CBR+ is a partnership between the UN-REDD Programme and the GEF Small Grants Programme to deliver grants directly to indigenous peoples and communities to empower them to fully engage in the design, implementation and monitoring of REDD+ readiness activities, and develop experiences, lessons, and recommendations at the local level that can feed into national REDD+ processes.
CBR+ supports community-level projects that complement UN-REDD National Programmes, national REDD+ readiness processes and/or strategies. Currently in its pilot phase, CBR+ is being implemented in six countries: Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Panama, Paraguay, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Nigeria.
The objectives of CBR+ are to:
• Support the full and effective participation of indigenous peoples, communities and civil society in national-level processes related to reducing emissions for deforestation and forest degradation;
• Build the capacity and awareness of communities to engage in REDD+ activities and processes;
• Facilitate the integration of community-based activities, knowledge and ideas into national REDD+ processes; and
• Develop and share knowledge and lessons learned from community-based experiences to inform national and international REDD+ policies and practice.
By supporting the protection of forests, and the empowerment of forest communities who live in and depend on them, CBR+ aims to contribute to the fulfilment of broader environmental and social goals, including biodiversity conservation, enhanced food security, improved rights and livelihoods for indigenous peoples and local communities, and climate change adaptation.
Implementation Arrangements
CBR+ is co-financed by the UN-REDD Programme and SGP, and grants will be delivered through SGP’s tried-and tested decentralized grant-delivery mechanism which has been operating in over 120 countries for over 20 years. The UN-REDD Programme’s contribution to CBR+’s pilot phase (2014-2017) includes USD 400,000 for community grants in each of the six pilot countries. This will be matched by similar co-financing from SGP, which will be provided through in-kind support and through parallel SGP grants that are complementary to CBR+ goals.
CBR+ Country Plans are being developed in each pilot country to guide the selection of CBR+ projects and guide grant applicants in the development of their proposals. CBR+ Country Plans will ensure that CBR+ activities align with existing national REDD+ readiness processes and complement existing SGP Country Programme Strategies.
Existing SGP National Steering Committees in the six pilot countries have been supplemented with REDD+ experts to form CBR+ National Steering Committees, which will provide overall guidance to CBR+ at the country level, including reviewing and approving CBR+ project proposals.
CBR+ Grants
Grants of up to USD 50,000 support a range of community-level activities such as: addressing drivers of deforestation and forest degradation, building the capacities of communities to engage in REDD+ readiness processes, clarifying and improving the definition of land use rights, exploring mechanisms for benefit sharing, and advancing the implementation of safeguards for REDD+, among others.
The project selection process for CBR+ is open to CSOs including national NGOs, indigenous peoples, community-based organizations and grassroots organizations. Consideration will be given to applications from forest-based and directly impacted communities and indigenous peoples’ organizations, as well as NGOs with an interest and track record in forests and/or REDD+ in relation to their mission. The specific eligibility criteria for CBR+ grants will be determined by each country’s CBR+ Country Plan.
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