Problem:  In communities where valuable resources are located conflicts frequently arise between those who stand to gain financially from the harvesting of those resources and environmentalists legitimately concerned about the sustainability of the ecosystem.  One good example of this is in Canada where large tracts of valuable timber are located in environmentally sensitive areas.

Solution:  In Canada a complex and somewhat uncontrolled process resulted in a partnership being formed between logging companies and environmentalists.  A key to the success of this process was that both opposing parties had nearly equal amounts of power to force their agenda. The process involved an escalation of the conflict until it was clear that one or both parties would lose if conflict escalated further.  A third party with the power to award victory to either side arose and brought the opposing parties together to find common ground.  The opposing parties were then forced to find a “win win” solution.  The emerging agreement allowed the logging companies to still harvest timber, albeit in a sustainable manner, and the environmentalists committed to assist with the marketing of those products.  The resulting partnership also involved support of retailers who sell the final product.    The reader may also note that these partnerships were achieved without the involvement of governmental agencies.

Mandatory Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) insurance would make TNCs more responsible and compensate victims

            If a corporation enters a community to build a mine that will last 10 years and causes human rights and environmental damages, who will pay after the corporation leaves? Who will fund redress for victims? Governments or corporations are prime candidates for covering these liabilities. Germany provides a precedent for a government taking responsibility for the bad acts of its corporations. Germany placed money into a fund for individuals who were made slave labourers at Nazi corporations.[1] This was a post facto remedy that took decades of litigation and diplomatic negotiation. This is the fundamental challenge of actually getting compensation for victims of human rights abuses: time and political will.

            A more pro-active approach would take the preventative measure of requiring that projects have CSR insurance...