NAR Colombia
In December 2022, twelve Pastos people from the Cumbal, Mayasquer, Panam and Chiles reserves in Nariño, Colombia, learned of the existence of a contract between the authority of the indigenous community of Gran Cumbal and SVP Business SAS for the purchase of carbon bonds related to the REDD+ project “Pachamama Cumbal”.
In June 2023, they filed a legal action alleging that the private companies involved in the carbon credit contract and the associated REDD+ project did not obtain their consent and violated their fundamental rights to free, prior, and informed consultation, active and effective participation in decision-making, their territory as collective property, self-determination, and environmental justice from an Indigenous perspective. They stated that the contract was negotiated without their knowledge, despite affecting Pasto Indigenous territory, and that the Indigenous authority overstepped its bounds and failed to share information with the community. Finally, they argued that the implementation of the REDD+ project and the purchase of carbon credits violated their fundamental rights (as an Indigenous community) because there was no active and effective participation in decision-making, their rights to their territory as collective property, their rights to self-determination, and their rights to environmental justice from an Indigenous perspective.
On July 21, 2023, the Municipal Court of Cumbal, Nariño (first instance) determined that the defendants had violated the plaintiffs' rights by failing to conduct the free, prior, and informed consultation process with the entire community regarding the carbon credit agreement associated with the REDD+ Pachamama Cumbal project. The judge granted an injunction against the REDD+ project and the carbon credit agreement and ordered the defendants to carry out a free, prior, and informed consultation process, in accordance with ILO Convention 169 concerning Indigenous and Tribal Peoples.
In the ruling, the judge mentioned the benefits that REDD+ projects bring to climate action due to their preventative approach. The ruling highlighted that these projects act as an incentive for forest protection and contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. However, the lack of meaningful participation by the Indigenous community during the earlier stages of the contract violated the plaintiffs' fundamental rights. More importantly, the judge underscored the blatant lack of information regarding the allocation of financial resources resulting from the purchase of carbon credits and affirmed the Indigenous communities' right to such information. Therefore, the judge ordered a public hearing to be held so that the Indigenous community could be presented with a detailed and clear financial report on the resources allocated to the REDD+ project and the purchase of carbon credits.
The defendants appealed this decision and on August 23, 2023, the Third Criminal Court of the Circuit of Ipiales, Nariño (of second instance) confirmed the decision of the court of first instance, only making adjustments to the deadlines to carry out the consultation process.
On July 29, 2024, the Cumbal Municipal Court ordered the governor of the indigenous reserve and the defendant companies to immediately comply with the court order or face contempt proceedings that could result in imprisonment and a fine. However, a week later, the court denied the request, considering that “the respective representatives of the defendant companies were complying with the court order.”
Implementation
This ruling represents a milestone as a jurisprudential advance that analyzes how the fundamental rights of Indigenous peoples have been affected by a contractual relationship between private companies. The deadlines established in both the first and second instance rulings expired during 2024. The second instance ruling established a two-month period to submit the request for free, prior, and informed consultation to the corresponding authority (Ministry of the Interior) and a six-month period for the Ministry to make a decision regarding said request.
Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+) projects connect local communities interested in protecting and caring for their forests to mitigate the global climate crisis with companies that purchase carbon credits to offset their own fossil fuel use. Each of these credits generated by a REDD+ project is equivalent to one ton of carbon dioxide—one of the greenhouse gases that drive climate change—that is no longer released into the atmosphere as a result of this conservation effort.
Colombian national policy defines safeguards as "the rules of the game for REDD+ to function properly in the territory," but merely states that one of its objectives is "to monitor the application of social and environmental safeguards," without detailing how this would happen or what specific responsibilities correspond to whom.
The ruling explicitly mentioned the benefits that REDD+ projects bring to climate action, particularly due to their preventative approach; however, these projects must be carried out in compliance with "the binding rules of the game and above all the feeling of fairness and fair distribution of benefits."
Failure to comply with indigenous consultation in REDD+ projects leads to an impact, which, although it does not stem from physical interference with natural resources, results from a financially considerable operation that disrupts the social cohesion of a community, which alters coexistence and determines the birth of an unhealthy controversy in any social group.
- Indigenous people of the Pastos from the Cumbal, Mayasquer, Panam and Chiles reserves.
- SVP Business SAS.
- Global Consulting and Assessment Services SA.
- Deutsche Certification Body SAS.
- Autoridad indígena de “Gran Cumbal”
According to data from the Foundation for Conservation and Sustainable Development (FCDS) and the Center for Clean Air Policy (CCAP), there are an estimated 123 forestry projects in Colombia, covering 14 million hectares of the country. Of these, 71 are REDD+ projects and 52 are reforestation or restoration projects. 56% are in the feasibility or idea phase, and the remainder are in the verification and payment receipt stages.
A decade ago, when REDD+ projects began to be managed, concerns arose about how to ensure that this money reached Indigenous and peasant communities without violating their rights. Instead, the goal was to strengthen the governance of forests—strategic for mitigating the global climate crisis. The solution to this concern was embodied in the so-called "Cancun Safeguards," seven rules agreed upon at the 2010 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Cancun. These safeguards aim to guarantee that initiatives to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from deforestation function effectively and protect these communities and biodiversity. This is because those who inhabit these tropical forests are often vulnerable ethnic minorities.
Colombia did a thorough and ambitious job of adapting these safeguards to its national context. However, it left the task unfinished, failing to make these rules mandatory for the private carbon market projects that have proliferated in recent years, and neglecting to create a safeguards information system and a citizen complaint mechanism.
The regulatory vacuum has created serious problems for REDD+ projects, and recent Colombian governments have failed to regulate how private REDD+ projects—which are selling carbon credits to companies as an alternative to paying a carbon tax—should incorporate these safeguards. Nor have they monitored whether these safeguards are actually being implemented. The carbon market has been one of the climate finance mechanisms at the heart of discussions surrounding the implementation of the Paris Agreement.
In this specific case, the impacts on the Pastos people are situated within a high-mountain ecosystem (in southwestern Colombia). In this area, the páramos (high-altitude Andean ecosystems) are characterized by their biodiversity, high altitude, and extreme climatic conditions. Páramos are tropical high-mountain ecosystems with a high diversity of plants and animals, including endemic species. This region faces threats from climate change, agricultural expansion, and mining, but at the same time, its conservation represents a significant contribution to climate change mitigation.
- Paris Agreement
National laws
- Law 1931 of 2018
Beginning
- Principle of prevention
This record was created using publicly available information. If you have information about this case or would like to suggest updates or corrections, please click here .