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Minerals and Sustainable Development
| Defining Sustainable
Development |
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One of the most widely accepted definitions of sustainable development
has been articulated by the World Commission on Environment and
Development (WCED), in the 1987 report "Our Common Future",
as that which, "... meets the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own
needs." (WCED, 1987, p.8).
Sustainable development requires the integration of economic, environmental,
and social considerations into all decision making; fostering intra-generational
equity through the alleviation of poverty by concentrating the benefits
of development in lesser developed areas; and considering the needs
of future generations to ensure that inter-generational equity exists.
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| Sustainable Development
and Mineral Resources |
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United Nations
The United Nations Environment Programme - Division of Technology
Industry and Economics (UNEP-DTIE) has published several special
editions of its quarterly journal, "Industry and Environment",
on mining and sustainable development that provide an overview of
activities in this area.
- Mining
and Sustainable Development II: Challenges and Perspectives
- Special Issue 2000 - Industry and Environment, UNEP-DTIE, Paris,
France, February 2001. (Download available in Adobe PDF)
- Mining
and Sustainable Development - Industry and Environment, UNEP-DTIE,
Vol 20, N° 4, Paris, France, December 1997.
Australia
In Australia, the Ecologically Sustainable Development Working
Group on Mining described sustainable development as:
"...ensuring that the mineral raw materials needs of society
are met, without compromising the ability either of future societies
to meet their needs, or of the natural environment to sustain
indefinitely the quality of environmental services (such as climate
systems), biological diversity and ecological integrity".
From the 'Ecologically Sustainable Development Working Group (ESDWG),
Final Report - Mining', Australian Government Publishing Service,
November, 1991.
In December 1992 a National Strategy for Ecologically Sustainable
Development was released based on the findings of this and other
sectoral and crioss-sectoral Working Groups. A number of recommendations
for resolving mining
sectoral issues in the Australian context were promulgated.
More recently, a paper on sustainability and the Australian mineral
industry was prepared to foster awareness and debate in the Australian
Parliament.
Canada
Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) - Minerals
and Metals and Sustainable Development
"Sustainable development in the context of minerals and
metals means finding, extracting, producing, adding-value to,
using, re-using, recycling and, when necessary, disposing of mineral
and metal products in the most efficient, competitive and environmentally
responsible manner possible. NRCan recognizes that these activities
must be carried out in consultation with, and respecting the needs
and values of, other resource users and maintaining or improving
environmental quality for present and future generations."
Minerals
and Metals Policy of the Government of Canada 1996
"NRCan developed six major objectives designed to implement
sustainable development practices in the development of Canada's
minerals and metals, including:
- integrating the concept of sustainable development in federal
decision making affecting the minerals and metals industry;
- ensuring the international competitiveness of Canada's minerals
and metals industry in the context of open and liberal global
trade and investment framework;
- advancing the concept of sustainable development of minerals
and metals at the international level;
- establishing Canada as a global leader in promoting the safe
use of minerals and metals, and their related products;
- promoting Aboriginal involvement in minerals and metals related
activities; and,
- providing a framework for the development and application of
science and technology to enhance the industry's competitiveness
and environmental stewardship."
Sustainable
Development and Minerals and Metals - Issue Paper 1995
Sustainable
Development of Minerals and Metals - Monograph - Submission
to the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development, and
the United Nations General Assembly Special Session (in June 1997)
on progress made since the Conference on Environment and Development
held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992.
Two
Cultures of Sustainable Development (Adobe PDF 414kB) - Susan
A. Joyce and Ian Thomson - Prospectors and Developers Association
of Canada (PDAC) Communique, May 2002. Discusses how the differing
perceptions of developed and developing country stakeholders affect
views on the mineral industry and sustainable development.
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| UNCED - The Rio Earth Summit
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The United Nations Conference on Environmentand Development (UNCED),
otherwise known as the Rio Earth Summit, was held in Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil in 1992. One of the major outcomes of the summit was Agenda
21, a detailed action plan for moving the world towards sustainable
development.
Versions of Agenda 21 are available from the CSD
website in English, French, Russian, Arabic Chinese and Spanish.
Agenda 21 and Mineral Resources
The following commentary on Agenda 21 as it affects mineral resources
is taken from a UNCTAD publication entitled International
Law and Mineral Resources by Prof. George W. (Rock) Pring of
the University of Denver College of Law.
"While there is no specific chapter in Agenda 21 dealing
with the minerals sector (as for agriculture, example), are a
host of provisions direct and indirect relevance to mineral development....>Chapter
10 presents a program for integrated planning and management
of land resources. Its "broad objective is to facilitate
allocation of land to the uses that provide the greatest sustainable
benefits". Its specific objectives are "to review and
develop policies to support the best possible use of the land
and the sustainable management of land resources," "to
improve and strengthen planning, management and evaluation systems,"
"to strengthen institutions and coordinating systems,"
and "to create mechanisms to facilitate the active involvement
and participation of all concerned, particularly communities and
people at the local level, in decision-making on land use and
management". For most countries, implementing even a portion
of the suggestions in Chapter
10 would radically change the resource planning and allocation
process.
