Newsletter from the Environmental Governance Programme (EGP) for Sustainable Natural Resource Management.
EGP is a joint initiative of the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The EGP supports countries in integrating environment and human rights into the governance of the mining sector.
ARTISANAL AND SMALL-SCALE MINING (ASM):
Liberia: ASM Multi-Stakeholder Action Dialogue (August 25-26, 2022)
With support from the EGP, the Ministry of Mines and Energy, the Environmental Protection Agency and UNDP Liberia convened a two-day multi-stakeholder action dialogue for ASM, following a recommendation from the ASM Working Group.
The workshop focused on “Accelerating Formalization and Regulations: Action Dialogue for ASM in Liberia.” It was held in Buchanan City, the capital of Grand Bassa County in western Liberia, on August 25-26, 2022, bringing together around 50 policymakers from the relevant Ministries and Agencies, development partners, civil society representatives, and ASM miners and associations.
The workshop participants agreed on action plans and concrete steps for each relevant Ministry and Agency to support more sustainable, efficient, and equitable ASM within a more inclusive mining sector. It also promoted collaboration across multiple stakeholders and sectors and emboldened the EGP-supported ASM Working Group to drive the next steps in synergy with national and international initiatives.
News Story: “Stakeholders Seek Enforcement of Laws against Illicit Mining in Liberia”
On July 13, 2022, the Global News Network (GNN Liberia) published a news story about the EGP-supported ASM training workshop held in Boputu, Gbarpolu County, on July 6-7, 2022.
The news story focused on ongoing efforts to improve ASM governance in the country and emerging challenges related to the growing global demand for gold. The ASM sector is the primary source of income and livelihood for over two hundred thousand people across Liberia, mostly in rural communities.
>>READ THE NEWS STORY
GENDER EQUALITY IN MINING:
Register for the #GenderAndMining Self-Paced Course!
The self-paced course on #GenderAndMining is available in English, French, and Spanish until the end of 2022. It helps EGP Country Teams, partners and mining governance decision-makers to:
- Understand and evaluate the impact of mining projects on communities, with a particular emphasis on their effects on women;
- Assess the importance and benefits of women’s active participation and engagement in mining projects; and
- Understand how investment in gender in mining governance can lead to more stable and resilient communities.
More than 480 participants have already registered for the course, which builds on the Massive Open Online Courses on gender and mining governance organised in 2020 and 2021 with the Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, Metals and Sustainable Development (IGF) and UNDP's Learning for Nature Programme.
“Now I am more confident in dealing with gender issues, and I will use my knowledge to influence policy changes in my institution, the National Minerals Agency” - Alhaji Lamin Turay, Geologist at the Sierra Leone National Minerals Agency.
>>REGISTER HERE
LEARNING:
Summary Report: Side-Event on the Escazú Agreement, Human Rights Law & the Convention on Biological Diversity (April 21, 2022)
Marking the historic first Conference of the Parties of the Escazú Agreement (COP 1) in April 2022, the EGP convened a side-event on “Synergies between the Escazú Agreement, Human Rights Law and the Convention on Biological Diversity”.
It brought together more than 240 registered participants from 68 countries, including human rights practitioners, environmental and human rights defenders, government decision-makers and experts. The Summary Report is now available in English, Spanish and Portuguese.
The side-event was co-organized by the EGP; UNDP in Latin America and the Caribbean; the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner on Human Rights; the UN Environment Programme; the Raoul Wallenberg Institute on Human Rights and Humanitarian Law; Stockholm University; the Network of National Human Rights Institutions of the American Continent; and the Global Network of Human Rights and Environment.
“Either we survive together, or we drown separately” - H.E. Gabriel Boric, President of Chile, synthesising multilateralism’s vital role during the COP 1 Opening Session.
>>READ THE REPORT
Report: 1st Participatory Environmental Monitoring (PEM) Learning Hub (May 16, 2022)
Key messages from EGP's 1st PEM Learning Hub include:
- PEM has the potential to aid governments, communities, and companies in promoting more inclusive and responsive governance of the extractive sector in general and, more specifically, the mining sector.
- The EGP has kicked off a collaborative process for developing an evidence-based Global Guidance Note on PEM, anchored in the needs, experiences and tools of practitioners at the country level. The Guidance Note will be co-designed with EGP Country Teams and partners in Argentina, Colombia, Kyrgyzstan, Liberia, Mongolia, and Peru.
- The new PEM channel on Microsoft Teams & SharePoint was launched during the meeting, seeking to offer a one-stop-shop for continued learning, sharing experiences and insights from PEM implementation at the country level, and serving as a critical space for co-developing the Global Guidance Note. New members and guests can request access via this online form.
SAVE THE DATE: EGP Learning Hub 2022/Annual Global Workshop (November 30-December 1, 2022)
EGP's Annual Global Workshops bring together implementing partners and stakeholders from all ten participating countries, the Global Team and experts around the following objectives:
- Monitor progress across different levels from the perspective of all stakeholders (Systems Thinking).
