Involving the Public - Mining and the Environment: From Ore to Metal - page 123

The principle of participation, dei ned by the World Bank (1999) as 'a process through
which stakeholders' inl uence and share control over development initiatives and the deci-
sions and resources which affect them', derives from an acceptance that people are at the
heart of development. At the broader, societal level, recent research has demonstrated that
governments are often most effective when they operate within a robust civil society. At
the project level, a growing body of empirical evidence demonstrates that project imple-
mentations tend to be more successful when stakeholders and benei ciaries are integrated
into the planning process. The principle of participation also contains a normative com-
ponent, in the belief that people have a right to be consulted about initiatives or activities
that will have a major impact upon their welfare and lifestyle. Participation implies that
management structures are l exible enough to offer benei ciaries and other interested and
affected peoples the opportunity to improve the design and implementation of public poli-
cies or private sector investments.
The importance of public involvement in mine planning is generally acknowledged, but
there is some disparity in the terminology used to describe this involvement, since there
are no consistent dei nitions for the terms 'public' and 'involvement'.
The use of the general term public has given concern in the past. Mining companies pre-
fer to see a direct causal link between the mining project and parties having a genuine stake
in the project. For this reason mining companies prefer to clearly identify all interested and
affected parties, commonly referred to as stakeholders, in the early stage of a mine proposal.
The use of the term 'involvement' also has different meanings for different people. It is
commonly accepted, however, that involvement includes disclosure, consultation, and par-
ticipation. The differences between these facets of involvement are signii cant ( Figure 3.1 ).
Disclosure represents a one-way l ow of information from the mining company to the pub-
lic. No opportunity for questions and discussion exists. Consultation is a two-way l ow of
information allowing the public to express their opinions on the project and to provide feed-
back. The mining company commits itself to considering stakeholder input into making its
decision. Finally, participation involves shared analysis of the mining proposal, and provides
the public with some level of control over the project.
More often than not in the past, mining companies have limited public involvement to a
type of communication represented in the lower left-hand corner of Figure 3.1 . Experience,
however, demonstrates that mining projects with a history of local empowerment and

Project implementations tend
to be more successful when
stakeholders and benefi ciaries
are integrated into the planning
process.

Mining companies prefer to see
a direct causal link between the
mining project and parties having
a genuine stake in the project.

FIGURE 3.1
Community Involvement over Time

Human Capital

Participation involves shared analysis
of the mining proposal, and provides
the public some level of control over
the project.

Capacity Building

Participation

Consultation

Disclosure

Ad Hoc Information

Time