Resource: IIED report on FPIC and extractive industries

FPIC and the extractive industries: a guide to applying the spirit of free, prior and informed consent in industrial projects
Abbi Buxton and Emma Wilson
IIED, March 2013 | ISBN 978-1-84369-909-5

This report seeks to articulate the relevance of free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) to company policy and practice, while also providing a balanced consideration of the relative responsibilities of government and civil society. Oil, gas and mining companies are increasingly aware of the need to secure the trust of local communities to gain a ‘social license to operate’. Implementing a project without it can lead to operational delays, financial costs and litigation, or even project closure, violence and loss of life. FPIC is an indigenous peoples’ right, established in international conventions, requiring companies to engage with local communities to agree together on how projects are implemented; it is also a crucial part of gaining the social license to operate. There is a growing set of FPIC regulations to comply with, and responsible companies are increasingly aware that they need to have policies relating to FPIC. This paper offers guidance to those companies who are looking to engage with FPIC in a meaningful way. It focuses less on the letter of the law, which may differ in different jurisdictions, and more on exploring ‘the spirit of FPIC’, a deeper commitment to engage with local communities to reach shared agreement, allowing people to have a meaningful voice in deliberative decision-making processes related to their own development. The authors offer a three-level framework of transferable principles to implement the ‘spirit of FPIC’, as well as references to the plentiful step-by-step guidance that exists on implementing FPIC. The framework is intended to challenge companies to move beyond a culture driven by minimal compliance-based thinking, towards one based on a greater understanding of the importance of stakeholder engagement practices; an understanding which should benefit business as well as communities. It involves: complying with requirements for FPIC under international and national law, company policy and obligations to third parties, such as project lenders; implementing the ‘spirit of FPIC’ throughout the project life-cycle, by employing timely, transparent, deliberative processes to reach mutual agreement on future developments, whether or not this is required by third parties; and applying the ‘spirit of FPIC’ not only to indigenous communities, but to all significantly affected local communities, in line with emerging good practice guidance. Download the report [pdf] …

 

Meeting prep: CDU symposium on indigenous knowledges

Indigenous Knowledges in a Changing World
21-22 April 2013 (Darwin, Australia)

This symposium will mark the opening of the new Australian Centre for Indigenous Knowledges and Education. It will address a series of questions aiming to reflect the local and specific nature of indigenous knowledge in the Northern Territory, and the informal and collaborative way indigenous peoples continue to contribute to life in the area. An Open Day on 21 April will showcase how indigenous peoples use their traditional knowledge systems to develop and grow business enterprises and employment opportunities. The Symposium Forum on 22 April will include addresses by academics and a panel discussion with academics and indigenous elders. Visit the symposium’s website … Read the CDU press release of 12 April … Read the CDU press release of 16 April …

 

This week in review … IP Watch article focuses on Greek genebank, emergence of seed exchange networks

Greek Gene Bank’s Struggle Indicative of Changing Times
IP Watch, 17 April 2013

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND: In this article, Paraskevi Kollia draws attention to the situation of the Greek Gene Bank, established with assistance from FAO and holding a significant amount of plant genetic resources, including traditional plant varieties developed by farmers. She highlights current financial and administrative challenges due to budget cuts, while noting that, on the other hand, informal seed exchange networks organized by smallholder farmers and citizens have sprung up all over the country, assuming an active role in the preservation and enjoyment of traditional seeds. Such networks meet regularly and exchange seeds, information and cultivation practices, while raising awareness on the impacts of IPRs on the conservation of plant genetic resources. Read the article …

 

This week in review … Article on Jeju’s traditional medicine

Jeju traditional medicine – the healing biodiversity of the island
Jeju Weekly, 28 March 2013

JEJU, REPUBLIC OF KOREA: The traditional healing system used by Jeju people has three branches: the mainland’s traditional medicine, botanical as well as physical therapies such as acupuncture which were adapted from that of China; shamanism, traditionally a system of healing used to calm the mind and console the spirit; and the island’s indigenous medicinal botany. Read the article …

 

This week in review … Article comments on preparations for World Conference on Indigenous Peoples

Preparing for the World Conference on Indigenous Peoples
Dina Gilio-Whitaker, Indian Country Today Media Network, 26 March 2013

