Decolonizing Environmentalism

Indigenous and NGO Groups Warn that REDD and other carbon market mechanisms will exacerbate the climate crisis.

*** Download report: http://bit.ly/hmNq0p - Available both in English and Spanish

New publication exposes links between REDD and carbon trading, International Financial Institutions, extractive industries, GMO trees and biotech.

Cancún, Mexico, December 6 2010 - Indigenous Peoples, grassroots groups and environmental organizations warn that the UN forest protection scheme being negotiated in Cancún amid the UN 16th Conference of the Parties may severely undermine climate mitigation policies and exacerbate environmental and social problems. No REDD, a Reader, includes groundbreaking research exposing links between REDD and carbon trading, International Financial Institutions, extractive industries, GMO trees and biotech. Moreover, original case study research explores problems with the Socio Bosque Programme in Ecuador, the threat to Indigenous Peoples in voluntary isolation in Perú, corruption and coercion in the REDD scheme in Papua New Guinea and the real face of "community participation" in Indonesia, among others. The publication highlights how REDD is being pushed by powerful interests to allow continued pollution and increase profits to a series of industries while damaging the rights of Indigenous Peoples and forest-dependant communities and thus, the forests and ecosystems themselves.

"No REDD - A Reader is a must read for all who seek to know the truth about this mercantilist tool. It is also highly recommended for those who believe that policies to fight the current climate chaos must see the people and Mother Earth and not merely see trees as commodities for cash and carbon speculation," Nnimmo Bassey, Chair of Friends of the Earth International and Executive Director of Environmental Rights Action in Nigeria.

"We already know that offset schemes like REDD won't protect forests or the rights of Indigenous peoples. If we are going to save the climate, we need to focus on real solutions that assure that forests will be left standing and people's rights are respected," stated Tom Goldtooth of the Indigenous Environmental Network.

No REDD, a Reader exposes the question as how Indigenous and forest-dependent Peoples are being cheated in the name of conservation and development. Looking from the vantage point of communities living where REDD projects are taking place, the articles dive into the layers of contradictions inherent in REDD and its power-base.

Joanna Cabello from Carbon Trade Watch states, "The Ministry of Environment in Peru plans to implement REDD+ on 54 million hectares of the Peruvian Amazon, which would open the doors of more than half of forested territory to the carbon markets." Chris Lang from REDD Monitor affirmed, "What we do know is that carbon trading in PNG [Papua New Guinea] is a mess. It's doing nothing to stop the logging of PNG's forests. And local people are at the back of a very long queue when it comes to benefiting from REDD."

The groundbreaking new publication, No REDD, A Reader depicts why REDD is flawed, bankrolled by big polluters, intrinsically linked to the carbon market and may result in the largest land grab of all time. This publication is being launched at the Cancún climate summit where a package of market-based forest protections measures called "Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation" (REDD) is being pushed as a key outcome, highlighting critical perspectives that are frequently silenced within debates. 

Please contact for interviews:

Tom Goldtooth, Indigenous Environmental Network: +52.998.108.0751

Anne Petermann, Global Justice Ecology Project: +52.998.167.8131

Ana Filippini, World Rainforest Movement: +59.898.407.572

Silvia Ribera, ETC Group: +52.552.653.3330

Tamra Gilbertson, Carbon Trade Watch: +34 625 498 083

Joanna Cabello, Carbon Trade Watch: +31681289805