in El Salvador interested in developing agribusiness projects, have focused on intensive agriculture which, including by weakening social and environmental combined with overpopulation, has resulted in impact requirements.31 highly fragmented land-holdings. This situation seriously limits any potential to promote the A contributing issue in all six countries is the future recognition of indigenous or community historical and current bias towards promoting lands, under a common pool resources regime. agriculture and cattle raising activities, leaving In Honduras, agricultural expansion policies, the sustainable use and conservation of forest particularly in support of the coffee growing as a secondary priority. Agricultural policies sector, have led to the establishment of coffee continue to promote changes in land use from plantations in forests, to the detriment of forests to agricultural or pasture, giving titles to communities seeking to secure their forest tenure individual landowners who can prove that they rights. In both Honduras and Nicaragua, policies are and have been cultivating the land for crops 16 SECURING FOREST TENURE RIGHTS FOR RURAL DEVELOPMENT or other productive activities for several years. consistent and based on a true participation It is also common that Ministries of Agriculture policy. They are also usually characterized by or other agricultural agencies are responsible for disparities in the degree of access to information designing and implementing forestry policies, and representation among the stakeholders and in some cases - such as Honduras and Peru involved, to the disadvantage of indigenous and - even the mandate to regularize land tenure. community groups. Importantly, these groups are It could be speculated that governments have themselves not homogenous in their interests, focused on promoting large scale activities yet the perspectives and concerns of women and with the intention to achieve a larger impact youth tend to be poorly represented. at the level of the national economy, and access international markets. However, these The experience of Colombia offers lessons in economic development efforts must avoid this regard, as the peace process and restitution neglecting and discriminating against the of lands to local communities affected by smaller scale productive activities undertaken armed conflicts has led to more progressive by forest communities, in light of the significant policies and norms that promote inclusiveness contributions of such enterprises to local and participation in decision-making. Many of economies, poverty reduction and equity. these instruments have become important elements in the process of devolution of forest 8. Participation, Consultation and Grievance tenure rights to indigenous and Afro-Colombian Mechanisms are key to a successful communities. In Peru, the new Law on Public implementation of forest tenure reforms. Participation and Consultation of Indigenous and Native Peoples is an important step requiring The priority given to economic development that communities approve initiatives in their over the consolidation of community tenure territories. While effective implementation of reforms in forest areas is further exacerbated such legal frameworks remains a challenge, they by policy gaps or weak implementation of create a foundation for promoting the inclusion rights to consultation, participation, and Free, and participation of indigenous communities Prior, Informed Consent (FPIC) in decision- in decision-making processes regarding making regarding third party investments in investments and development interventions in customary lands. In the case of Nicaragua, their areas, and provide a base of experience for example, the legal framework regulating that can inform this critical dimension of tenure the energy sector requires the formal consent reform initiatives elsewhere. of community authorities and the Regional Autonomous Councils to any mining or oil 9. Secure tenure rights are not yet extraction concession. However, if a community sufficiently taken into account in climate rejects an initiative once, the regulations allow mitigation initiatives to reduce emissions proponents to object to this rejection and from deforestation and degradation. initiate a new request, with the expectation that the concession will be eventually approved. This Recognition and support to the forest tenure negates the real possibility for communities to rights of indigenous peoples and local decline projects in their territories. communities is one of the necessary conditions to achieve success in national initiatives An issue related to weak consultation and to combat deforestation and degradation consent processes is the frequent lack of and reduce carbon emissions from forest effective mechanisms for voicing and responding ecosystems. As highlighted in the introduction, to grievances regarding tenure rights. Official global studies increasingly demonstrate the consultation and grievance management efficacy of community-based tenure and procedures are rare, and when they occur they management for reducing deforestation. From tend to be reactive, rather than predictable, a negative perspective, it is increasingly evident SECURING FOREST TENURE RIGHTS FOR RURAL DEVELOPMENT 17 that without a legal and institutional framework potential impacts of new REDD+ initiatives to regularize forest tenure rights and promote and strategies to address them.33 In addition to a fair distribution of the costs and benefits of the direct importance of secure forest tenure sustainable