Date: 6/19/2006
Duration: 96 minutes
Language: English
Country/Region: World
Keywords: Energy, Mining, Community Driven Development
Presenters:
Benoit Bosquet
Marielle Canter
Christopher Sheldon
John Shinn
DESCRIPTION
On June 19, 2006, the Sustainable Community Development Fund (CommDev) hosted a day-long conference at the IFC Building on Washington, D.C., to discuss “Sharing Experience: Enhancing the Benefits to Communities from Extractive Industry Projects.” The conference aimed at sharing experiences, conducting training, and raising awareness of the community development work being implemented in communities impacted by extractive industries. In this afternoon breakout session, chaired by Christopher Sheldon, Senior Mining Specialist for the World Bank, discussants offered good practice examples of environmental protection and improvement which highlight the roles that different stakeholders can play.
John Shinn, Senior Staff Advisor for Global Issues at Chevron, described the importance of studying both local and global implications. It is necessary, he said, to look at a partnership approach, which can be quite successful on a community development scale. Shinn gave the example of “flaring” natural gas – a process in which extraneous gas is burned off to depressurize plant equipment – to illustrate some of the economic constraints on corporations. Using the example of the BioCarbon Fund, Benoit Bosquet, Senior Natural Resource Management Specialist for the Bank’s Carbon Finance Unit, illustrated how the global carbon market represents an opportunity for extractive industries to create beneficial new public-private partnerships. Marielle Canter, Manager for Energy & Mining in the Center for Environmental Leadership in Business at Conservation International, examined cases of good practice in assessing biodiversity-related risks and integrating biodiversity considerations at both the global and business levels.
Question-and-answer sessions allowed participants to query presenters about the involvement of local NGOs as stakeholders, market-based approaches for environmental conservation, and evaluations of solid mineral industries.
John Shinn, Senior Staff Advisor for Global Issues at Chevron, described the importance of studying both local and global implications. It is necessary, he said, to look at a partnership approach, which can be quite successful on a community development scale. Shinn gave the example of “flaring” natural gas – a process in which extraneous gas is burned off to depressurize plant equipment – to illustrate some of the economic constraints on corporations. Using the example of the BioCarbon Fund, Benoit Bosquet, Senior Natural Resource Management Specialist for the Bank’s Carbon Finance Unit, illustrated how the global carbon market represents an opportunity for extractive industries to create beneficial new public-private partnerships. Marielle Canter, Manager for Energy & Mining in the Center for Environmental Leadership in Business at Conservation International, examined cases of good practice in assessing biodiversity-related risks and integrating biodiversity considerations at both the global and business levels.
Question-and-answer sessions allowed participants to query presenters about the involvement of local NGOs as stakeholders, market-based approaches for environmental conservation, and evaluations of solid mineral industries.