- Reflect and generate ideas to constantly improve EGP implementation (Adaptive Management).
- Provide tools and opportunities for cross-country learning and feedback between global and country levels (Feedback Loops).
Further information, including the agenda and preparatory activities, will be available on the EGP website soon.
PARTICIPATORY ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING (PEM):
Peru Story of Change: Women's Leadership in Protecting the Environment in Communities Impacted by Mining
Peru's Story of Change showcases the power and determination of Betty Chávez, Natividad Taco and Irma Requelme, EGP-supported environmental monitors operating in the Departments of Cajamarca, Arequipa and Ancash.
“As environmental monitors, we are trained to explain to the community the factual information about the analysis of environmental contamination caused by extractive industries” - Betty Chávez, member of the PEM committee of Tapay-Tambomayo in Arequipa.
Kyrgyzstan Story of Change: Promoting Environmental Protection through Community Engagement
The Story of Change from Kyrgyzstan features how community members of the remote Sumsar village in the Jalal-Abad Region joined forces with local authorities and the EGP to assess and remediate the immense environmental and health challenges posed by the waste from zinc and lead processing plants that operated in the region until the late 1970s.
“We desperately needed protective equipment, especially near toxic tailing dumps or cultivating the land around them. Children and the farmers working in the fields are now using the equipment” - Aitkul Rysbekov, former head of the village government.
Argentina Story of Change: Promoting Indigenous Community Participation in Environmental Monitoring
The Story of Change prepared by the EGP Argentina team explores how indigenous communities in the northern province of Jujuy are organising to play an active role in monitoring and preventing the negative environmental and human rights impacts caused by lithium mining. Argentina is the world’s fourth largest producer of this critical mineral for the clean energy transition.
“The EGP has inspired and awakened an interest among people in local communities to participate in environmental monitoring” - Sonia Ochoa, Director of the Institute of Intercultural Higher Education in San Salvador de Jujuy, Argentina.
PARTNERS & ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
UNDP: Consultation on Co-Creating the Offer on Extractive Industries for People and Planet
As part of broader efforts to respond to country demand, UNDP is preparing a new Offer on Extractive Industries for People and Planet. A central pillar of this co-creation involves a three-week moderated e-consultation by the Communities of Practice on Environment, Energy, and Poverty and Inequality.
EGP Focal Points and UNDP Country Teams are invited to participate in this global consultation on the Sparkblue platform until September 12, 2022.
“The extraction of oil, gas, coal and other metals and minerals dominates the global economy and national economies of developed and developing countries. Although it can generate jobs and essential revenue needed to fund public services, unless reformed, the extractive industry can have a devastating impact on people and the planet and many of the interlinked crises that the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development responds to” - Concept Note of the Consultation.
Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, Metals and Sustainable Development (IGF): SAVE THE DATE for the 18th Annual General Meeting (November 7-10, 2022)
This year's IGF Annual General Meeting theme is “Critical Minerals and the Energy Transition”. It will take place in the Palais des Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, on November 7-10, 2022, with sessions featuring Community Resilience in a Just Transition, Government Readiness for Modern Policy and Regulatory Frameworks, and Women's Empowerment.
Since 2018, the EGP has been working with the IGF on mainstreaming gender equality in mining governance and is currently a partner in the joint project on Women and the Mine of the Future, with the participation of EGP country teams in Colombia, Mongolia, Peru and Zambia.
VISIT THE IGF WEBSITE
Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI): “Engaging Communities in a Just Transition”
In July 2022, the EITI launched the “Engaging Communities in a Just Transition” project in Colombia, Ghana and Indonesia. It will explore the obstacles local communities face in accessing and using the information on the extractive industries and energy projects impacting their lives. This two-year project is supported by the Ford Foundation.
READ THE EITI BLOG
Environmental Solutions Initiative: Registration is Open for the MIT Conference on Mining, Environment, and Society (September 7-9, 2022)
The Massachussetts Institute of Technology's Environmental Solutions Initiative convenes a global conference on environmental and social issues in mining on September 7-9, 2022. It will be held online, focusing on the growing demand for critical transition minerals and the mounting environmental and social challenges at the local and community level. Speakers and facilitators will include the Stockholm University and the Stockholm Environmental Institute.
VISIT THE CONFERENCE WEBSITE
EGP ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
ENVIRONMENTAL GOVERNANCE PROGRAMME (EGP)
The EGP is a global programme jointly implemented by the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency and UNDP since 2014. The EGP supports resource-rich countries in integrating environment and human rights into the governance of the mining sector. Programme countries include Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Liberia, Mongolia, Namibia, Peru, and Zambia.
The EGP is funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida).
EMAIL: CONTACT.EGP@UNDP.ORG
WEB: WWW.ENVIRONMENTALGOVERNANCEPROGRAMME.ORG
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