95
SECTION III
ENGAGING IN
DECISION-MAKING PROCESSES
There are increasing opportunities for
Indigenous peoples and local communities
to participate in public and private decisionmaking processes, including planning,
implementation, and monitoring and
evaluation.
Biocultural
community
protocols can be used as the basis for
engaging with these processes at all levels
of government, as well as with companies
and research institutions. The more
communities participate actively in such
processes, the more likely their ideas,
concerns, and priorities will be enacted into
law, policy, and practice
A.
International laws
and policies
National and subnational laws and
policies
Community
experiences and
participation
Figure 16: Feedback loop between communities and national
and international processes
IMPACT ASSESSMENTS
KEY TOOLS
E-learning modules on relevant legal
frameworks
Assessing key opportunities and threats
Community wellbeing impact assessment
worksheet
Principles for public participation in
impact assessments
Activity monitoring table
Framework for research and action
Identifying key actors
Understanding relationships between key
actors
Multi-stakeholder role play
Identifying appropriate forms of resource
mapping
Participatory video
Photo stories
Audio interviews
Legislative theatre
One of the main ways for communities to participate in decision-making processes is through impact
assessments. These studies are intended to assess the likely impacts of a proposed activity or project on a
range of stakeholders and factors, including nearby communities and the environment (see Box 41 for
examples). They also provide recommendations to the project proponent as to whether or not the project
should be implemented and, if so, ways to prevent and mitigate the likely impacts.