Amazonian Communities Involved in REDD+ Projects: Conditions of Participation

ABSTRACT

This theoretical-empirical study analyzes a set of socio-economic, environmental, and political factors that influence social participation in the process of designing and implementing a REDD+ Project in the Amazon. The study is based on empirical data collected from 23 rural communities in the area of influence of a corporate-led REDD+ project in its initial phase, located in the municipalities that make up the oil palm polygon in Pará, Brazil. The relationship between social participation and the social, economic, and environmental conditions of the populations is a factor analyzed in the light of the theory of social participation. The main result of the study shows that the social and environmental vulnerability present in the communities, together with low political empowerment in property rights situations, impact on the levels of social participation in project design and the guarantee of collective social and environmental benefits.

Keywords:
social participation; social and environmental vulnerability; benefits of the REDD+ project; Amazonian Communities; emissions reduction