Working Paper
Enhancing sustainable development from oil, gas, and mining

This paper outlines how sustainable development in resource-rich countries requires an ‘all of government’ approach as well as multi-stakeholder dialogue and partnerships between government, companies, and civil society organizations. Effective management and regulation requires many different line agencies of government to work together and in partnership with corporate and other stakeholders to achieve sustainable development.

The paper focuses on the need for an agreed set of data and analysis showing the current and potential future contributions of the natural resources sector at the national and local levels. It addresses a regrettable truth that, in some countries, there is a lack of trust between different stakeholder interests, and probes how collaboration between these stakeholders can mitigate the negative impacts of resource development and enhance its potential positive contributions, particularly at the local level and where the governance context is weak. The paper identifies three important steps toward sustainable development: creating an evidence base to facilitate cross-government coordination; building trust through multi-stakeholder dialogue; and building Partnerships for Development.