New course for sustainable mining<\/p>\n
Emil Salim, Former Indonesian Environment Minister<\/p>\n
I strongly recommend that mining companies voluntarily
\nimplement this approach in their operations. The "best
\ntechnology" mandated in the air pollution case could also become
\nthe best practice design in the extractive industries case. In
\nthe extractive industries best practice scenario, the industry
\nwould not only implement the best available technologies to
\nprevent pollution, but also offset converted habitat to conserved
\nhabitat at a 10:1 ratio, similar to that of the Clean Air Act.
\nWithin the context of extractive industries offsets are areas
\nthat can be conserved by the industry, either adjacent to the
\nproject or elsewhere such that the environment is unambiguously
\nbetter off with the project.<\/p>\n
The specific habitat offset for each project must of course
\ntake into consideration all the variables and need to be
\nflexible, for which the social and environmental assessment
\nbecomes importantly instrumental. Important however is the
\ncommitment to move into this direction.<\/p>\n
Third: Small Islands As Sensitive Areas. According to the IUCN
\nthere are five main types of sensitive areas, valuable when
\nintact, as they are, without extractive industries and whose
\nvalue would be jeopardized by extractive industries.<\/p>\n
The five main types of "Sensitive Areas" are: Cultural
\nproperty, areas in which Indigenous People's live, or on which
\nthey depend, areas of armed conflict, fragile watersheds, such as
\nthose protecting a dependent project, and areas of high
\nbiodiversity and endemism, rare or endangered species, rare
\nhabitats, and intactness,<\/p>\n
In these five sensitive areas the potentially affected
\ncommunities should be able to reject an extractive industry
\nproject on their lands, they would be off-limits unless
\nmeaningfully informed, prior consent is obtained. The important
\nproviso is that "Offsets" can be more valuable for local
\ncommunities and conservation, so the possibility of trade-off is
\navailable.<\/p>\n
It is necessary to pay special attention to mining on small
\nislands. There is a strong case to review the small island issue
\nwith the possibility of including them as a new category of
\n"Sensitive Areas" that will need higher standards of social and
\nenvironmental impact assessment before any decision is made to
\nmine.<\/p>\n
Fourth: Leveling the development playing field for developing
\ncountries. Looking to the map of mining countries, during the
\nlast fifty years upstream economic activities are not accompanied
\nby downstream industrial development, leaving developing
\ncountries stuck with producing raw materials for exports.<\/p>\n
The reason is obvious. Imports of mining and mineral resources
\nhave lower import duties than imports of higher value added
\nmining processed products into industrialized countries. This
\nlimits the markets and profits to those producing only raw
\nmaterials.<\/p>\n
But it also deepens the gap between industrialized and
\ndeveloping countries. Globalization has raised international
\ntrade and financial flows. But this trade and finance has flowed
\nmore among the industrialized countries themselves rather than
\nbetween the industrialized and the developing countries.<\/p>\n
Of course much needs to be done by the developing countries to
\nmake their economy much more attractive. At the domestic level
\nadherence to good governance, the rule of law, democracy, anti
\ncorruption measures, sound environmental, social and economic
\npolicies and enabling environment for investment are the basis
\nfor sound sustainable development.<\/p>\n
These prerequisites however must also apply at the
\ninternational level to multilateral agencies, such as the World
\nBank, International Monetary Fund and the World Trade
\nOrganizations. It is undemocratic if decisions with wide global
\nimplications are taken on the basis of "one dollar one vote"
\nrather than "one country one vote".<\/p>\n
The basic issue at stake is that the level playing field in
\ninternational development is not fair between industrialized and
\ndeveloping countries.<\/p>\n
The crucial question then becomes, what can multi-national
\ncorporations do to correct this and strive for a fair level
\nplaying field? Especially those corporations operating in
\ndeveloping countries with viable growth is affected by the
\ndeveloping countries development.<\/p>\n
The key of development is in raising value added. Developing
\ncountries, being underdeveloped, only have natural resources and
\nhuman resources as their major developmental capital. In the
\nmeantime technology and skills are mainly in the industrialized
\ncountries. Under these circumstances, developing countries can
\nonly raise capital and mobilize funds if they earn higher value
\nadded from their natural and human resources.<\/p>\n
If mining industries fail to raise their level of activities
\nbeyond these upstream economic activities and refrain themselves
\nto go beyond this trap, it is difficult to expect developing
\ncountries to conceive these industries as contributing
\nsignificantly to their growth.<\/p>\n
Fifth: The sustainable development agenda. We are entering now
\na new century. We need to draw the lessons from the past. We must
\nchange the conventional developmental mentality into a new
\nsustainable development outlook.<\/p>\n
This calls for a greater effort of transparency,
\naccountability and subsidiary from the mining industry. We must
\nenhance the participation by local and indigenous communities to
\nplay an active stakeholder role in minerals, metal and mining
\ndevelopment through the life cycles of mines, including after its
\nclosure.<\/p>\n
We must optimize the mining and processing of minerals,
\nincluding small-scale mining, improve value added processing,
\nreclamation and rehabilitation of degraded sites.<\/p>\n
We must ensure real "benefits sharing" with local communities,
\nand not rest at the notion of good revenue management alone.<\/p>\n
We must go beyond the prevailing "best available technology"
\nand move towards clean and sustainable technology.<\/p>\n
We need to consider the five types of sensitive area as our
\nworking fields, with special regard to small island vulnerable
\neco-systems.<\/p>\n
We must strive for a fair level playing field between the
\nindustrialized and the developing countries.<\/p>\n
It is with this sustainable development agenda that we must
\nchange the course of mining industrial development to become a
\nmajor driving force for eradicating poverty, changing the
\nunsustainable pattern of consumption and production and promoting
\nenvironmental protection in resource management as the
\noverarching objectives of sustainable development in this coming
\ndecade.<\/p>\n
The article is taken from Emil Salim's speech in the
\nconference Global Mining Initiative on Recoursing The Future in
\nToronto on May 14. First part of the article appeared on
\nWednesday.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/new-course-for-sustainable-mining-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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