When territories are mapped by those who live them, consent can’t be faked.
A dune-to-reef community facing a fast-tracked permit pulled their own tools together: a community protocol, hand-drawn sacred site map, and an eco-calendar showing spawning, harvest, and ceremony seasons. Youth walked the coastline with elders to mark burial grounds and nesting sites; harvesters kept short diaries of tides and catches. With Indigenous advocates, they submitted this as evidence — and asked that FPIC follow the protocol, not the proponent’s timeline. The authority sent the permit back for proper consent.
What we used
- Community protocol setting who decides, how meetings run, and when consent is valid.
- Sacred site & livelihood maps (paper + GPS pins) owned by the community.
- Eco-calendar & diaries proving seasonal impacts that the EIA missed.
- FPIC letter outlining steps before any engagement.
Outcomes
- The agency recognised the community’s process as the lawful pathway to consent.
- Time created for culturally grounded assessment of dunes, estuary, and reef.
- A precedent that customary jurisdiction belongs in permitting decisions.
Three quick lessons
- Maps + protocols = jurisdiction in practice.
- Evidence is strongest when stored under community data sovereignty.
- Litigation is leverage — organising does the heavy lift.
How ACRRA supports
Training on eco-calendars and mapping, FPIC and protocol drafting, and strategic cases that protect communities while shifting regional policy.
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