Principle D Image
Safeguard D
Principle D. REDD+ Policies and Measures in Myanmar must be designed and implemented with the full and effective participation of relevant stakeholders, in particular indigenous peoples and local communities. All groups who may be affected by the Policies and Measures should be considered relevant stakeholders
Criterion D1. The participation of stakeholders in planning and implementation of Policies and Measures should be actively sought, and stakeholder groups with low capacity to participate (such as women, poor people, small ethnic groups, groups without documented land rights) should be supported through appropriate arrangements (e.g. capacity-building, choice of suitable communication formats, taking into account language requirements and traditions).
Definition of relevant stakeholders:
- Although the legal framework does not identify “relevant stakeholders” in the context of REDD+, or which stakeholders should be considered as having ‘low capacity to participate’, a stakeholder mapping for REDD+ was conducted at the national level as part of the development of the National REDD+ Strategy.
- According to the Guidelines for Stakeholder Engagement in Policies and Programmes for Sustainable Forest Management and REDD+, developed with support from the UN-REDD Myanmar Programme in 2016, relevant stakeholders are “those groups that have a stake/interest/right in the forest and those that will be affected either negatively or positively by REDD+ activities”, such as : Government agencies (such as Forest Department, MONREC, MOALI and MOPF); formal and informal forest users; private sector entities; indigenous peoples and other forest dependent communities. Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) will also be engaged.
- At the national level, a number of cross-sector coordination mechanisms or platforms exist that help to facilitate participation or engagement in REDD+ planning processes (see Criterion A1 for details). A REDD+ Stakeholder Network has also been established, with 62 members. More information on channels for communication also is provided under Criterion B1.
- At the subnational level, there are a number of existing and planned structures and platforms that facilitate stakeholder engagement in the forest and land sectors, such as: planned Land Use Committees at State/Region, district, township and village tract levels, which should include farmers’ representatives, representatives from all local ethnic nationalities and relevant experts., and will conduct public consultation on proposed land use maps; Township Planning and Implementation Committees / Township Management Committees; and processes relevant to engagement with ethnic groups and EAOs, e.g. interim arrangements set out by the National Ceasefire Agreement.
- A number of policies, laws and regulations also refer to stakeholder processes, such as: the National Land Use Policy (2016) specifies that the preparation, revision and updating of land use plans and maps “shall be carried out using an inclusive participatory approach and in consultation with local stakeholders, including men and women”; the Ethnic Rights Protection Law (2015) also states that the ethnic groups are entitled to participate as ‘representatives in legislation’ of the relevant Region or State and Self-Administered Area; and the EIA Procedure (2015) requires project proponents to arrange for appropriate public consultation throughout all phases of the EIA process (Guidelines for Public Participation in Myanmar’s EIA Process were drafted in 2017 but are not yet approved).
- The Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) Guidelines developed by the Myanmar UN-REDD Programme also require stakeholder participation in the planning of REDD+ PaMs (see also Criterion B1).
- During 2017-2020, 43 consultation workshops have been held as part of the National REDD+ Strategy development process, at national and sub-national levels, involving 621 female and 1534 male participants (2155 in total). Around 270 comments on the Strategy text were received through the final validation workshop for the Strategy and an online comment period in 2019.
- Awareness-raising materials about REDD+ have been produced in 10 languages (Chin, Kachin, Karen, Kayah, Kokang, Mon, Pa Oh, Wa, Shan and Palaung), as well as Myanmar language, and shared during workshops and through ethnic group representatives.
- In the Readiness Phase, the Myanmar UN-REDD Programme has established communications about the REDD+ process with 10 EAOs and with associated ethnic group organizations.
Public participation in decision-making on land use and related areas is a relatively new concept; the capacity of those who are tasked with conducting consultations also needs to be strengthened. The implementation of the EIA Procedure is not yet comprehensive, and there is a lack of detail on consultations for vulnerable stakeholder groups. Capacity-building and logistical support is needed especially for vulnerable and marginalized stakeholder groups, including women, and their needs may need to be specifically considered in the design of mechanisms for participation in REDD+. The multiple committees and planning processes for land use and forest management at subnational level may complicate coordinating stakeholder participation in planning and implementing REDD+ PaMs.
- The main recommendation to address these challenges is to ensure that detailed guidance for REDD+ implementing agencies sets out legal requirements related to stakeholder participation, as well as best practice for REDD+ (e.g. for FPIC processes, equitable provision of opportunities to participate, and building the capacity of vulnerable/marginalized stakeholder groups, particularly women).
| Respect | D1.1. Number of persons involved in identified participation processes/mechanisms (disaggregated by gender, ethnic group, tenure status) |
| D1.2. Percentage of PaMs that plan and/or have carried out capacity-building activities to support participation of stakeholders in PaM planning and/or implementation | |
| D1.3 Number of participant days of capacity-building events, disaggregated by recipient group (gender, ethnic group, tenure status) | |
| D1.4 Average satisfaction ratings of training recipients, disaggregated by recipient group |
Criterion D2. Where direct participation of stakeholders in the planning of a Policy or Measure is not feasible (e.g. due to the large area over which the PaM is to be implemented), the equal and proportionate participation of stakeholder representatives with relevant knowledge and skills and appropriate legitimation by their group should be sought, and the duties of representatives towards their stakeholder group should be defined. Stakeholder representatives should be made well aware of their roles and responsibilities. They should share information with their stakeholder group and get feedback from them.
