Learn more about securing community forest rights to combat climate change.

Key infographic points reveal that deforestation rates inside community forests1 with strong legal recognitions and government protection are dramatically lower than in forests outside those areas.

A WRI and Rights and Resources Initiative report, Securing Rights, Combating Climate Change, analyzes the growing body of evidence linking community forest rights with healthier forests and lower carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from deforestation and forest degradation. The report makes a strong case for strengthening the rights of indigenous and local communities over their forests as a policy tool for mitigating climate change.

Governments can meet their climate goals, safeguard forests and protect the livelihoods of their citizens by taking actions to strengthen the forest rights of Indigenous Peoples and local communities. Key recommendations include2:

  • Recognize and provide communities with legal protection for their forest rights.

  • Enforce community forest rights by mapping boundaries and expelling trespassers

  • Provide technical assistance and training to forest communities.

  • Engage forest communities on investments affecting their forests.

  • Compensate communities for the environmental services they provide as effective managers of their forest.

  1. Community Forests are forests with which self-identified Indigenous Peoples and local communities have historical and cultural connections that are legally or officially recognized by the government. ↩︎

  2. Sources for this infographic are here. ↩︎