They set out rights and responsibilities under customary, state, and international law as the basis for engaging with external actors (for example, government agencies, companies, academics, and NGOs). They can catalyze proactive responses to land and resource development, for example, by demanding the cessation of harmful activities or calling for constructive collaboration. As community protocols are increasingly being recognized in national and international law, they acquire additional legal weight as communitydefined instruments that external actors must respected and adhere to. For a brief introduction to community protocols, please view this short film: bit.ly/1lc9YKQ Examples of Community Protocols routes, grazing areas, animal genetic resources, and ethno-veterinary knowledge; n In Malaysia, Indigenous communities are calling on government agencies to halt a proposed dam that would inundate their hill paddies, sacred sites, and rich biological diversity; n In Colombia, artisanal gold miners are underscoring their contributions to their community’s livelihoods and the sustainable use of local resources, as well as the detrimental impacts of large-scale mining; n In South Africa, traditional healers are working with biotechnology companies and state protected area agencies to conserve and retain control over their medicinal plants and traditional knowledge. Community protocols are being used by many different communities in a range of contexts (see Figure 2 below), including: Developing and Using Community Protocols n In India, Pakistan and Kenya, livestock keepers are protecting their migration Every process of developing and using a community protocol is as unique and diverse as GUIDING PRINCIPLES The process of developing and using a protocol should be endogenous, inclusive, empowering, and based primarily on the community’s own resources and diversity of knowledge, skills, and experiences. It should promote intra- and inter-community dialogue and intergenerational sharing. It should increase the community’s agency and capacity to ensure that engagements with external actors take place with honesty, transparency, respect, social and cultural sensitivity, and integrity. Figure 2. Locations of some community protocols being developed and used 112 Figure 3. Guiding principles for a protocol process Asian NGO Coalition for Agrarian Reform and Rural Development (ANGOC)