Managing Local Community Development Related to the Mining Industry: A workshop for WAEMU member states

The workshop brought together officials and municipal representatives from WAEMU member states to analyze the implementation of mining local development funds (MLDFs) and other community development tools. Participants evaluated the current state of MLDFs in countries like Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, and Senegal, while discussing alternatives used in Mali, Niger, and Benin. The sessions explored the integration of MLDFs with environmental and social impact assessments (ESIAs), local content policies, corporate social responsibility (CSR), and community development agreements (CDAs). The workshop concluded that an ideal approach involves combining an MLDF with either mandatory CDAs or voluntary CSR plans, prioritizing transparency, alignment with local development plans, and outcome monitoring.

• The operationalization of mining local development funds (MLDFs) has been described as "slow and laborious," though the process is nearing completion in Senegal, Burkina Faso, and Côte d’Ivoire.
• In WAEMU countries that have not yet legislated MLDFs—specifically Benin, Mali, and Niger—community development is managed through alternative mechanisms such as voluntary funds negotiated with mining companies, contractual requirements, or the transfer of income shares to municipalities.
• Municipal representatives from Togo, Senegal, Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Benin identified the timely transfer of resources to local governments and the collaboration between central government and municipalities as major challenges in implementing social and community investments.
• Analysis of local content policies using Kinross Gold Corp. as an example revealed that West African mines have low levels of "local local" procurement (from the immediate mining area) and limited access for local populations to administrative and technical roles compared to mines in other regions, such as Chile.
• Participants identified four priority principles for community development in the WAEMU region: transparency and accessibility of contributions, transparency in resource management, alignment with community development priorities or local plans, and the measurement of outcomes through monitoring and evaluation.
• The workshop participants reached a consensus that the most effective community development model is an MLDF combined with either mandatory community development agreements (CDAs) or the voluntary corporate social responsibility (CSR) plans of mining companies.

APA

International Institute for Sustainable Development (2019). Managing Local Community Development Related to the Mining Industry: A workshop for WAEMU member states. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/igf-workshop-burkina-faso-2019-en.pdf

Chicago

International Institute for Sustainable Development. Managing Local Community Development Related to the Mining Industry: A workshop for WAEMU member states. 2019. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/igf-workshop-burkina-faso-2019-en.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=International Institute for Sustainable Development |title=Managing Local Community Development Related to the Mining Industry: A workshop for WAEMU member states |date=2019 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/igf-workshop-burkina-faso-2019-en.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{internationalinstituteforsustainabledevelopment2019managing, author = {{International Institute for Sustainable Development}}, title = {{Managing Local Community Development Related to the Mining Industry: A workshop for WAEMU member states}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2019}, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/igf-workshop-burkina-faso-2019-en.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }