Mining and metals, Africa Resettlement policy framework for a mining project in West Africa
Summary
EEM developed a Resettlement Policy Framework for a mining project in West Africa laying out an International Finance Corporation compliant approach to managing physical and economic displacement in order to safeguard affected communities and their livelihoods.
Approach and Solution
The mining project anticipated displacing several thousand people over the life of the mining plan. As the precise extent of resettlement was unknown, EEM recommended developing a Resettlement Policy Framework that would lay out the currently known scale of physical and economic displacement and specify the main components of the project’s resettlement approach including:
- The applicable national and international legal framework;
- A public participation process, including a complaints mechanism, to ensure effective community participation and acceptance of resettlement and compensation measures;
- A high-level entitlements framework identifying eligible people, types of physical and economic displacements anticipated and associated compensation strategies;
- A process for conducting socioeconomic surveys and asset inventories;
- A process for managing cultural heritage sites;
- A process for identification and evaluation of resettlement sites;
- A strategy for management of influx;
- A monitoring and evaluation framework including key livelihoods indicators to assure effective livelihoods restoration;
- A resettlement organizational chart noting roles and responsibilities for internal, community and government actors through the resettlement and compensation process; and
- A high-level budget for resettlement and compensation activities over a ten-year horizon.
Results
EEM and our client set the objective of improving community livelihoods post-resettlement through a consistent and verifiable approach to managing physical and economic displacement. The Resettlement Policy Framework was approved by international lending organizations financing the project.