Community Consultation Guidelines

Community Consultation Principles

DEFINITION AND TYPES OF COMMUNITY CONSULTATIONS 

To comply with ERS Stakeholders' participation requirements, Developers must consult the Communities participating in or impacted by the Project, as identified in the Stakeholder mapping in the Livelihood Matrix. Community consultations are engagement platforms through which Developers meet interested and impacted parties in the Project, share the Project’s design proposition, and collect feedback and critical information from the communities in a co-creation process. The Developer should convene these at the earliest stages of the Project. ERS requests three types of Community Consultation:

1. During the Project Feasibility Review
   1. Stakeholder Engagement
2. During the Project Design Review
   1. Ecological Recovery Community Consultation
   2. Livelihoods Community Consultation 

PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVES OF COMMUNITY CONSULTATION

The objectives of a Community Consultation are: 

1. To onboard communities on the proposed Project. It entails presenting the Project’s concept, the Developer(s) and key staff working in the field, proposed intervention areas, and overall expected results. 
2. To gather feedback from the relevant communities. To collect information from Stakeholders by using the questions in this guide to better understand the Project Area and its communities, and to learn Traditional and Local Ecological Knowledge (LEK) regarding the site. 
3. To co-create. Design the Project’s objectives, activities and outcomes with the community. Community consultations serve as an essential platform and critical step in obtaining consent from the communities. Engaging stakeholders from the Project's inception fosters co-ownership and support, which are vital elements for the Project’s success.

This document is a tool to help Developers conduct the different types of Community Consultations required by ERS’ Methodology M001. General guidelines and recommendations on how to conduct Community Consultations can be found in Appendix 1.

💡Guiding Questions in this document are suggestions; Developers are free to change and/or amend them as appropriate

FREE, PRIOR AND INFORMED CONSENT (FPIC)

All consultations with Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs) must follow the FPIC Guidelines as outlined in the ERS Programme.

Project Feasibility Phase Consultations Guidelines

STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT

The Stakeholder Engagement must be done at the early stages of the Project to ensure an accurate Stakeholder Mapping, collect feedback, and involve Stakeholders impacted by or impacting the Project. 

Interactions can occur individually between the Developer and one Stakeholder or collectively between the Developer and multiple Stakeholders simultaneously, often taking the shape of informal conversations. 

At this stage, Stakeholders are not expected to provide formal validation. 

💡Whenever addressing IPLCs, all Interviews must follow the FPIC guidelines, as outlined in the Programme.

1. Expected Outcomes

   1. Present an overview of the Project and its planned interventions, and collect Stakeholders' feedback on the Project’s feasibility. 
   2. Refine the Stakeholder mapping in the Livelihood Matrix, which is mandatory for all Projects.
   3. The following outcomes are mandatory for Projects that present IPLCs among its Stakeholders, and recommended for all Projects:
      1. Collect feedback on the selection of the Project Area and Reference Site.
      2. Perform the Participatory Mapping in the Ecological Recovery Assessment to gain insight on the Project Area’s history, composition, land use, and any other relevant information resulting on the refinement of the Zonation.
      3. Collect Local Ecological Knowledge (LEK) to inform the Restoration Plan.
      4. Confirm the ownership, tenure, user rights or management rights of the Project Area.

2. Before engaging with Stakeholders

   To better leverage the interactions with Stakeholders, the following materials should be prepared beforehand:

1. Draft of the Project Area and the Reference Site.
2. Draft of the Stakeholder Mapping.
3. The Preliminary Zonation. 
4. If IPLCs are present among the Stakeholders, the Participatory Mapping (section ‘Input from the Developer’) in the Ecological Recovery Assessment.

3. Post engagement with Stakeholder

   After engaging with Stakeholders, Developers must be able to:

   1. Validate the Project Area and the Reference Site.
   2. Complete the Participatory Mapping (section ‘Input from IPLCs’ - mandatory only if IPLCs are present).
   3. Complete the Stakeholder mapping. 
   4. Complete and submit the Feasibility Study Report.

💡These first interactions should be followed by several other meetings to further discuss the Project and engage the Communities throughout the Project’s crediting period.

Project Design Phase Consultations Guidelines

The Community Consultations taking place during the Project Design Phase aim to co-create and validate the four-year objectives, namely the Social Additionality objectives, Ecological Recovery objectives, and all four-year plans (the Social Additionality Plan and Restoration Plan). 

COMMUNITY CONSULTATION ON ECOLOGICAL RECOVERY

This consultation aims to present and validate the Ecological Recovery Assessment. The key findings, suggested objectives, interventions, and rationale should be submitted to Stakeholders and validated upon integration of their feedback. 

1. Expected Outcomes

   1. Validate the Ecological Recovery Assessment (baseline and Recovery Wheel, key findings, suggested interventions and their rationale).
   2. Validate the Final Zonation.
   3. Validate the Project’s four-year objectives and plan, namely the Restoration Plan.

2. Before the Consultation

   In preparation for the meeting, Developers must: 

1. Perform the Field Assessment in the ERS Mobile App following the Field Assessment Guidelines and have it shared with and validated by the ERS Certification Agent. 
2. Fill the “Baseline” tab of the Ecological Recovery Assessment using the observations and scores of the Field Assessment. 
3. Produce the Recovery Wheel in the Ecological Recovery Assessment. 
4. Prepare the Preliminary Zonation resulting from the Stakeholder Engagement.
5. Complete the “Input from the Developer” section for both “Key Findings” and “Objectives” in the Tab “Interventions” of the Ecological Recovery Assessment. 
   1. If the Project has undertaken Pre-submission activities, an overview of the activities and the results must be considered when completing information for the respective zone.

3. Post Consultation

   After the meeting, the Developer must be able to:

   1. Have the final version of the Restoration Plan informed by the Stakeholder’s feedback.

💡If interventions with direct social implications are identified, such as changing land uses and creating alternative jobs, they must be reported in the Social Additionality Plan after discussion during the Livelihoods Community Consultation.

LIVELIHOODS COMMUNITY CONSULTATION 

The Community Consultation on Livelihoods aims to provide the Developer with a clear understanding of the Stakeholders' socioeconomic structure and livelihood conditions.

1. Expected Outcomes

   1. Establish a baseline for livelihoods, including agreeing on a common definition of some criteria such as wealth, well-being and living standard.
   2. Define the benefit-sharing mechanism.
   3. Validate the Social Additionality Plan.

2. Before the Consultation

In preparation for the meeting, Developers must:

1. Prepare a comprehensive overview of the Restoration Plan to be presented.
2. Familiarise with the concepts of the Livelihood Matrix.
3. Secure a translator if necessary.
4. Assess all applicable laws and regulations concerning benefit-sharing and IPLCs obligations.

5. Post Consultation

After the meeting, Developers must be able to:

1. Have the “Baseline” and “Interventions” tabs of the Livelihood Matrix finalised.
2. Have the Social Additionality Plan designed and validated by the Stakeholders.