This thesis investigates whether NGOs have exerted any influence in championing the demands of Indigenous Peoples into climate-change negotia-tions, and of REDD+ in particular. It finds that NGOs have achieved bounded success in raising awareness of issues related to Indigenous People and have obtained moderate discourse change in the official documents de-riving from negotiations. The thesis acknowledges, however, that REDD+ negotiations do not happen in a socio-political and economic vacuum and that a number of factors may be at play in shaping the outcomes of negotiations, either independently from or in interaction with, NGO strategies. The research sets out to understand the increasing relevance of NGOs as political actors in the international arena as a result of the opportunities cre-ated by pressures towards global governance. At the same time, it contends that NGO emergence and proactiveness cannot be fully understood within that framework, as civil society movements mobilizing to expand the scope of social rights grew long before globalization. As a result, the thesis adopts Po-litical Process theory as a theoretical tool to account for changes in NGO ac-tions and strategies as a result of the political and institutional context in which they find themselves. Political Process also offers the conceptual benefit of highlighting the strategic nature of NGOs behaviour, regardless of the veracity of their commitment to the cause of Indigenous Peoples. In the research, analysis of the texts of REDD negotiations is complemented with interviews to key informants to assess the impact and the characteristics of NGOs tactics. Findings are reported against the backdrop of a series of potential other political and economic factors that largely impact on the outcomes of the REDD+ negotiation and may help comprehending why, NGO action in REDD+, despite moderate openings in political opportunity structures, has been only partially effective.

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Arsel, Murat
hdl.handle.net/2105/10834
International Political Economy and Development (IPED)
International Institute of Social Studies

Kumar, Vineet. (2011, December 15). NGOs influence in International Environmental Treaty Formation: Indigenous Peoples (IPs) and Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD+): A case study. International Political Economy and Development (IPED). Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/2105/10834