Earlier this week, FSC-IC released a massive, 80-page guidance document on the complex subject of indigenous people’s rights to free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC). Folks who work with the FSC Forest Management certifications will be very familiar with this challenging topic. I have only given it a quick scan, so don’t have any substantive comments to share. I will admit to being a bit nervous about it’s implications.
I was surprised to note that the initial news release does not include a link to the actual document. This seems to be an oversight. I sent a note to FSC-PSU and received a prompt reply suggesting that they will fix this soon. In the meantime I uploaded a copy here: (FSC Guidelines for FPIC_Version 1)
Please share your impressions on this. Is it helpful? Too complex? Too soon to tell?