Miscellaneous Knowledge Notes
598 items available
Permanent URI for this collection
Items in this collection
1 - 8 of 8
-
Publication
Respecting Land Rights and Averting Land Disputes
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2018-03-01)This note provides guidance on how to ensure that agricultural investments respect existing land rights, both formal and informal, and thereby avert land disputes. Failure to respect land rights - in particular country - or region-specific land tenure systems and history, including use by pastoralists - has negative consequences for communities and other stakeholders. It is also financially damaging for investors who shortcut due process and end up spending time and money dealing with land disputes. -
Publication
Water Access and Management
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2018-03)This note provides guidance on how to ensure that the impact of agricultural investments on water resources is effectively measured, monitored, and regulated. Water is essential to agricultural production and processing, and has been a driving factor in private and public decisions on where to locate investments. Despite global concerns about water scarcity and pollution, the water use of agricultural investments is in many cases not rigorously measured, monitored, or regulated. Where regulations exist, enforcement is often weak. Some investors improve local water access with community development programs, but such schemes require consultation and careful management. -
Publication
Environmental and Social Impact Assessments
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2018-03)This note provides guidance on the conduct of environmental and social impact assessments (ESIAs) and the implementation of associated environmental and social management plans (ESMPs). Crop and livestock production, forestry, fisheries, and aquaculture all depend on the use of land, water, and other natural resources that are inextricably linked to rural livelihoods, social systems, values, and culture. ESIAs and ESMPs are key tools for identifying and assessing social and environmental risks and benefits at the planning stage of an investment, and for building risk mitigation measures into project design and implementation. Although usually legislative requirements, too often they have been treated as box-ticking exercises. There remainssignificant room for improvement in the conduct of assessment and the rigor with which findings are incorporated into management plans. -
Publication
Grievance Redress Mechanisms
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2018-03)This note provides guidance on how investors can provide effective remedies to affected parties who perceive that their rights have been adversely affected by business activities. A grievance redress mechanism (GRM) is a set of arrangements that enable local communities, employees, out growers, and other affected stakeholders to raise grievances with the investor and seek redress when they perceive a negative impact arising from the investor’s activities. It is a key way to mitigate, manage, and resolve potential or realized negative impacts, as well as fulfill obligations under international human rights law and contribute to positive relations with communities and employees. GRMs have been operated with varying degrees of success. This noteprovides guidance and examples on how to improve the design and implementation of mechanisms for mutual benefit. -
Publication
Community Engagement Strategies
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2018-03)This note provides guidance on the overall approach to consulting, engaging, and partnering with local communities, to bridge gaps in information and expectation between communities and investors and create the social license to operate. Engaging with local communities and other stakeholders is both socially responsible and a business imperative; investors that are well integrated with the local community are more likely to be financially successful. Effective engagement is necessary across all phases of the investment project, from the initial mapping, consultations withcommunities, and contract negotiations to the establishment of a grievance mechanism, ongoing community dialogue, and monitoring of both environmental and social impacts. Aligning the expectations and understanding of investors and communities creates the necessary environment for mutual benefit. -
Publication
Investment Contracts
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2018-03)This note provides guidance on the form and content of contracts between investors and governments pertaining to agricultural investments. The best guarantee of positive benefits from foreign investment is a solid foundation of domestic laws that are properly enforced. In many developing countries, however, the necessary domestic laws may not be in place or may not be sufficiently detailed. Even when they are in place, they may not be implemented or enforced. Contracts can help fill the gaps in domestic laws by providing more detailed guidance on what should be contained in the assessments, and using international standards and best practice as the reference points. However, contracts need to be drafted carefully to maximize benefits and reduce risks. -
Publication
Creating an Enabling Environment
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2018-03)This note provides guidance on how to create an investment climate that is conducive to attracting high-quality, responsible investment in agriculture. The investment climate needs to enable investors to survive, to thrive, and to contribute to the local community and the broader economy in a socially and environmentally responsible way. Investors in the agriculture sector noted a variety of factors that inhibit their ability to run successful operations. Failed or struggling investments have consequences that extend well beyond the financial losses that investors incur. An effective enabling environment contributes to the chances of investor success, which is in the interests of all stakeholders. -
Publication
Tools for Screening Prospective Investors
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2018-03)This note supplements note 6: screening prospective investors. The investment screening process requires suitable tools for assisting government agencies in their work. This note provides examples of tools that government agencies can adapt to their national context and use to develop the technical capacity to screen and select investors.