Resources on Resettlement

The International Institute for Environment and Development conducted a two-year process of consultation and research called Mining, Minerals and Sustainable Development (MMSD). The goal was to understand “how to maximise the contribution of the mining and minerals sector to sustainable development at the global, national, regional and local levels.”

I had come across some materials wandering the Internet, but wanted to post something about it. MMSD has a set of research papers on various topics that are well referenced for further investigation.

I just read Avoiding New Poverty: Mining-Induced Displacement and Resettlement and was pleased to find some useful links to a professional network, Displacement.net, dealing with the issue.  The author, Ted Downing, also offers an idea to consider “involuntary displacement and resettlement insurance” that, as I understand it, would work similarly to the type of insurance that a company would purchase to limit liability from workman’s compensation. Something to ponder even if he doesn’t think it is possible in the immediate future for political reasons.

There are a lot of other papers. Hopefully this blog will be a place to pull out ideas and informally discuss practical issues and ideas. Also, I will post here sometimes just to ensure I can find materials again. I add it to the blog in case others are looking for similar materials and to discuss if they so choose.

Environmental Impact Assessment Wiki

I came across a wiki on Environmental Impact Assessment a few days ago. It was created by the United Nations University. I looked at a few pages and joined the site. It is an interesting experiment and I will give it a try. It will be interesting to compare with Wikipedia’s information on Environmental Impact Assessment. So many wikis and so little time!

Existential Crisis of Sustainability

On a lighter, Friday evening note…

I was thinking about the existential crisis of sustainability, which made me think of a favorite movie on existentialism, I Heart Huckabees, which led me to find this mildly amusing and short blog by one of the protagonists of the film, Tommy Corn.

Loved this exchange in the film:

Mr. Hooten: God gave us oil! He gave it to us! How can God’s gift be bad?
Tommy Corn: I don’t know. He gave you a brain too and you messed that up pretty damn good.
Mr. Hooten: I want you sons of bitches out of my house now!
Tommy Corn: If Hitler were alive, he’d tell you not to think about oil.
Mrs. Hooten: *You’re* the Hitler! We took a Sudanese refugee into our home!
Tommy Corn: You did. But how did Sudan happen, ma’am? Could it possibly be related to dictatorships that we support for some stupid reason?
Mr. Hooten: You shut up! You get out!
Tommy Corn: You shut up.

Photo credit is certainly Tommy’s.

Hidden (golden) Treasure?

Oxfam America has recently published a thorough report on Mali’s gold industry called Hidden Treasure? In Search of Mali’s Gold-Mining Revenues. As the title implies, it has particular focus on the source and destination of gold revenues from the industry.

The article zeros in on new IFC policy (page 4-5) that states:

When IFC invests in extractive industry projects (oil, gas and mining projects), IFC assesses the governance risks to expected benefits from these projects. In the case of significant projects (those expected to account for ten percent or more of government revenues), risks are appropriately mitigated, and for smaller projects, the expected net benefits of projects and the risks to these from weak governance are reviewed. Where the balance of benefits and risks is not acceptable, IFC does not support such projects. IFC also promotes transparency of revenue payments from extractive industry projects to host governments. Accordingly, IFC requires that: (i) for significant new extractive industries projects, clients publicly disclose their material project payments to the host government (such as royalties, taxes, and profit sharing), and the relevant terms of key agreements that are of public concern, such as host government agreements (HGAs) and intergovernmental agreements (IGAs); and (ii) in addition, from January 1, 2007, clients of all IFC-financed extractive industry projects publicly disclose their material payments from those projects to the host government(s).

That seems pretty straight forward to me, but there is attention given to the prase “significant” new extractive industries projects. Apparently, this means that the project must represent 10 percent or more of a government’s revenues.

Splitting hairs? Perhaps. But interpretation matters.

Authors mention the challenge of actually talking to government and companies. They fail to mention that one of their campaigns is called No Dirty Gold. A quick review of some of the chapter headings from one of their reports – acid mine drainage: pollution on a millennial scale; endangering communities; how mining injures women – might indicate why some are reluctant to engage. Just a thought.

For anyone interested in the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiaitive, they have a good news feed (RSS) that is updated regularly with issues related to transparency. Also, Global Witness and Save the Children assessed EITI a few years ago and published a concise and “constructive” report, Making It Add Up, on the reporting guidelines and Source Book.

Free, Prior and Informed?

The IFC Guidance Notes: Performance Standards on Social & Environmental Sustainability explain that consultation on the projects should be “free” (free of intimidation or coercion), “prior” (timely disclosure of information) and “informed” (relevant, understandable and accessible information), and should continue through the entire life of the project and not only during the early stages of the project. That’s the definition, but it’s the details that matter.

World Resources Institute took the question head on and issued Development Without Conflict: The Business Case for Community Consent earlier this week.

If you read and have some thoughts, please do share.

“A Mining Adviser’s View of Global Warming”

Climate Connections is a series now on National Public Radio done in cooperation with National Geographic: “How are we shaping the climate. How is climate shaping us.”

I enjoyed this story on a mining adviser, environmentalist and government advisor. (Also a friend of mine!)

Another considers “carbon charge” on Chinese imports at the border. Also on China, a story on the impact of coal in China. 5,000,000 miners! According to the BBC, anywhere between 5,000 (official) and 20,000 (independent groups) are killed each year. Another BBC story quotes the People’s Daily saying 17 miners die a day. The size and scale put many issues in a different perspective.

As one injured miner explains in the NPR story:

Those rich Chinese in the Eastern Provinces, they pay lots of money for our coal. But they have no idea about the price we pay. Our bitterness is their happiness.

State of sustainable development reporting

The current state of sustainable development reporting and assurance, as explained by Deloitte on Mondaq (registration required). They assess 36 reports of different mining companies. I was interested by the comment on the “generation of trust”:

Trust has been a critical issue for many companies and none more so than in the mining sector. The concept of licence to operate is built on the appropriate behaviour of a company, and the trust that is built up over time facilitating both current operations and future developments. A great number of individuals are watching and commenting on mining operations and developments, from local populations to non-governmental organisations and governments, and the media. In addition, employees want to know that they are working for a company that understands and manages its nonfinancial performance well. SD reporting has been a key element for many companies in being open and honest regarding practices in those areas that impact stakeholders and the surrounding environment.

Much seems to be owed to the Global Reporting Initiative for furthering this process.