Author Van der Vlist L. & Richert W.

Year of publication 2012

The right to free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) is seen as one of the key principles of international human rights law to protect indigenous peoples from destruction of their lives, cultures and livelihoods. Increasingly it is also seen as a right for local communities to protect themselves from significant impact on the resources and territories for which they can make a justified claim of long and established use. Obtaining the free, prior and informed consent of indigenous peoples and local communities, before undertaking forestry operations on lands they legally or customarily own and/or use, is therefore an important requirement in the new FSC Principles and Criteria for Forest Management. This FSC guidance on the implementation of FPIC aims to assist all parties involved in FSC certification in safeguarding the rights of forest dependent indigenous peoples and local communities in or near FSC certified operations. This document provides general guidance on how to answer to key questions about: who has the right to FPIC and how the organization goes about implementing a process to obtain free, prior, and informed consent from indigenous peoples or local communities. In summary this guidance provides: extended and practical guidance on how to implement a FPIC process; initial guidance on the identification of who has the right to FPIC within the FSC system; background information on the right to FPIC and information on the right to FPIC within the FSC system.