This guide seeks to highlight the steps that concerned parties and communities can take to address the challenges that mining poses on communities. It gives communities the tools they need to understand the law that governs mining and to protect their rights. Although it focuses on South Africa, the tools proposed will be relevant for communities facing similar issues in other countries.

This resource is part of the CCSI’s Directory of Community Guidance on Agreements Relating to Agriculture or Forestry Investment.

This note provides guidance for civil society actors and communities on how to access and how to use the information contained in contracts with companies to be able to:

• Understand company and government obligations related to a company project;

• Monitor whether those obligations are being fulfilled;

• Hold companies and the government to account for bad contracts or for failing to deliver on commitments that are important to communities.

This guide aims to explain common topics that are addressed in natural resource contracts and to provide suggestions for improving contracts that are vague or unfavorable to host countries and to the protection of land rights. It covers a number of topics relevant to contracts:

● Environmental and social issues

● Fiscal provisions

● Transparency

● Dispute resolution

This resource is part of the CCSI’s Directory of Community Guidance on Agreements Relating to Agriculture or Forestry Investment.

This guide aims to help community organisers and paralegals to use the method of “ground-truthing” to collect information about operations that might be illegal, prohibited or causing harm. It is a useful tool to monitor the impacts of investments and the proper implementation of agreements and contracts.

This resource is part of the CCSI’s Directory of Community Guidance on Agreements Relating to Agriculture or Forestry Investment.

This guide helps civil society organisations and the representatives of interest groups to better understand the technical jargon of the Environmental impact assessment process and to understand its structure, functions and aims.

This resource is part of the CCSI’s Directory of Community Guidance on Agreements Relating to Agriculture or Forestry Investment.

This guide encourages communities to discover what development means for themselves and to question whether proposed plans and activities truly fit within their definition of and priorities for development. With activities, stories, and practical tools, this guide introduces community-led development and supports communities in claiming their right to development.

This guide has three individual booklets which together provide: concrete step-by-step guidance on how communities can lead their own research to determine their own development priorities, and respond to unwanted development projects; practical tips, tools, and activities on conducting community-led research; and inspiring stories from experienced community organizers around the world who have used community-led research to redefine development processes.

This guide aims to help communities develop “interest-based” negotiation skills and understand how to use a range of tools to deal with the power imbalance between them and those trying to take their housing, land and resources. The guide may be useful to communities threatened with eviction as well as communities that are negotiating solutions for evictions already suffered. It encourages communities to develop a negotiation strategy that incorporates advocacy at key points in order to strengthen their position.

The toolkit is intended to support communities to secure their rights and responsibilities and strengthen customary ways of life and stewardship of their territories and areas. It is directed primarily towards facilitators from the communities themselves or from supporting organizations with whom they have long-standing and positive relationships.

The Project Compliance Mechanism (PCM) is the EBRD's accountability mechanism for the assessment and follow-up of complaints about project financed by the bank. The PCM is a grievance mechanism for civil society, local groups and individuals that may be directly and adversely affected by a bank project. It's purpose is to help identify when the EBRD or its client has not fulfilled the obligations defined in the bank's policies and to facilitate a problem-solving process with the EBRD's client.

This guide helps communities, community-based organisations and other supporters know what to do if a company is planning to develop projects on or near their customary lands, using a loan from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) – the private sector part of the World Bank Group. This guide is also useful for any projects using loans from other funders or companies that have chosen to follow the IFC’s social and environmental rules.

The manual explains how to use the Voluntary Guidelines on Responsible Governance of Tenure in everyday life to protect the rights of peasants and other communities.