Support the spread of good practice in generating, managing, analysing and communicating spatial information
Module: [Attitudes, Behaviours and Ethics]
Unit: [M02U03 - Free, Prior and Written Informed Consent]

Unit M02U03 - Free, Prior and Written Informed Consent

Unit Trainer Notes

Outlined by: Robert Chambers, Jon Corbett, Alfredo Wagner Berno de Almeida, Jefferson Fox, Saskia Harmsen (facilitator), Louis Liebenberg, Giulia Pedone and Giacomo Rambaldi


Developed by: Miguel Castrence, Jefferson Fox and Wendy Miles

Introduction / This Unit provides an overview of the ethical practice of Free, Prior and Written Informed Consent (FPWIC), a prerequisite for engaging communities in PGIS. The Unit covers the background and rationale for FPWIC, defines the relevant concepts in operational terms and discusses issues and challenges in its implementation.
Target audience / Technology intermediaries working in multidisciplinary teams and operating within an institution/organisation already committed to practising participatory mapping and who are or would be required to: (i) deliver training on the practice; (ii) facilitate the process in the field.
Unit objectives / expected outcomes / After the completion of the Unit the trainee will be able to:
  • explain background and applications of FPWIC;
  • define the meaning of FPWIC;
  • outline the challenges of informed consent;
  • describe risks and unintended consequences of participatory mapping.

Keywords / key concepts / Prior informed consent, good practice, ethics, intellectual property rights (IPR), traditional knowledge, community extension
Content outline, main topics covered and suggested sequencing / This Unit focuses on the topics listed below.
  1. Background and RationaleofFPWIC (PPT No.1)(10 min)
  2. Definitions and Questions (PPT No.1)(10 min) and Unit Glossary as reference material
  3. Implementation and Challenges (PPT No.1) (10 min)
  4. Prior notice (Exercise No. 1)(30-45 min)
  5. Informing (Exercise No. 2)(30-45 min)
  6. Written Documentation (Exercise No. 3) (20-30 min)
  7. Risks and unintended Consequences (PPT No.1)(10 min) and three case study readings and discussion (30-45 min/each)
  8. Transparency and Informed Consent (Case study No. 1)(30-45 min)
  9. Successes and failures (Case study No. 2)(30-45 min)
  10. Good and bad Practices (Case study No. 3)(30-45 min)

Components of the Unit /
  • Exercises
  • Exercise No. 1: Role Playing to Develop a Seasonal Calendar; To define the concept of “prior” notice in terms of the project planning process and the daily life of community members (30-45 min)
  • Exercise No. 2: Role Playing and Brainstorming About the “Informing” Process; To teach skills in communicating and translating technical concepts into simple language and to illustrate differences in cross-cultural understanding in the process of “informing” (30-45 min)
  • Exercise No. 3: Brainstorming about Written Documentation; To quickly develop a list of issues and questions related to written documentation of free, prior and written informed consent (FPWIC) (20-30 min)
  • Handouts for Trainee (to be distributed in printed format)
  • Free, Prior and Written Informed Consent (Handout4T)
  • Article - The American Geographical Society’s Bowman Expeditions seek to improve geographic understanding at home and abroad: Spotlight on México Indígena
  • Article - Zapotec Indigenous People in Mexico Demand Transparency from U.S. Scholar
  • Article - The American Geographical Society Developing Guidelines for Ethical Conduct of Foreign Field Research
  • Case Study No. 1 - Bowman Expedition
  • Case Study No. 2 - East Sumba, Indonesia
  • Case Study No. 3 - Ratanakiri, Cambodia
  • List of Additional Resources
  • Glossary
  • Handouts for Trainee (to be distributed in digital format)
  • Article - Community Prior Informed Consent under Convention Biological Diversity
  • Article - Overview Free Prior Informed Consent and Indigenous Peoples International Domestic Law Practices
  • Booklet - Land for My Grandchildren: Land-Use and Tenure Change In Ratanakiri: 1989-2007
  • Expanded working paper- by Mrs. Antoanella-Iulia Motoc and the Tebtebba Foundation offering guidelines to govern the practice of implementation of the principle of free, prior and informed consent of indigenous peoples
  • Booklet - Mapping power: Ironic effects of spatial information technology
  • Booklet - Participatory Mapping as a tool for empowerment: Experiences and lessons learned from the ILC network
  • Multimedia
  • None.
  • Presentations (PPT)
  • PPT No. 1: Free, Prior and Written Informed Consent(FPWIC); Issues and implementationin the context of PGIS (40 min)
  • Unit Glossary
  • Included

Duration / ½ day
Prerequisite skills / knowledge / Exposure to community/rural extension work (e.g. outreach and education)
Pre-Unit activities / M02U01 and M02U02
Trainees will be given case study materials to read in preparation for group discussion.
Additional trainer resources / Chambers, R. (2006). Participatory Mapping and Geographic Information Systems: Whose Map? Who is Empowered and Who Disempowered? Who Gains and Who Loses? EJISDC, 25(2), 1-11.
Chapin, M., and Threlkeld, B. (2001). Indigenous Landscapes. A Study in Ethnocartography. Arlington, VA: Center for the Support of Native Lands.
Deddy, K. (2006). Community Mapping, Tenurial Rights and Conflict Resolution in Kalimantan. In Majid Cooke, F. (Ed.) State, Communities and Forests in Contemporary Borneo. (Chap. 5). Canberra: ANU E Press.
Firestone, L. A. (2003). You Say Yes, I Say No; Defining Community Prior Informed Consent under the Convention on Biological Diversity. Georgetown International Environmental Law Review, 16, 171.
Forest Peoples Programme (FPP). FPIC - Free, Prior and Informed Consent, CLPI.
Fox, J., Suryanata, K., Hershock, P. D. (2005). Mapping Communities: Ethics, Values, Practice. Honolulu: East-WestCenter.
Mackay, F. (2005). The Draft World Bank Operational Policy 4.10 on Indigenous Peoples: Progress or more of the same? Arizona Journal of International & Comparative Law 22(1).
Motoc, A. J. (2005). Standard Setting, Legal Commentary on the Concept of Free, Prior and Informed Consent. Working paper submitted to the Commission on Human Rights, Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights Working Group on Indigenous Populations, 23rd session, 18-22 July 2005, E/CN. 4/Sub. 2/AC. 4/2005/WP. 1
Tamang, P. (2005). An Overview of the Principle of Free, Prior and Informed Consent and Indigenous Peoples in International and Domestic Law and Practices - [2005] AILR 36; 9(2) pg111. Australian Indigenous Law Reporter.
Tobias, T. N. (2000). Chief Kerry's Moose: A Guidebook to Land Use and Occupancy Mapping, Research Design and Data Collection. Vancouver: Union of BC Indian Chiefs and Ecotrust Canada.
Equipment needed / Computer and LCD projector for PowerPoint presentation or overhead projector with transparencies
Sample maps (e.g. base map, aerial photo, thematic maps)
Small sheets of paper with tape or sticky notes
Flipcharts with markers, chalkboard with chalk or whiteboard with dry-erase markers
Comments / This Unit builds upon the concepts of ethics and responsibilities of PGIS practitioners that are introduced in M02U01 and M02U02.
It is recommended to provide copies of the PowerPoint slides as handouts to allow trainees to take notes and use as reference materials.

Trainer Notes - Unit

File name: M02U03

Updated on: 5 March 2010