Exploring Free, Prior and Informed Consent in Conservation: Lessons From the Field



As part of the Great Apes & Gibbons Program’s commitment to ongoing learning and to sharing knowledge and experience from the field with our partners and grantees, and in response to requests in our grantee feedback survey to provide opportunities for grantees to network with each other and learn from one another, we have started a series of online capacity-building workshops in collaboration with grantees and partners.

The first workshop, in collaboration with Village Enterprise Fund, looked at community engagement through alternative livelihoods. After that workshop, we solicited feedback through a questionnaire that included asking participants about future topics they would like us to consider. Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) in conservation was listed by everyone who responded.

Two FPIC workshops (one in English and a second with French interpretation) were held in June and July, 2022, and included a brief overview by Forest Peoples Programme of key legal and practical issues, and a presentation, by Fauna & Flora International, of their on-the-ground experience. These contributions provided a framework for group discussions in breakout rooms before all participants convened to present and discuss key points from their conversations. The videos presented here are edited to highlight the principal issues raised by contributors.

The workshops provided an opportunity for participants to share their FPIC knowledge and experience; to map the challenges they face in implementing FPIC; and to identify what they need to ensure the FPIC of their communities, or those communities with whom they work, is best secured. We will develop additional workshops and materials to address the challenges and needs identified.

Workshop Powerpoint Presentations