Involving the Public - Mining and the Environment: From Ore to Metal - page 127

a position. They have, in some regards, become the ofi cial opposition to government poli-
cies and private sector investments, a reality painfully known to all senior mine manage-
ment (Johns 2000).

3.2 PLANNING STAKEHOLDER INVOLVEMENT

A number of authoritative guidelines on the public consultation process exist that can
guide the formulation of a formal Public Consultation and Disclosure Plan, commonly
abbreviated PCDP (e.g. Doing Better Business Through Effective Public Consultation
and Disclosure - A Good Practice Manual, IFC 1998). The IFC standards are widely
acknowledged as industry best-practice, and they became the 'role model' for subsequent
guidelines published by other multi-lateral funding agencies. IFC requires consultation to
be undertaken throughout the various phases of project activity. Consultation with stake-
holders should commence during the environmental assessment preparation stage, and
be maintained throughout mine life. Stakeholders include those directly and indirectly
affected by the project, as well as other interested parties including members of the public,
local authorities, NGOs, and businesses.
A 'consultation and disclosure' plan documents objectives, management structure and
skill requirements, stakeholder identii cation, strategies for communication and involve-
ment, conl ict management, time lines, and funding. An example outline of a public con-
sultation and participation plan is given in Table 3.1 . A well-developed plan will help to
answer the following questions:
●

Consultation with stakeholders
should commence during the
environmental assessment
preparation stage, and be
maintained throughout mine life.

Why involve stakeholders?

●

Who should be involved?

●

What should be communicated?

●

What feedback is desired and expected?

●

When to start involvement?

●

How to communicate with and involve stakeholders?

●

What are the internal resource requirements?

The Three Levels of Public Involvement

Roberts (2003) distinguishes between disclosure (which he termed involvement), consul-
tation, and full participation as the three progressively more inclusive levels of participa-
tion. In these three levels, a range of activities takes place, from education and information
sharing, to consultation and community advisory groups, to the i nal level of public par-
ticipation in consensus-based decision-making plans.
Step 1 Stakeholder mapping . The project proponent needs to determine who the stake-
holders are and engage them in the project. Conducting the assessment itself can be a
valuable way to involve stakeholders. The analysis is also important for starting to col-
lect information on which aspects of peoples' lives might be affected, and to identify any
groups that might be affected, but who had not been identii ed previously.
Step 2 Education and awareness creation (one-way information transfer) . Stakeholders
cannot participate meaningfully in the absence of information. Information transfer and
capacity building are ongoing activities that underpin the entire process of public par-
ticipation and consensus building. Providing information by itself is not a form of pub-
lic participation, but rather an initializing step that begins to involve people, and should
underpin any kind of further involvement, consultation, and process.

Providing information by itself is
not a form of public participation.