International governance initiatives

International initiatives have emerged since the late 1990s to mitigate the negative impacts of natural resources welath. These include: the extractive industries transparency initiative (EITI) and the World Bank's online extractive industries Sourcebook, among others. Other initiatives not specific to the extractives sector include: the OECD G20 inclusive framework on base erosion and profit shifting (giving governments tools to combat tax avoidance). A number of leading NGOs have also committed their efforts to extractive sector issues. Initiatives targeting the private sector include the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM), which sets standards all of its members choose to abide by. Improved standards for supply chain due diligence are the target of still other initiatives e.g. decreasing trade in conflict minerals. The Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative is profiled at length in this video. Its premise is that governments that voluntarily join EITI agree to disclose a certain set of information and to set up a multi-stakeholder body to oversee the reporting process with representatives from government, civil society, and the private sector. Some countries choose not to participate (particularly those with severe corruption and resource governance problems); mandatory reporting requirements by home countries can help fill that gap. For example: companies that are based in the EU, Norway, and Canada, or listed on the stock exchanges in those countries are required by law to report annually on the payments that they make to foreign governments. A number of individual countries and companies have also made the choice to advance transparency on their own.

This video is licensed under the CC BY-NC-SA license.