forest management, deforestation, for sustainable forest management, other degradation, and associated carbon emissions key aspects of REDD+ - such as allocation of will continue to increase. carbon rights and benefit-sharing – hinge on the clarity of tenure arrangements. As countries The six countries included in this study are begin developing legal frameworks for carbon in the process of developing their national rights in the wake of the Paris Agreement, and strategies for the Reduction of carbon Emissions formalizing their Intended National Determined from Deforestation and forest Degradation Contributions (INDC), investments to clarify and (REDD+) under the Forest Carbon Partnership secure underlying forest rights will be needed Facility (FCPF) led by the World Bank in order to avoid disenfranchising communities and to to become eligible for results-based payments establish a sufficient basis for communities for emissions reductions. All six governments to participate in REDD+ activities in their have identified the precarious situation of customary lands. However, a review of the 161 their forest tenure systems as a probable INDCs submitted for COP 21 found that only direct or indirect cause of deforestation and 21 countries, representing 13 percent of the forest degradation. Accordingly, most of the tropical and subtropical forest area, made clear REDD+ strategies under construction are commitments to implement tenure security identifying initial approaches to deal with this for indigenous peoples and local communities problem. Peru and Nicaragua, for example, or Community-based Natural Resources have proposed more concrete measures to Management (CBNRM) objectives in their INDC promote land titling among communities. Peru, submissions. None of the six countries included Honduras, Colombia and Nicaragua have also in this study were among these.34 made progress by identifying priority areas where communities would be supported in The current lack of secure forest rights has securing tenure and improving their capacity to contributed to opposition to REDD+ from manage forests more sustainably. International some indigenous peoples’ organizations, organizations supporting REDD+ initiatives communities, and civil society organizations, are starting to recognize the need to address based on the concern that REDD+ will spark a tenure as a central foundation for the success of re-centralization of control over forests and/or REDD+ activities and for defining who has rights will simply reinforce the status quo. Countries to share in revenues that may be generated like Nicaragua and Peru, for example, were found from emissions reduction payments.32 in the country studies to have conducted their REDD+ process in a centralized way, retaining However, even considering that strategy much of the decision-making authority as well development is ongoing, the impacts of this as funding provided by international donors increasing recognition have been limited in their capital cities. These findings reinforce to date. A recent analysis of progress in the need to promote more decentralized developing REDD+ programs for FCPF found approaches to REDD+, given that REDD+ that most have not yet conducted tenure activities will necessarily take place in forested assessments to inform understanding of the regions far from national capitals. 18 SECURING FOREST TENURE RIGHTS FOR RURAL DEVELOPMENT CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS As highlighted in the findings and lessons above, Recommendations: the substantial steps taken in many countries to recognize indigenous and community forest Give greater political priority and 10. rights urgently require a new phase of energy sustained attention to strengthening and investment to fully realize and secure those forest tenure security for indigenous tenure systems and prevent countervailing peoples and local communities. Much pressures from blocking or rolling back the of the impetus for a first phase of tenure advances achieved. In particular, this analysis reforms has come from bottom up reveals the significant role of weak institutional social movements, often combined with arrangements, overlapping claims, over- support from judicial bodies. Maintaining regulation, inadequate enforcement and other momentum going forward will require land use pressures in impeding the full realization that governments engage proactively to of indigenous and community forest rights. overcome current policy and institutional constraints, and ensure that reforms The current limitations to secure forest tenure are implemented consistently across are not inevitable, and can be addressed through forestlands. This means anticipating the concerted action – and the current global climate needs and issues likely to arise in different crisis presents an important reason to do so. Viable phases of reform, and building long term tenure reforms that clarify and secure access of strategies that can adapt to changes local communities to forest tenure and use of in administrations and new pressures. natural resources will be needed if governments want to significantly reduce deforestation and Increasing recognition of the importance degradation of rural landscapes, maintain vital of secure land rights among multiple ecosystem services, reduce greenhouse gas constituencies offer new possibilities for emissions, and improve resilience of communities political support. These include corporate in their response to increasing climatic variation. actors concerned to green their supply Governments interested in promoting