Corporate Social Responsibility and development in Africa: Redefining the roles and responsibilities of public and private actors in the mining sector

This paper revisits the role of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), suggesting the usefulness of adopting a holistic and historical perspective. It underlines the importance of taking into account the evolving regulatory frameworks within which mining activities take place in order to consider the changing roles played by the various actors involved, whether multilateral, national or local, public or private. In this broad context it then becomes possible to revisit issues of legitimacy, responsibility, and accountability, which CSR strategies aim to address. The article draws attention to the shortcomings of strategies, whether bilateral or multilateral, public or private, which, in an attempt to respond to problems of risk and legitimacy faced by mining companies, have put forward measures in the name of CSR that do not address the origins that give rise to such problems and, in so doing, tend to mask the very nature of the difficulties at hand. The analysis leads to quite different conclusions as compared to those that result from the adoption of a shorter term and investment-led perspective.     

Citizen funds and Dutch Disease in developing countries

Are Alaska-style citizen revenue distribution funds the solution to the resource curse in developing countries as their proponents conjecture? Unfortunately it appears not. First, it is questionable whether developing countries have the institutional capacity to implement and operate such funds successfully. Second, citizen funds are unlikely to have any substantial impact on governance and their macroeconomic effects are uncertain. Finally, as a comparative case study of the three natural resource-intensive economies that successfully steered clear of excessive real appreciation and crowding out of the non-minerals tradables sector—Botswana, Indonesia and Norway—shows, citizen funds are likely to carry detrimental indirect effects on the ability of governments to surmount the Dutch Disease.     

Natural resource abundance in Nigeria: From dependence to development

There are several strategies open to an economy in its attempt to attain sustainable economic development depending on its historical background and resource endowment. One of such is the resource-led strategy. Nigeria is superabundantly rich in crude oil and has reaped billions of petrodollars. However, the country seems to be facing the problem of successfully translating this huge oil wealth into sustainable development. This paper employs the vector error-correction methodology in examining the long-run impact of the huge oil wealth accruing to Nigeria on its economic development. Indicators such as per capita GDP (PGDP), household consumption, infrastructural development (electricity), and agricultural and manufacturing output growth rates are examined. The results suggest a significant positive long-run impact of per capita oil revenue on per capita household consumption and electricity generation, while a negative relationship is established for GDP, agriculture and manufacturing. Even for those variables with negative relationship at current period, there exist positive relationships at subsequent lags. Thus, oil revenue, if properly managed and invested, could be effectively used to induce oil-led development in Nigeria provided the current inhibitions of corruption, lack of transparency, accountability and fairness in its use and distribution are removed.     

Resource windfalls,investment, and long-term income

We develop a simple mechanism to explain why resource windfalls are likely to lower income levels in the long run. Most mineral-producing countries, in particular, fail to maintain incentives for savings and investment after positive resource shocks. Our analysis focuses on this savings–investment transmission channel through which resource rents affect welfare, and develops an OverLapping-Generations (OLG) model with features from endogenous growth theory to study the mechanism. In this model, savings adjust downwards to income from natural resources, investments adjust to savings, and subsequently the level of overall productivity falls. Resource affluence has two counteracting effects on income. In the short term, resource wealth augments income, but in the long-term, it decreases income through a crowding-out effect on knowledge creation.     

How to evaluate raw material supply risks—an overview

Some strategic raw materials do have an extremely unsecure supply situation. Several working groups around the world have made criticality assessments for metallic raw materials to analyze the driving impact factors for this instability. However, the influences on raw material availability are manifold and therefore criticality assessment methods are very heterogeneous. Here we give an overview about the differences and similarities of supply risk evaluation in 15 criticality assessment methods. We take the example of Indium, which has been rated in 60% of these criticality studies, and show which data base is used for supply risk evaluation. Our results show a lack of consensus about which indicators give reliable information for raw material supply risk and how these indicators should be aggregated. We anticipate our essay to be a starting point for more justified indicator selection and weighting in criticality assessments.     

