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The document maps the extensive legal landscape of international 'hard' and 'soft' law relevant to conservation, identifying over 30 categories of rights. It highlights a normative trend toward increasing recognition of Indigenous and local community rights within the CBD and IUCN frameworks, arguing that these standards must be distilled into accessible guides to prevent human rights violations, such as forced evictions, during the establishment of protected areas.

A coalition of organizations requests UN intervention regarding the Santa Rita hydroelectric project in Guatemala, alleging severe human rights abuses, including extrajudicial killings and state-sponsored violence, and criticizing the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) for registering the project despite a lack of genuine indigenous consultation.

The paper examines the legal obligations of conservation actors regarding the rights of indigenous peoples, tribal peoples, and local communities. It argues that while states are the primary duty-bearers, international organizations, corporations, and NGOs also have responsibilities to respect human rights based on international customary law and 'social licenses'. The text specifically links these obligations to the implementation of Aichi Target 11 for biodiversity.

The indigenous Jogbahn clan in Liberia successfully forced the UK-based company Equatorial Palm Oil (EPO) to retreat from their land following advocacy by the Sustainable Development Institute (SDI) and Friends of the Earth Liberia. In a March 5 meeting, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf committed the Liberian government to protecting over 20,000 hectares of community land from further encroachment. This is significant as over 50% of Liberia's land (5.02 million hectares) has been leased to corporations. The conflict escalated between 2012 and 2013 when EPO cleared community farmland and conducted forced land surveys, leading to reports of intimidation and violence by company security and the Liberia National Police's Police Support Unit (PSU). In response, the communities filed a complaint with the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) on September 18, 2013, demanding an end to land surveys and expansion onto customary land.

The document explains the various safeguard frameworks governing REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation), specifically those from the UNFCCC, UN-REDD, REDD+ SES, and the World Bank's FCPF. It highlights the risks of displacement and loss of land rights, the importance of Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC), and the challenges of translating international guidelines into binding national policies. It provides practical guidance for communities to engage in national safeguard development and advocate for their rights.

The document provides an educational overview of REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation), detailing its three-phase implementation process and the technical challenges of establishing reference levels for carbon emissions. It contrasts market-based financing (carbon credits) with fund-based approaches, highlighting concerns that carbon offsets may allow developed nations to avoid reducing their own emissions. The guide emphasizes significant risks to indigenous communities, including forced eviction due to land tenure insecurity and the potential for corruption in fund distribution. It evaluates the safeguards of the UN-REDD and World Bank programs, noting that while UN-REDD has stronger theoretical protections, practical implementation remains a concern, as evidenced by a case study in Vietnam where free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) was found to be deficient.

The document argues that the GCF's proposed safeguards are insufficiently detailed and overly reliant on the IFC Performance Standards, which the authors claim do not represent international best practice. It advocates for a differentiated accreditation system based on project risk levels, the adoption of a mandatory 'do no harm' principle, and the creation of an 'exclusion list' for high-risk activities such as fossil fuel extraction. The submission emphasizes that environmental, social, and gender safeguards must be developed with the same rigor and independent oversight as fiduciary standards, specifically calling for mandatory requirements on land tenure, indigenous peoples' free, prior and informed consent, and gender-responsive stakeholder engagement.

The report analyzes the systemic power imbalances in compensation processes for extractive industries, where benefits often accrue at the state level while costs are borne by local communities. It evaluates several mechanisms for improving outcomes: Community Development Agreements (CDAs) in mining, strategic human rights litigation, and Biocultural Community Protocols. A specific case study of the Chad-Cameroon Oil & Pipeline Project illustrates the failures of individual-based monetary compensation and argues for a paradigm shift toward livelihood restoration and 'land for land' replacement.

The document details the human rights violations resulting from the Barro Blanco hydroelectric dam project in Panama, specifically the forced eviction of indigenous Ngöbe communities. It argues that the State of Panama, as well as Germany, the Netherlands, and member states of the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI), have failed in their obligations to protect the Ngöbe's rights to housing, food, water, culture, and education. The appeal highlights a lack of free, prior, and informed consent and calls for an immediate halt to evictions and project funding.

The report outlines a methodology for creating biocultural community protocols—documents that record a community's customary laws, governance, and visions—to help them negotiate with extractive industries. It provides action research questions, guidance for facilitators, and tools for community mobilisation and external engagement, while highlighting the legal and structural challenges faced by communities in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

The document details how Sime Darby's palm oil operations in Liberia violate national laws and international human rights, specifically regarding land grabs and the lack of free, prior and informed consent (FPIC). It highlights environmental risks to the Upper Guinean Forest Ecosystem and lists European banks and pension funds providing financial support to the company.