sustainable chains and avoid land-grabbing, REDD+ development and halting ecosystem degradation advocates, human rights activists, and in rural forest landscapes, will need to assess the political movements (such as the Colombia legal and institutional gaps in their forest tenure peace process). For governments, tenure regimes, and identify the measures needed to security needs to be recognized as a priority strengthen the recognition of tenure rights and issue that requires political will, institutional enable communities to effectively access, manage coordination and harmonization of policies, and benefit from their forest resources in a mandates and programs. The international sustainable manner. Specific recommendations, donor community, including the World drawing on this analysis, are as follows. Bank, can support the phasing and SECURING FOREST TENURE RIGHTS FOR RURAL DEVELOPMENT 19 sustained effort needed for tenure reforms, tenure rights. Progress towards effective including through better integration of its institutional arrangements will require taking lending instruments and more consistent a comprehensive look at the institutional advice and dialogue. While achieving tenure roles and capacities needed for tenure, and security in forest lands is a challenging and taking steps to strengthen them. Lessons long term endeavor, it is also a necessary from this analysis include the need to and urgent one. focus tenure recognition mandates in a smaller number of government agencies, Develop clearer and more efficient 11. clarify the division of labor, and ensure mechanisms for resolving overlapping harmonization and coordination across claims that impede titling and protection agencies with complementary roles. It of indigenous and community forest will be important for countries embarking lands. The patterns of overlapping claims on reforms to anticipate the institutional in indigenous and community forest lands capacities that will be needed and make are complex but need to be addressed and provision for these at the outset of their resolved as part of titling processes. Local reform processes. judicial bodies and mechanisms will be particularly important to resolve overlapping Pay particular attention to the 13. claims, and government enforcement opportunities and challenges of capacities will need to be stepped up decentralization for local forest tenure. to prevent or respond to incidents of When done right, decentralization locates encroachment. Indigenous and community government functions and support closer capacities to monitor and patrol their to local constituencies, and enables them territories also require increased support. to be more flexible and responsive to local concerns. To achieve this, decentralization Geospatial tools are advancing very quickly frameworks need to be designed with direct in terms of both social innovation and involvement of affected communities, and technological innovation. This creates new local governments need to be main actors, opportunities, such as provisional mapping not only the subjects of decentralization of indigenous and community lands so their policies and programs that are decided presence can be made visible on national vertically from the center. A key element cadasters. Fusion data bases of all existing to ensuring inclusive decision-making forest management plans, concessions, within a decentralized environment is to mining licenses, and other land uses will recognize that devolvement of authority help identify overlaps that can be put forward must be accompanied with strengthening to all parties for resolution, including public of the local processes that ensure defenders. Geospatial tools can also support “representativity” and effective participation real-time monitoring to help communities by local communities who may otherwise identify encroachment early and strengthen remain marginalized. enforcement systems.  REDD+ is going to require this infrastructure as well.  Create new models for community 14. forestry that empower communities 12. Prioritize institutional strengthening for and avoid counterproductive barriers to recognition, support and enforcement of their forest management. Simpler and indigenous and community forest rights. more flexible legal frameworks are needed Weak government institutional capacities to regulate community forestry and other with unclear or overlapping mandates are extractive activities such as artisanal mining. a major constraint to the implementation These systems should be appropriate and protection of community forest and responsive to local conditions, and 20 SECURING FOREST TENURE RIGHTS FOR RURAL DEVELOPMENT avoid requirements for costly outside While pressures on land from agribusiness technical support to the extent possible. and extractive industry sectors will Systems should aim to establish the continue, they should be better controlled minimum requirements needed for and channeled by governments in ways environmental and social safeguards, that reduce their social and environmental while also supporting development of impacts. Such efforts should be supported community forestry capacities and markets. by complementary actions to secure community tenure rights and support Where they exist, traditional forest their abilities to negotiate (or reject) governance and management systems the terms of any outside investments, should provide the point of departure for with due consideration to investments more appropriate and locally-responsive in local production systems. The World forest regulation systems. Experience Bank