In this paper the author takes a ‘political settlements’ approach to examining the political effects of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in developing countries. The political settlements approach uses an integrated understanding of politics, power and institutional forms to explain how, given different political processes and incentives, the same institutional forms can produce different economic and developmental outcomes.

This report assesses the role of the World Bank in the funding and management of the Chad-Cameroon oil and pipeline project. The report argues that the project has fueled violence, impoverished people in the oil fields and along the pipeline route, exacerbated the pressures on indigenous peoples and created new environmental problems. The report highlights how the World Bank’s Implementation Completion Report (ICR) is inconsistent with other independent reports on the project.

This is the first in a series of evidence-based reports on the role of large engineering contractors in strengthening the positive local economic and social impacts of capital investment projects in the oil and gas sector in developing countries.

Mining has not always had good press in the development arena, due to a history of inadequate environmental and social governance. This short paper argues that there is enormous opportunity to be had in including women in mining operations. The author looks at how International Finance Corporations’ (IFC) Gender Program was able to implement strategies to help two IFC mining clients better integrate women into their operations. The author highlights how in so doing, IFC has contributed to the clients’ sustainability objectives and to improved performance through greater gender diversity.

Governments in a number of countries are trying to address concerns about land grabbing by closing their borders to foreign investors. Are these restrictions effective?
Not really, says GRAIN. They give the impression that something is being done at the highest level and appeal to nationalist or pro-sovereignty sentiments. But they are very narrow approaches to a complex problem and often full of back doors and loopholes.

This report documents human rights abuses linked to efforts to control two key gold mining areas, Mongbwalu (Ituri District) and Durba (Haut Uélé District) in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).Findings of the report include:competition to control the gold mines and trading routes has spurred the bloody conflict that has gripped this area since the start of the Congolese war in 1998 and continues to the presentafter 2003 two armed groups, one backed by Uganda and the other by Rwanda, fought for the control of gold-mining areas and trade routeseach group won a gold-rich area but battles

Among the most daunting constraints mining has been facing is that it is a

The People’s Republic of China (PRC) has prioritised Africa as a strategic partner at both the political and economic levels. According to some observers, the evidence of China’s growing African involvement suggests a strategy devised to secure access to the continent’s abundant resources.

This case study shows how the activities of a large foreign-invested mining company on land held by the Awajun community in the northern forests of Peru have led to a characteristic cycle of state permissiveness in granting mining concessions, thus leading to social conflict.

This report examines the benefits that a resource-rich country can derive from endorsing the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) and implementing its Principles. It also searches for courses of action that the EITI Board can pursue to persuade more countries to endorse EITI. Both issues are investigated in the context of Angola, Indonesia, and Trinidad and Tobago. The authors argue that EITI is particularly beneficial for countries that suffer from the so-called “resource curse”.

Thess proceedings are the result of a conference hald in Kinshasa, 2013, to discuss the impact of key peace agreements and the trade in conflict minerals in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Representatives from Congolese academia, civil society, government agencies and political parties reflected on the different peace agreements and conflict minerals in general and the potential impact of the latest Framework Agreement on Peace and Security in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Great Lakes Region signed in Addis Ababa in particular.

How have Latin American countries been using Environmental Impact Assessments in order to build more sustainable extractive industries? A focus on Peru provides some interesting lessons.

Is it possible to develop extractive industries while preserving the environment? Several Latin American countries have been attempting to improve the environmental sustainability of their extractive industry sectors by developing their legal frameworks, in particular through the use and adaptation of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) tool.