Background
The energy transition is bringing about significant changes in countries which host natural resources and is reshaping the energy and mining sectors. These shifts hold both promises and challenges for communities. While in some areas increased investment can usher in new revenue streams for local governments, generate employment and fund community development, it also carries the potential to disrupt traditional ways of life and harm the environment. In other areas, dwindling investments may lead to revenue and job losses, in some instances leaving communities to grapple with the environmental consequences of past extractive activities.
Building upon a scoping study from 2020, the Ford Foundation has been supporting the EITI’s “Engaging communities in a just transition” project since January 2022. Implemented in collaboration with national and local stakeholders in Colombia (Cesar and La Guajira), Ghana (Ellembelle) and Indonesia (North Morowali), the project seeks to strengthen the voice of communities in the energy transition by shedding light on the obstacles communities face in accessing and using data and dialogue platforms.
Key findings from the project’s most recent phase, which ended in December 2023, underscore community demands for detailed and timely information regarding the impacts of the energy transition on their lives. Further findings emphasise the importance of presenting information in formats that are easy for communities to access and the necessity of involving community representatives in dialogue and decision-making on the energy transition. This entails fostering ongoing community engagement throughout the lifecycle of mining and energy projects and ensuring community perspectives influence local, national, and global policy decisions.
The project lies at the intersection of two priority areas for the EITI: energy transition and
subnational engagement. This is reflected in the EITI’s strategic priorities, and the findings of an independent evaluation published in 2022. Considerations around energy transition and
community engagement also fed into the recent refinements to the EITI Standard.
Building on the success of the previous project, Publish What You Pay (PWYP) Indonesia supported by the International Secretariat is now commencing a new phase of work aligned with EITI’s Indonesia’s priorities to strengthen data access and use by local stakeholders and to strengthen community participation in dialogue and decision-making.
Objectives
- Build EITI Indonesia’s capacity to ensure information disclosures are relevant to community needs and are disseminated in a manner that facilitates community access, understanding and use of data.
- Build EITI Indonesia’s capacity to facilitate dialogue between communities, government, companies and civil society at the local and national level to ensure government institutions and companies understand and respond to community priorities in the energy transition.
- Support the EITI International Secretariat’s efforts to facilitate learning on subnational data access and use among global stakeholders drawing on project insights, including efforts to develop a sustainable and cost-effective model for subnational EITI implementation.
Scope of Work
Component 1: Promoting subnational data access and use
Anticipated outcomes: EITI stakeholders in Indonesia develop cost-effective and sustainable systems for disclosing data in formats that are easy for communities to access, understand and use.
Component 2: Strengthening community participation in dialogue and decision-making
Anticipated outcome: EITI stakeholders in Indonesia develop cost-effective and sustainable systems for promoting subnational dialogue on the impacts of the energy transition.
Subnational stakeholders in Indonesia participate in dialogue and decision-making resulting in government and companies understanding and responding to community priorities.
Component 3: Advancing community perspectives in global EITI implementation.
Anticipated outcome: The International Secretariat connects insights and innovations from Colombia, Ghana and
Indonesia with global EITI stakeholders to build understanding of the energy transition’s local
impacts and informs subnational EITI implementation in other countries.