“Guardianship” and the “Rural Workshop”—The First Quarter-century of U.K. Experience in Nature Conservation

In the U.K., the Countryside Act of 1968 represented the first “updating” of the pioneering National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act of 1949. Through the archival material that survives for the Ministry of Agriculture and Nature Conservancy, the paper commemorates that first quarter-century of post-war adjustment to the needs of farming and wildlife conservation. It does so through a case study of the documented discussion, both inter-agency and within separate counsels, of whether agricultural improvement grants should be paid for land scheduled as Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs). The post-war assumptions of both parties were shattered by clashes over the SSSIs of Cavenham Heath (Suffolk) and Waddingham Common (Lincolnshire). Characterized as a “cold” war, there was a point beyond which antipathy served no one's interests. Fully aware of the options available to policy-makers, both parties recognized the Countryside Bill as an opportunity to obtain greater protection for SSSIs without prejudicing the larger notions of guardianship of the rural resource and the importance that continued to be given to the countryside as the farmer's “workshop”.     

Mining and social development: Refocusing community investment using multi-criteria decision analysis

This paper addresses the question: How can mining companies assess social investment projects so that projects create value for the company and communities in which they operate? Mining companies are still wrestling with the limits of their responsibility in relation to social development even though they accept the business case for community investment at a general level. Fully aware of the practical hazards involved in taking an active role in facilitating local development, companies increasingly avoid methods that are overly paternalistic or assume the functions of the national or local governments. Gaining senior management's commitment to long-term social projects, which are characterised by uncertainty and complexity, is made easier if projects are shown to benefit the site's strategic goals. Case study research on large global mining companies, including interviews with social investment decision makers, has assisted in developing a Social Investment Decision Analysis Tool (SIDAT), a decision model for evaluating social projects. Multi-criteria decision analysis techniques integrating business planning processes with social impact assessment have proved useful in assisting mining companies think beyond seeking reputational benefits, to how they can meet their business goals and contribute to sustainable development.     

Natural resources,governance and institutional quality: The role of resource funds

This paper investigates the relationship between resource funds, governance and institutional quality in resource-rich countries. The study is motivated by the relatively recent and inconclusive debate on resource funds and on their role in the addressing of the “resource curse”. The estimation results suggest that resource funds may be associated with governance and institutional quality improvements. The analysis complements the debate on the tools of addressing the “resource curse” and on the determinants of governance and institutional quality. The findings remain important for their policy implications. The estimation results suggest that resource funds may prove useful tools in the hands of the policy makers in the attempt to address governance and institutional quality deterioration induced by resource abundance.     

Impact of different public E&P policies on natural gas reserves and production in Pakistan

Low wellhead domestic gas prices over the past few years have led to the beginning of a shortage in natural gas reserves and production in Pakistan. Gas demand steadily rises in all sectors for being an economical fuel as compare to substitutes. In the view of foregoing consumption trend, the demand for gas is expected to grow with a higher pace during the 2010s. On the contrary, indigenous gas reserves are running out and cannot keep up with the demand. This paper examines the extent of upstream activities in different petroleum policy regimes. The wellhead price for indigenous gas is compared with the prices of alternatives (for example, gas import prices). In order to put the problem in perspective, the relationship between wellhead gas price and cumulative gas reserves in Pakistan are analyzed and we find that the looming gas shortage can be ameliorated in the short-run and eliminated in the long-run through incentivized wellhead price. To put it briefly, the idea is mooted to first take advantage of huge domestic reserves to ensure competitive consumer prices for gas. The findings are applicable to several other economies with under-developed natural resources.     