Other examples include: Chapter
4 (Changing Consumption Patterns), which urges reduction in
unsustainable demand for natural resources, greater efficiency
in the use of energy and resources, minimizing generation of wastes,
and environmentally sound pricing; Chapter
6 (Protecting and Promoting Human Health), which calls for
extensive health protections in the industry and energy sectors;
Chapter
13 (Mountain Development), suggesting alternatives to minerals
development to prevent soil erosion, landslides, and loss of habitat
and genetic diversity; Chapter
17 (Protection of Oceans), which address, among other things,
degradation of the marine environment from oil and gas activities;
and Chapter
26 (Strengthening the Role of Indigenous Peoples), which calls
for protecting indigenous people's lands "from activities
which are environmentally unsound or that [they] consider to be
socially and culturally inappropriate".
Without being exhaustive, general provisions of mining-sector
interest can also be found in Chapter
19 on Toxic Chemicals, Chapter
20 on Hazardous Wastes, Chapter
30 on Strengthening the Role of Business and Industry, the
technology transfer provisions of Chapter
33, and Chapter
39 which encourages additional international treaties and
the development of international standards for environmental protection.
Agenda 21 also proposes two programs relevant to the mining sector,
one on interfirm cooperation with government support to transfer
technologies to minimize waste and increase recycling and a second
on responsible entrepreneurship encouraging self-regulation, environmental
research and development, worldwide corporate standards, and partnerships
in clean technology.
In summary, Agenda 21 proposes a stunningly diverse array of
global, national, and local reforms - some 2,500 projects in
all which if even fraction were implemented could transform the
way resource-based economies world deal with mineral development.
ECOSOC notes: "Agenda 21...sets priorities under resource
management technical assistance are to be carried out. Further
general guidance for these is given by Capacity programme 21.
goals this (a) assist countries incorporating principles sustainable
development into their plans programmes, (b) involving stakeholders
developing planning environmental (c) create body experience
expertise capacity-building that will continued material value
to, influence operation of, countries, UNDP, specialized agencies,
non-governmental organizations other donors." (UN document E/C.7/1996/7).
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| Commission on Sustainable
Development (CSD) |
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The Commission on Sustainable Development
(CSD) was created in December 1992 to ensure effective follow-up
of the UNCED; to monitor and report on implementation of the Earth
Summit agreements at the local, national, regional and international
levels. The CSD is a functional commission of the UN Economic
and Social Council (ECOSOC).
None of the earlier CSD meetings have focused specifically
on the mineral industry.
In the year
2010/2011 one of the thematic clusters examined will
be mining.
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| UN Millennium Report
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The United Nations Millenium
Assembly website includes links to the Millenium
Report. The report, entitled "We the Peoples: The Role
of the United Nations in the 21st Century", presents the Secretary
General's vision for the United Nations in a globalized world that
has changed dramatically in the 55 years since the Organization
was founded.
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| The World Summit on Sustainable
Development (WSSD) |
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To mark the tenth anniversary of the Earth Summit (UNCED), the
World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) is to be held in
Johannesburg, South Africa from 26 August to 4 September 2002. The
Summit will be reviewing progress made against Agenda
21, specifically reviewing the obstacles encountered, lessons
learned during the implementation process and new factors that have
emerged. The Summit is expected to provide the future direction,
making any needed midcourse corrections and applications of effort
necessary to increase the effectiveness of implementation.
The following information in relation to the WSSD is of relevance
to the mineral sector.
- The Plan of Implementation for the World
Summit on Sustainable Development and the Political
Declaration - The key documents and focus of the Summit
outcomes. The mineral sector is directly refered to within the
Plan of Implementation. An overview of the relevant sections is
provided here.
- From
Rio to Johannesburg: Mining Less in a Sustainable World
- Payal Sampat, World Summit Policy Brief #9, Worldwatch Institute,
2002. - Proposes a plan of action that expands on the WSSD Draf
t Implementation Plan and other activities currently in progress
to both level the playing field for recycling and secondary materials,
as well as to protect ecosystems, communities, and workers.
- UNECE
Ministerial Statement for the WSSD (Adobe PDF). The nations
of the Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) have released a
Ministerial declaration on the WSSD. Specific recommendations
in relation to mineral resources are identified in paragraph 10:
"We recognize that sustainable management,
use, and conservation of natural resources are needed to reverse
current trends in unsustainable consumption and production at
the national and global levels. In this regard, we encourage countries
to set goals on environmental protection, and improved eco-efficiency
and resource productivity with a view to demonstrating tangible
results. The Summit should develop specific initiatives, building
on work undertaken since Rio, in areas such as: fresh water, sanitation,
oceans and seas (including coral reefs), coastal zones, mountains,
land use, forests, biodiversity, energy, minerals and metals,
and health and environment. The Summit should encourage sustainable
management, use and conservation in the full range of resource
sectors, both renewable and nonrenewable."
- Mining Communities Charter - London
Declaration, September 20, 2001. A declaration by NGO's
on the mining industry.
Further information on the WSSD is available from the official
Summit website.
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