February 2011: The UNDP-UNEP Poverty-Environment Initiative has published a primer titled”Managing Private Investment in Natural Resources: A Primer for Pro-Poor Growth and Environmental Sustainability.”
This primer seeks to provide practical advice on how host countries can manage foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows to encourage pro-poor, environmentally sustainable development. It is aimed at public decision makers in developing countries dealing with FDI, particularly officials in investment boards, investment promotion agencies and relevant ministries. The focus is on FDI in the primary sector, including agriculture, forestry and extractive industries—an area of growing interest among international investors and a sector of high economic significance for many developing countries.

Flows of FDI to developing countries have risen steadily over the past two decades. Evidence suggests that FDI can provide considerable economic, social and environmental benefits for host countries. However, these benefits are not concomitant: ultimately, outcomes of FDI depend heavily on government policies and institutional settings in the host country. The challenge for policy makers in host countries is to maximize FDI benefits and ensure that FDI contributes to national development aspirations such as poverty reduction, environmental sustainability and achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) while minimizing its costs. [Publication: Managing Private Investment in Natural Resources: A Primer for Pro-Poor Growth and Environmental Sustainability]