ABSTRACT
The challenge of protecting the rights of indigenous peoples while promoting more sustainable use of the world's forest resources is receiving growing international recognition. It is a nexus that forms a key component of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification system, and one that is accorded special recognition in FSC Principle 3 and its corollary criteria. Principle 3 obliges forest managers to recognise and respect 'the legal and customary rights of indigenous peoples to own, use, and manage their lands, territories and resources'. However, as with other international initiatives aimed at protecting indigenous rights, the challenge of translating this laudable aspiration into measures that will be effective on the ground looms large. This is particularly so in jurisdictions where legal recognition of indigenous rights is inchoate, and that lack a strong domestic judicial and political tradition of recognising and respecting such rights.
