Involving the Public - Mining and the Environment: From Ore to Metal - page 126

Category A Projects
Public consultation is mandatory for all Category A projects as dei ned by the Equator
Principles (see Chapter One). To facilitate the required consultations with the affected
people and local NGOs, the information about the project's environmental issues as well as
technical data needs to be transferred into a form and language(s) accessible to those being
consulted. The full environmental impact statement is also made available to interested
parties upon request. Public consultation needs to be carried out during the early stage of
Environmental Assessment (EA) preparation and throughout the project implementation
to address any environmental issues that affect local communities, NGOs, governments,
and other interested parties. Consultation should be 'free' (free of external manipulation,
interference or coercion, and intimidation), 'prior' (timely disclosure of information) and
'informed' (relevant, understandable and accessible information), and apply to the entire
project process and not to the early stages of the project alone. The consultation process
needs to be tailored to the language preferences of the affected communities, their decision-
making processes, and the needs of disadvantaged or vulnerable groups. Consultation with
Indigenous Peoples must conform to specii c and detailed requirements as found in IFC
Performance Standard 7 (IFC 2006). Furthermore, the special rights of Indigenous Peoples
as recognized by host-country legislation will need to be addressed.

Public consultation is mandatory
for all Category A projects as
defi ned by the Equator Principles.

Consultation should be 'free'
'prior' and 'informed'.

Category B Projects
It is recommended but not mandatory that public consultation be carried out during the
early stages of the EA process and throughout the project implementation to address any
environmental issues that affect the local communities, NGOs, governments, and other
interested parties. To facilitate the required consultations, information about the project's
environmental issues needs to be transferred into a form and language accessible to those
being consulted.

Category C Projects
Information disclosure and consultation is not required for the Category C projects.
However, consultation requirements may be recommended on a case-by-case basis,
depending on the nature of the project and the relevant environmental and social issues,
and interest level of the public.

The Increasing Voice of Non Government Organizations (NGOs)

NGOs are not an invention of recent history. Historically, associations of private individu-
als have gathered for public purposes, usually to provide a service not available from the
state, well before the establishment of democratic governments. They have preceded, and
now complement, the growth of government services. Many have been, and continue to be
church-based, concentrating on the needs of individuals for assistance, typically in welfare,
health and education.
In more recent times, however, a new class of NGOs has evolved, which focuses directly
on changing public policy. Though membership-based, they are unlike the representa-
tive interest groups of employers and employees that provide both, service to membership
and public advocacy on behalf of their members. Many such NGOs consist, typically, of
middle-class activists who want government to reallocate resources or change laws accord-
ing to their views on the good society. Few matters of public policy or industrial develop-
ment, not to mention new mine ventures, pass without an NGO spokesperson advocating

In more recent times,
a new class of NGOs has
evolved, which focuses directly
on changing public policy.