Rights And Resources Institute Inc

RRI'S MISSION IS TO SUPPORT LOCAL COMMUNITIES AND INDIGENOUS PEOPLES' STRUGGLES AGAINST POVERTY AND MARGINALIZATION BY PROMOTING GREATER GLOBAL COMMITMENT AND ACTION TOWARDS POLICY, MARKET, AND LEGAL REFORMS THAT SECURE THEIR RIGHTS TO OWN, CONTROL AND BENEFIT FROM NATURAL RESOURCES, ESPECIALLY LAND AND FORESTS.

" IN AFRICA, THE HISTORIC SIGNING OF A NEW LAW TO PROTECT THE RIGHTS OF THE INDIGENOUS PYGMY PEOPLES IN THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO (DRC) MARKED A HARD-WON VICTORY FOR OUR AFRICA COALITION THAT'S BEEN A DECADE IN MAKING. WE ALSO WELCOMED THE ADVANCEMENT OF THE COMMUNITY LAND ACT IN KENYA; A COMMITMENT FROM THE LIBERIAN GOVERNMENT TO REVIEW OIL PALM CONCESSIONS THAT HAVE WREAKED HAVOC ON COMMUNITIES; AND A LANDMARK COURT VICTORY FOR THE OGIEK OF MT. ELGON, KENYA. " IN LATIN AMERICA, RRI SUPPORTED A GROUNDBREAKING INITIATIVE WITH GRASSROOTS AFRO-DESCENDANT PEOPLES ORGANIZATIONS TO GENERATE A FIRST OF ITS KIND MAP OF AFRO-DESCENDANT TERRITORIES IN THE REGION. ACROSS THE REGION, WE HELPED WOMEN'S ORGANIZATIONS DEVELOP INNOVATIVE STRATEGIES FOR TERRITORIAL DEFENSE AND ECONOMIC RECOVERY. FOR EXAMPLE, SEE THE COORDINATION OF WOMEN TERRITORIAL LEADERS OF MESOAMERICA 'S PROTOCOL FOR COMMUNITY RESPONSE TO HEALTH CRISES BASED ON TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE. RRI-SUPPORTED NETWORKS ALSO IMPROVED GENDER EQUITY IN THEIR RANKS. AMPB (MEXICO) ELECTED ITS FIRST WOMAN VICE PRESIDENT, WHILE AIDESEP IN PERU AND ONIC IN COLOMBIA BOTH ACHIEVED GENDER PARITY IN THEIR GOVERNANCE." IN ASIA, OUR COALITION SUPPORTED SOCIAL MOVEMENTS AND STRENGTHENED COMMUNITIES' CAPACITY IN LEGAL ADVOCACY, DEMYSTIFYING COMPLEX GOVERNMENT PROCESSES, AND MONITORING RIGHTS VIOLATIONS. IN FEBRUARY, 20 INDIGENOUS AND LOCAL COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS ACROSS SOUTH AND SOUTHEAST ASIA CAME TOGETHER TO PRODUCE THE FIRST EVER COMPREHENSIVE ANALYSIS ON RECONCILING GLOBAL CONSERVATION GOALS WITH COMMUNITY LAND RIGHTS IN ASIA. READ THE REPORT: HTTPS://RIGHTSANDRESOURCES.ORG/PUBLICATION/ASIA-CONSERVATION-REPORT/. RRI'S TENURE COALITION IN INDONESIA PROVIDED A CRITICAL SPACE IN INDONESIA FOR COORDINATING VARIOUS POLITICAL AGENDAS LINKED TO TENURE, HELPING MEMBERS PREPARE FOR ADVOCACY AROUND THE UPCOMING 2024 NATIONAL ELECTIONS. IN NEPAL, COALITION MEMBERS SUCCESSFULLY ADVOCATED FOR A NEW POLITICAL STRUCTURE THAT EMPOWERS PROVINCIAL AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS TO ENACT LAWS THAT CAN FREE COMMUNITY FORESTRY FROM THE FOREST BUREAUCRACY'S CONTROL." FOR OUR GENDER JUSTICE PROGRAM, THIS WAS A YEAR OF ACTION. WE LAUNCHED A CALL TO ACTION FOR GENDER-INCLUSIVE FINANCE, A COLLECTIVE EFFORT FROM 41 INDIGENOUS, LOCAL COMMUNITY AND AFRO-DESCENDANT WOMEN'S ORGANIZATIONS FROM ASIA, AFRICA AND LATIN AMERICA. THE CALL URGED THE INTERNATIONAL DONOR COMMUNITY TO INCREASE CLIMATE AND CONSERVATION FUNDING FOR INDIGENOUS, AFRO-DESCENDANT, AND LOCAL COMMUNITY WOMEN. FOLLOWING THIS CALL, RRI AND THE SIGNATORIES LAUNCHED THE WOMEN IN GLOBAL SOUTH ALLIANCE FOR TENURE AND CLIMATE, A NEW NETWORK OF WOMEN'S ORGANIZATIONS IN THE GLOBAL SOUTH THAT WILL ADVOCATE FOR THE CALL'S RECOMMENDATIONS. READ THE CALL TO ACTION HERE: HTTPS://RIGHTSANDRESOURCES.ORG/BLOG/CALL-TO-ACTION-GENDER-INCLUSIVE-CLIMATE-FINANCE-MUST-NOT-LEAVE-INDIGENOUS-AFRO-DESCENDANT-AND-LOCAL-COMMUNITY-WOMEN-LEADERS-BEHIND/" WE LAUNCHED THE LAND RIGHTS STANDARD AT COP27 IN COLLABORATION WITH THE GLOBAL LANDSCAPE FORUM. THIS LAUNCH BEGAN OUR OUTREACH TO CLIMATE AND CONSERVATION ORGANIZATIONS TO SECURE THEIR BUY-IN, PARTICULARLY ENGAGING WITH THE WWF, THE WILDLIFE CONSERVATION SOCIETY, IUCN, AND THE FOREST STEWARDSHIP COUNCIL. READ ABOUT THE STANDARD HERE: HTTPS://RIGHTSANDRESOURCES.ORG/LAND-RIGHTS-STANDARD/REGIONAL PROGRAMS

