In September this year the UN member states will subscribe the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Product of a robust participatory process, the SDGs will frame international development priorities for the next fifteen years. How to make SDGs an opportunity for the mining sector and for the 100 million people that depend on Artisanal and Small-Scale mining in the world?

 

In Rio + 20, IIED enabled a multi sectorial space to reflect on the progress of the industry in relation to its sustainability. The outcomes are far from encouraging. In general, the mining sector has progressed significantly in establishing frameworks of social and environmental responsibility, but very little in implementing them; meanwhile, small mining has had minimal progress in its formalization, mainly due to unfavorable policy and market environments.

It is undeniable that the SDGs will exert greater pressure on the mining sector to reduce its negative impacts on people and ecosystems. Even though some critical issues such as eradicating poverty, creating opportunities for all, and reducing inequality will remain at the core of SDGs, an environmental and more concrete Human Rights agenda will emerge. It will include material issues for mining such as natural resources management (water, energy, and emissions); economic inclusion; sustainable production and consumption and justice for all.

The large scale mining sector will have to accelerate the pace of implementation of frameworks for social and environmental responsibility as well as the measurement of material issues; It will have to prepare itself to get social license through more mature and complex dialogue processes and it won’t be able to ignore or maintain an exclusive management of the rule of law in the reality of small-scale mining in and around its concessions.

The challenges of small-scale mining are not less complex. The sector should definitely have to start walking the path of legality and formalization or witness terrible social, economic and environmental consequences arising from heavy-handed approaches. For artisanal and small-scale miners to participate in the post-2015 development agendas it is imperative to grant mining rights to this sector. As explored in this publication, without mining rights, there are no incentives for social and environmental responsibility in small-scale mining. Further progress in promoting responsible consumption and provisioning as a market driven formalization strategy is imperative. Fairmined is a living example that this is possible, but more miners and buyers must be added to effectively distribute the financial burden that the positive transformation of the sector implies. Finally, we must build capabilities to create a culture of legality and business ethics. Miners should see themselves and be seen as economic and not only social agents.

Some may still argue that because the world needs mineral resources the external pressure to adopt sustainable practices are limited. There is some truth in that, as is also true that 100 million artisanal miners need better living conditions and healthier ecosystems. However, as quoted in the book “Chao Petróleo”, let’s not forget that the Stone Age ended way before the stones did.

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