The Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment (CCSI) has recently published an outcome note from a roundtable focused on lessons learned from good governance initiatives for extractive industry investments and large land-based agricultural investments. The one-day Governing Natural Resources roundtable brought together a range of stakeholders working on extractive industry investments and/or land-based forestry and agricultural investments, including representatives from civil society, government, academia, and the private sector. It was convened by CCSI in partnership with Global Witness, IIED, IISD, ODI, and Oxfam America, with support from the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network, the Government of Australia, and the Cloudburst Group.
Key structural differences between the extractive industries and the forestry and agriculture sectors mean that not all lessons learned from good governance initiatives related to extractive industry investments or land-based agricultural investments are transferrable. However, large-scale extractive industry investments and land-based forestry and agricultural investments share enough challenges regarding certain issues that efforts to better understand the benefits, drawbacks, and best practices around good governance initiatives can be a useful exercise. The roundtable facilitated conversation on these issues, while providing an opportunity for participants to brainstorm further ways to explore shared lessons around governing natural resources. This outcome document aims to provide more information for stakeholders interested in increased knowledge sharing around this topic.
The outcome document can be downloaded at: http://ccsi.columbia.edu/2015/01/21/outcome-report-of-roundtable-on-governing-natural-resources/