Washington, DC, 02 March 2026 — Landesa and Forest Trends have released a new protocol outlining a rights-based approach to consultation and Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) in carbon project development.
Consultation and Free, Prior, and Informed Consent: A Referential Practice for Carbon Projects provides practical guidance for integrating FPIC across regulated and voluntary carbon markets, including jurisdictional and private projects. The protocol is designed to safeguard the tenure rights of Indigenous Peoples, Local Communities, and Afro-descendant Peoples (IPs, LCs, & ADs) and populations throughout the full carbon project lifecycle.
Grounded in international frameworks such as the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) and ILO Convention 169, the protocol clarifies that FPIC is not a one-time approval or compliance step. It is an ongoing process rooted in communities’ rights to self-determination, governance, and control over their lands and resources.
The protocol outlines a ten-step process for consultation and consent, from identifying affected communities and understanding decision-making structures to revisiting consent when project terms or impacts change. It also addresses key risks related to tenure, governance, benefit sharing, and gender inclusion that can arise when FPIC is weak or inconsistently applied.
“This collaboration brings together Landesa and Forest Trends’ combined experience to advance clarity and practical guidance on consultation and free, prior, and informed consent in carbon projects,” said Juan Jose Robalino, Climate Change and Land Tenure Specialist at Landesa. “As carbon markets grow, ensuring their social integrity and respect for community rights has never been more critical.”
“Carbon projects cannot deliver durable climate outcomes if they undermine land rights or treat consent as a checkbox,” said Beto Borges, Director of Forest Trends’ Communities and Territorial Governance Initiative (CTGI). “This protocol provides a practical, rights-based roadmap for developers, governments, and investors to engage communities as decision-makers, not just stakeholders.”
By moving beyond flexible and permissive safeguards, the protocol aims to strengthen accountability, reduce social risk, and support carbon projects that are both environmentally effective and socially legitimate.
Download the full protocol, Consultation and Free, Prior, and Informed Consent: A Referential Practice for Carbon Projects.
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Forest Trends is a civil society organization that works to conserve forests and natural ecosystems by promoting nature-based solutions, sustainable economies, and climate justice. Through its Communities and Territorial Governance Initiative (CTGI), Forest Trends has worked for over two decades in partnership with Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities to strengthen territorial governance, cultural preservation, and equitable access to climate finance. CTGI has a strong presence across Latin America and extensive experience in pioneering projects that intersect conservation, forest-based economies, and community leadership.
Landesa is a non-governmental organization founded in 1981 as the first global land rights organization. Landesa supports Indigenous Peoples and local communities’ autonomy in decision-making, including the right to withhold consent, and works to strengthen their land and resource rights in partnership with governments, communities, CSOs, and the private sector. Landesa supports actions that 1) strengthen land and resource rights; 2) ensure access to information needed to make decisions with free, prior, informed consent about carbon projects; and 3) increase participation and power in decision-making and negotiations related to carbon projects and markets.