Ottawa, Canada, December 20, 2016 – The government of Liberia has expressed its commitment to good governance of the extractives industry by joining the Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, Metals and Sustainable Development (IGF).
“We are pleased to welcome Liberia as the IGF’s 56th member,” IGF Director Greg Radford said.
“Every nation which joins the Forum brings a unique perspective and adds depth to the dialogue. We look forward to Liberia’s participation and applaud their commitment to leveraging mining for sustainable development.”
Representatives from Liberia announced their intentions at the IGF’s 12th Annual General Meeting in Geneva in October. Its formal application was completed and processed this week.
The IGF is a member-driven organization aimed at providing opportunities for national governments with an interest in mining to share best practices and work collectively to achieve their goals. It also facilitates engagement with mining companies, industry associations and civil society though conferences and workshops.
It is devoted to optimizing the benefits of mining to achieve poverty reduction, inclusive growth, social development and environmental stewardship.
The IGF is focused on improving resource governance and decision making by governments working in the sector. It provides a number of services to members including: in-country assessments; guidance documents; capacity building and individualized technical assistance.
These efforts are largely framed by IGF’s flagship policy guidance and assessment tool, the Mining Policy Framework (MPF). The MPF lays out international best practices in six key pillars of mining policy and law: the legal and policy environment; financial benefit optimization; socioeconomic benefit optimization; environmental management; mine closure and post-mining transitions; and artisanal and small-scale mining.
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.