INTEGRITY PRINCIPLES FOR BENEFIT SHARING IN FOREST NBS FOR CLIMATE MITIGATION

The document outlines a framework of 12 principles to ensure that nature-based solutions (NbS) provide fair, accountable, rights-based, and effective benefits to local stakeholders. It emphasizes the need to prevent 'elite capture' and corruption by requiring deep stakeholder participation, transparency, and the protection of Indigenous Peoples' rights, including free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC). The framework argues that for NbS to be sustainable, the net socioeconomic benefits must be positive for those affected, accounting for all costs and trade-offs.

• To ensure fairness, BSMs must be designed with 'deep' participation, meaning stakeholders have significant power over design and implementation, rather than 'tokenistic' or 'box-checking' involvement.
• Broad representation is necessary to reduce the risk of 'elite capture,' which is defined as corrupt decision-making by powerful interests to divert benefits to themselves instead of the general population.
• Equitable benefit sharing is defined by the process rather than a specific outcome; it is considered equitable if stakeholders are represented in deciding the criteria, size, timing, and type of benefits.
• Accountability requires that all BSM elements—including financial accounting, decision processes, and cost calculations—be transparent and understandable to all stakeholders to prevent fraud and distrust.
• Every NbS must include a resourced and effective grievance redress mechanism (GRM) to resolve disputes and address harms, particularly in contexts with high potential for conflict.
• A human rights-based approach to NbS requires actively supporting the recognition and enhancement of tenure rights for Indigenous Peoples (IPs) and local communities (LCs), especially where official systems are unfair or lack integrity.
• Indigenous Peoples have a fundamental right to free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC), which must be a non-coercive process occurring before major activities begin and allowing for a true ability to say no.
• For an NbS to be effective, it must deliver a net positive socioeconomic benefit at the local level, meaning benefits must outweigh all biophysical, temporal, and scale-related trade-offs and opportunity costs.
• Compensation should be tailored to the context, balancing monetary payments—which offer autonomy but risk corruption—with non-monetary benefits, such as infrastructure or tenure security, which can provide longer-term sustainability.
• BSMs should seek 'additionality,' ensuring that benefits provided are above what stakeholders would have received without the intervention and that they activate positive feedback loops for both people and nature.
• Adaptive management is essential because ecosystem complexity and changing external factors—such as fluctuating carbon prices or agricultural costs—can alter the real value of benefits and the opportunity costs of land use.

APA

Whitt, J. P. (2022). INTEGRITY PRINCIPLES FOR BENEFIT SHARING IN FOREST NBS FOR CLIMATE MITIGATION. WWF International. https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/110/3bi10yzks5_NbS_Integrity_Principles_Guide.pdf

Chicago

Whitt, J. Preston. INTEGRITY PRINCIPLES FOR BENEFIT SHARING IN FOREST NBS FOR CLIMATE MITIGATION. WWF International, 2022. https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/110/3bi10yzks5_NbS_Integrity_Principles_Guide.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Whitt |first1=J. Preston |title=INTEGRITY PRINCIPLES FOR BENEFIT SHARING IN FOREST NBS FOR CLIMATE MITIGATION |publisher=WWF International |date=November 2022 |url=https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/110/3bi10yzks5_NbS_Integrity_Principles_Guide.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{whitt2022integrity, author = {Whitt, J. Preston}, title = {{INTEGRITY PRINCIPLES FOR BENEFIT SHARING IN FOREST NBS FOR CLIMATE MITIGATION}}, institution = {WWF International}, year = {2022}, month = nov, url = {https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/110/3bi10yzks5_NbS_Integrity_Principles_Guide.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }