Myanmar currently does not have any agreed framework for sharing of
benefits from O&G projects with communities from where those benefits
derive. The standard PSC has a few limited clauses that refer to preferential
procurement of goods and services from Myanmar (subject to certain conditions)
and to the need to “expedite … Corporate Social Responsibility in the Contract
Area.” None of the PSC provisions require a more in-depth engagement, or benefitsharing, with local communities.
n International good practice for resource extraction projects increasingly
involves some form of a “Community Development Agreement” (CDA).
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This may be based on specific national obligations imposed by governments on
developers to formally enter into a CDA; or specific legal regimes that require
developers seeking access to indigenous lands to negotiate conditions of access or
use with the traditional custodians of that land. Companies may also propose a CDA
where there has been significant conflict involving the developer and local
communities, and an agreement has been negotiated in an effort to resolve these
conflicts, or to strengthen their social license to operate.