The Rights and Resources Initiative (RRI) is a

non-governmental organization A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...

working to encourage forest tenure and policy reforms and the transformation of the forest economy so that business reflects local development agendas and supports local

livelihood A person's livelihood (derived from ''life-lode'', "way of life"; cf. OG ''lib-leit'') refers to their "means of securing the basic necessities (food, water, shelter and clothing) of life". Livelihood is defined as a set of activities essential ...

s. RRI works at the country, regional and global levels, collaborating on research, advocacy and convening strategic actors. The RRI

Coalition A coalition is formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political, military, or economic spaces. Formation According to ''A G ...

is formed by a group of core partners who work in areas of their regional and thematic expertise. Partners also engage with a wide group of Collaborators who participate in and support RRI activities. The Initiative's 14 partners and 140 plus collaborator organizations are directly engaged in land and forest policy reforms in close to 20 countries throughout Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Together, they are working to encourage greater global commitment and action on pro-poor tenure, policy and market reforms. This strategic coalition goes beyond the traditional set of international development actors to involve a wide spectrum of organizations, each of which provides a critical perspective in the larger chain of actors necessary to advance change. The Rights and Resources Initiative was formally established in 2005 by the Coordinating Association of Indigenous and Community Agroforestry in Central America (ACICAFOC), the

Center for International Forestry Research The Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) is a non-profit scientific research organization that conducts research on the use and management of forests with a focus on tropical forests in developing countries. CIFOR, which merged wi ...

(CIFOR), Forest Trends, the Foundation for People and Community Development Papua New Guinea (FPCD), the

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the stat ...

(IUCN), and RECOFTC - The Center for People and Forests. In 2006, the

Forest Peoples Programme Forest Peoples Programme (FPP) advocates an alternative vision of how forests should be managed and controlled, based on respect for the rights of the people who know them best. FPP works with forest peoples in South America, Africa, and Asia, t ...

, HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation, and the

World Agroforestry Centre World Agroforestry (a brand name used by the International Centre for Research in Agroforestry, ICRAF) is an international institute headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, and founded in 1978 as "International Council for Research in Agroforestry". ...

joined as RRI Partners. Civic Response joined in 2007
Federation of Community Forest Users Nepal (FECOFUN)
joined in 2008, and the Samdhana Institute joined in January 2009. In late 2010, th
Indigenous Peoples' International Centre for Policy Research and Education (Tebtebba)
joined, followed by

International Forestry Resources and Institutions The International Forestry Resources and Institutions (IFRI) Network is a collective of research partners at 12 universities or non-governmental organizations in 11 countries around the world that focus on how institutions and governance arrangem ...

(IFRI), the Salvadoran Research Program on Development and Environment (PRISMA), and the Centre for Environment and Development (CED) in 2011. The coalition is headquartered in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

Mission

RRI’s Mission is to support local communities’ and indigenous peoples’ struggles against poverty and marginalization by promoting greater global commitment and action towards policy, market and legal reforms that secure their rights to own, control and benefit from natural resources, especially land and forests.

Activities

RRI pro-actively engages with governments,

civil society Civil society can be understood as the "third sector" of society, distinct from government and business, and including the family and the private sphere.community organization Community organization or community based organization refers to organization aimed at making desired improvements to a community's social health, well-being, and overall functioning. Community organization occurs in geographically, psychosocially ...

s to encourage institutional reforms, advance new understanding of threats and opportunities, encourage innovative and promising new models of forest tenure and enterprise, and catalyze more effective intervention on

tenure Tenure is a type of academic appointment that protects its holder from being fired or laid off except for cause, or under extraordinary circumstances such as financial exigency or program discontinuation. Academic tenure originated in the United ...

and

governance Governance is the overall complex system or framework of Process, processes, functions, structures, Social norm, rules, Law, laws and Norms (sociology), norms born out of the Interpersonal relationship, relationships, Social interaction, intera ...

Governance

The Rights and Resources Initiative is governed by the Board of Directors, which meets three times a year. The Board also receives input on governance of the RRI from regular meetings of the Partners, which often take place simultaneously with meetings of the Board. The coalition is coordinated and supported by the Rights and Resources Group, a small organization that serves as the coordination mechanism for the Rights and Resources Initiative. Rights and Resources Group is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization located in Washington, DC and was founded October 26, 2005 and is a DBA (Doing Business As) of Rights and Resources Institute, Inc.

Current coalition partners

Centre for Environment and Development, Cameroon
* CIFOR * Civic Response
FECOFUN Nepal

Forest Peoples Programme
* Forest Trends
Helvetas
*

(IFRI) *

Landesa Landesa Rural Development Institute is a nonprofit organization that works with governments and local organizations to obtain legal Land law, land rights for poor families. Since 1967, Landesa has helped more than 180 million poor families in 5 ...

* (ONAMIAP)
PRISMA

Samdhana Institute

Tebtebba
*

References

External links

Rights and Resources Initiative Website
{{Authority control Sustainability organizations Indigenous rights organizations Human rights organizations based in the United States Environmental organizations based in Washington, D.C. Forest conservation organizations