Civil Society Engagement

ISLP supports constructive civil society participation and dialogue in development decisions, planning, and implementation. We regularly work with civil society on a range of legal matters, including in the energy, infrastructure, extractives, energy, environment, biodiversity, land use management, agriculture, and forestry sectors. Among other support, ISLP facilitates knowledge exchange between civil society and other stakeholders — public and private — to elevate mutual understanding and recognition of community needs and impact.

In addition, ISLP works with a range of watchdog and media rights organizations, as well as government actors, to support freedom of expression, digitalization and responsible adoption of emerging technologies, economic opportunities through social entrepreneurship, and good governance and anti-corruption efforts.

Examples of ISLP’s civil society engagement projects include:

• developing model community development agreement and provisions for mining projects
• webinars and in-person workshops to enhance local knowledge and capacity, e.g., on novel climate financing options such as green and blue bonds, negotiation skills, the principles of project finance deals
• publication of a publicly-accessible guide comparing ESG frameworks in different jurisdictions
• comparative legal research on a range of issues relating to taxation, anti-corruption, international human rights law, industry standards in different sectors
• legislative review with comparative perspectives and practices
• facilitating dialogue between community advocates in South America and Africa to identify avenues for collaboration and knowledge sharing