Breaking Ground: Engaging Communities in Extractive and Infrastructure Projects

"Too often, the rhetoric in support of community engagement does not match the practice. These processes can fail, for example, without the willingness and ability of communities to engage....Is meaningful community engagement easy? Of course not. On the contrary, this report reveals the richly complex interface between project proponents and communities. Is it worthwhile? Absolutely and on every measure – from human rights, to ecosystems protection, to the bottom line. As WRI's research in this report illustrates, community engagement can benefit everyone involved, contributing to reduced costs and risks for project proponents while enhancing access to new opportunities for host communities." - from the Foreword, by Jonathan Lash, President, WRI

This 47-page report from the World Resources Institute (WRI) outlines a series of principles for effective, on-the-ground implementation of community engagement in extractive and infrastructure projects. As WRI has observed, growing demand for energy and natural resources has led many low-income, resource-rich countries to open remote areas to industrial development. In many of these countries, however, strong institutions and governance systems are not yet in place to ensure that these projects do not incur harmful environmental and social impacts on local communities. While many project proponents, host governments, and financial institutions recognise that a strong relationship with those affected by a project can improve the identification and management of risks, as well as long-term project viability, community engagement efforts often fall short because of a failure to understand local political and community dynamics, or a failure to fully engage all local stakeholders affected by a project.

Thus, the purpose of these principles is twofold: (1) to provide a framework for identifying solutions to core community engagement challenges; and (2) to serve as a resource for citizen organisations supporting communities, in order to empower local communities to provide more meaningful input into project design and implementation. The report includes 3 sections:

Section I: How Project Proponents Benefit from Community Engagement summarises recent research by WRI, which demonstrates how proponents can benefit from community engagement by reducing and avoiding costs, identifying and managing risks, and enhancing reputation.

Section II: Review of Community Engagement Practices analyses key existing community engagement policies, laws, and guidance, by financial institutions, industry associations, and host governments. Several gaps in addressing core challenges are highlighted.

Section III: Principles for Effective Community Engagement proposes an implementation framework for effectively addressing core challenges in designing a community engagement strategy for extractive and infrastructure projects

To elaborate on Section III, based on an analysis of existing community engagement standards and guidance, as well as experiences in several high-profile projects, WRI articulates these Principles for Effective Community Engagement:

1. Prepare communities before engaging.
2. Determine what level of engagement is needed.
3. Integrate community engagement into each phase of the project cycle.
4. Include traditionally excluded stakeholders.
5. Gain free, prior, and informed consent.
6. Resolve community grievances through dialogue.
7. Promote participatory monitoring by local communities.

To address the gaps remaining in the knowledge base and application of community engagement standards, WRI recommends the following next steps:

• For project proponents: identify and promote best practices. Prioritise the collection and public dissemination of community engagement best practices, including examples of how community engagement creates value for companies.
• For financial institutions: increase disclosure, promote improved community engagement. Guide clients to link community engagement with project risk management, and send strong signals to their clients that community engagement is a priority. By improving their own public reporting on community engagement, financial institutions can promote more open sharing and improvement of engagement strategies. For example, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) should begin to routinely disclose how it determines that each of its projects has "broad community support."
  
• For citizen organisations: advocate for inclusive, accountable, and transparent processes. The ultimate goals of community engagement are tangible outcomes, such as providing benefits and mitigating risks to improve the lives of communities and strengthen a project's viability. However, these outcomes often depend on the integrity of the process for achieving them. Community engagement that is inclusive, accountable, and transparent is more likely to result in optimal outcomes for both communities and project proponents. Informed by this report, citizen organisations supporting affected communities can more clearly articulate the type of processes in which they would like to engage.