Open Knowledge (FSC OK)

FPIC is increasingly seen as an appropriate tool for managing the relationship between indigenous peoples and companies wishing to exploit natural resources on the land where they live. This report is the first to consider the applicability of FPIC within the context of industrial forestry exploitation in the Congo Basin. It presents FPIC as a process to guide forestry management so as to ensure open, ongoing and equitable relationships between forest peoples and forestry companies. Such relationships are the basis for making long-term socio-economic development a consequence of forestry operations. The FPIC approach requires, above all, that forest people are aware of the issues surrounding industrial forest exploitation so that they can make informed decisions about their role in forest management. This reduces negative impacts, enhances positive ones and ensures equitable sharing of benefits. The report shows how this approach is advantageous to both forest populations and forestry companies implementing it.