and other donors can support the with a “best management practices” implementation and testing of innovative (BMP) approach indicates that a great approaches through their lending, and also deal can be accomplished by moving support learning and exchange on good from highly prescriptive regulatory practices. approaches to simplified “community friendly” approaches. BMPs are simplified 16. Ensure that all rural development and norms that respond to the most relevant REDD+ investments take account of environmental and social risks in a particular customary forest rights and include forest operation, and tailor implementation well-functioning procedures to and enforcement measures to local guarantee FPIC. Currently, the safeguard conditions and capacities. Experiences in frameworks and processes in place for many countries show that BMP systems rural investments do not provide sufficient yield much better results and compliance security to customary rights, and are than traditional top-down regulations. mostly centered in statutory right systems. Where outside investments do occur in 15. Adjust the balance in rural development indigenous territories or community lands, priorities to avoid discriminating against well-functioning procedures to guarantee community-based production activities. Free Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) Current rural development policies are need to be in place. This means that any strongly biased towards large-scale decisions that involve the use of natural commercial actors with limited recognition resources in areas under statutory or and support to communities and their customary land rights are planned and local production systems. Large-scale implemented with the FPIC of the affected commercial developments are negatively communities. Meeting FPIC principles impacting local rights and livelihoods, should also be considered a sine qua non forest ecosystems/services, and the in REDD+ initiatives supported by the environment/conservation of biodiversity. A international community. As mechanisms bottom up approach to rural development to secure FPIC are established, experience needs to start with a committed shift with their practical implementation should to right the balance of political priorities be assessed and shared, to improve their to favor local communities, and a clear functioning over time, and to inform related understanding of the dimensions and efforts in other places. The World Bank and complexity of the tenure situation. other donors can support such processes SECURING FOREST TENURE RIGHTS FOR RURAL DEVELOPMENT 21 of learning and exchange, including to to secure tenure rights in these areas, inform the implementation of the Bank’s and joining in national discussions and own ESF provisions on FPIC. processes to advance tenure reforms. More secure indigenous and community 17. Increase financing and technical support forest tenure will contribute to the success to tenure clarity and security as part of of REDD+ initiatives, while related issues REDD+ initiatives. At a time when the such as the ownership of carbon and studied countries have made progress in benefit sharing need to be addressed decentralizing land administration in favor of through careful involvement of indigenous indigenous peoples and local communities, peoples and local communities. The World governments need to demonstrate that Bank and other donors working on land REDD+ can contribute to this process and rights can do more to promote and support promote the consolidation of their rights. these kinds of investments, to the benefit Governments must avoid implementing of communities and climate mitigation. REDD+ initiatives in a centralized manner, controlled by national level agencies, in Overall, investments in knowledge and learning ways that risk rolling back important tenure will continue to be important for tenure reform reforms that have been achieved with so efforts going forward. Experiences and lessons much effort. International agencies, both such as the ones identified here can help policy- bilateral and multilateral, have a critical role and decision-makers progress beyond the initial to play in encouraging national governments phases of tenure reforms and build supportive and forest/environmental agencies in institutional capacities, regulations, and this regard, drawing on international procedures. Building and sharing knowledge is frameworks and comparative experience. also important to inform the efforts of people anticipating or struggling to resolve similar While REDD+ may not be sufficient either challenges in other countries. These efforts as a political impetus or as a source of can be further supported by tools that enable investments to advance forest tenure on national actors to assess their own situations and its own, REDD+ initiatives can contribute identify where improvements are needed. While by conducting research and analysis to increasing tenure security remains a significant understand the status of forest tenure in global challenge, the way forward is to learn by priority forest areas, investing in titling, doing, through innovation and adaptation based conflict resolution or other measures on experience. 