Transparency in Environmental and Resource Governance: Theories of Change for the EITI

Abstract

Transparency is now a core principle in environmental and resource governance. Responding to calls for a clearer identification of pathways from transparency to effective change, this article identifies three “Theories of Change” for governance-by-disclosure and applies them to the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI). Among the best known global transparency initiatives, the EITI has used an inclusive multistakeholder governance model and elaborate compliance standards, disclosing trillions of dollars in natural resource revenues. Yet, after two decades, the EITI is still largely without an explicit and proven theory. This study finds that a Theory of Change for the EITI is possible, valuable, and even necessary as the EITI risks becoming obsolete in some participating countries. The proposed Theories of Change provide valuable templates for environmental and resource governance, yet such models need to reflect national contexts, needs, challenges, and objectives to ensure fit and effective implementation, including measures enforcing accountability.

“You Need to Have this Information!”: Using Videos to Increase Demand for Accountability on Public Revenue Management

“…4 In this paper, we investigate whether providing citizens with easily understandable and relevant information on public revenue management changes attitudes and demand for accountability, and we take inspiration from the growing role model literature to see whether encouragement to make use of citizen rights and take action to demand accountability from a 1 See e.g. Haufler (2010), David-Barrett and Okamura (2016), Kasekende et al (2016), and Le Billon et al (2021). 2 Many resource-rich countries have seen relatively slow economic growth, high corruption levels and weak institutions, and increased probability of conflict (see e.g.…”

“…3 For the theory on transparency and accountability in the extractive sector, see e.g. Le Billon et al (2021). 4 Two recent contributions look at information channels and attitudes towards natural resource revenue management in Ghana (Lujala et al 2020;Brunnschweiler et al 2021).…”

Exploring the Nexus between Transparency and Citizens’ Intention to Participate in Climate Change Policy-Making

“…One critical aspect of citizen participation in climate policy-making is the role played by information transparency [10][11][12][13][14][15]. This recognition forms the bedrock of Principle 10 of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, which underscores the imperative of involving the public in environmental decision-making processes, emphasizing transparency, accountability, and citizen participation as central tenets in crafting effective climate change policy [16].…”

“…Contrary to perceptions of the importance of information transparency as a catalyst for citizen engagement [10][11][12][13][14][15], there is a notable scarcity of empirical research that examines a pivotal relationship between information transparency and citizens' intentions to participate in policy-making in the context of climate change. Beyond this, the researcher recognizes the potential for mediation in this relationship-factors such as cognition, efficacy, and attitudes toward policy-making participation are likely to play mediating roles in the relationship between information transparency and citizens' intentions to participate in climate change policy-making, drawing from established theoretical frameworks including the theory of planned behavior (TPB) and expectancy-value theory [19][20][21][22][23][24].…”

Transparency: Should It Be a Stand-Alone Governance Principle?

“…Nonetheless, political players have a lot of reasons to oppose openness, even though it has been lauded as the fundamental component of good government. This is the case even though transparency has been hailed as essential (Billon, Lujala & Rastad, 2021). Moreover, over the last several decades, substantial research has been conducted (Kemp et al, 2020).…”