Indigenous people and Fishing Community development plan - Consultation campaign

Indigenous people and Fishing Community development plan - Consultation campaign

The project team is paying strong attention to supporting the local community to ensure they are not adversely affected by the project construction. In mid -March 2021, our consultants the Center of Help for Indigenous value promotion And Sustainable Environment (CHIASE) team together with the Mainstream Phu Cuong team conducted a community consultation campaign in the project area. The consultation followed best international standards using IFC’s FPIC (Free, Prior, Informed Consent) methodology for Indigenous people. The communities here are primarily Khmer and Chinese, many with involvement in the fishing industry. 

 

After 7 days of consultation, a total of 172 Indigenous people directly and indirectly participated in consultations, and all were made aware of the planned Phu Cuong Soc Trang Offshore Windfarm project. For safety reasons, the offshore area of the site will not be suitable for fishing after the submarine cables buried in the sea-bed become live. The consultation was very successful and 100% of the above target Indigenous People’s individuals and communities agreed not to fish in the project impacted areas from the last quarter of 2021. It has been agreed that some mitigation measures / alternative livelihoods will be supported by Mainstream Phu Cuong to compensate for the offshore area of the project becoming unavailable for fishing. These measures may include for example: assisting the Indigenous People to change their career from offshore fishing to agriculture, technical training on agriculture/aquaculture production, or upgrading vessels to permit further fishing outside the project area further from shore. Mainstream Phu Cuong, after this campaign, commits to implement the mitigation plan proposed by CHIASE and work to ensure we become a good neighbour to the local community.