The Living Convention is a compendium of internationally recognised rights for Indigenous peoples and local communities. It uses an 'integrated rights approach' to bundle disparate legal provisions from human rights, environmental, and cultural law into a single, accessible resource. The document categorises these into substantive rights (such as land tenure and cultural integrity) and procedural rights (such as free, prior and informed consent), aiming to democratise international law for the stewards of biocultural diversity.

The document serves as a tool to democratize international law by grouping fragmented legal provisions into an integrated framework of 'Traditional Resource Rights'. It categorizes rights into substantive (e.g., land tenure, cultural integrity, and food sovereignty) and procedural (e.g., free, prior and informed consent and impact assessments), while analyzing the legal weight of binding 'hard law' versus non-binding 'soft law'.

The document provides a detailed critique and set of recommendations for the World Bank's Environmental and Social Safeguard Policies. It argues that the Bank has failed to incorporate current international standards and suffers from inadequate monitoring, noting that between 1999 and 2008, more than one-third of projects were inadequately monitored. The authors advocate for the adoption of Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) as a cross-cutting requirement for all safeguards, the recognition of Indigenous Peoples’ and Community Conserved Territories and Areas (ICCAs) as legitimate conservation measures, and the integration of human rights due diligence into the Bank's operational framework.

The Suitability Mapper is a public online tool developed by the World Resources Institute (WRI) and Sekala to help stakeholders identify potentially suitable areas for sustainable oil palm cultivation in Kalimantan. It uses a binary analysis of 11 environmental and crop indicators to classify land as either 'potential' or 'not suitable'. The tool allows users to apply default settings based on Project POTICO—which align with RSPO standards and Indonesian law—or customize criteria to fit specific project needs. Because the underlying data has not been systematically verified, the document emphasizes that field assessments and due diligence regarding legal and social issues are mandatory to confirm site suitability.

The report analyzes the lack of formal legal recognition for TICCAs in Panama, highlighting conflicts between the National Environment Authority (ANAM) and indigenous peoples. It examines national environmental laws, the Constitution, and comarca-specific laws, noting that while state laws often ignore traditional conservation, indigenous customary laws—such as the Guna's Anmar Igar—effectively protect biodiversity. The document proposes strategies to integrate traditional governance into the National System of Protected Areas (SINAP) and protect indigenous collective rights over natural resources.

The report finds that Suriname lacks legal recognition for indigenous and tribal peoples as collectivities, leaving their traditional land and resource rights unprotected. This legal vacuum allows the state to issue extractive concessions and establish protected areas without the free, prior, and informed consent of local communities, often criminalizing traditional subsistence activities. While the Inter-American Court of Human Rights has issued landmark rulings, such as the Saramaka case, requiring the recognition of collective titles and juridical personality, the report concludes that the Surinamese government has failed to implement these mandates, maintaining a discriminatory legal environment that undermines both human rights and biodiversity conservation.

The document examines the systemic lack of legal recognition for Indigenous and Community Conserved Areas (TICCAs) in Chile. It argues that the Chilean state prioritizes individual property and extractivist economic models over communal indigenous land rights, often criminalizing social protests. While international instruments like ILO Convention 169 and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples are ratified, their domestic implementation is described as precarious. The report highlights a tension between state-managed protected areas—which often exclude indigenous populations—and community-led initiatives like the Mapu Lahual and Quinquén projects. It concludes that deep legal reforms are necessary to transition from an exclusionary 'Yellowstone model' of conservation to one based on shared governance and the restitution of ancestral lands.

The document argues that the Peruvian state violated international human rights law by granting mining concessions in the Tiquillaca district without prior consultation with the Arboleda and other indigenous peoples. It asserts that under the American Convention on Human Rights and ILO Convention 169, such consultations must occur during the earliest planning stages and, for large-scale projects, require free, prior, and informed consent. The authors contend that the failure to consult renders the concessions null and void, requiring the judiciary to review them to ensure the survival and territorial rights of the affected communities.

The report analyzes the private sector's role in the REDD+ supply chain, identifying key players as investors, producers, brokers, advisors, auditors, and end-buyers. It highlights critical barriers such as policy uncertainty, land tenure disputes, and the need for robust social and environmental safeguards. The document proposes strategies to scale up private investment, including the integration of REDD+ into compliance carbon markets, the adoption of nested crediting frameworks, and the inclusion of extractive industries in conservation dialogues.