Free prior and informed consent in the Green Climate Fund: the implementation of a project in the Datém del Marañón, Peru

Abstract

In the context of implementation of climate change adaptation and resilience projects, Indigenous communities’ right to Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) is becoming a mandatory requirement. The present paper, after giving an overview of the requirement of FPIC in international law, addresses the issue of a climate resilience project financed by the Green Climate Fund (GCF) in Peru. Such project is being implemented in Indigenous territories in the Datém del Marañon region. At the time of approval by the GCF Board, the proposed project raised protests from Indigenous communities as they claimed they were not properly consulted before the disbursement of funding. This episode evidenced how the GCF needed to adopt an ad hoc policy to engage with Indigenous peoples respecting the FPIC requirement as prescribed by international law. The present paper demonstrates that the Indigenous Peoples Policy, adopted in February 2018 by the GCF, is an example of harmonization with international law requirements for FPIC such as those prescribed by the United Nations Declaration on Indigenous Peoples Rights. Finally, the paper aims at evidencing the challenge represented by the excessive state-centred structure of the GCF, which needs to be overcome to facilitate a true participatory dialogue with Indigenous peoples.