The conservation sector carries inherent risks and has impacts on society, livelihoods, and ecosystems. As part of our commitment to achieving the highest social and environmental standards, Legacy Landscapes Fund (LLF) has safeguards in place to mitigate these risks and impacts. LLF believes in a rights-based approach to conservation, and accountability is an integral part of this approach.
This grievance and feedback mechanism is one safeguard designed to provide parties affected by LLF’s funded programs and activities, with the assurance that their grievances and concerns will be heard, considered, and addressed in a timely and consistent manner. Stakeholders, communities, and individuals who have, or could be harmed by LLF’s activities can use this mechanism to submit complaints to LLF to address their concerns.
Grievance Guidelines
What is a grievance?
A grievance is a complaint about activities and programs funded by LLF that affects or could affect you negatively. Questions, requests, and feedback may also be treated as grievances.
Grievances exist at two levels:
- Every LLF funded site (Legacy Landscape – LL) has a program-level grievance mechanism. LL site-specific grievances should primarily be submitted to the respective program level grievance mechanism. Information on these processes and channels can be found on our LL partner organization’s websites or through other locally available means.
- Grievances and/or feedback that don’t concern a specific site or LL, or if the impartiality of the program-level mechanism might be jeopardized, or due to other justified reasons, can be submitted to this institutional grievance and feedback mechanism.
Who can report a grievance?
Any person or group who believes they may be negatively affected by activities and programs funded by LLF can report a grievance.
This includes local communities, Indigenous peoples, organizations, stakeholders, individuals, third parties, or any official and/or recognized representative of these groups or people. Complainants may request confidentiality or anonymity.
What will happen when I report a grievance?
After submitting a grievance, you will receive a confirmation receipt within a maximum of five working days.
Grievances related to serious incidents are prioritized and will receive a confirmation receipt within a maximum of two working days. For further details on serious incidents please refer to the guidance Annex T.
Grievances will be reviewed for eligibility by the Grievances Officer and eligible complaints will be assessed by the Grievances Officer who may involve the Grievances Committee. For more information on the eligibility criteria please refer to Annex T.
A solution to the complaint will be developed and proposed to the involved parties and a written response to the complainant will be issued within 30 working days. Please note that cases requiring additional assessment or engagement with the involved parties may take longer. Updates about the status of the process will be communicated through the preferred contact method stated in the Grievance Form.
Anonymity and Non-Retaliation
LLF strongly disapproves of and will not tolerate any form of retaliation against any person who submits complaints or feedback in good faith.
There will be no recriminations against those who submit grievances, and victimizing or deterring someone from reporting concerns will be treated as a disciplinary matter.
However, if you would like to submit an anonymous complaint, you may complete the Grievance Form and omit your personal information. Please note that complaints received anonymously may have limited possibilities for resolution.
How can I report a grievance or feedback?
To file a grievance, please contact us through one of the following channels:
- Written grievances can be submitted in English, German, French, Spanish, Portuguese, or in your native language by email. Please fill out the Grievances Form and send it to: grievances@legacylandscapes.org.
- Oral grievances can be submitted in English, German, French, Spanish, or Portuguese by calling the following number: +49 (0)30-20092795.
Please note that site-specific grievances should primarily be submitted to the respective LL-program level grievance mechanisms.
For more details on LLF’s institutional level grievance and feedback mechanism, including information on the assessment, resolution, and monitoring processes, please refer to Annex T.