Strategies for sustainable development of industrial park in Ulsan,South Korea—From spontaneous evolution to systematic expansion of industrial symbiosis

The Korea National Cleaner Production Center (KNCPC) affiliated to the Korea Institute of Industrial Technology (KITECH) has started a 15 year, 3-phase EIP master plan with the support of Ministry of Commerce, Industry, and Energy (MOCIE). A total of 6 industrial parks, including industrial parks in Ulsan city, known as the industrial capital of South Korea, are planning projects to find the feasibility of shifting existing industrial parks to eco-industrial parks. The basic survey shows that Ulsan industrial complex has been continuously evolving from conventional industrial complexes to eco-industrial parks by spontaneous industrial symbiosis. This paper describes the Korean national policies and the developmental activities of this vision to drive the global trend of innovation for converting the existing industrial parks to eco-industrial parks through inter-industry waste, energy, and material exchange in Ulsan Industrial complexes. In addition, the primary and supportive components of the Ulsan EIP pilot project, which will be implemented for 5 years is elaborated with its schedules and economic benefits.     

An analysis of future platinum resources,emissions and waste streams using a system dynamic model of its intentional and non-intentional flows and stocks

Platinum is increasingly used intentionally and non-intentionally in several applications. This has raised the concern about its future resources, emissions and losses during its life cycle. On the one hand, increasing platinum emissions might affect human health. On the other hand, the accumulated platinum in mineral waste, soil, landfill sites and construction materials as a result of the emissions, losses and the utilization of secondary materials can be seen as potential resources for platinum. This paper is aimed at (1) analyzing the long term impacts of the use of platinum intentionally and non-intentionally on its future demand and supply, release to the environment and accumulation in mineral waste, soil, landfill sites and construction materials and (2) quantifying the amount of platinum in secondary materials that would be available for platinum future supply. The analysis is carried out on a global level using a system dynamic model of platinum intentional and non-intentional flows and stocks. The analysis is based on four scenarios for the introduction of fuel cell vehicles (FCVs). The results show that platinum demand is increasing overtime in all scenarios at different rates and its identified resources are expected to deplete before the end of the century with or without the introduction of FCVs. The release of platinum to the environment and the accumulation in soil are expected to decrease when conventional ICE vehicles is replaced by FCVs. The amount of platinum accumulated in mineral waste, soil, landfill sites and construction materials by the time platinum is depleted are more than double its identified resources and would be potential resources for platinum that are available in different parts of the world. The methodology presented in this paper can be used in the assessment of other technologies and other metals.     

Dynamics of global oil prices,exchange rate and precious metal prices in India

This study examines cointegration and Granger causality among global oil prices, precious metal (Gold, Platinum and Silver) prices and Indian Rupee–US Dollar exchange rate using daily data spanning from 2nd January 2009 to 30th December 2011. ARDL bounds tests indicate that the series are cointegrated. Toda–Yamamoto version of Granger causality has been employed to establish the causation amongst the variables. The study also examines generalized error variance decomposition of variables due to various shocks in the system. Such information provides insight into the transmission links between the global oil market and the Indian precious metals and foreign exchange market. These have the potential for significant impact in further research, portfolio management and central bank policy design.     

Community relations and mining: Core to business but not “core business”

Over the past two decades the global mining industry has witnessed the necessity and emergence of community relations and development (CRD) functions, essentially under the rubric of sustainable development and corporate social responsibility (CSR). These functions provide companies with mechanisms through which to engage and manage their relationships with key stakeholder groups, share development benefits and protect business interests. Despite widespread claims by the industry that companies have adopted CSR as a ‘core competence’, we argue that the industry has yet to incorporate the CRD function as part of ‘core business’ at the level of practice. This article characterises a CRD function and related processes within the context of a large-scale mining operation in West Africa. Findings reflect a more universal trend relating to the function and organisational positioning of CRD practice in the resources sector. The authors argue that functional equity needs to be established if the sustainable development agenda is to have a genuine future within the mining industry.     

