ID: 1592
Presenting Author: Cristina Munoz
Session: 652 - EA in Latin America: Bridging Infrastructure and Communities for Sustainable Development
Status: pending
The IDB Grievance Protocol shares lessons learned on stakeholder engagement and measures on how to prevent conflict escalation and strengthen social management of projects.
Misinformation and communication gaps have increasingly emerged not only as critical factors shaping the social and environmental performance of development projects but also as key drivers in grievance and conflict escalation. Experience from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Environmental and Social Grievance Protocol shows that inadequate or insufficient information disclosure, limited stakeholder engagement, and weak communication practices by executing agencies can amplify mistrust, trigger conflicts, and erode project legitimacy.
Drawing from multiple grievance cases across Latin America and the Caribbean, different topics and sectors, this presentation explores lessons learned on how proactive, accessible, and transparent communication can mitigate misinformation, prevent conflict escalation and strengthen environmental and social management. Cases analyzed show that grievances often arise during periods of project delay or design changes when affected communities are not provided with clear, timely, and comprehensible updates. The absence of accurate information often leads stakeholders to fill information gaps with speculation or misinformation, often amplified through social networks or local media.
Integrating communication, transparency, and stakeholder participation into impact assessment processes is essential for preventing conflict and ensuring that development interventions remain credible, inclusive, and sustainable.
Cristina Munoz is a political scientist, with a Masters Degree in Geopolitics, Territory and Security. She is the IDB Environmental and Social Grievance Protocol coordinator since February 2024.
Coauthor 1: Patricia Henriquez