65 María Julia Oliva, Johanna von Braun and Gabriela Salinas Lanao
Photo: UEBT
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Representatives from AFIMAD communities discuss possible elements for their community protocol.
In the first workshop, participants read
BCPs developed in different parts of the
world and identified some common
elements. They then considered how the
protocols could help them to better respond
to commercial proposals concerning forest
resources, increase the government’s recognition of their rights as indigenous
communities, and communicate their views
to other institutions and organisations. From
there, they proposed and discussed elements
to include in the BCP and agreed to share
this preliminary document with their
community and return with further input for
the second workshop. Since they felt that
they lacked detailed knowledge of their
rights to land and resources, a study was
commissioned from an independent lawyer
specialising in indigenous legislation, in
preparation for the second workshop.
The second workshop brought together
two to three representatives per community
from the AFIMAD board and forestry
committees. The preliminary document was
fleshed out, including expectations of
engagement with companies on specific
forest products, the communities’ commitments towards conservation and use of
biodiversity, and the process of engagement
with communities. A legal report on national
and international legislation supporting the
communities’ rights was also shared,
discussed and incorporated in the draft
document (see Box 2 for an outline of the
BCP).
At the end of the workshop, participants
evaluated both the process and the protocol.
In addition to the advantages they identified
at the outset, the participants considered the
protocol could help to:
• foster discussions within the communities about what is currently being done and
what could happen in the future;
• assist members in working together;
• provide clarity on ethical biotrade; and
• show how a commercial relationship
should be structured in an ethical context.
The process of sharing and discussing the
BCP has now begun, particularly with
communities and external organisations that
work with them and have expressed an interest in working with non-timber forest
products. The protocol has also been shared
with a group of local NGOs working with
and supporting AFIMAD on different issues.
The protocol will remain a living document,
to be elaborated upon as the communities
see fit.
Step two: dialogue between the communities
and the company
Following the community reflection process,
the Candela Peru team joined AFIMAD and
community representatives in a dialogue
aiming to define shared values and
approaches to their working relationship.
Each group explained their basic values and
how they operated. Participants then jointly
explored issues around ethical biotrade and
the provisions of the ethical biotrade stan-