Environmental Assessment
Volume A-6
Introduction
Consultation
The proponent and the EA consultants have also met regularly with ONE and the
CTE to work collaboratively on the development of the EA and its results, as
these have become available. Formal meetings, including the preparation of
materials, have taken place at appropriate intervals and have been supplemented
with more informal but regular meetings between the proponent, the EA
consultants and representatives of ONE and the CTE.
At the more local level, the project has established two offices, one each in
Moramanga and Toamasina, staffed with
agents communitaires
with mandates
which include engaging the public on a regular basis. These
agents
communitaires
are available to answer questions and to attend and/or call
meetings at the request of stakeholders, and have been backed up with technical
support by the proponent and the EA consultants as necessary.
The proponent and EA team have also participated extensively in the design and
implementation of the consultation program specific to the EA. Consultation
materials have been developed, and various specific consultations held in
technical EA disciplines. An issues database has been developed for purposes of
systematically documenting and tracking issues arising from consultation. To
date, over 600 issues have been entered into the database although it is to be
noted that many of these issues are duplicates as different stakeholders have
raised the same issues (see Volume H, Appendix 5 for an extract of the issues
database).
Public concerns and interests have been integrated throughout the EA. Soateg
has led village and commune level scoping consultations and focus group
meetings across the project area to collect social baseline data, and has at the
same time documented peoples’ concerns and interests for input into the issues
database. Social Capital Group has been responsible for consultations for
resettlement, as part of the resettlement planning. Over 150 meetings have been
held since January of 2004 linked to the EA for the project (see Volume H,
Appendix 5 for a list of meetings), although there have also been innumerable
daily contacts with stakeholders as the EA has moved forward. Also,
consultations that occurred within socioeconomic baseline data collection
meetings have been reported on separately in detail (see Volume K,
Appendix 1.1) and so are not also tracked in detail in the meetings list.
The general method for the project’s approach to local-level EA consultations
can be described as a ‘whole of community’ approach. Efforts have been made to
ensure that all segments of the community are included or represented. The key
to such an approach is to engage early and engage often and to use many
communication tools: key informant interviews, focus groups, participatory
workshops, public meetings, comment boxes and open houses. Assistance from
Ambatovy Project
24
January 2006
