RISE launches in Solomon Islands to strengthen forest carbon policy, safeguards, community rights and fair benefit-sharing.
A new forest carbon policy project, RISE, has officially launched in Solomon Islands to support stronger policy, safeguards and community leadership in the country’s emerging carbon market.
RISE stands for Rights, Integrity, Safeguards and Equity in carbon markets, and the project is designed to promote best practice policy and regulation for community-owned forest carbon projects, helping ensure benefits, rights and development outcomes remain with local communities.
“This project is about putting local leadership, customary land rights and fair, inclusive benefit-sharing at the core of Solomon Islands’ growing carbon market,” said Bill Apusae from Live and Learn Solomon Islands.
“RISE is about having a constructive dialogue with carbon market decision makers. We want to see a place for locally led projects in national and international policy forums.”
Live and Learn Solomon Islands is leading the RISE project locally, with collaboration from Live and Learn International, Nakau and Plan Vivo Foundation. The project is funded by the UK Government’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office through the UK-based Forest Governance, Markets and Climate Programme.
“High integrity in carbon markets cannot be achieved by individual projects and actors alone. It requires the same collaboration we see at project level to extend to national policies, safeguards, and implementation frameworks,” said the Director of Live and Learn Solomon Islands, Elmah Panisi.
“The RISE project will aim to engage with all change makers in society. We invite everyone, from national and provincial government to civil society, community representatives and technical partners, to be part of it.”
Launched on Tuesday 25 August in Honiara, the RISE event highlighted the success stories and momentum of forest conservation carbon projects in Solomon Islands and called for continued collaboration between all actors for policies and practices that support locally led and rights-based projects.
It was attended by representatives from Solomon Islands Ministry of Environment, Climate Change, Disaster Management and Meteorology and the Ministry of Forestry and Research, alongside NGOs and other key stakeholders.
A central focus of RISE is ensuring national carbon policy reflects Indigenous governance systems and customary land ownership, and that benefits flow equitably to landowners. Inclusive approaches are also a critical part of the conversation, where women, youth and people with disabilities can equitably participate and benefit.
Forest conservation and carbon projects are strongest when built on these foundations, and when the benefits of local projects directly reach communities.
Nakau’s Policy and Advocacy Coordinator Sebastian Thomas said carbon markets can play an important role in supporting sustainable livelihoods and better stewardship of natural systems.
“Carbon is the currency of a climate-changed world and a measure of value in an economy that depends on how well we care for the natural systems that sustain us.”
“Done well, carbon markets can help turn that stewardship into sustainable livelihoods, regenerative businesses, and a more resilient model of trade and development,” he said.
RISE is also launching in Papua New Guinea and Indonesia. Across the three countries, the project will share accessible knowledge and evidence from project case studies and policy analysis, strengthen capacity and policy dialogue through multi-stakeholder workshops, and advocate to international policy and market actors for locally led carbon projects.
RISE PRESS RELEASE
