Human Rights in Natural Resource Development: Public Participation in the Sustainable Development of Mining and Energy Resources

A new human right of public participation by those affected by natural resource development is set to define major economic developments in the twenty-first century. It is a fundamental part of the international norm of 'sustainable development', designed to harmonize economic betterment and environmental-cultural-social protection for this and succeeding generations. A recognized human right since the 1940s, public participation today is assuming many different legal and political forms - citizen involvement, indigenous peoples' rights, local community rights, sustainable development agreements, public hearings, consultation, advisory councils, right to information, right to justice, decisional transfers, benefits sharing, and more. The right to be heard is a fundamental principle of public law in most of the world's legal systems, but in practice ranges from being deeply ingrained in some cultures to non-existent in others. Understanding this new human dimension in law and development is now essential not only for lawyers but also for companies, governments, international agencies, NGOs, IGOs, and citizens. This book, authored by international resources law experts from all over the world, provides the theoretical and practical guidance essential to understanding and dealing with this new development. Its first section lays out the basics of what is becoming known as public participation law - its origins, history, theories, modern sources, and future directions. The second section presents the international legal authorities. The third section analyzes the current experience and future trends in over a dozen nations and regions of critical resource development interest, from Africa, Australasia, Southeast Asia and China to Europe and North, Central, and South America. Contributors to this volume - Lila K. Barrera-Hernandez, Associate Director, University of Calgary & Organizacion Latinoamericana de Energia Energy and Environmental Law Project, Faculty of Law, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Barry Barton, Associate Professor, School of Law, University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand John E. Bonine, Professor of Law, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon, USA, and Co-Founder of the Environmental Law Alliance Worldwide (E-LAW) Peter D. Cameron, Professor of International Energy Law and Policy, Center for Energy, Petroleum, and Mineral Law and Policy (CEPMLP), University of Dundee, Dundee, UK, and Jean Monnet Fellow, European University Institute, Florence, Italy Celia Campbell-Mohn, Professor of Law, Vermont Law School, South Royalton, Vermont, USA; BA (Duke University), MS (Michigan), JD (Michigan) Ernesto Correa, a Licensed lawyer, Santiago de Chile, Chile Peter Davies, Lecturer in Law, School of Law, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK Zhiguo Gao, Executive Director, China Institute for Marine Affairs, Beijing, People's Republic of China Jose Juan Gonzalez Marquez, Full Professor and Researcher and Director of the PhD Environmental Law Program, Department of Law, Universidad Autonoma Metropolitana, Mexico City, Mexico, Director of the Revista Mexicana de Legislacion Ambiental, and Director of the Law Firm of Gonzalez Y Asociados, Mexico City, Mexico Svitlana Kravchenko, Professor of Law, Lviv National University, Ukraine, and Visiting Professor, University of Oregon School of Law, Eugene, Oregon, USA, Co-Executive Director of the Association of Environmental Lawyers of Central/Eastern Europe and the Newly Independent States, President of International Foundation Ecopravo-Lviv, and Co-Director of the Oregon-Lviv University Partnership Alastair R. Lucas, Professor of Law and Adjunct Professor of Environmental Science, The University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada Lye Lin Heng, Associate Professor of Law, Faculty of Law, National University of Singapore, Republic of Singagpore, and Deputy Director of the Asia-Pacific Centre for Environmental Law (APCEL), Singapore Ola Mestad, Professor of Law, Centre for European Law, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway, and Partner in the Law Firm of Bugge, Arentz-Hansen & Rasmussen Susan Y. Noe, an Attorney at Law, Boulder, Colorado, USA Yinka O. Omorogbe, Senior Lecturer, Department of Jurisprudence and International Law, University of Lagos, Lagos, Nigeria, and Managing Director of the Centre for Petroleum, Environment, and Development Studies, Lagos, Nigeria George (Rock) Pring, Professor of Law, University of Denver College of Law, Denver, Colorado, USA, and Adjunct Professor, Environmental Science and Engineering Faculty, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, Colorado, USA Catherine Redgwell, Reader in Public International Law, University of Oxford, and Yamani Fellow, St. Peter's College, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK Martha M. Roggenkamp, Senior Research Fellow, International Institute of Energy Law, University of Leiden, Leiden, the Netherlands, and Senior Researcher at the Law Firm of Nolst Trenite, Rotterdam, the Netherlands Anita Ronne, Associate Professor of Energy Law, the Law Faculty, University of Copenhagen, Denmark, and Chairman of the Danish Energy Law Society Gillian Triggs, Director, Institute for Comparative and International Law, Acting Director, Centre for Energy and Resources Law, and Professor of Law, Faculty of Law, University of Melbourne Donald N. Zillman, Godfrey Professor of Law, School of Law, University of Maine, Portland, Maine, USA, and Interim President, University of Maine at Fort Kent, Fort Kent, Maine, USA