Position of gender organisations against REDD+ programme in the Cancun 2010 conference

Abstract

The aim of this work is to understand what gender organisations participating the Cancun conference in 2010 demanded concerning the planned carbon offset programme, REDD+ , and what kind of alternative approaches they suggested should replace the programme. It was also investigated whom the advocates represented and what were their working methods.

The research material were a declaration that emerged during the conference and a webpage of a group behind it. Focusing on such a fragment of civil society activity makes it possible to reveal the political action embedded in it and learn to evaluate texts as rhetorical constructs. The material was analysed utilising the three theses of the rhetoric of reaction presented by Albert Hirschman and the framing practices George Lakoff discusses. Furthermore the content of the arguments was evaluated in the light of current research on climate change, gender and forest conservation practices.

It was found that the civil society organisations skilfully used the rhetorics of reaction and framed their argumentation with emotionally and morally appealing way. It can be concluded that the participation of the civil society organisations in the process of policy formation is vital for the representation of minorities. However the organisations are without formal power which leaves public pressure as their most effective way to make a statement. This is what the declaration also aimed to do.