Abstract
Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) is one of the major mitigation solutions within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, aimed at incentivising developing countries to reduce emissions from deforestation. Raising several human rights concerns, the development of social safeguards was sought to address the potential negative impact of REDD+ projects. The principle of Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) emerged as crucial within these contexts, where international institutions and national governments have developed guidelines and policies for compliance. Its implementation has proved to pose a number of challenges and it is questioned whether Indigenous peoples actually gain influence through these processes. Following this, this thesis adopts a critical analysis to address how traditional knowledge within FPIC processes may provide opportunities for the empowerment of Indigenous communities affected by REDD+. A case study on Indonesia serves to contextualise this issue.