Recycling — an environmentally friendly and income generating activity towards sustainable solid waste management. Case study — Dar es Salaam City, Tanzania

Traditionally solid waste management has evolved as mainly the removal of municipal wastes by hauling them out of the city boundaries and dumping them ‘there’. This is in conformity with the ‘out of sight out of mind’ philosophy. However, with the ever increasing tonnage of refuse due to the expansion of urban centers, which implies increased collection, transportation and disposal costs, recycling is currently accepted as a sustainable approach to solid waste management. This paper reports on the findings of a study, conducted in the city of Dar es Salaam between the years 1993 and 1995, on the scavenging activities and recycling trends of some selected items in Dar es Salaam. Apart from the discussions on existing solid waste generation rates (2000 tonnes/day), composition (60% being organic/or vegetable matter) and their management in Dar es Salaam, the paper also presents data obtained through a survey of Vingunguti dump site and other waste collection centers. It was established that there are currently about 600 solid waste scavengers in Dar es Salaam, approximately 109 of whom operate at Vingunguti dump site and others at 14 different collection centers. Many of them opted for scavenging due to unemployment. The study findings indicate that their average monthly income exceeded the official minimum wage (at the time of study) enabling them to support their families. This demonstrates the potential of recycling to generate gainful employment with implied lower crime rates among the unemployed. Recycling activities in the city were observed to be not only a critical source of raw materials for small-scale industries, in the absence of which they would cease to operate, but also a widely accepted environmentally friendly technology for solid waste management. Out of 294 tonnes of studied waste materials (paper, metal, plastic, glass and textiles) only 4 tonnes are recovered and recycled. The remaining 290 tonnes/day of recyclable material are left to pollute the environment or are collected and transported for final disposal and, therefore, unnecessarily contribute to the shortening of the life span of the dump site. Finally, the paper gives some recommendations for improved recycling activity so as to make it an important means of reducing the overall volume of waste materials to be transported and deposited in the dump site and at the same time provide a potential opportunity for employment for unskilled workers.     

“Bats,snakes and spiders,Oh my!” How aesthetic and negativistic attitudes,and other concepts predict support for species protection

This research investigates whether species are perceived differently based on aesthetic and negativistic attitudes, and whether these and other attitudes, naturalistic activities, and gender predict support for the protection of threatened species. 228 undergraduate students completed a survey in which they rated pictures of 10 endangered species on aesthetic and negativistic attitudes, and support for protection. Findings showed that the two-striped garter snake, Ozark big-eared bat, and dolloff cave spider were conceptualized differently than other species, which may be the result of “irrational” fears linked to animal phobias, culture, and emotional reactions to pictures. The regression results support the common belief that aesthetics is an important determinant in perceptions of endangered species and that the importance of negativistic attitudes may be waning. Moralistic worldviews and attitudes toward landowner rights and the Endangered Species Act were significantly related to support for governmental protection of species. Surprisingly, naturalistic activities and gender were not significantly associated with support for governmental protection of species. In general, the results were consistent across both models. However, the amount of variance explained by aesthetic and negativistic attitudes was 23 percent higher in the other species models than in the bat, snake, and spider models.     

Mining development,income growth and poverty alleviation: A multiplier decomposition technique applied to China

Mining has grown rapidly and is expected to continue to develop solidly in the future with the economic development in China. Based on this trend, how an increase in the outputs of mining sectors affects household income and poverty alleviation is an issue worthy of study. A multiplier decomposition method within a social accounting matrix (SAM) framework shows the linkages through which a mining sector's output contributes to household income growth and poverty alleviation. The decomposition applied to China reveals that mining development has more significantly positive impacts on the high and middle income household than low income household. Moreover, the decomposition incorporated with the Foster, Greer and Thoerbecke (FGT) poverty measure shows that the ‘coal’ sector contributes most to poverty alleviation and the low income household group, which has the biggest poverty rate, is the smallest beneficiary from the mining development. Thus, the policy implication is proposed that the government should give appropriate adjustment on the distribution of income between rich and poor households and help the unskilled human capital from the household group at a low income level to handle advanced technology of mining through education and training to reduce poverty more effectively.     

