Abstract
The mechanism of REDD+, reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, has been negotiated at the international level under the UNFCCC. Despite a large focus on the importance of participation of indigenous peoples and local communities in the planning and implementation of REDD+, e.g. in the Cancun Agreement, it is not very clear how this participation will happen in practice. This thesis seeks to find out how indigenous peoples and local communities participated in the making of the national REDD+ strategy in Indonesia, and why the participation took the form it did. It is argued that indigenous peoples and local communities participated mainly through civil society organisations because there were only small opportunities for direct participation, there was a lack of political representation, and because civil society organisations were ready to represent indigenous peoples and local communities.