The UN-REDD Programme is seeking nominations for four representatives from Civil Society Organisations to serve on its Policy Board. It is important that the UN-REDD adopts meaningful environmental and social safeguards as well as upholding the rights of Indigenous Peoples and local communities.
And unless NGOs, Indigenous Peoples and other civil society organisations push for this it is unlikely to happen.
For those who can survive this sort of potential policy black hole, further information is available on the UN-REDD website.
Civil Society Organizations are invited to submit nominations for representatives to serve on the UN-REDD Programme Policy Board. The call for nominations closes on 11 September 2009. Voting for CSO nominees will take place from 14 – 28 September 2009. For more information and to access nomination and voting instructions, click here.
Call for Nominations for CSO Represenatives to the UN-REDD Programme is now open!
The UN-REDD Programme recognizes that the success of REDD initiatives depends on the engagement and ownership of all stakeholders in forest landscapes, including indigenous peoples and other forest-dwelling communities, as well as local, national, regional, and international organizations that comprise civil society. Thus, it is a matter of priority to ensure that representatives of civil society are supported to engage in REDD initiatives in order to provide essential expertise and ensure transparency and accountability in all program activities.
The Rights and Resources Group, secretariat of the Rights and Resources Initiative, is conducting the self-selection process at the invitation of the UN-REDD Programme, after consultations with other organizations involved in the UN-REDD Programme.
The UN-REDD Programme is seeking nominations for four Civil Society Organization (CSO) representatives to serve on its Policy Board – one representative of a northern CSO and one representative of a CSO that operates in each of the three UN-REDD Programme regions (Africa, Asia & Pacific, Latin America & the Caribbean). The self-selection of CSO representatives to the Policy Board is being facilitated by the Rights and Resources Group, Secretariat of the Rights and Resources Initiative, at the invitation of the UN-REDD Programme.
As set out in the UN-REDD Programme Policy Board Rules of Procedure and Operational Guidance, one full member seat is reserved for a representative of Civil Society, as identified via a self-selection process. To support the full member, there are three observer seats for civil society. Full member status will rotate among the group of CSO representatives at least once per year. The civil society representatives identified via the self selection process will determine among themselves who shall serve first as the full member.
The Civil Society representatives to the Policy Board are expected to:
- Attend and participate in UN-REDD Programme Policy Board meetings, which will be held at least twice a year, beginning with the next meeting at the end of October 2009.
- Provide input on meeting agendas and share and disseminate information among their networks, organizations, and constituencies on the UN-REDD Programme meetings and processes.
- In the interim between meetings, solicit issues and concerns to be raised at the meetings on behalf of civil society organizations and their constituencies.
- Work together with the other CSO representatives to advise the full member, strategize and decide on interventions, recommend agenda items to be presented at Policy Board meetings and work with Indigenous Peoples representatives and observers to strategize on potentially overlapping issues.
Nominations are sought from candidate organizations meeting the following criteria:
- Knowledge of the relevant issues of climate change and forests.
- Familiarity with REDD processes.
- Demonstrated ability and willingness to represent the views of a range of civil society organizations from the appropriate region.
- Proven capacity to disseminate information gained from the Policy Board meetings back to their respective constituencies, organizations, and networks.
- Fluency in at least one of the three working languages of the UN-REDD Programme: English, Spanish and French. (Policy Board meetings are conducted in English, with simultaneous translation provided for Spanish and French speakers.)
- Registered as a non-profit organization in the country in which they are active.
- Self-nominations are accepted.
Nominations are accepted until 11 September 2009. Please download the nomination form here.
Voting for the nominees will commence on 14 September and close on 28 September 2009. Instructions on submitting a ballot will be distributed when voting commences. Nominations will be publicly available for review through this site.