Members of Indigenous community “Gran Cumbal” v. SVP Business SAS, Global Consulting and Assessment Services SA, Deutsche Certification Body SAS, COLCX and the Indigenous authority of “Gran Cumbal”

In December 2022, twelve (12) members of the Indigenous community “Gran Cumbal” in Nariño, Colombia, learned of the existence of a contract between the Indigenous community’s authority and SVP Business SAS to purchase carbon credits related to the REDD+ project “Pachamama Cumbal”. Plaintiffs assert the contract was negotiated without their knowledge, despite the fact that it would impact Indigenous territory. They argue that the Indigenous authority overreached their functions and that no information was shared with the community. In June 2023, plaintiffs filed a tutela alleging that the private companies involved in the carbon credits contract and the associated REDD+ project failed to obtain their consent and violated their fundamental rights to free, prior and informed consultation, active and effective participation in decision making, territory as collective property, self-determination and environmental justice from an Indigenous perspective. On July 21, 2023, the Juzgado Promiscuo Municipal de Cumbal, Nariño (trial level) found that the defendants had violated the plaintiffs’ rights by failing to conduct the free, prior and informed consultation process with the entire community with regard to the carbon credits contract associated to the REDD+ project Pachamama Cumbal. The judge granted a temporary injunction against the REDD+ project and the carbon credit contract and ordered the defendants to conduct a free, prior and informed consultation process within the next six months, in accordance with the ILO Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention 169. The judge explicitly mentioned the benefits that REDD+ projects bring to climate action, particularly due to its prevention focus. The decision highlights the fact that these projects act as an incentive to forest protection and aid toward reducing greenhouse gas emissions. However, the lack of meaningful participation from the Indigenous community during the previous phases of the contract violated the plaintiffs` fundamental rights. More importantly, the judge underscored the blatant lack of information regarding the allocation of financial resources resulting from the purchase of carbon credits and asserted the Indigenous communities’ right to that information. Hence, the judge ordered defendants to hold a public hearing where they provide the Indigenous community with a detailed and clear financial report regarding resources from the REDD+ project and the purchase of carbon credits. Defendants appealed this decision and on August 23, 2023, the Juzgado Tercero Penal del Circuito de Ipiales, Nariño (appellate level) upheld the lower court’s decision. The appellate judge gave defendants two months to file the request for free, prior and informed consultation before the corresponding authority (Ministry of Interior). The Ministry then has six months to issue a decision on the matter.