Negotiations between mining companies and Aboriginal communities: Process and structure

During recent years, Aboriginal communities in Australia have become increasingly involved in negotiating mineral development agreements with mining companies and relevant State agencies. Two factors influence the extent to which Indigenous interests can achieve benefits from such negotiations. The first is the bargaining power available to them associated, for example, with land ownership. The second, is the ability of Aboriginal communities to both mobilise such leverage and extend it. This paper draws heavily on the author's own experience in assisting Aboriginal communities in Cape York to prepare for and undertake negotiations, especially in relation to the Cape Flattery and Skardon River projects. Issues addressed include: the mechanisms for establishing common community goals; the means available to ensure access to vital information for commercial bargaining purposes; the need for adequate resources for equitable negotiations; the need for appropriate institutional structures; and the need for good working relations between technical staff and political decision-makers. At the end of the paper the key issue of the implementation of conditions in agreements is raised, especially if the significant potential benefits to communities, often foreshadowed, are to be realised. The later sections of this paper draw on material which will be included in the author's contribution 'Negotiating with resource companies: issues and constraints for Aboriginal communities in Australia' in R. Howitt, J. Connell and P. Hirsch (eds) Resources, Nations and Indigenous Peoples, Oxford University Press

The role of foreign investment in mineral development : a comparative analysis

My aim in undertaking this thesis was to discover, as accurately as possible, what occurs in and between countries when foreign investments are made in mineral development. In this regard, two areas were identified as requiring attention. 1) The nature of the transactions which constitute the process of foreign investment on the physical level. What is involved here are movements across national boundaries of objects, money and instruments of credit, information (interpreted in its widest sense to include technologies, skills and ideas), and individuals. 2) The nature of the relationships which are created between foreign investors and governments (or other relevant political identities) in countries where foreign investments are made. These areas can be dealt with separately for purposes of analysis, but they are closely interrelated in practice. The nature of physical transactions (or perceptions of the same) play a crucial role in determining the character of host country-foreign investor relations, and the policies and attitudes adopted by host country authorities exercise an important influence, in turn, on the physical effects of foreign investments

Artisanal and Small Scale Mining inBougainville: Risk, Reward and Regulation

This paper provides a high-level but comprehensive review of the status, as of mid-2016,1 of the artisanal and small-scale (ASM, or sometimes AASM) industry in post-conflict Bougainville, drawing on extensive fieldwork conducted during 2014–16.2 It focuses on the location of ASM activity and the modes and methods of production being used, the identity of miners, and the nature of their participation in ASM. It outlines preliminary findings regarding the way in which access is gained to land used in ASM. It then considers key issues raised by ASM under three broad headings: the economic rewards it generates; the environmental, social, cultural and safety risks associated with ASM; and informal and formal efforts at regulation of ASM activity.AusAI

Bureaucratic representation, accountability, and democracy : a qualitative study of indigenous bureaucrats in Australia and Canada

Using a qualitative study of Indigenous public servants in Canada and Australia, this article helps open the “black box” of bureaucratic representation. Findings dispel any idea that active representation is unproblematic for minority bureaucrats themselves. In fact, it exacts a high price with respect to working in isolation, confronting racism, facing formidable obstacles to pursue, or challenge policy processes and outcomes aligned with the interests of the communities from which they come and ultimately leading many to exit the bureaucracy or forego career opportunities. Despite this, our findings show that Indigenous bureaucrats bring about policy change that would not otherwise occur, and mechanisms of accountability are at work, within government and between bureaucrats and the communities from which they are drawn. Indigenous bureaucratic leadership is valuable in bridging understanding between elected officials and communities and navigating respectfully the intersections of culture and power across the policy making process to the benefit of all citizens, to “country” and across generations. These findings imply that new inclusive models of representative bureaucracy are both necessary and desirable to make bureaucracy serve multicultural societies and constructively confront environmental crises in the modern era. EVIDENCE FOR PRACTICE : Concepts that equate bureaucratic “partiality” with favoritism, oversimplify the way in which public servants consider, and manage tensions between minority interests they are assumed to “represent” and the wider public interest and democratic accountability. Participants in our research are acutely aware of the need to balance two “lines of accountability” (to government and to their communities), and when the tension between the two cannot be managed, they beat a tactical retreat and wait for a more favorable opportunity, or, if this seems unlikely, they leave the public service. Indigenous public servants promote the democratic project by actively involving otherwise disenfranchised members of society, including the perspectives of time and the land itself, in the policy making process. They make government and its processes understandable and help (re)build trust.Open access publishing facilitated by Griffith University, as part of the Wiley - Griffith University agreement via the Council of Australian University Librarians.https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/15406210hj2023School of Public Management and Administration (SPMA

Small-Scale Mining in Bougainville: Impacts and Policy Responses

New report released presenting interim findings from research project on small-scale mining in BougainvilleAustralian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trad

