- Understanding the local context prior to commencing stakeholder engagement is crucial. In this instance, the realities of the geography influenced the techniques and tools selected for engagement with identified stakeholders. By taking this into consideration, the engagement activities were able to be tailored to the circumstances.
- The geography, coupled with the required use of more traditional engagement techniques/tools, necessitated an increase in resources which could be achieved through the employment of a third party to assist with engagement. Despite the engagement of the third party, however, it was important that the proponent remain the key point of contact to facilitate long-term relationship building.
Project background/scenario
A renewable energy developer sought to develop a 500 MW wind farm in a mountainous region of South East Asia. In order to secure international funding, the project was required to undertake an environmental impact assessment (EIA) to international best practice standards. As part of the EIA process, there was an expectation that stakeholders likely to be impacted by the project were appropriately consulted and their concerns addressed and embedded within the project design (e.g. turbine placement) and management measures devised by the proponent.
The proponent prepared a stakeholder engagement plan for the project which included a preliminary stakeholder identification and analysis component. The stakeholder identification process determined that there were several small villages scattered amongst the foothills of the mountains that were likely to be impacted by project activities, however these villages would be difficult to access given thick areas of jungle, which also limited opportunities for electronic media due to the lack of internet reception.
To address this issue, and subsequently ensure that stakeholders from these villages were suitably engaged, the stakeholder engagement plan was modified to prioritise techniques/tools that did not rely on electronic means but were focused on more traditional forms of communication. In addition, the difficult terrain meant that a greater number of resources than previously anticipated were required to facilitate proponent engagement activities. As such, the proponent recruited a third party with relevant local experience to assist with engaging stakeholders.
As a result of the changes to the stakeholder engagement plan and the allocation of additional resources the key stakeholders from each of the villages were engaged, including vulnerable groups (in this instance, women).
Through the engagement carried out key areas of concern were identified and subsequently mitigated through detailed project design and management measures implemented.
How engagement was made meaningful
In this case study, engagement was made meaningful through the following:
- Principle 2 – the company undertook a stakeholder identification exercise as part of the stakeholder engagement plan process. Doing so enabled them to better understand the local context and nature of the stakeholders they needed to engage.
- Principle 4 – the company utilised techniques and tools for stakeholder engagement that were suitable for the circumstances they were presented with for the project. This allowed them to engage with the identified stakeholders in a way that was appropriate for the stakeholders.
- Principle 6 – the company incorporated the feedback received from stakeholders obtained during engagement activities to refine the project design and management measures.