Types Legal and Technical Support Gaps

Legal and Technical Support Gaps


Executive Training on Sustainable Investments in Agriculture

CCSI’s Executive Training on Sustainable Investments in Agriculture provides an interdisciplinary approach to addressing the challenges and opportunities of agricultural investments. The program is designed to equip participants with the necessary knowledge and skills to address some of the key challenges posed by international investments in agriculture, and to encourage a rich dialogue about practices from around the globe.

Statutory Recognition of Customary Land Rights in Africa: Lessons for Sierra Leone

In collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, CCSI conducted a comparative study of laws that recognize customary land rights in six countries in Africa. The study was carried out to assist the Government of Sierra Leone and the Stakeholder Platform on the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure as… read more

Negotiation Support to Resource Rich, Low-, and Middle-Income Countries

CCSI created and manages the Negotiation Support Portal to improve the accessibility of tools, resources and technical assistance to support host governments’ planning, preparing for, negotiating, monitoring, and implementing large-scale resource and infrastructure investments. The portal also facilitates coordination among support providers and host governments. In addition, CCSI has launched a series of meetings of negotiation support providers to create a forum to discuss common challenges and opportunities, and to facilitate greater coordination among support providers.

Innovative Financing Solutions for Technical Support to Communities

Around the world, project-affected communities grapple with how to access and pay for the legal and technical support they need in the context of natural resource investments—including when they are asked to negotiate directly with investors. CCSI is conducting research to identify, assess, and help further thinking around innovative financing solutions for legal and technical support to communities as they seek to secure and promote their rights and interests that may be affected by agriculture, forestry, and other natural resource investments.

Communities’ Redress for Harm Post-Closure, Abandonment, or Divestment

What are the implications for individuals’ or communities’ ability to obtain redress for harms after investors or lenders have pulled out of a project, or after a project has failed? In light of the continued pressure on investors and lenders to divest from problematic projects, as well as the number of land deals that have failed altogether, CCSI is working to examine the loopholes, gaps, and unenforceable elements in laws and policies regarding redress of harms to communities when investors or funders have left a project and to develop proposed solutions for improving redress options in those circumstances.

Governing Land Investments: Do Governments Have Legal Support Gaps?

What types of legal support do host governments use in the context of land investments? When negotiating land investment deals, are host governments out-lawyered and out-resourced at the negotiating table? How can legal assistance help governments to meaningfully incorporate international best practices around responsible land-based investments into individual projects? CCSI is conducting research on how host governments access legal support in the planning, negotiation, and monitoring of land investments, with a view to better understanding where legal support gaps for governments exist, and how these can be addressed by governments themselves, as well as by donors, support providers, and other international partners.

Guides for Communities Interacting with Investors

CCSI partnered with Namati to produce two guides for communities and their advisors regarding their interactions with investors. The guides will help communities and their advisors to prepare for, and if they so wish, engage in empowered contract negotiations with investors seeking to use community lands and resources. Guide 1 focuses on preparing for potential investors, both before they arrive and after the community is approached by an investor. Guide 2 focuses on negotiating enforceable contracts that can protect the community’s interests and clearly set the terms under which the investor is permitted to operate.

Directory of Community Guidance on Agreements Relating to Agriculture or Forestry Investments

While there are a number of existing resources that can assist communities and their advocates in their interactions with investors over land—from negotiating better agreements with investors, to monitoring whether investors fulfill the terms of their agreements—these resources are not always easy to find. CCSI has created a detailed Google document that lists relevant guides and other documents, provides links to the original documents, and includes brief descriptions of their content.