- While direct participation of local stakeholders may be possible for site-level REDD+ interventions, discussions at the national and state/region level typically need to involve representatives, which should be selected through an appropriate mechanism. There are few existing processes or provisions that could be used to determine how representatives of indigenous peoples and local communities should be selected to ensure that they can legitimately speak on behalf of their stakeholder group, and how they should remain accountable to their group.In the case of the national peace process, EAOs use their own processes to select representatives to be involved.
- In the context of REDD+, the National REDD+ Taskforce and the three Technical Working Groups were formed to support decision-making, with Terms of Reference (TOR) that detail the roles and responsibilities of group members, including: to report back to their line ministries, organizations or constituencies; to communicate effectively with their line ministries, organizations or constituencies; and to review documents and presentations and provide comments and inputs.
- The Guidelines for Stakeholder Engagement in Policies and Programmes for Sustainable Forest Management and REDD+ also includes information on considerations for identifying stakeholders, sample rights and duties of stakeholders in engagement processes, and communications guidance.
Information related to the implementation of REDD+ PaMs and this criterion is not yet available.
There is currently a lack of agreed, formal processes in Myanmar for the selection of stakeholder representatives, as well as of established good practice for measures to ensure their legitimacy and accountability.
Recommendations to address this challenge include:- Comprehensive identification of relevant stakeholders for REDD+ planning, implementation and monitoring is required to ensure inclusive representation and participation. Stakeholders or stakeholder groups should have the option to ‘self-identify’.
- A documented process/guidance to encourage the transparent selection of stakeholder representatives by the groups themselves should be developed for future consultations or engagement in REDD+ planning/implementation. Terms of reference for stakeholder representatives should include responsibilities for effective communication with their constituencies.
- The Grievance Redress Mechanism (GRM) also offers a channel for stakeholders to provide feedback on their representatives and the selection process.
| Respect | D2.1. Percentage of PaM planning processes involving stakeholder representatives for which there is documentation to show that guidance on selection and briefing of representatives was followed |
| D2.2. Percentage of PaM planning processes involving stakeholder representatives for which there is documentation to show that two-way communication between representatives and their stakeholder groups has taken place | |
| D2.3 Number of received and number of resolved grievances relating to the selection and performance of stakeholder representatives |
Criterion D3. Where stakeholders, in particular members of local communities, can play a meaningful role in the implementation and/or monitoring of Policies and Measures (taking into account the nature of the Policies and Measures), they must be offered the opportunity to participate (this may entail a need for capacity-building and establishment of supportive mechanism, networks, etc., taking into account language requirements and traditions).
Myanmar’s legal framework supports participation in the forest and land sector. For example, the National Land Use Policy (2016) states that land-related laws should be amended so that persons affected by land acquisition receive the right to invest in the respective project. The Protection of Biodiversity and Protected Areas Law (2018) allows for co-management of protected areas between protected area authorities and local communities, and the definition of buffer zones to allow certain development activities. The Community Forestry Instructions (2019) set out substantial participation opportunities and responsibilities for communities, and outline the responsibilities of Community Forest User Groups (CFUGs), as well as the support available from the Forest Department. The Law of Protection of the Farmer Rights and Enhancement of their Benefits (2013) aims to support farmers through appropriate access to finance, technology, market and information access, rights to small plots, and recovery from natural disasters.
- Local stakeholders are involved in the National Forest Inventory (NFI) and forest monitoring, such as in pre-assessment, assessment and post-assessment consultations and in data collection, with emphasis in areas where conflicts between the central government and ethnic communities are still prevalent.
- A number of the proposed REDD+ Policies and Measures (PaMs) include participatory approaches in their design, and will involve the participation of stakeholders in their planning and implementation, including those on protected area management planning, and farmers’ and forest users’ associations community monitoring.
- Please see Criterion B4 for more information on capacity building for stakeholders.
- Information related to the implementation of REDD+ PaMs and this criterion is not yet available.
The legal framework and REDD+ specific processes do not currently specifically focus on ensuring opportunities for stakeholders, particularly indigenous peoples and local communities, to participate in actual implementation and monitoring of PaMs. To address this challenge:
- Guidelines for stakeholder involvement (see Criterion D1) and safeguards should address participation in all stages of PaMs development and implementation, including the implementation of on-the-ground activities and monitoring/evaluation. The guidelines should also encourage the identification and enhancement of opportunities for women and other vulnerable groups to participate.
| Address | D3.1 Number of PaMs (out of the total) that are designed to allow stakeholders to take on an active role in their implementation and/or monitoring |
| Respect | D3.2 Percentage of REDD+ interventions with potential for active stakeholder involvement in which such involvement has taken place in practice and has been documented |
| D3.3 Number of persons involved in PaMs implementation and/or monitoring (disaggregated by role taken, gender, ethnic group, tenure status) | |
| D3.4 Ratio between number of individuals who have received capacity-building to participate in PaMs and number of individuals who have become involved in implementation and/or monitoring | |
| D3.5 Number of received and number of resolved grievances relating to participation in PaMs planning and implementation |
