Local Communities and Multilateral Safeguards: The Mining Regime of LaoPDR

Abstract

Six years ago, the World Bank Group (WBG) embraced a new philosophy for its involvement in mining activities. After decades of promotion of highly liberalised mining codes, the Group repositioned poverty reduction and environmental sustainability as the fundamental objectives of its involvement in the sector. Within this new approach, local participation occupies centre stage, whereby a loosely defined mix of local associations, as well as residents of local communities affected by mining activities, are to have a voice in every stage of a given mining project. Building on the case of Lao PDR, this paper investigates both the participatory model promoted by the WBG, and the political underpinning of its implementation process. The analysis of the socio-environmental model promoted by the Bank suggests that the involvement of local communities is ensconced within a framework which conceives participatory schemes as a management tool to circumscribe the risks faced by mining investors on the one hand, and the enabling-state on the other. While successful in acknowledging the socio-environmental legacy of mining activities, the implementation process of such a model is proving to fall short of its promises.