This Handbook outlines practical approaches to implement the Host Community Development Trust (HCDT) section of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), so that all stakeholders shall benefit from it, and any negative impacts can be mitigated.
The Handbook would be a useful resource for all stakeholders involved in establishing and running the HCDTs: Members of communities, members of the HCDTs, oil and gas companies, civil society organisations (CSOs), and the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN).
The Handbook was designed by a working group comprising representatives of oil and gas companies, communities, government, and civil society organisations, in a participatory process that was facilitated by SDN. It is therefore informed by stakeholders with a deep understanding of the legislation, and first- hand experience establishing HCDTs. It aims to provide additional information and support in areas where stakeholders identified that the legislation and associated regulations currently fall short.
This Handbook is not a critique of the PIA, of how government or oil and gas companies manage revenue and community development in Nigeria, nor of how host communities have conducted themselves in their relationship with the oil companies. It does not express value judgements on the desirability or otherwise of the PIA, and instead, acknowledges that the new law took decades to pass, and must now be worked with.
