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11. Guide to Land Contracts: Forestry Projects

Author:
Columbia Centre on Sustainable Investment
Publication Date:
10-2017
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
Abstract:
Agricultural investment contracts and forestry projects can be complex, with complicated provisions that are difficult to understand. To assist non-lawyers in better understanding agricultural investment contracts, such as those available on OpenLandContracts.org, CCSI has developed a Guide to Land Contracts: Forestry Projects. This Guide, prepared by International Senior Lawyers Project staff and volunteers in collaboration with the Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment, aims to assist OpenLandContracts.org users in unpacking the technical provisions and language typically found in forestry contracts in order to better understand the contracts and the potential implications of specific provisions across a range of stakeholder interests.
Topic:
International Affairs and Landpower
Political Geography:
Global Focus

12. A Collaborative Approach to Human Rights Impact Assessments

Author:
Columbia Centre on Sustainable Investment
Publication Date:
09-2017
Content Type:
Commentary and Analysis
Institution:
Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
Abstract:
This discussion paper, co-authored with the Danish Institute for Human Rights and the Sciences Po Law School Clinic, proposes a new approach to conducting human rights impact assessments (HRIAs) of business operations or projects, which brings together project-affected people, the company, and other stakeholders to jointly design and implement an assessment. The aim of this new approach is to address one of the key challenges of current HRIA practices: the limited engagement and participation of relevant stakeholders, which can undermine effectiveness and trust.
Topic:
Human Rights and International Affairs
Political Geography:
Global Focus

13. Conference Report: Climate Change and Sustainable Investment in Natural Resources: From Consensus to Action

Author:
Columbia Centre on Sustainable Investment
Publication Date:
03-2017
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
Abstract:
A conference report on CCSI’s Conference on “Climate Change and Sustainable Investment in Natural Resources: From Consensus to Action” is available here, and a shorter outcome document , which was disseminated at COP22, is available here. These documents summarize the discussions at the eleventh annual Columbia International Investment Conference, which took place on November 2-3, 2016, at Columbia University. The Conference offered a high-level opportunity to discuss how countries can reduce their greenhouse gas emissions in accordance with the Paris Agreement, while also advancing the Sustainable Development Goals, and in particular the important implications for the world’s approach to natural resource investments. It featured leaders from government, the private sector, civil society, and academia, and brought together nearly 400 participants. In the lead-up to the Conference, CCSI also published a Blog Series on the Earth Institute’s State of the Planet Blog.
Topic:
Climate Change and International Political Economy
Political Geography:
Global Focus

14. Outcome Report of Workshop on International Investment and the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

Author:
Columbia Centre on Sustainable Investment
Publication Date:
11-2016
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
Abstract:
On May 12, 2016, the United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples, Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, and the Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment hosted a one-day workshop on international investment and the rights of indigenous peoples. This outcome document synthesizes the discussions that took place during the May 12 workshop. The workshop was part of a series of consultations undertaken to support the Special Rapporteur’s second thematic analysis on the impact of international investment agreements on the rights of indigenous peoples (available here). Held at the Ford Foundation in New York, the workshop brought together 53 academics, practitioners, indigenous representatives, and civil society representatives to explore strategies for strengthening the rights and interests of indigenous peoples in the context of international investment. The workshop provided an opportunity for participants to share their diverse perspectives, experiences, and insights regarding the intersection of international investment and human rights, and to discuss creative and pragmatic approaches to short and long-term reform of both the investment and human rights regimes, with the ultimate goal of ensuring that indigenous rights are respected, protected, and fulfilled.
Topic:
International Relations, Human Rights, and Post Colonialism
Political Geography:
Global Focus

15. Space for Local Content Policies and Strategies

Author:
Columbia Centre on Sustainable Investment
Publication Date:
10-2016
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
Abstract:
This paper explores both the role that local content measures can play in advancing sustainable development, and the impact that trade and investment treaties concluded over the past 20 years have had and will continue to have on the ability of governments to employ those tools. Certain local content measures had been restricted under the WTO due to wide agreement by negotiating parties that their costs outweigh their benefits. But the WTO also left a number of local content measures in governments’ policy toolboxes. As is discussed in this paper, however, that is changing, with the range of permissible actions for many countries being significantly smaller than it was even a decade ago. This narrowed policy space, in turn, can limit the steps governments can take to make progress on the universally adopted Sustainable Development Goals.
Topic:
International Trade and Finance and International Affairs
Political Geography:
Global Focus

