Global Compact International Yearbook Ausgabe 2011

Best Practice
Human Rights
Sakhalin Energy
Sakhalin Indigenous Minorities
Development Plan: Come with the gas
When the Tripartite Agreement on implementation
of the Sakhalin Indigenous
Minorities Development Plan was signed
back in 2006, its partners were among
the optimists who sincerely believed in
success. But even they did not realize
what a long way they had to go together
for true cooperation.
The history of relations
The Sakhalin Indigenous Minorities Development
Plan is an innovative social
plan funded by Sakhalin Energy. Sakhalin
Energy has had an ongoing dialog
with Sakhalin’s indigenous minorities
since the Company was founded in 1994.
Since its inception, the company has
supported a lot of social projects for
indigenous minorities in a range of areas
– cultural, sport, and educational.
But in 2005, indigenous minorities staged
a protest against all the oil and gas companies
operating on Sakhalin Island. The
protest was supported by national and
international NGOs. They demanded a
more regular and transparent dialog
and greater recognition of the needs of
the indigenous peoples. Doing “a lot”
turned out to be not enough. Responding
to indigenous protests, Sakhalin
Energy decided to completely revise its
strategy of engagement with the Sakhalin
indigenous peoples. The year ended with
Sakhalin Energy signing a Memorandum
of Understanding with the communities,
and a commitment to build for them a
series of development plans in compliance
with the best international and
Russian standards.
SIMDP 1 – An essential first step
From 2005 to 2006, Sakhalin Energy
held large-scale consultations with all
stakeholders, including in areas densely
populated by the indigenous minorities
and in the city of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk,
the capital of Sakhalin Oblast. Based
on a strategy developed by the indigenous
minorities and suggestions on
how to implement it, the first Sakhalin
Indigenous Minorities Development Plan
(SIMDP 1) was created and signed in
May 2006. SIMDP 1 was prepared by
the company in close cooperation with
the Sakhalin Oblast Government and
the Regional Council of the Authorized
Representatives of Indigenous Minorities
of Sakhalin Oblast. It incorporated
measures to mitigate potential negative
impacts from the project on the Sakhalin
indigenous minorities, as well as activities
to improve the living standards of
the indigenous peoples, provide access
to the project benefits, and help the
4,000 indigenous Sakhalin inhabitants
(Nivkh, Uilta, Evenki, and Nanai peoples
– key Sakhalin indigenous population
groups) in capacity-building. The Plan
was delivered through the Traditional
Economic Activities Support Program,
the Social Development Program, and
Mini-Grant Fund activities. In order to
ensure the Plan’s effectiveness in meeting
its objectives, an External Monitor
worked during the entire period of SIMDP
1 implementation, visiting all the indigenous
communities and meeting key
stakeholders and public representatives.
In the last year of implementation, a
plan completion evaluation (PCE) was
performed. The PCE Team interviewed
people and conducted a survey of indigenous
opinion. The Team included
the Head of Sociological Laboratory of
the Sakhalin State University, and independent
indigenous representative not
previously involved in SIMDP activities,
and was headed by the External Monitor.
The Team found the Plan to be a
success in terms of both the very positive
material benefits received and the
strong capacity-building accomplished.
Quoting a prominent government official,
the evaluation noted, “Thanks to
the SIMDP, people changed. The Plan
helped to unite the people and give
them some direction for the future.”
Some difficulties were inevitable and
indeed occurred, but they did not detract
significantly from the Plan’s overall success
as a benefits-providing mechanism,
a capacity-building exercise, and as a
qualified model for similar projects. PCE
performed by three independent experts
is a good practice model that shows accurate
results of Plan implementation
and, by itself, contributes to building and
maintaining trust between the partners.
