Developing a Regional Foundation, Madagascar

Background | Project Objectives | Description

PROJECT STATUS: ACTIVE

PARTNER/CLIENT NAME: QMM/Rio Tinto, The World Bank Group

COUNTRY/REGION: Madagascar, Africa

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT FOCUS: Sustainable Community Development, Partnerships and Stakeholder Engagement

MINING SECTOR: Ilmenite (Titanium)

BACKGROUND

One of the poorest countries in the world, Madagascar is very rich in minerals and metals, having precious and base metals, iron ore, coal, industrial minerals, construction materials, precious stones and hydrocarbons. The Anosy region, in the southern part of the country, is an extremely poor area, which hosts the high-profile large ilmenite mining development project by QMM/Rio Tinto. The operation, which began in 2005, is expected to have significant upstream and downstream effects on the surrounding economy, with high expectations for economic growth and social change. It is essential that the donor community become involved from the outset to ensure that this operation yields clear and sustainable benefits for local Anosy community.

Through this project, Commdev would help the Anosy community set up a community development organization in form of a foundation, trust, or not-for-profit regional development corporation. The proposed organization would implement the Anosy action plan, designed and endorsed by a broad stakeholder group, which included very active NGOs, led by World Wildlife Fund (WWF) on biodiversity/environmental/social issues, USAID on community health issues and Regional Leader (Chef du Region) on regional economic development. The foundation is intended to serve as a replicable vehicle for supporting regional community development with engaged government, communities, private sector and civil society. Supervision of this operation will be provided through the existing IDA US$40 million Mineral Resources Governance Project.

CommDev focuses on providing financing and support to community development projects in Sub-Saharan African countries. Commdev aims to ensure that local communities benefit from extractive industry projects. The proposed operation will empower a multi-stakeholder consultative group (composed of companies, government and communities) to implement a regional community development plan. The foundation is likely to become a potentially replicable vehicle for other donors (including the World Bank and the IFC) to provide economic and social development to reach the poorest in Madagascar in a sustainable way.

PROJECT OBJECTIVES

The objectives of the Anosy Region Community Development Project are to:

• To work with government, community planners, civil society and corporations to establish and operationalize a community development foundation in Anosy region, Madagascar;
• To create a replicable regional community development and cooperation model, involving private sector, civil society, and local governments;
• To implement the Anosy community development action plan.

DESCRIPTION

The Project will consist of one component, which can be broken down in six tasks, as outlined below:

1. Generating consensus for establishing a community development foundation as a means to implement the regional community development plan by building agreement on vision, roles and responsibilities of key stakeholders, assessing legal, financial and skills requirements;
2. Defining the scope regarding support for a community development foundation, capacity for cooperation among stakeholders, and adequate financial and human resources;
3. Deciding to advance the project to support a key decision meeting to proceed with implementation by recommending an appropriate legal vehicle, ensuring oversight through a board of trustees or directors, formalizing operating guidelines, codes of conduct, and appropriate terms of reference, collaboratively assessing community needs and priorities, undertaking community consultations, and dissemination of information to the public;
4. Formalizing the community development foundation by registering and filing appropriate documents;
5. by working with counterparts to staff and building capacity on the management of benefit streams and community development;
6. Undertaking two pilot community development projects through implementation to ensure operational capacity and to learn by doing.