Carbon Credits as a 'Bundle of Rights': Applying Rawlsian Justice for the Benefit-sharing and Carbon Rights Protection of the Least-advantaged (Indigenous) in the Republic of Congo.

Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) has emerged as a cornerstone of global forest conservation and management policy. It operates as a performance-based mechanism that incentivises forest conservation and restoration to lower atmospheric carbon levels. The Republic of Congo is a deforestation front characterised by low deforestation rates and has engaged in collaborations with international organisations, other nations, and local communities to adapt its national frameworks, integrating carbon rights and redistributing REDD+ benefits. The contractual framework presupposes the involvement and recognition of the rights of indigenous communities in the management of their 23.9 million hectares of forest carbon stocks. This aligns with REDD+ under the FCCC Paris Rulebook, which emphasises safeguards for indigenous rights protected by the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) and promotes benefit-sharing through Emission Reduction (ER) Programs. However, the fragmented nature of policy initiatives and projects targeting deforestation raises concerns about how the rights of vulnerable communities are protected. Using a Rawlsian perspective, the paper assesses whether the country's benefit-sharing mechanisms effectively support the protection and enhancement of carbon rights associated with local and indigenous forests, taking into account community expectations and compensation for these rights. The discussion shifts from simple monetary payments to entitlement to revenue, arguing that payments for carbon rights should consider the overall REDD+ governance and advocate for reforms in land tenure laws to enable individuals, families, and communities to claim land and tree rights, addressing issues of fairness in REDD+ and Payments for Environmental Services (PES) schemes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]