The Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, Metals and Sustainable Development (IGF) is launching two consultations on Goxi (goxi.org) which will run from September 21 to October 2, 2020, to facilitate global dialogue about the gendered impacts of mining before project development, as well as best practices in environmental management in the sector.
The IGF hopes these consultations will enable us to further the multistakeholder dialogue with government, civil society, and industry to improve gender equality and environmental management in mining, and contribute to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. To participate in the consultations, you must have a Goxi account. If you do not have an account, you can register to join the platform online. Join the discussion on Goxi between September 21 and October 2, 2020.
Assessing Gendered Impacts of Mining Before Project Development
Although the mining sector can contribute to sustainable development, its impacts are felt differently by men and women. Some challenges women face are gender specific, such as not being included in community consultations in meaningful ways, not benefitting from the financial gains of resettlement requests, hiring discrimination, increased domestic duties as men in their households are hired, and increased risk of exposure to gender-based violence.
Mining goes beyond only having environmental and health impacts to touching the social, economic, and cultural fabric of lives where operations take place. This can result in changes to people’s livelihoods, cultural traits, political systems, community structures, and power dynamics.
The goal of the IGF’s Goxi consultation is to generate conversation and crowdsource ideas and information to better define the role of governments, industry, and civil society in assessing the gendered impact of mining prior to project implementation by mapping available policy tools and case studies. The consultation, hosted in partnership with International Women in Mining, will also shed light on challenges and potentials in real-life implementation of existing tools to help inform future IGF publications.
Global Consultation on Environmental Management and Mining Governance
The Global Consultation on Environmental Management and Mining Governance is a two-week consultation on the government’s role in mining governance and IGF’s newly drafted Guidance for Governments: Environmental Management and Mining Governance. The consultation will focus on four key topics – Water, Biodiversity, Mine Waste, and Emergency Preparedness and Response – and solicit input from experts on key issues, benchmarks, standards and governance options at the policy, regulatory, and project levels.
IGF’s Guidance for Governments: Environmental Management and Mining Governance looks at what governments must do before, during, and after mining to ensure that the environment and its natural resources are sustainably and continuously well-managed. Using the legislative, regulatory and policy tools at their disposal (e.g. Environmental and Social Impact Assessments, risk management, Environmental and Social Management Plans) governments are well placed to attract responsible mining investors while also protecting natural resources, ecosystems, biodiversity and the communities that rely on them.
With feedback from the consultation, the IGF will strengthen its guidance document so that it can be used by IGF member countries to improve their implementation of the IGF Mining Policy Framework (MPF).
Both consultations will feed into the IGF’s 16th Annual General Meeting, being held virtually from October 20 to 22, 2020.
The IGF supports more than 75 member nations committed to leveraging mining for sustainable development to ensure negative impacts are limited and financial benefits are shared. It is devoted to optimizing the benefits of mining to achieve poverty reduction, inclusive growth, social development, and environmental stewardship. The International Institute for Sustainable Development has served as Secretariat for the IGF since October 2015. Core funding is provided by the Government of Canada.