16. Employment from Mining and Agricultural Investments: How Much Myth, How Much Reality?

Author:
Kaitlin Y. Cordes, Olle Östensson, and Perrine Toledano
Publication Date:
07-2016
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
Abstract:
Employment creation is often seen as a key benefit of investment in natural resources. However, this benefit sometimes falls short: job estimates may be inflated, governmental policies may fail to maximize employment generation, and, in some cases, investments may lead to net livelihood losses. A more thorough examination of employment tied to mining and agricultural investments is thus useful for assessing whether and how employment from natural resource investments contributes to sustainable economic development—a particularly timely topic as countries consider how they will achieve the Sustainable Development Goals adopted in 2015.
Topic:
Agriculture, International Affairs, and Economic growth
Political Geography:
Global Focus

17. Mapping Mining to the Sustainable Development Goals: An Atlas

Author:
Columbia Centre on Sustainable Investment
Publication Date:
11-2016
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
Abstract:
CCSI has been working with the World Economic Forum, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) to create a shared understanding of how the mining industry can most effectively contribute to the SDGs. The report will help mining companies navigate where their activities – from exploration, through operations and mine closure – can help the world achieve the SDGs. Governments, civil society and other stakeholders can also identify opportunities for shared action and partnership with the industry.
Topic:
International Development
Political Geography:
Global Focus

18. Linkages to the Resource Sector: The Role of Companies, Governments, and International Development Cooperation

Author:
Columbia Centre on Sustainable Investment
Publication Date:
07-2016
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
Abstract:
With support from GIZ, CCSI prepared a report titled “Linkages to the Resource Sector: The Role of Companies, Governments, and International Development Cooperation.” It outlines options for how these stakeholders can increase the economic linkages to the extractive industries sector not only in terms of ‘breadth’ (number of linkages) but also in terms of ‘depth’ (local value added). Apart from providing the theoretical framework for linkage creation and an overview of existing literature on this topic, the study highlights successful case study examples. Recommendations are provided for the three types of stakeholders.
Topic:
Government, International Political Economy, and Natural Resources
Political Geography:
Global Focus

19. A Policy Framework to Approach the Use of Associated Petroleum Gas

Author:
Columbia Centre on Sustainable Investment
Publication Date:
07-2016
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
Abstract:
CCSI developed A Policy Framework to Approach the Use of Associated Petroleum Gas. Associated Petroleum Gas (APG) is a form of natural gas that is found associated with petroleum fields. APG is often flared or vented for regulatory, economic or technical reasons. The flaring, however, is problematic from health and environmental perspectives. Moreover, flaring and venting APG wastes a valuable non-renewable resource that could be re-injected into the oil field or used for local and regional electricity generation. This framework aims at providing guidance for regulators, policymakers, and industry leaders seeking to develop practical approaches to unlock the economic value of APG.
Topic:
Industrial Policy
Political Geography:
Global Focus

20. Land Deal Dilemmas: Grievances, Human Rights, and Investor Protections

Author:
Kaitlin Y. Cordes
Publication Date:
03-2016
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
Abstract:
Land-based investments can create significant grievances for local individuals or communities, and host governments seeking to address those grievances must navigate a complicated landscape of legal obligations and pragmatic considerations. This report, funded by UK aid from the Department for International Development, focuses on practical solutions for governments confronting grievances that arise from large-scale investments in agricultural or forestry projects. The report considers such solutions in the context of governments’ legal obligations, particularly those imposed by international investment law, international human rights law, and investor-state contracts. Understanding the implications of this diverse range of legal obligations is particularly important in light of investors’ growing recourse to international investment arbitration, which can expose a government to liability under an international investment treaty for actions that may be in the best interest of a country and its citizens. Analyzing such obligations is a useful first step for a government seeking to protect its citizens against the negative impacts of land-based investments.
Topic:
International Development
Political Geography:
Global Focus