This issue is guest edited by Krystyna Swiderska (IIED), Kanchi Kohli (Kalpavriksh, India), Harry Jonas and Holly Shrumm (Natural Justice), Wim Hiemstra, (COMPAS, Netherlands), Maria Julia Oliva (Union for Ethical Biotrade)
This special issue of PLA explores two important participatory tools that indigenous peoples and local communities can use to help defend their customary rights to biocultural heritage, natural resources and land: Community protocols – or charters of rules and responsibilities – in which communities set out their customary rights to natural resources and land, as recognised in customary, national and international laws; and free, prior informed consent (FPIC) processes, in which communities decide whether or not to allow projects affecting their land or resources to go ahead, and on what terms.
The issue reviews the experiences of communities in Asia, Latin America and Africa in developing and using these tools in a range of contexts. It also looks at some government experiences of
establishing institutional processes for FPIC and benefit-sharing. It identifies practical lessons and guidance based on these experiences and aims to strengthen the capacity of a range of actors to
support these rights-based tools effectively in practice. It aims to provide guidance for those implementing the Nagoya Protocol and other natural resource and development practitioners, and
to raise awareness of the importance of community designed and controlled participatory processes.
Hard copies available on request on subscribe to PLA at www.planotes.org
