Guest speaker Dr. Juan Pablo Sarmient Barletti from CIFOR-ICRAF discussed how historically marginalized groups are included (or excluded) in multi-stakeholder platforms (MSPs) concerned with sustainable land and resource use.

The colloquium taking place on February 20th 2026, highlighted that legal and policy settings in many tropical countries require stakeholder involvement, yet participation does not automatically translate into influence. Using an ethnographic and comparative lens, the discussion focused on how MSPs are understood by organizers and experienced by Indigenous peoples and local communities (IP/LCs), including questions of accountability and the concept of “counter-power”.

The MHEI-Team was happy to host this very captivating talk!