Navigating Complex Governance Environments – Candid Reflections on Resource-Based Development

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The Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment (CCSI), in association with Steptoe LLP, hosted Session 4 of our four-part webinar series, Candid Reflections on Resource-Based Development. 

Mineral deposits are often located in contexts in which the interplay of diverse interests, power asymmetries, and resource constraints together create significant governance challenges negatively affecting project outcomes. Such challenges are not confined to host governments but extend beyond them to all stakeholders, including mining companies, their home governments, international organizations, and local communities. Diverging priorities, information imbalances, the complexities of addressing corruption and of aligning interests exacerbate the difficulties of leveraging resource wealth for sustainable development. This panel helped to unpack these interconnected governance challenges, reflected on the (mis)alignment of governance initiatives and interventions in light of these challenges, and charted a path forward for navigating this complexity.

Speakers:

• Jeffrey Sachs, President, UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network
• Rohitesh Dhawan, CEO, International Council on Mining and Metals
• Tom Mitro, Senior Fellow, CCSI
• Jonathan Drimmer, Partner, Steptoe LLP

Moderators:

• Lisa Sachs, Director, CCSI
• Christophe Bondy, Partner, Steptoe LLP