SIMDP 2 – Complying with and
setting the best international
standards
Simultaneously with the PCE process,
a Working Group started preparations
for the second SIMDP (SIMDP 2). The
Working Group was established on the
principle of equal partnership and comprised
the representatives of the Regional
Council of the Authorized Representatives
of Indigenous Minorities of Sakhalin
Oblast, Sakhalin Energy, the Sakhalin
Oblast Government, the Sakhalin Oblast
Duma (elected legislative assembly), and
the Russian Association of Indigenous
Peoples of the North, Siberia, and the
Far East – the umbrella organization
of indigenous peoples in Russia. Six of
eight Working Group members were
indigenous. The goal of the Working
Group was to elaborate recommendations
for the development of SIMDP 2
on the basis of experiences with the first
Plan and lessons learned, as well as the
results of the two rounds of consultations,
held in the seven Sakhalin districts of
traditional living of the Sakhalin indigenous
minorities. The consultations were
followed by a special indigenous peoples’
conference in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk,
where they discussed the prospects for
further development under the SIMDP 2.
Delegates from seven districts traditionally
inhabited by indigenous peoples of
Sakhalin examined the draft of SIMDP 2
and approved its implementation.
At the conference, the indigenous delegates
agreed that consultations were
carried out without coercion, were held
early enough for the community to discuss
the issues at length, and that they
had been provided all information regarding
the first and second Plans that
was necessary for them to formulate
their own independent assessments of
the Plans. The delegates also declared
that they gave their consent to the Plan
and authorized their representatives
to sign a new Tripartite Agreement to
implement the Plan.
SIMDP 2 will be carried out with even
more active participation by the indigenous
population. The Governing Board
is the highest management body; its
work is supplemented by an Executive
Committee, a Traditional Economic Activities
Support Program Committee, and
a Social Development Fund Council. The
two latter bodies are now completely
managed and monitored by the elected
representatives of indigenous peoples
from seven districts where the indigenous
population traditionally lives and
works. In December 2010, a new Tripartite
Agreement on implementation of
SIMDP 2 was signed by the three parties
in Moscow, Russia.
SIMDP: Good example deserves to
be followed
The development and implementation
of SIMDP caused a breakthrough in the
relationship between the oil and gas
company and the indigenous inhabitants
of the island. Indigenous peoples
are directly involved in management,
fund allocation, and control. The Plan
has emerged as a good practice model
on both the international and national
levels, but what is most important is
that the Plan is highly appreciated by
the indigenous peoples.
The International Finance Corporation
called SIMDP “a good practice example”
in their 2007 Stakeholder Engagement
guidebook; the World Bank also holds up
SIMDP as a good practice example of plan
implementation for indigenous peoples.
SIMDP became laureate of the Corporate
Donor, a Russia-wide contest for social
investment, and won the international
Vitus Bering award at the Sixth Russian
Congress of Indigenous Peoples.
One of the important tools for building
trust-based relationships with indigenous
minorities was the implementation
of grievance procedures, which effectively
regulates the process of receipt,
registration, and resolving grievances
related to the implementation of the
first and second SIMDPs. This procedure
was developed in accordance with the
general principles and approaches of
the Community Grievance Procedure
of Sakhalin Energy and with involvement
of indigenous peoples communities.
Having proven its effectiveness over the
years, it was called “a best practice” by
UN experts in the process of testing the
Ruggie Guiding Principles. Prof. John
Ruggie, Special Representative of the
UN Secretary General for Business and
Human Rights, developed this set of
practical principles, which constitute a
new standard for the complaints review
process for businesses worldwide.
Oleg Kapkaun, PCE independent indigenous
expert: “In the course of SIMDP
implementation, the mindset of indigenous
individuals started to change. They
started to understand that with support
from SIMDP, they can establish clan
enterprises. Even their appearance has
changed; they’ve got more sparkle in
their eyes, a desire for a full life rather
than mere subsistence, and increasing
pride in their ethnic lifestyles. They want
to preserve their traditions and culture,
they envisage growth of their clan enterprises
and communities, and they’ve
begun to develop a vision for the future.
SIMDP provides real and effective assistance
in preserving their languages,
in promotion of health, and support
of national sports. With support from
SIMDP, indigenous community leaders
have received capacity-building trainings,
computer equipment has been purchased,
and accounting workshops have
been organized for clan enterprises and
communities and for indigenous NGOs.
Most significantly, young indigenous
leaders have emerged and they care
about future generations and about the
revival of indigenous traditions. The indigenous
peoples themselves say SIMDP
represents an historic change, and is the
kind of agreement they’ve been asking
for decades.”
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