Multicriteria analysis as a tool to investigate compatibility between conservation and development on Salina Island,Aeolian Archipelago,Italy

Several multicriteria evaluation techniques have been developed since the 1970s. The need to compare different territorial policies has justified their introduction into environmental research. These methods are based on the numerical manipulation of heterogeneous information, which varies in terms of reference scale and type of measure (continuous, ordinal, qualitative, binary, etc.). During recent years, diverse investigations have focused on general conditions on Salina, the “green island” of the Aeolian archipelago. Such studies, within an interdisciplinary project, aimed to explore the possibility of implementing conservation strategies that are compatible with human needs, landscape preservation, and sustainable economic development. Three different evaluation techniques are applied, namely multicriteria weighted concordance and discordance analysis and a qualitative procedure. They are used to compare four alternative plans for the socioeconomic development of Salina Island. These plans lie between extreme alternatives: total protection of natural resources and maximizing economic development based on tourism. The plans are compared to each other on the basis of 14 criteria that reflect the socioenvironmental perception of Salina's inhabitants. The approach used in this research seems particularly fruitful because of its flexibility: it offers decision makers the chance to manage heterogeneous data and information that is not easily quantifiable. Such “soft” information helps to evaluate environmental conditions more precisely, and to make a less damaging choice among alternative development plans.     

CO2SINK—From site characterisation and risk assessment to monitoring and verification: One year of operational experience with the field laboratory for CO2 storage at Ketzin, Germany

The CO₂SINK pilot project at Ketzin is aimed at a better understanding of geological CO₂ storage operation in a saline aquifer. The reservoir consists of fluvial deposits with average permeability ranging between 50 and 100 mDarcy. The main focus of CO₂SINK is developing and testing of monitoring and verification technologies. All wells, one for injection and two for observation, are equipped with smart casings (sensors behind casing, facing the rocks) containing a Distributed Temperature Sensing (DTS) and electrodes for Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT). The in-hole Gas Membrane Sensors (GMS) observed the arrival of tracers and CO₂ with high temporal resolution. Geophysical monitoring includes Moving Source Profiling (MSP), Vertical Seismic Profiling (VSP), crosshole, star and 4-D seismic experiments. Numerical models are benchmarked via the monitoring results indicating a sufficient match between observation and prediction, at least for the arrival of CO₂ at the first observation well. Downhole samples of brine showed changes in the fluid composition and biocenosis. First monitoring results indicate anisotropic flow of CO₂ coinciding with the “on-time” arrival of CO₂ at observation well one (Ktzi 200) and the later arrival at observation well two (Ktzi 202). A risk assessment was performed prior to the start of injection. After one year of operations about 18,000 t of CO₂ were injected safely.     

Incentives and regulations to reconcile conservation and development: thirty years of governance of the Sami pastoral ecosystem in Finnmark, Norway

Incentive-based mechanisms are regarded as efficient instruments to reconcile conservation and development. This win-win objective has been difficult to accomplish; cross-compliance has, therefore, been suggested as a mechanism to ensure sustainability. Cross-compliance, which requires producers to conform to production regulations and environmental standards to qualify for direct payments, has been a popular instrument in the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) reform. Since 1990, cross-compliance has been the main characteristic of policy design in Sami reindeer husbandry in Finnmark, Norway. All direct transfers to the Sami pastoralists have been connected to harvesting demands to decrease the number of reindeer and to conserve pastures. The content of these incentive-based mechanisms are decided through negotiated agreements with the Sami Reindeer Herders' Association of Norway (NRL), and the regulation of reindeer numbers and access to pastures are delegated to co-management boards. Despite the participation of the Sami pastoralists in shaping these policies, win-win objectives have not been achieved. Although the cross-compliance program could have been improved by payment for graded results, the lack of regulations by the administration or co-management boards is more likely to be the cause of failure to reach sustainability. Despite the long-term failures of the cross-compliance program, policies have been slow to change. We might attribute this delay to the NRL's strong position in the negotiated agreements. In general, we argue that the success of the cross-compliance program depends on a well-functioning governance system that can implement regulations and sanctions if incentives do not work as intended.