Strengthening capacity - Disasters and Conflicts - UNEP

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around the allocation of benefits, costs, and
responsibilities of resource extraction activities.
Take into account any negative historical
relationships between government and the local
communities.
Artisanal issues: Engage with stakeholders
about how a fair and sustainable system can
be implemented for license allocation and
how artisanal miners can be protected from
exploitation (e.g. through the creation of
unions, or through a purchasing process that
guarantees them a fair return on their findings).
Impacts and benefits of large-scale extraction:
The government and communities should
discuss their mutual expectations. What will
investors provide for the country as a whole
What will directly impacted communities
receive in terms of: development funds;
infrastructure; employment; training; and,
compensation for losses (e.g. in the agricultural
sector) What rules are there to assure
abatement of environmental impacts What
kind of grievance mechanisms exist already,
and what functions do communities, the
government, and corporations in the industry
wish to see assigned to these mechanisms
Government as mediator or negotiator:
To what extent are communities willing to
have the government engage in discussions
with large corporations about benefits and
compensation for adverse impacts Will
communities accept government leadership
or support in negotiating with corporations,
in what form, and is government capable
of offering meaningful support Based on
this, build government capacity to support
communities in their discussions or to serve as
a mediator between extractives concessionaires
and their host communities.
Sharing best practices: Share examples and
case studies of how similar governments
have dealt with common problems that
arise in the extractives sector, such as
environmental impact assessments, concession
terms, monitoring, dialogue with affected
communities, supporting social investments,
etc. Use those examples as the basis for
thinking, not as rigid blueprints.
Feed dialogue into new policies:
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Extractive resource development policy:
Identify priorities in the extractives sector,
rationalize them with the broader national
strategy, and coordinate stakeholders around
these priorities while managing stakeholder
expectations by conveying a clear and fair
vision of how costs and benefits will be
distributed.
Economic policy: Explore an economic/
industrial policy that encourages value capture
and business linkages within the country to
help meet community expectations.
7.3 Building inclusive, transparent,
and accountable extractive
industries sector
Legal reform:
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Transparency and accountability: Develop
freedom of information and administrative
accountability legislation.
Revenue transparency and management:
Legislate or even constitutionalize transparency
and management rules (to prevent later
manipulation). Encourage the government
to participate in the EITI, and to consider
centralizing revenues under one ministry with
clear reporting obligations.
Review of existing resource concessions: If
a review of existing concessions is planned by
stakeholders to alter or unwind concessions
perceived to be illegitimate, support the
development of a comprehensive, transparent
investigation process and uniform criteria for
determining claim legitimacy.
STRENGTHENING CAPACITY FOR CONFLICT-
SENSITIVE NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT 31