Five civil society organizations have established a national indigenous-campesino (peasant farmer) roundtable for dialogue and decision making on climate change, deforestation and soil degradation. “Proposals will be developed based on the criteria and interests of local communities and indigenous peoples, with an emphasis on the right to free, prior and informed consent,” Gisela Flores of the Indigenous Tourism Network of Mexico, one the forum’s founding organizations, told Tierramérica.

The main focus of the forum’s activities is the National REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) Strategy, which the Mexican government is preparing to implement.

Indigenous organizations have denounced that they were not taken into account in the design of this strategy, which includes five pilot projects in the country’s most highly deforested areas.