A/HRC/18/35 50. Business respondents and indigenous peoples noted that difficulties can arise even when domestic legal and policy standards exist, because Governments often lack the political will to implement those standards, and rather pass the responsibility on to companies and indigenous peoples. From a business perspective, this creates uncertainty and leads to additional business costs, beyond securing official permits and other administrative requirements. A number of business respondents observed the need to enter into agreements with local indigenous communities prior to launching their operations as a means of preventing future problems. 51. Additionally, information provided suggested that a lack of coordination and institutional capacity leads to insufficient operational oversight of extractive industries by States. Respondents, including Governments, observed that State institutions responsible for indigenous affairs or other relevant State institutions often worked with limited institutional and budgetary resources, resulting in limited or no oversight of extractive operations. 5. The question of tangible benefits 52. Contrasting perspectives exist with regard to the benefits of extractive operations. Various Governments and companies identified benefits to indigenous peoples resulting from natural resource extraction projects, while, in general, indigenous peoples and organizations reported that benefits were limited in scope and did not make up for the problems associated with these projects. 53. Several Governments highlighted the key importance of natural resource extraction projects for their domestic economies that, in a number of countries, reportedly account for up to 60 to 70 per cent of GNP. Governments also indicated that extractive projects have positive benefits for indigenous peoples and others in the regions where they operate. Responses highlighted the fact that significant proportions of State royalties and other revenues from extractive operations are assigned to regional or local government structures (as indicated in the response from Peru), to regional development funds (for example, in the Ecuadorian Amazon region) or, more exceptionally, to indigenous organizations (for example, in Bolivia (Plurinational State of)). In particular, the Government of Bolivia (Plurinational State of) highlighted a scheme intended to benefit indigenous peoples by allocating a significant percentage of hydrocarbon taxes either directly to the country’s main indigenous organizations or to the Fondo de Desarrollo para los Pueblos Indígenas Originarios y Comunidades Campesinas (a development fund for indigenous peoples and farm worker communities). Job opportunities were also commonly cited as a direct benefit derived from extractive operations in indigenous territories. 54. A number of mining companies noted that indigenous peoples had been direct beneficiaries of basic infrastructure construction required for their operations in remote areas, including the construction of roads, improvements in communications and the delivery of electricity and water services. They also cited social benefits derived from resource extraction projects, such as health and educational opportunities in underserved areas or capacity-building programmes that support indigenous organizations and local governments. At times, these initiatives are part of broader social corporate responsibility policies aimed at attaining a “social license” to operate. 55. Yet contrasting perspectives with regard to benefits reflect different cultural orientations within the development context. Most indigenous peoples and organization responses underscored the adverse effects on their environment, culture and societies, which they said outweighed the minimal or short-term benefits arising out of extractive operations. In this connection, a member of the Pemon people of Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) reported that benefits from extractive industries were not a top priority within the community; rather, the group sought “healthy communities, with no infections, in a pollution-free environment”. Similarly, an organization representing the traditional authorities of the Cofan people of Colombia concluded that, in present circumstances, 13