EL ACUERDO CALIFORNIA - ACRE - CHIAPAS

This report by Friends of the Earth International critiques the 2010 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between California, Acre, and Chiapas to create a REDD+ carbon credit system. The document argues that such mechanisms prioritize market logic over structural climate causes, leading to land dispossession, human rights violations, and the marginalization of indigenous and traditional communities in Brazil and Mexico.

• The 2010 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between California, Acre, and Chiapas aimed to establish a REDD+ carbon credit system to fund forest conservation in Acre and Chiapas while allowing California to offset its own emissions.
• California's climate policy, specifically Assembly Bill 32 (AB 32), utilizes a cap-and-trade system to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020, though the inclusion of international REDD+ offsets faced resistance from the local agricultural sector and indigenous leaders.
• In Acre, the System of Incentives for Environmental Services (SISA) and its ISA-Carbono program are criticized for methodological flaws, such as using historical baselines that allowed the government to receive payments for emission reductions that occurred before contracts were signed.
• REDD+ projects in Acre have been linked to severe social impacts, including the falsification of contracts, threats against farmers, and the division of indigenous communities, as seen in the Surui Forest Carbon Project where leaders sought to suspend the project in 2015.
• In Chiapas, REDD+ and Payment for Environmental Services (PSA) initiatives are reported to have caused land expropriation, the criminalization of traditional subsistence activities, and the rise of an elite class of landowners who capture the funds.
• The report highlights a contradiction in Chiapas where the state government paid MXN $50 million (US$ 2.6 million) for REDD initiatives in 2011 despite having a public account deficit of MXN $20 million (US$ 1 million).
• The document argues that 'safeguards' in REDD+ programs are merely discursive tools used by governments and companies to neutralize criticism and secure funding, rather than effective protections for indigenous rights.
• The report concludes that the commodification of nature through carbon markets transforms indigenous peoples and traditional communities into 'service providers,' eroding their autonomy and traditional ways of life.

APA

Furtado, F. (2017). EL ACUERDO CALIFORNIA - ACRE - CHIAPAS. Friends of the Earth International. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/REDD-El-acuerdo-California-Acre-Chiapas.pdf

Chicago

Furtado, Fabrina. EL ACUERDO CALIFORNIA - ACRE - CHIAPAS. Friends of the Earth International, 2017. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/REDD-El-acuerdo-California-Acre-Chiapas.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Furtado |first1=Fabrina |title=EL ACUERDO CALIFORNIA - ACRE - CHIAPAS |publisher=Friends of the Earth International |date=June 2017 |url=https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/REDD-El-acuerdo-California-Acre-Chiapas.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{furtado2017acuerdo, author = {Furtado, Fabrina}, title = {{EL ACUERDO CALIFORNIA - ACRE - CHIAPAS}}, institution = {Friends of the Earth International}, year = {2017}, month = jun, url = {https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/REDD-El-acuerdo-California-Acre-Chiapas.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }