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EGP Newsletter

News from the Environmental Governance Programme on environment, human rights and mining - a joint initiative by the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency and UNDP

By Environmental Governance Programme (EGP)

February 17^th, 2019

free online training course on mining governance

On March 1, the EGP in collaboration with the UN Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) will launch a free online course that helps government officials identify and apply core sustainability concepts, approaches and tools needed to improve mining governance in various country contexts.

"Increasingly government authorities require more than a technical knowledge of mining to do their job well. They need a broad understanding of the economic, environmental, social and human rights issues at every stage of the mining cycle and updated tools to manage them".

The course responds to this growing demand and will run throughout 2019.

It draws on the EGP flagship publication: 'Extracting Good Practices: A Guide for Governments and Partners to Integrate Environment and Human Rights into the Governance of the Mining Sector'.

REGISTER HEre!

iStock Photo by Getty Images/Gregory Dubus

PARTICIPATORY ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING IN MOZAMBIQUE

The National Agency for Environmental Quality Control (AQUA) in Mozambique, in collaboration with Source International and the EGP have launched a pilot project on community-based water monitoring in the Tete province in the center of Mozambique.

The pilot project will look at water issues in the Moatize district, where a large-scale metallurgical coal mine started operating in 2011. Local communities are concerned with the potential water pollution and its consequences, as most of them rely on water for subsistence agriculture and fishing. The proximity of the mining operations to tributaries of the great Zambeze river also indicate the potential for contamination that goes far beyond the district of Moatize.

In an interview with the EGP, Laura Grassi from Source International and Josimar Biosse from AQUA explain the expectations around this innovative pilot project and how participatory environmental monitoring can help improve the governance of the mining sector in Mozambique.

READ THE INTERVIEW!

Community meeting held in Moatize, Tete Province, Mozambique, August 2018. Photo by AQUA/Mitader National Agency for Environmental Quality Control, Ministry of Land, Environment and Rural Development

upcoming: Mongolia workshop on participatory environmental monitoring

The EGP in collaboration with the Mongolia Ministry of Environment and Tourism, the National Commission for Human Rights of Mongolia, and the General Agency for Specialized Inspection, will organize a training workshop on participatory environmental monitoring for government officials and other stakeholders involved in the governance of the mining sector in Ulan Bator, Mongolia on March 26-27, 2019.

The workshop aims to sensitize all stakeholders to the benefits of participatory environmental monitoring and show the added value for all partners involved: environmental authorities, civil society and the private sector.

Mongolian central plateau by iStock Photo/Getty Images/Rawpixel

workshop report: Participatory Environmental monitoring committees

In October 2018, more than 40 participants from 13 countries gathered in Panama to share their perspectives and experiences at the EGP-convened Regional Workshop on Participatory Environmental Governance for Sustainable Natural Resources Management in the Latin American and Caribbean Region.

The workshop focused on regional experiences with Participatory Environmental Monitoring Committees from Argentina, Bolivia, Panama and Peru. Case studies and findings from all countries were presented and discussed. A formal report on the four countries’ experiences with this innovative approach to environmental governance, transparency and multi-stakeholder collaboration will be launched in April 2019.

Meanwhile, read the workshop report and key preliminary findings here and the UNDP blog on mining and socio-environmental issues in Latin America.

Regional Workshop on Participatory Environmental Governance for Sustainable Natural Resources Management in the Latin American and Caribbean Region, with a focus on Participatory Environmental Monitoring Committees Photo: Josu Ansoleaga/UNDP

upcoming: guidance note on assessing rule of law in the mining sector

The EGP and the Folke Bernadotte Academy will shortly launch a users' guide on Assessing the Rule of Law in Public Administration: the Mining Sector.

The tool has been designed to help policymakers and civil servants identify specific strengths and challenges in applying rule of law principles to the way that the public sector oversees and regulates the mining industry.

It is a practical tool that enables both the staff of agencies granting environmental and mining licenses and the communities affected by large-scale mining projects, to identify procedural issues and outline clear recommendations for reforming the mining sector from a rule of law perspective.

Civil service support officers provide on-the-job training to their South Sudanese counterparts as part of a UNDP governance project. Photo: UNDP South Sudan/Brian Sokol

guest blog on gender equality and mining: An opportunity to walk the talk

Guest blogger Rebecca Iwerks, capacity development director at the Natural Resource Governance Institute, advocates that the time is now for addressing gender gaps in the mining industry. In her blog 'An opportunity to walk the talk: Making gender disclosure part of the EITI standard', Rebecca highlights how gender gaps in the mining sector can be addressed by reforming the gender provisions and governing standards of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI).

Read the blog here!

Kwale Workshop on Environmental Governance of the Mining Sector: Putting Policies into Practice, May 2018. Photo: UNDP Kenya/Joyous Begisen

Happening now: Massive Open Online Course on Environmental Security

UN Environment in collaboration with the Environmental Law Institute, University of California-Irvine, the Earth Institute, Columbia University, Duke University and UNDP, has launched a free online course on Environmental Security and Sustaining Peace.

This 8-week course provides an in-depth introduction to the multiple roles that natural resources and the environment play in the onset, escalation, and resolution of, and recovery from, violent conflicts. Many of the considerations and approaches in this course are also relevant to understanding and addressing social conflicts around natural resources and the environment.

The course is in English and features video transcripts in English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, and Mandarin Chinese.

REGISTER HERe!

Sponsored by UN Environment, Environmental Law Institute, University of California-Irvine, the Earth Institute, Columbia University, Duke University and UNDP

about us

The Swedish Environmental Protection Agency and UNDP launched the Environmental Governance Programme (EGP) for Sustainable Natural Resource Management, focusing on the mining sector in 2014. The EGP supports countries to integrate environment and human rights into the governance of the mining sector.

The EGP is funded by the Swedish International Development Agency (Sida).

EGP BROCHURE

Environmental Governance Programme (EGP) for Sustainable Natural Resource Management

contact us

UNDP BUREAU FOR POLICY AND PROGRAMME SUPPORT, NEW YORK

Focal points:

Ann-Cathrin Pedersen: ann.pedersen@undp.org
Sanna Due: sanna.due@undp.org

SWEDISH ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY, STOCKHOLM

Focal point:

Maria Bang: Maria.Bang@Naturvardsverket.se

Mata Atlantica rainforest in Brazil, one of the world's biodiversity hotspots, by iStock Photo/Getty Images/FG Trade

Footnotes

Opening picture: African women plucking tea leaves on plantation in Kenya, by iStock Photo/Bartosz Hadyniak. Closing picture: Mata Atlântica rainforest in Brazil, by iStock Photo/FG Trade.

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FootNotes

Opening picture: African women plucking tea leaves on plantation in Kenya, by iStock Photo/Bartosz Hadyniak. Closing picture: Mata Atlântica rainforest in Brazil, by iStock Photo/FG Trade.