Community consultation, participation and development are all important in the process of establishing, operating and closing a mining project that is not only financially successful, but environmentally and socially responsible as well. They are also part of ensuring that the mining project is promoting sustainable development (see Section 2).
Consultation enables the company to identify the concerns of the community and to take these into account in the planning and development of a project. It establishes a relationship between the company and its neighbours, which should increase understanding and trust and avoid unpleasant surprises. Participation means that the community is involved directly in the decision-making process. Community consultation and participation is a necessary part of any environmental management system: not just because the community is part of the environment affected by a project, but also because they can add sensitivities and information invaluable to achieving best practice. The process can also ensure the maximum economic benefits and development for the community.
The main questions asked about consultation are: when should the consultation process begin and end; who should be involved; when should consultation become participation; and what topics should be discussed. In Australia, for example, the law requires a mineral explorer to consult directly, and early, with any people or group its work will affect. When applying for a prospecting or exploration licence, the applicant must usually advertise its intent in the local newspaper, contact landowners and occupants, local government and others with an interest in the area, particularly Aboriginal communities. The extent and detail of the consultation is often left to the discretion of the proponent. However, the community needs to receive enough information about a project so that they are able to contribute to the decision-making process. They should also understand the process of the decision-making. If they understand the process they will know the full extent of their own influence and the best ways to contribute.
The World Bank “Pollution and Prevention Handbook” (1998) outlines the following general practice pointers as a guide to the consultation and participatory process:
• Start the participatory process as early as possible in the project design.
• Ensure government support for a participatory approach.
• Identify and then involve the stakeholders.
• Involve intermediary NGOs who have local credibility.
• Identify and involve responsive individuals or agencies in government.
• Build community capacity to make decisions and to convey information back and forth.
• Make a particular effort to understand the concerns of the poor, who are often not well represented.
• Facilitate women’s participation, as they may not be represented in the formal structures.
• Consider institutional or regulatory measures to support participation.
Consultation and listening are essential prerequisites for participation. Community consultation and participation require the support and collaboration of all the players involved in the development of a mining project. Initially they need to conduct an analysis and diagnosis of the strengths and weaknesses of existing policies and service and support systems. They then need to decide what is required and set the objectives. Once the objectives have been established it is necessary to create a strategy that outlines the directions, priorities and institutional responsibilities. From this position it is then possible to formulate the project tactics.
The following guidelines have been adapted from a paper given by Mr. Gai Kula, the Director, Conservation International, Papua, New Guinea, at a conference in Madang, “Mining and the Community” (1998). They are aimed at developing a programme for consulting with the local community and community-based participation:
• The community should decide what type of growth they want and exercise control over their growth and development and be involved in the identification, design, implementation and evaluation of the development.
• Empowerment should be an objective—the community needs to mobilize their own capacities and be social actors rather than passive subjects. In this way they can manage the resources, make decisions and control the activities that affect their lives.
• Local participation in the project cycle involves the community in information gathering. This includes identifying local leaders and existing organizations and establishing what the community sees as key priorities and what ideas, expectations and concerns the people have.
• Creating stakeholders—establishing if individuals or groups can become owners of enterprises.
• Involving the community leaders—who are the traditional owners, who are the political leaders and who knows the most about the forest at the mine site.
• Identifying leaders—different leadership strengths are often associated with different types of people. For example, people who are willing to promote change and take risks are often younger, better educated and have contacts outside of the area.
• Identifying local organizations that could be of use such as religious groups that hold meetings or local economic groups.
• Linking benefits for social improvements—which activities are a direct link between the project objectives and potential local benefits? Who will not receive benefits under the activities planned? What kind of long-term investment will local people make in the activities? Who will control decision-making? Are there ways activities can be structured to provide multiple benefits, such as employment for some, training for others and
revenue sharing for the community?
• Distributing benefits. Is it better to have an enterprise run by an individual or by the community with revenue sharing? Is there the local capacity to run the enterprise efficiently? Will some people be stuck in long-term subservient positions? Will competition among individual owners erode group decision-making and strong management? If the benefits are widely distributed will everyone get so little that it is not worth their involvement? Conversely, if the benefits are narrowly distributed will that act as an incentive for others to participate or will it exclude too many people and lead to resentment and income inequality?
• Monitoring and evaluating progress. Developing some key objectives and indicators for the activities initiated can enable projects to measure the impact of their social and economic development activities. This can provide useful input for future planning and can highlight the importance of involving stakeholders, in order to give them a vested interest in, and presumably greater commitment to, the achievement of project goals. It is not always easy to measure achievements against these kinds of objectives, particularly over short periods of time while projects are still in process and before more tangible benefits have become apparent.
In all this is a very lengthy process, which is time-consuming and requires the commitment of large resources, such as funding and human capacity. Community consultation and participation for a mining project is a critical way of helping to ensure sustainable development. However, gender inequalities in community consultations and local decision-making processes often occur. Furthermore, the perspectives of women and women’s organizations may not be adequately identified in scoping exercises. Yet it is essential for the mining industry to gather such information and ensure the participation of women in setting community and environmental priorities and objectives, and the means of implementing them. Facilitating the meaningful participation of women and other marginalized groups can bring significant returns to the sustainability of mining operations.
For example, the World Bank has found that some of the most active community organizations are informal and may be established along gender lines. It is therefore recommended that mining companies actively ensure the participation of women and women’s organizations through the project life cycle. An example of multi-stakeholder participation is the Canadian Whitehorse Mining Initiative, which was based on a shared desire to ensure that mining continues to make an important contribution in the context of sustainable development in Canada. It was the product of consultations between the mining industry, government, unions, aboriginal peoples and the environmental community and is an example of establishing a consensus on how to govern and manage the industry. Appendix 4 provides a reference to the full text of the final report of the Accord.