O RRI LAUNCHED A NEW FUNDING MECHANISM, COMMUNITY LAND RIGHTS AND CONSERVATION FINANCE INITIATIVE (CLARIFI). CO-CREATED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH CAMPAIGN FOR NATURE AND INDIGENOUS AND COMMUNITY RIGHTSHOLDERS, CLARIFI WILL CONTRIBUTE TO RAISING UP TO USD 10 BILLION BY 2030 TO FUND LARGE-SCALE PROJECTS THAT SUPPORT LEGAL RECOGNITION OF INDIGENOUS, AFRO-DESCENDANT, AND LOCAL COMMUNITY LAND RIGHTS, CONSERVATION, AND SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT OF THEIR TERRITORIES. THE MECHANISM SECURED SUBSTANTIAL NEW PUBLIC AND PRIVATE FUNDING BY THE END OF 2022 TO SUPPORT 9 PILOT PROJECTS IN THE AMAZON BASIN, EAST AFRICA, AND INDONESIA. IT ALSO RECEIVED WIDE MEDIA COVERAGE, FEATURING IN THOMSON REUTERS FOUNDATION NEWS, AGENCIA EFE SPAIN, DEVEX, MONGABAY, INSIDE PHILANTHROPY, AND UXOLO AMONG OTHERS. KNOWLEDGE TOOLS IN 2022:- 22 PUBLICATIONS IN 8 LANGUAGES, DOWNLOADED OVER 20,000 TIMES. - 58,000 READERS FOR RRI'S "LAND WRITES" BLOG.- 20,000 VIEWS FOR VIDEOS PRODUCED TO HIGHLIGHT THE COALITION'S WORK AND ACHIEVEMENTS. - 183,000 WEBSITE VISITORS.- 136 MENTIONS IN INTERNATIONAL MEDIA.8??FOR MORE ON OUR IMPACT IN 2022, CHECK OUT OUR ANNUAL REPORT AT HTTPS://2022REPORT.RIGHTSANDRESOURCES.ORG/

