ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the first year of activities of a partnership established in response to the need to compensate local people affected by a pipeline oil spill. To plan and implement the compensation programme, the international non-governmental development organisation CARE Bolivia agreed to work with Transredes SA, a Bolivian/Shell/Enron-owned oil and gas transportation company. Progress will require senior managers and operational staff to dedicate time to clarifying the priorities and objectives of the partnership and to identifying complementary activities and responsibilities. Within a general context of increasing global scrutiny of the social impacts of business, operational risks from community blockades and pipeline 'tapping', and a specific need to secure international financing, Transredes increasingly began to focus on its social performance. Transredes found itself confronted by exactly these circumstances after the oil spill into the Rio Desaguadero. Once CARE Bolivia began work, the role of Transredes was reduced to providing funds and undertaking monitoring and evaluation.
