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This book is an important and comprehensive piece of work that seeks to deepen the awareness and understanding of the nexus which spans across the issue of water and to explore solutions to the water scarcity challenge ahead.

This document has evolved out of a growing sense that more mutually beneficial engagement between mining ompanies and ASM operators is needed. For this to happen, “good practices” need further definition and further sharing across  companies. In this spirit, the ASM-LSM guidance note brings together for the first time a number of approaches and tools for companies to engage with ASM.

Through in‐depth, confidential interviews with over 40 key individuals (primarily from extractive companies but also including industry bodies, corporate law firms, insurers and research institutes) on the costs of company‐community conflict, the paper draws insights from how companies are responding to mitigate or avoid the occurrence, extent and costs of such conflict. From these interviews, and detailed case analysis, the paper identifies potential costs that can arise for extractive companies at different stages of a project’s life cycle (for example, costs to financing, construction, operations, reputation, etc.). A typology of costs is developed, tested and applied to 25 cases of company‐community conflict in the extractive industry. The paper concludes by drawing on this evidence base to reflect on the business case for improved risk management aimed at preventing and mitigating company‐community conflict.

Consistent with its mandate to pursue a world free from hunger and malnutrition, the following “FAO Policy on Indigenous and Tribal Peoples” has been formulated so as to ensure that FAO will make all due efforts to respect, include and promote indigenous issues in relevant work. In so doing, it joins the international community’s increasing mobilization in favour of the rights and concerns of indigenous peoples, most of whom suffer disproportionately from multiple adversities such as discrimination, poverty, ill health, political under-representation, and environmental and cultural degradation. Although much attention is focused on the challenges that indigenous peoples face, it is equally important to remember the specialized knowledge and ingenuity which often characterize indigenous livelihood practices. As an organization which specializes in rural poverty reduction and food security, it is imperative for FAO to consider indigenous peoples as fundamental stakeholders and partners in development.