Safeguarding the right of indigenous peoples to FPIC

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Need for practical guidance
Co-building a robust FPIC process
The FPIC-360° tool
Guidance for sustainability systems
Download project outputs

Introduction

Project details

Enabling free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) through voluntary standards

Project partners: Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials (RSB), Equitable Origin, Coordinator of Indigenous Organizations of the Amazon River Basin (COICA)

Grant 1 duration: August 2017 to July 2018

Grant 2 duration: August 2019 to June 2022

Funded by the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs SECO, through the ISEAL Innovations Fund

Need for practical guidance

Many international sustainability systems, including around half of all ISEAL Community Members, require developers to obtain the free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) of indigenous communities affected by their projects. However, there's a lack of experience and practical guidance on what FPIC looks like in practice. An FPIC process that is not conducted and monitored appropriately risks undermining trust between the communities, companies and other stakeholders involved in a project. Part of the challenge is that a robust FPIC process will vary greatly depending on the context and the communities involved.

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Co-building a robust FPIC process

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In 2017, Equitable Origin set out to create an FPIC monitoring and verification tool building on its extensive experience working with indigenous communities in the Amazon region. In partnership with RSB and COICA, the first phase of this collaboration focused on developing a set of common principles and a clear articulation of FPIC. This was achieved through a detailed literature review of FPIC processes; active engagement with international experts; and multiple field workshops with indigenous communities in Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. It was clear from this work that indigenous representatives often lack the knowledge and capacity to participate meaningfully as co-leaders in an FPIC process. The resulting framework (the so-called FPIC-360° tool) provides practical guidance for standard-setting for standard-setting providers, assurance providers, communities and producers.

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The FPIC-360° tool

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For an FPIC process to be effective and result in consent or lack of it, the way in which the process is conducted is paramount. The FPIC-360° tool is based on two key principles: participation and transparency. It provides guidance on the steps that an FPIC process should include, the conditions that should in place to ensure it happens in a responsible and equitable manner, and the principles that must guide the verification of the process. During the second phase of the project, the tool was refined in consultation with a wide range of stakeholders and developed into a web-based platform.

Access the FPIC-360° tool online or download it.

Guidance for sustainability systems

As well as using the FPIC-360° tool to build the capacity of indigenous communities, the project developed guidance materials to encourage uptake by financial institutions and sustainability systems.

The guidance includes examples on how sustainability systems can use the tool in line with the recommendations outlined in the study ‘Voluntary Standards and FPIC Insights for Improving Implementation’ (ISEAL 2020).

Download project outputs

Report | Enabling FPIC through voluntary standards

Enabling FPIC through voluntary standards - executive summary410.87 KB

Enabling FPIC through voluntary standards - full report1.67 MB

Thinking through FPIC for VSS and application of the FPIC-360° Tool

Thinking through FPIC for VSS and application of the FPIC-360° Tool 328.89 KB

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