This explainer by the Institute for Sustainable Empowerment and Justice (ISEJ) breaks down the principle of Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) in the context of climate projects in Zimbabwe. It details how FPIC protects local communities from dispossession and ensures that local populations—especially women—have a genuine say in climate and environmental decisions impacting their lands.
Key Takeaways:
- Deconstructing FPIC:
- Free: Consent given without coercion, manipulation, or post-decision consultation.
- Prior: Approvals must be sought before project financing, permitting, or implementation begins.
- Informed: Provision of complete, accessible information on risks and alternatives—not jargon-heavy technical summaries.
- Consent: A real decision-making power that includes the right to say no, attach conditions, or withdraw consent over time.
- The Gender Dimension: Standard community consultations often rely on male-dominated structures (e.g., chiefs’ councils), leading to situations where a project is deemed “consented to” without women ever being consulted. Because women often bear the brunt of lost access to water, land, and care infrastructure, genuine FPIC requires deliberate, resourced inclusion of women, youth, and persons with disabilities.
- Recommendations for Zimbabwe’s Climate Law: ISEJ’s submission on the Climate Change Management Bill (HB 05, 2025) urges Parliament to codify FPIC into project permitting, mandate social and gender impact assessments prior to approval, and establish accessible grievance mechanisms when protections fail.
About the Publisher:
The Institute for Sustainable Empowerment and Justice (ISEJ) is a Zimbabwean non-profit working at the intersection of law, gender equality, public health, and climate justice to make complex legal and policy frameworks accessible to local communities.