Many governments in the Global South have opted to advocate for natural resource exploitation as a pathway to greater socio-economic development. However, this route needs to be challenged by looking at the actual benefits and costs imposed on people and the environment by current practices... [M]any affected communities [...] are calling for greater participation in decision-making and protection of their rights...

...[P]ressures on civil society in the natural resource arena are not an isolated development, but part of a larger, seemingly global trend to cut back civic space...

The study at hand was designed to uncover common patterns and dynamics of restrictions on – and coping strategies adopted by – civil society actors in the specific context of natural resource exploitation. It draws on case studies in India, the Philippines, Mexico, and South Africa...

...[C]ivil society, in coordination with governments and international institutions, has developed a wide range of measures and coping strategies to [...] reclaim space for organizing and speaking out. Lessons learned have been collected in a number of manuals and toolkits, which can serve as guidance to other organizations and communities...

...[P]roactive strategies can push for changing those structures that shape natural resource development. This report addresses three such structuring elements: consultations, business, and law.