Resource information
The Petroleum Governance Initiative
(PGI) encompasses three general themes, or pillars, that
address issues issues of transparency and economic
responsibility, environmental sustainability and responsible
community development. Of particular interest here is the
second pillar, environmental sustainability; the PGI is
currently involved in four main activities surrounding this
theme: 1) assessing environmental governance and management
in oil-producing countries-the topic of this paper; 2)
conducting a strategic environmental assessment of oil and
gas activity in Mauritania; 3) conducting workshops and
preparing a toolkit on decommissioning and abandonment; and
4) providing in-country assistance on environmental
management to a limited number of countries. This paper
presents the results of a survey undertaken by the PGI to
measure the environmental governance of oil-producing
nations against a benchmark standard representing a
compendium of good management practices for minimizing
impacts of oil and gas development. The objective is to
identify areas where the World Bank can provide assistance
to improve environmental governance and management systems,
particularly in those developing countries whose oil and gas
industry is rapidly emerging as a major component of gross
domestic product. Detecting governance gaps-and, more
importantly, facilitating the rapid implementation of
corrective measures-is an important challenge for the World
Bank in its efforts to preserve natural habitats and the
culture of indigenous peoples.
