The security of tenure rights is a fundamental factor in positive outcomes for forests, in reducing deforestation and forest degradation within the larger context of sustainable development. This Information Brief focuses on the key contribution of collective tenure rights towards mitigating climate change, paying particular attention to the links with national strategies to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+) and nationally determined contributions (NDCs). The brief summarizes some of the key rationales for prioritizing the securing of collective tenure rights in the context of REDD+ and sustainable development. The paper presents three examples, from Nepal, Peru and the United Republic of Tanzania, to showcase the positive impact of secure collective tenure rights and proposes a range of measures that countries can take to accelerate progress towards collective tenure rights recognition.