On legitimacy in impact assessment: An epistemologically-based conceptualisation

Impact assessment (IA) is carried out as an ex ante process to inform decision-making. It includes requirements for engagement with stakeholders (including the public) regarding actions proposed by a proponent. A key issue with the various stakeholders involved is the perceived legitimacy of the IA, which can have implications both for the reputation of the proponent, and the likelihood of conflict over the decision. But the understanding of legitimacy in the IA literature has changed over time in line with an ontological shift from positivism (that scientifically generated information leads to better informed decisions) to the post-positivist acknowledgement of the limitations of scientific method whereby assumptions must be subject to transparency, deliberation and openness. This has led to an epistemological shift towards greater subjectivism which, we suggest, has created new opportunities (which have been realised in political decision-making) to subvert knowledge through the increased use of the Internet and social media. To address the potential for such subversion of legitimacy, we seek to conceptualise legitimacy in the IA context through framing IA around a critical realist ontology and a reliabilist virtue epistemology. This allows us to identify ‘knowledge legitimacy’ as an equally important component of IA legitimacy along with organisational legitimacy. We conceptualise knowledge legitimacy through literature review drawing on rich understandings of knowledge from IA and other fields of research in order to develop a four-dimensional typology. This includes the dimensions of: knowledge accuracy; knowledge restriction; knowledge diffusion; and knowledge spectrum. This is the first theoretically grounded attempt to understand legitimacy in IA. It is hoped that it will provoke discussion in the IA community to further advance theoretical understandings of IA and legitimacy of practice

A game theory perspective on Environmental Assessment: what games are played and what does this tell us about decision making rationality and legitimacy?

Game theory provides a useful theoretical framework to examine the decision process operating in the context of environmental assessment, and to examine the rationality and legitimacy of decision-making subject to Environmental Assessment (EA). The research uses a case study of the Environmental Impact Assessment and Sustainability Appraisal processes undertaken in England. To these are applied an analytical framework, based on the concept of decision windows to identify the decisions to be assessed. The conditions for legitimacy are defined, based on game theory, in relation to the timing of decision information, the behaviour type (competitive, reciprocal, equity) exhibited by the decision maker, and the level of public engagement; as, together, these control the type of rationality which can be brought to bear on the decision. Instrumental rationality is based on self-interest of individuals, whereas deliberative rationality seeks broader consensus and is more likely to underpin legitimate decisions. The results indicate that the Sustainability Appraisal process, conducted at plan level, is better than EIA, conducted at project level, but still fails to provide conditions that facilitate legitimacy. Game theory also suggests that Sustainability Appraisal is likely to deliver ‘least worst’ outcomes rather than best outcomes when the goals of the assessment process are considered; this may explain the propensity of such ‘least worst’ decisions in practice. On the basis of what can be learned from applying this game theory perspective, it is suggested that environmental assessment processes need to be redesigned and better integrated into decision making in order to guarantee the legitimacy of the decisions made

Resistindo ao desenvolvimento neocolonial: a luta do povo de Andalgalá contra projetos megamineiros

A América Latina vem experimentando uma nova era de declarada fé dos governos no mito do desenvolvimento, em articulação com a expansão de políticas extrativistas exportadoras em um contexto de renovada dependência. A face mais dramática do extrativismo na região tem sido a crescente presença de corporações mineiras transnacionais apoiadas por governos nacionais e regionais e por instituições internacionais financeiras e de apoio ao desenvolvimento, e intensamente resistidas por movimentos sociais populares. Neste artigo apresentamos o caso de Andalgalá (uma pequena cidade na Província de Catamarca, na Argentina) e as lutas do povo contra corporações mineiras transnacionais e seus aliados. Na tradição da Filosofia da Libertação e do método ana-dialético de Dussel, nos engajamos com o que tem sido denominado "comunidades argentinas do NÃO", expressando sua oposição a formas neocoloniais de desenvolvimento e gestão. Neste artigo estamos especificamente interessados em compreender como dois dispositivos gerencialistas usados pelas corporações mineiras, responsabilidade social corporativa (RSC) e pactos de governança, impactam a luta do povo. Acima de tudo, este artigo oferece instantâneos de batalhas na linha de frente do extrativismo. Esperamos ter dado voz àquelas pessoas que normalmente não são ouvidas, criando um espaço para suas visões sobre um tipo diferente de desenvolvimento.</jats:p

Openness in participation, assessment, and policy making upon issues of environment and environmental health: a review of literature and recent project results

Issues of environment and environmental health involve multiple interests regarding e.g. political, societal, economical, and public concerns represented by different kinds of organizations and individuals. Not surprisingly, stakeholder and public participation has become a major issue in environmental and environmental health policy and assessment. The need for participation has been discussed and reasoned by many, including environmental legislators around the world. In principle, participation is generally considered as desirable and the focus of most scholars and practitioners is on carrying out participation, and making participation more effective. In practice also doubts regarding the effectiveness and importance of participation exist among policy makers, assessors, and public, leading even to undermining participatory practices in policy making and assessment

Diverse Geographies of Power and Spatial production: Tourism industry development in the Yamal Peninsula, Northern Siberia

This paper offers a geographical, anthropological and historical analysis of current tourism development in the Yamal Peninsula, Northern Siberia, Russia. Through qualitative research it highlights the institutional, regulatory and socio-cultural trends of the indigenous society of this marginal region. Currently the traditional economic activity of reindeer herding, which offers autonomy to its nomadic communities, is threatened by local oil and gas industry development. Whilst the introduction of tourism is being pursued by authorities as beneficial to indigenous populations, this research explores power imbalances expressed through space relating to the works of Harvey (1989), Lefebvre (1991) and Gavanta (2006). Findings illustrate conflict characterised by external forces steering local communities toward the tourism industry as an economic aspect of regional strategy