By Sarah Day
Working closely with Indigenous Peoples and upholding their ownership, use and management rights across all forests is central to FSC's work. Principle 3 of the FSC Principles and Criteria for Forest Stewardship features strict requirements to uphold Indigenous Peoples' rights of land ownership, use of land, and access to land resources. In addition, FSC's Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) process has clear guidelines that consider Indigenous Peoples' livelihoods and social and cultural way of living to preserve them. FPIC is an Indigenous Right recognised by the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), which enables Indigenous Peoples to give or withhold consent to a project or any investment that may affect them or their territories.
In recent years, FSC has established two essential bodies to help support and guide its work with Indigenous engagement. The Permanent Indigenous Peoples’ Committee (PIPC) established in 2013, which helps to ensure Indigenous voices are heard and represented at the highest levels of the FSC’s decision-making. As well as the FSC Indigenous Foundation (FSC IF) which is also crucial to FSC’s efforts to respect, include, promote and recognise the values, vision, and rights of Indigenous Peoples. Formed in 2020, the FSC IF is a strategic and operative unit that provides innovative solutions to support Indigenous communities and enable them to build and guide the sustainable management of their land. The Foundation’s main objective is to co-create Indigenous forest-based solutions by including and recognising Indigenous knowledge, authority, and traditional practices.
In the session Indigenous People’s Perspective on Implementation, we heard from Indigenous members of the PIPC, FSC IF, as well as other influential international organisations. The session was led by David Collard, PIPC Representative of the Oceania Subregion. The session explored the various perspectives and experiences of implementing FPIC, particularly in the forestry sector worldwide.
Martin Olez, senior specialist of the International Labour Conventions (ILO) began the session with a keynote presentation that set the stage for dialogue and learning on FPIC and its implementation. He explored the need for a relationship between the state and Indigenous Peoples and emphasised that FPIC is not an end in itself; it is an ongoing process. Martin also explained the numerous challenges facing FPIC implementation, such as power imbalances, capacity gaps across stakeholders and weakness or absence of state regulation and institutions concerning consultations participation and FPIC, to name a few. Martin closed his presentation with critical thoughts for discussion, stating, “There is a need for learning, so failure should not be seen as a negative thing. No model or policy is perfect; we need to learn through practice. We need to build our experience in capacity building and improve the policies as we go along.”
Ivone Namikawa, FSC Board Member, Economic Chamber South, told the story of how a certified forest operation obtained FPIC from their neighbouring Indigenous community, the Quilombo in Brazil. Ivone explained, “The leader of the Quilombo people is a woman, and she invited the crew to be there with them during the time of their prayer. The way they [the Quilombo] gave FPIC at that moment was in one of these prayers. They were praying, and at the same time, they were giving consent. There are many ways to get consent, and most likely the form that we’re used to, like signing papers and creating agreements, is not the only way.” Through this, Ivone highlights that FPIC must be obtained in a culturally appropriate way for Indigenous Peoples, which may differ from conventional methods.
Throughout the session, we also heard from Alina Santiago, PIPC Vicechair and Representative for Central America and Mexico Subregion and Francois Dufrense from FSC Canada. Both speakers provided insights into the unique experiences of FPIC implementation in Central America and Canada.
FSC IF Chair, Anders Blom provided ideas on what FSC IF can do to improve the situation for the implementation of FPIC, noting that “Within the FSC Indigenous Foundation, we have a great understanding that many certified forest companies feel uncertain about how to meet their commitments in accordance with FPIC. We would therefore like to set up an advisory and ombudsman function within FSC IF to be able to advise both certified companies and Indigenous Peoples. This ambition, however, requires funding that we do not yet have in place.” He continued to suggest that training opportunities must be created for certified companies to fully understand the concept of FPIC in its whole meaning, both as a right, a principle, and a process. Anders said, “I believe that FSC has a responsibility here, and PIPC and FSC IF are here, more than willing to help create these training opportunities”. Anders went on to also raise that there is a need to monitor the implementation of FPIC within FSC.
In closing, David Collard discussed the importance of acting ethically and responsibly and continuing to collaborate and align with FSC to achieve positive outcomes.
He closed by saying, “To do our jobs better and to make sure that the next generation has a forest to walk in and to look after, we have to do the right thing today because there is no plan B for this Earth.”