FPIC as Project Bonus the UT1 Experience Greg

FPIC as Project Bonus: the UT-1 Experience Greg Guldin, Cross Cultural Consulting Services & Phurpa Tamang, IP Specialist Focus Session: Projects Affecting Indigenous Communities World Hydropower Congress, May 2019 Paris, France

The Fear of Failure by FPIC, the IFI Indigenous Peoples Requirement Critics are Saying: • IFIs give veto power over hydropower projects to intransigent, unreasonable, and unreasoning local indigenous communities • Even with best intentions, meddling by IPOs, NGOs, and others makes achieving “Consent” nearly impossible—especially written and signed consent!

But in Nepal we did it! and we even did it: • In six months • With legacy issues • With mutual suspicions • In a post-disaster context • And the project even received bonus “gifts” from the community HOW?

Keys to Success • True Good Faith Negotiation (GFN) At critical moment(s), key concessions by all sides • Three GFN Partners • IPO: NEFIN (both national/local) facilitating Tamang FPIC villagers • Company: Senior management empowered middle management to negotiate & embrace legacy issues • Lenders (IFC, et al): low-key enablers of IPO & Company; dedicated FPIC specialist/facilitator • What made GFN possible? A few months of collaboration built on mutual respect & trust-building

UT-1 Project Description • 216 MW greenfield run-of-river HPP • On Trishuli River, 70 km from KTM • Sponsors: Nepal Water & Energy Development Company (NWEDC): Korea South East Power Company (KOSEP), Daelim Industrial, Kyeryong Construction and IFC • First large domestic IPP in Nepal • E&S Category: A

UT-1: The Project Context Neither Brown nor Green Legacy Issues Embraced • PS 5 already applied, and auxiliary facilities constructed • Earthquake, broken promises, misperceptions—All officially recognized by Company • Consent only for IPP • Community took comprehensive approach: agreement for co-development of their region • Certified process to work on contentious ongoing issues • Demands Framework accepted • Listening & Responding Hydro Aversion • All had doubts that breakneck pace for FPIC was possible, especially for a hydro project— Dealing with the Devil (intransigent, unreasonable, unreasoning? )

UT-1: The Project Social Impacts • Economic displacement: 154 families of which 12 physically displaced • Affects 78 ha of government-owned Community Forest Users’ land of 108 ha total acquired; Land Acquisition & Livelihood Restoration Plan • Community/contracted worker health and safety due to expected influx • 10 villages included in FPIC process; over 6000 people; over 90% Tamang • FPIC ‘trigger’: impacts on forest land subject to communal use (natural resources affected); IFC’s PS 7 and ADB’s SPS

Himalayan Hillside Villages

UT-1 FPIC Bonuses • FPIC for Project and IPP: Community Gift • Ongoing Collaboration: Organizational framework for IPP and tripartite collaboration— substantially reducing social risk • IPP Implementation Collaboration: Company, Community, Government Documents • Consent Process Agreement • Indigenous Peoples Plan • Statement of Consent (4 in 1) + • Demands Framework Agreement + Infrastructure Support Plan • Tripartite Implementation Agreement

FPIC Implementation Challenges Bringing Senior Management on Board Suspicions! Bringing Local Government on Board Suspicions! Bringing Local IPOs/Communities on Board Suspicions! How to Build Trust Ø Between IPO and IFC Ø Between Company and IPO Ø Between IPO and Communities Ø Between local govt and FPIC process

FPIC: The Process • Representative Selection Process Inclusive • AJAC (85 reps from 10 villages with social quotas) • WG (20 reps, even gender split) • Capacity-Building Assessment: Objective assessment of partner capacity for IPP/FPIC planning process and response • Supplementary Needs Assessment & Priorities/Planning (if SIA insufficient) • Consent Process Agreement • Three Rounds of Village Consultations: i. introduce project/FPIC/IPP process; gather community priorities, ii. submit first IPP draft, other document drafts, iii. revised IPP draft and related documents • Three Rounds of Meetings (after each Round of Consultations) • Spirituality & Culturally Embedded

Village FPIC Mobilization

Voting by Adibasi Janajati Advisory Council

UT-1 FPIC & IPP Working Group Note the documents on the table: • A draft of the Statement of Consent • A draft of the Indigenous Peoples Plan • Documents on the FPIC process and indigenous rights in Nepal

Signing the Consent Statement

Cultural Context Critical: • Nature is Sacred: Development should not destroy; this is fundamental Tamang perspective; thus the need for environmentally and culturally sustainable development with an emphasis on social justice A Tamang View • Land, water, forest: these are our ancestors’ property gifted by the gods; we worship nature, so whatever we do we should ask permission of the cosmic forces, thus lamas and bonpos (shamans) are our intermediaries and crucial agents of our vision of development

A Tamang View of Why FPIC Successful in UT-1: • When project is in operation, our water, forest and land will be disrupted/lost. Our culture—our way of life—are dependent on nature and form the heart of our identity and thus will be at risk. Helped deal with threat to Tamang culture • UT-1 was started 12 years ago but there were no signs of success: There were many hurdles and few local Tamang supported it. With FPIC, a new door has opened for both the project and the Tamang community for win-win success. • But, this can be mitigated through FPIC which is a give and take tool for Indigenous People so we can make compromises with project developers and through Indigenous Peoples Plans to help co-plan our future.

Lessons Learned ü Gender issues best tackled by local community if directly raised by facilitators ü Be aware of Class, Caste, and Ethnic Cleavages ü Embrace Legacy Issues: good for short-run (FPIC) & long-run (Social License) ü Key roles of IPO and of Senior Project Management ü Interpret everything through local culture ü Tie in IPP to FPIC: The gift that keeps on giving

FPIC as Project Bonus: Beyond a Requirement A Comprehensive Risk-Reduction Strategy • Meets Present Needs: Not only enables positive financing and administrative approvals —the immediate goals — but also: • Addresses the Past (a reset button): Project embraces and resolves legacy issues • Prepares for the Future: Provides Long-term Value for the Project, a mechanism in place for maintaining Social License • WARNING!! Project gotta keep up with pledges or license could expire!

Significance of FPIC for Indigenous Peoples: A Tamang View • FPIC is first valuable conflict-management mechanism in Nepal in area of working with Indigenous People • National / South Asian regional model for Indigenous Peoples being brought into real decision-making in development projects

Spiritual Purification of the Project Site • Phurpa Tamang, Tamang People’s advocate (in white hat) • Bo-Seuk Yi, NWEDC CEO (with hands extended)

Tamang lamas consecrating the FPIC agreements

Consent Achieved • At the very spot aside the Trishuli River where the intake tunnel will be placed, the NWEDC CEO (r) receives the consecrated FPIC documents from the chair of the Adivasi Janajati Advisory Council (himself a former critic of the project), 2 November 2018

For further discussion with Greg and Phurpa