Second DGM Annual Report: July 2016 - June 2017
The Dedicated Grant Mechanism for Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities is excited to share its 2017 Annual Report, detailing the second year of the DGM's support for the increased role of indigenous peoples and local communities in discussions and actions related to sustainable forestry and climate change.
Overview: Year Two
Excerpt from the report's foreword:
"In the second year of the Dedicated Grant Mechanism for Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (DGM), the DGM is successfully demonstrating how indigenous peoples and local communities (IPLCs) can play leadership roles in the governance and implementation of climate finance. During this year, the DGM passed an important milestone with over half of its allocated funding approved by the World Bank. The IPLC leaders of the DGM, with the support of their executing agencies, have demonstrated effective and responsible management of this funding, in collaboration with governments and non-state actors, in order to build the capacity of their fellow community members to participate in the Forest Investment Program (FIP) and other initiatives related to the reduction of emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+)."
Country Projects
Several of the DGM's country projects made substantial progress in the past year. Projects in Ghana, Indonesia (website), Mexico, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo are off to promising starts, while those in Brazil (website), Burkina Faso, and Peru (website) are among the most advanced, together supporting 76 subprojects led by indigenous peoples and local communities, with more on the way. Each of these projects is tailored to support its country's IPLCs, with some prioritizing strengthened land tenure, and others focusing on the development of sustainable livelihoods, but ultimately they all support a greater role for IPLCs in the Forest Investment Program and other REDD+ programs and processes.
Capacity building is another essential element of each country project, with all of them providing technical and administrative support to IPLC communities and grassroots organizations to help them advance their own priorities in relation to climate change and forestry more effectively.
Global Learning and Knowledge Exchange
The second year of the DGM marked the first year of the DGM's regional and global exchanges, organized by the Global Learning and Knowledge Exchange Project (DGM Global). These events brought together over 100 representatives of indigenous peoples and local communities from over 30 countries to share their knowledge with one another and learn about key topics related to forestry and climate change.
"We have had the opportunity through these presentations to become familiar with the language and procedures of negotiations. We can now participate in the [UNFCCC] Conference of the Parties - not as novices, but now as people who are prepared in the areas of climate change and negotiation."
- Idrissa Zeba, DGM Global Steering Committee representative from Burkina Faso on his experience at the July 2016 DGM Africa Exchange (Quote translated from original French)