The role of the development sector: Development organizations play a key role in protecting community interests and monitoring the integrity of the carbon market to avoid risks from profit-driven actors. The goal is to create "premium" carbon credits that deliver superior environmental, social, and governance (ESG) value.
Core benefits: Environmental, cultural, and social values should be considered "core benefits" rather than merely supplementary benefits. Projects should prioritize sustainable development goals before focusing on carbon credit creation.
Respecting indigenous knowledge: Carbon projects are opportunities to recognize, preserve, and learn from indigenous knowledge in natural resource management. Supporting capacity building for local partners is considered a key policy priority for establishing a self-reliant carbon industry.
Community engagement and ownership: Deep community involvement is essential to managing expectations and promoting local ownership. Benefit-sharing plans need to be developed and owned by the community itself, ensuring fairness and meeting real needs.
Collaboration and MEL: Building partnerships is crucial to pooling technical expertise. Monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) processes need to deliver tangible value to the community, be culturally appropriate, and empower others.
