UN Economic and Social Development
Division for Sustainable Development

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CSD-18 Thematic Seminar Series: Mining

Friday 9 April 2010
10:00 am – 1:00 pm
New York, USA, UNHQ, Conference Room 7 (NLB)

UN Radio Intreview

Mining provides a livelihood for millions of people in developing countries but traditionally, the activities of the mining industry have impacted negatively on communities near extraction sites. Also, producing countries receive few or limited benefits in terms of economic growth and poverty reduction. But in the past 20 years, the mining industry has been changing. Breege Brennan has more on this.

Duration: 4'10"
link to this Interview on the UN Radio web-page

TRANSCRIPT

BREEGE:
Dr. R. Anthony Hodge is the President of the International Council on Mining and Metals which comprises 19 of the largest mining companies in the world, including BHT Billiton and Rio Tinto. He explains that they came together in the last couple of decades of the 20th century, when the world woke up to the impact of mining activities, particularly from an environmental and social perspective.

HODGE:
When computer communications allowed people to talk to each other, tremendous pressure was exerted on the mining industry to perform in a way that could be considered environmentally and socially responsible. So the mining industry found itself at the brunt of a tremendous public wave of concern about how we were treating people and the environment. And what my organisation does now, it serves as a change agent in our mining industry to try and work collaboratively to bring improvements to environmental and social performance. The mining industry is changed. They are embracing concepts of responsibility and ethical behaviour.

BREEGE:
But what is the legacy of previous mining practice? Manuel Pino is a Professor of Sociology and American Indian Studies in Scottsdale, Arizona. His research focuses on the impact of mining on the lives of American Indians. In particular, Prof. Pino wants to see the issue of prior and informed consent at the front end of the negotiations between indigenous communities and mining companies.

PINO:
That historically did not happen. Consequently, we were un-informed of the full scope of environmental impacts, and most importantly, the health impacts. If we look back in the 50 year legacy, a lot of these populations were pro-mining. But after the fact, when people started dying of cancer-related illnesses in our communities, we're asking a greater degree of questions toward the mining industry.

BREEGE:
In 1990, the US Congress passed the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act which awards a lump sum compensation package to individuals who contracted specific diseases as a result of extended exposure to known radiation hazards while mining or processing uranium. The Radiation Exposure Compensation Act covers the 29-year period between 1942 and 1971. Prof. Pino argues that that time-frame needs to be extended.

PINO:
The biggest flaw in the current legislation is that it only compensates miners who worked in the industry prior to 1971. The post-'71 population is not covered so we're working with the Congress of the United States to include working populations of post-71 because they're suffering from all the adverse health impacts to the same extent as the pre-'71 workforce.

BREEGE:
While the 19 major mining companies that make up the International Council of Mining and Metals have begun the process of engagement with local communities, the Council still faces major challenges.

HODGE:
We're a small number of companies, though significant and yet, the public doesn't differentiate between our companies and the rest of the mining industry. How do we get our ideas of improved performance to ripple out across the whole industry, because unless the whole industry improves, we're not going to succeed in terms of being able to demonstrate responsibility in an effective way. So that consistency across the industry is a huge challenge. The world is recognizing that many, many interests have to be involved, that they have a right to be involved, they need to be at the table. But the skills, the capacity to work effectively with people, I think, is a real challenge. It's a challenge within the industry, and it's a challenge for governments, it's a challenge for civil society, it's a challenge for communities - how you can work effectively, with respect, with integrity, with people to build effective ways of moving forward.

BREEGE:
Despite the problems associated with it, both the International Council of Mining and Metals and Prof. Pino acknowledge that collaboration is the way forward.

PINO:
Any time you have communication, open dialogue, it can serve as an educational process for all parties involved.

BREEGE:
The seminar aims to raise awareness of social, technical and scientific issues in relation to the Commission for Sustainable Development review and was attended by members of the United Nations, government, inter-government agencies and partnerships. For UN Radio, I'm Breege Brennan.