NEW YORK, USA: The World Conference on Indigenous Peoples will be held on 22-23 September 2013 at the UN Headquarters in New York, and will consist of two days of plenary sessions and informal roundtable and panel discussions with whatever state governments are participating; any actual participation of indigenous peoples themselves will be at the invitation of states. A total of 200 indigenous participants from seven global regions will be invited. To prepare for the Conference, each of the seven regions are holding preparatory meetings to develop agendas which will then be shared at one meeting of all the regions in Alta, Norway in June 2013. The North American region, consisting of Canada and the United States, held its preparatory conference (called the North American Indigenous Peoples Caucus, or NAIPC) from 1-3 March 2013, hosted by the Sycuan Band of Kumeyaay Indians in Southern California.  The bulk of the time was spent in Caucus among the hundred or so participants hammering out agenda items, choosing representatives for the Global Coordinating Committee (essentially the leadership of the seven regions) and determining delegates for the Norway meeting. Read the article …

 

Resource: Manual on the protection of the rights of African indigenous communities

Manual on the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Indigenous Populations/Communities through the African Human Rights System
Korir Sing Oei
African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights, International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs, December 2012 | ISBN: 978-87-92786-29-6

Designed as a training tool for indigenous rights activists in Africa, as well as a practical instrument for use in the training of judicial officers, lawyers, media activists and government officials on indigenous rights in Africa, this manual overviews the African human rights instruments; presents the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights; and analyzes advocacy as a tool for indigenous rights. It aims to address the lack of information that hinders indigenous peoples from taking advantage of the new opportunities in the African human rights system. Further information … Download the manual [pdf] …

 

Meeting review: UNESCO capacity-building workshops on intangible cultural heritage focus on communities

Cambodia reorienting its methods of inventorying living heritage
14-21 February 2013 (Phnom Penh, Cambodia)

Aiming at reinforcing Cambodia’s community-based focus in its efforts to document and inventory living heritage, over 35 participants came together in Siem Reap to build their knowledge and develop this new approach. The programme included 8 days of intensive course and field-based work carried out in the rural areas of Siem Reap and the town itself. Fieldwork included a visit to the School of Fine Arts and two local communities, with forms of ICH documented including traditional weaving processes, martial arts skills and techniques, and performing arts. Participants learned, through hands-on training, field-based techniques of interviewing and audio-visual recording. A visit was also conducted to the Eco-Global Museum (supported by UNESCO) located in the Preah Vihear Province, to learn about a concrete inventory project underway which combines audio-visual documentation of living heritage among a local indigenous community with the documentation of associated cultural objects. The capacity-building workshop on inventorying with a strong community focus thus provided participants – most of whom are provincial directors – with further skills and knowledge for their field practices. In addition, the training placed much emphasis on developing mutually supportive networks among cultural professionals and communities to support national efforts to document and inventory living heritage. Read the release …

A step further in the identification of intangible cultural heritage in Argentina
25 February – 1 March 2013 (Buenos Aires, Argentina)

Intensive training was delivered on drawing up inventories of intangible cultural heritage, with emphasis on the key role that the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage grants to communities in the identification and definition of their heritage. The sessions aimed to equip participants with the fundamental knowledge and techniques to design and facilitate an inventorying process with the participation of communities and tailored to their particular circumstances. Read the release …

Cuba: communities involved in the inventory of the rural festivities of Red and Blue bands of Majagua
28 February – 5 March 2013 (Majagua, Ciego de Ávila, Cuba)

In accordance with the consent of the community of Majagua, in the very centre of Cuba, to embark on an inventory exercise, the manifestation selected by the community to undertake the first field exercise was the rural festivities of Red and Blue bands of Majagua, known throughout the island as an enduring social institution that brings residents from different generations into one or the other camp for friendly rivalry and competitions. The exercise took place under the supervision of UNESCO-trained facilitators, and is supported by the community of Majagua, by the provincial authorities in the field of cultural heritage and the Houses of Culture of Ciego de Ávila. Read the release …

 

This week in review … Preparatory meeting for Pacific indigenous peoples on the 2014 World Conference

Preparatory Meeting for Pacific Indigenous Peoples on the World Conference on Indigenous Peoples 2014
19-21 March 2013 (Sydney, Australia)

The meeting is addressing a series of Pacific issues, including the doctrine of discovery, climate change, lands, territories and resources, and a status report on the state of indigenous peoples in the Pacific to be tabled at the World Conference on Indigenous Peoples in 2014; and global issues, including the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), self-determination, participation in decision-making, respect for and protection of culture, equality and non-discrimination, and UNDRIP implementation. Visit the meeting’s website … Follow live streaming …