22 SECURING FOREST TENURE RIGHTS FOR RURAL DEVELOPMENT ENDNOTES 1 Sunderlin et al 2008; Food and Agriculture 20 Use limited for subsistence purposes only; no Organization 2002, Deininger 2003, Department commercial extraction of timber or non-timber for International Development 2007, Swedish forest products is permitted. International Development Cooperation Agency 21 Land can be leased and use as collateral; 2007. but sold only when support from community 2 Giovarelli, Renee, Beatrice Wamalwa and Leslie members is above 65% (in the Amazon and Hannay 2013. Land Tenure, Property Rights Andean regions) and 50% (Pacific coast region). and Gender: Challenges and Approaches for 22 RRI 2014. As noted by RRI, alienation is not Strengthening Women’s Land Tenure and included in the bundle of rights required for Property Rights. Washington, DC: US Agency for tenure security, as the alienation of customary International Development. lands has often led to harmful consequences for 3 Stevens, Caleb, Robert Winterbottom, Jenny communities (see RRI 2014, Annex 1). Springer, Katie Reytar 2014. Securing Rights, 23 Rights and Resources Initiative. 2014. What Combatting Climate Change. Washington, DC: Future for Reform? Progress and slowdown in World Resources Institute. forest tenure reform since 2002. Washington, 4 Nelson and Chomitz (2011) DC: RRI. Available at http://rightsandresources. 5 Other studies have demonstrated that org/en/publication/what-future-for-reform. deforestation rates in communally owned 24 National Forestry Institute of Nicaragua, 2009. forestlands in Mayan forests in Mesoamerica National Forestry Inventory 2007-2008, and indigenous territories in Brazil are as low as 25 Rights and Resources Initiative. 2014. What in public-protected areas (for example, see Bray Future for Reform? Progress and slowdown in 2007, Ricketts, et al 2010, Nepstad, et al. 2006) forest tenure reform since 2002. Washington, 6 FAO 2012. Voluntary Guidelines on the DC: RRI. Available at http://rightsandresources. Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land org/en/publication/what-future-for-reform. Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National 26 Instituto del Bien Común. Food Security. 27 Instituto Del Bien Comun (Ibc). 2016. Tierras 7 UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Comunales: Mas Que Preservar El Pasado Peoples. Adopted September 2007 by the UN Es Asegurar El Futuro. El Estado De Las General Assembly. Comuniades Indígenas Del Peru. Informe 2016. 8 RRI 2014. What Future for Reform? Progress and 28 Pineda, B. L. 2006. Shipwrecked Identities. slowdown in forest tenure reform since 2002. Navigating Race on Nicaragua’s Mosquito Washington, DC: Rights and Resources Initiative. Coast. Rutgers University Press. 287 pp. 9 FAO 2011. State of the World’s Forests. Food and Molett, Sharlene. 2011. Contested Autonomy: Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Globalization and Miskito Customary Property Rome. Rights ion the Río Plátano Biosphere Reserve. In: 10 World Bank Group. 2016. The Little Green Data Property, Territory, Globalization. Struggles over Book. World Bank Indicators. Autonomy. (Ed. By W. D. Coleman). Pp. 101- 11 Comisión Hondureña de Desarrollo Forestal 121. (COHDEFOR), previously also known as 29 In Spanish, this is often referred to as Administración Forestal del Estado (AFE). saneamiento, or the process of legally resolving 12 RRI 2014. boundary conflicts.. 13 Management plan required for commercial 30 While there are no community tenure regimes in forestry El Salvador, communities are allowed to access 14 Management plan required for commercial public forest lands to extract forest products for forestry subsistence. 15 Management plan required for commercial 31 El Peruano. Normas Legales. 2014. Ley que forestry Establece Medidas Tributarias, Simplificación de 16 Management plan required for commercial Procedimientos y Permisos para la Promoción y forestry. Dinamización de la Inversión en el País. 17 Compensation only through government 32 For example, the 2016-2020 UN-REDD subsidies (e.g. bonds). Programme Strategy adopts Tenure and REDD+ 18 Lands not owned but controlled by Indigenous as a cross-cutting theme. communities. 33 RRI ERPIN study 19 Tenure regime used for indigenous communities 34 RRI 2016. living in isolation or limited contact with non- indigenous groups. SECURING FOREST TENURE RIGHTS FOR RURAL DEVELOPMENT 23 Secure land tenure in rural landscapes is widely recognized as an essential foundation for achieving a range of economic development goals. However, forest areas in low and middle-income countries face particular challenges in strengthening the security of land and resource tenure. Forest peoples are often among the poorest and most politically marginalized communities in their national contexts, and their tenure systems are often based on customary, collective rights that have insufficient formal legal protection. This study on Securing Forest Tenure Rights for Rural Development aims to contribute to efforts worldwide to reduce poverty and strengthen sustainable management in forest areas. It does so by reviewing the progress of tenure reforms in six countries in Latin America, and drawing lessons to help advance the realization of these reforms and inform similar initiatives in other countries. The target audience of this work includes policy-makers who have responsibility for forests, climate change, land tenure, agricultural development and poverty reduction programs in rural areas, as well as for civil society organizations and international partners working on land tenure and natural resource governance. The study also aims to assist and inform the work of World Bank programs in rural development, environment and natural resources, agriculture, social development, climate change, and carbon finance, by increasing attention and support to indigenous and community forest tenure as it relates to these areas of work.