Helpdesk

Question
Community-based Approaches and the Extractives Sector in Situations of Fragility and Conflict: Please provide a summary of literature on community based approaches and the extractives sector in situations of state fragility and conflict, including the use of the Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) model.

Helpdesk response
Key findings: The literature offers a number of recommendations on community engagement in the extractives sector. The following are particularly relevant to fragile and conflict-affected contexts:

• Engage with local communities as partners in preventing and managing conflict, rather than approaching them as a threat or risk.
• Distribute any benefits from the project (including jobs, development assistance, etc.) widely and fairly across communities.
• Apply principles of transparency and accountability.
• Recognise legacies of violent conflict
• Understand that there are set boundaries for what is possible when it comes to community development.
• Give a voice to the marginalised when designing community development, whilst recognising that this can also change power dynamics and relationships.
• Ensure that those engaging with the community are as representative as possible of the community itself and have in-depth knowledge of local culture, customs, leadership, and communications.
• Take a tri-sector partnership approach (between the private sector, government and civil society) to help ensure greater legitimacy and build social capital within the community.
• Work proactively to prevent conflict and to build sustainable relations with communities and governments rather than trying to defuse discontent and outrage once they have emerged.
• Apply conflict-sensitive business practices, including early, consistent, meaningful and empowering stakeholder engagement.
• Create effective channels through which stakeholders can raise and address problems.

Full response: http://www.gsdrc.org/docs/open/HD636.pdf