STRATEGIC ANALYSIS AND GLOBAL ENGAGEMENT" AMONG NEW RRI ANALYSES, WE COMPLETED FOUNDATIONAL DATA COLLECTION AND PEER REVIEW FOR OUR LAND AREA STUDY TRACKING THE STATUS OF RECOGNIZED INDIGENOUS, LOCAL COMMUNITY, AND AFRO-DESCENDANT PEOPLES' TENURE RIGHTS ACROSS ALL RURAL LANDS; THE GENDER AND DEPTH OF RIGHTS DATABASE TRACKING LEGISLATIVE ADVANCES AND ROLLBACKS FOR COMMUNITY WOMEN'S SPECIFIC TENURE RIGHTS SINCE 2016; AND OUR GLOBAL BASELINE ON CARBON STORAGE IN COLLECTIVELY HELD LANDS. IN ADDITION, WE LAUNCHED AN ONLINE TENURE TOOL TO GIVE ACTIVISTS, RESEARCHERS, POLICYMAKERS, AND THE PUBLIC EASY ACCESS TO RRI'S DATA ON FOREST TENURE RIGHTS. CHECK IT OUT HERE: HTTPS://RIGHTSANDRESOURCES.ORG/RRI-TENURE-TOOL/. READ OUR 2022 ANALYSES HERE: HTTPS://RIGHTSANDRESOURCES.ORG/PUBLICATION-CATEGORY/RRI-ANALYSES-PUBLICATION/" RRI'S EVENTS THIS YEAR CREATED NEW OPPORTUNITIES TO BUILD AND STRENGTHEN OUR ALLIANCES. OUR SEPTEMBER DIALOGUE ON DELIVERING THE COP26 FOREST TENURE PLEDGE FOR INDIGENOUS PEOPLES AND LOCAL COMMUNITIES, WAS ATTENDED BY OVER 800 PARTICIPANTS AND DELIVERED IN SEVEN LANGUAGES, BECOMING ONE OF RRI'S LARGEST EVER CONVENINGS OF INDIGENOUS, LOCAL COMMUNITY AND AFRO-DESCENDANT RIGHTSHOLDERS. READ ABOUT IT HERE: HTTPS://RIGHTSANDRESOURCES.ORG/DELIVERING-THE-COP26-FOREST-TENURE-PLEDGE-FOR-INDIGENOUS-PEOPLES-AND-LOCAL-COMMUNITIES/" OUR PATH TO SCALE AND TRANSFORMATION GROUP CONTINUED TO PROMOTE HIGHER AMBITION TOWARDS ITS TARGETS OF RAISING US$10 BILLION AND RECOGNIZING 400 MM HECTARES OF FORESTLANDS FOR COMMUNITIES BY 2030. IT ALSO PIVOTED TO FACILITATE THESE COMMITMENTS' IMPLEMENTATION, PARTICULARLY BY PROMOTING INNOVATIVE "FIT FOR FUNDING" APPROACHES FOR DONORS, RELEASING NEW ANALYSES TO INFORM DONOR SUPPORT FOR INDIGENOUS, LOCAL COMMUNITY AND AFRO-DESCENDANT ORGANIZATIONS AND ORGANIZING A VIRTUAL DISCUSSION BETWEEN RIGHTSHOLDERS AND DONORS OF THE COP26 PLEDGE. READ THE PATH TO SCALE ANALYSIS ON FUNDING WITH PURPOSE: HTTPS://RIGHTSANDRESOURCES.ORG/PUBLICATION/FUNDING-WITH-PURPOSE/

" GIVEN THE SHARED CHALLENGES OF INDIGENOUS MOVEMENTS GLOBALLY, WE EXPANDED OUR CONNECTIONS TO INDIGENOUS GROUPS IN NORTH AMERICA. THE FIRST OF THESE COLLABORATIONS WAS A NORTH-SOUTH DIALOGUE ON INDIGENOUS LEADERSHIP IN CONSERVATION HELD IN DECEMBER 2022, WHICH BROUGHT TOGETHER HUNDREDS OF INDIGENOUS AND LOCAL COMMUNITY LEADERS TO BUILD AN INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY MOVEMENT AND DISCUSS LESSONS FROM COMMON STRUGGLES AGAINST DISPOSSESSION AND FORTRESS CONSERVATION." RRI'S COMMUNICATIONS TEAM ORGANIZED A MEDIA SITE VISIT FOR NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL JOURNALISTS TO REPORT ON KENYA'S OGIEK INDIGENOUS PEOPLE OF THE MOUNT ELGON FOREST. THE COMMUNITY, WHICH HAS BEEN WIDELY DISPOSSESSED OF ITS CUSTOMARY LANDS AND HAS RECEIVED RRI'S SUPPORT IN ITS LAND RIGHTS ADVOCACY, SHARED ITS SUCCESS STORIES OF TRADITIONAL CONSERVATION ACROSS ITS REMAINING LANDS. IN ADDITION TO MEDIA STORIES, THE VISIT ALSO RESULTED IN A VIDEO PRODUCED BY RRI TO HIGHLIGHT THE OGIEK STRUGGLE, VIEWED OVER 20,000 TIMES ON YOUTUBE SO FAR. VIDEO: HTTPS://WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/WATCH?V=NG_LJKWNY1ECOALITION AND COMMUNICATIONS PROGRAMS