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)

May 21^st, 2019

Featured stories:

Participatory Environmental Monitoring in Mongolia

More than 120 government officials, civil society and private sector representatives came together in Ulaanbaatar on March 26 and 27 to discuss how to improve environmental governance of the Mongolian mining sector as part of an EGP convened multi-stakeholder Workshop on Participatory Environmental Monitoring.

Participatory environmental monitoring gives citizens and communities voice and power to influence decisions that affect their lives and their future.

READ THE WORKSHOP REPORT

DOWNLOAD WORKSHOP PRESENTATIONS

The Workshop on Participatory Environmental Monitoring was organized by UNDP Mongolia and the Government of Mongolia, under the joint Swedish EPA-UNDP Environmental Governance Programme (EGP). Photos by UNDP Mongolia.

2018 ANNUAL REPORT

In 2018, the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency and UNDP, through the joint Environmental Governance Programme (EGP) for Sustainable Natural Resource Management, continued to support governments to integrate environment and human rights into the governance of the mining sector. Read about our results here.

DOWNLOAD THE Annual Report

HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL RECOGNIZES THE CONTRIBUTION OF ENVIRONMENTAL AND HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS

On March 20, 2019, the United Nations Human Rights Council adopted by consensus a resolution recognizing the contribution of environmental and human rights defenders to the enjoyment of human rights, environmental protection and sustainable development.

To date, more than 150 countries have recognized some form of a right to a healthy environment in their Constitutions. However, the Human Rights Council is alarmed by an increasing rate of killings, violent acts, including gender-based violence, threats, harassment, intimidation, smear campaigns, criminalization, judicial harassment, forced eviction and displacement of environmental human rights defenders, including indigenous and women human rights defenders.

For further information, check the Report on Children's Rights and the environment (2018) by the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and the Environment. A child-friendly version of this report is available in English, French, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese and Russian.

READ THE RESOLUTION A/HRC/40/22

Greta Thunberg from Sweden is a climate activist and iconic role model for worldwide student activism. She became famous for having initiated a youth-led climate movement in November 2018 and during COP24 conference. Credits: Wikimedia Commons.

#FridaysForFuture: Youth protest against climate change in Duesseldorf, Germany, on March 22, 2019. Credits: iStock by Getty Images/We-Ge

new learning materials:

TRAINING MANUAL ON RESPONSIBLE MINING IN MONGOLIA

The EGP and UNDP Mongolia launched a new training manual to strengthen the capacity of local governments, communities, and small- and medium-sized mining companies to undertake and oversee responsible mining in the country. This new training manual provides a holistic view of responsible mining based on the understanding of the full mining cycle and the challenges and needs of local communities.

In 2018 the Mongolian mining sector grew by almost 20 per cent and was one of the main contributors to the economic growth of the country. With such rapid growth, the environmental governance of the mining sector and its alignment with human rights and rule of law principles is a major priority for the country.

Download the responsible mining manual

COMMUNITY GUIDE TO LARGE-SCALE MINING IN KENYA

The EGP launched a new guide to empower communities to participate in decisions related to large-scale mining in Kenya. The guide provides information about rights as a landowner, or as a member of a community affected by mining activities, and explains the requirements for licensing and environmental monitoring. The guide was developed in collaboration with Kenya's environmental and mining authorities.

Kenya is endowed with over 120 types of mineral resources, including large reserves of iron ore, copper, zinc, mercury, and heavy metals such as ilmenite, rutile, and zircon. Investment in the Kenyan mining sector has boomed in recent years.

Chart explaining the requirements, procedures and entry points for large-scale mining in Kenya.

Upcoming events, PUBLICATIONS:

REPORT ON PARTICIPATORY ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING

The EGP, in collaboration with the Canadian International Resources and Development Institute, will soon launch a report on participatory environmental monitoring committees. The report will present the results of in-depth investigations conducted in Argentina, Bolivia, Panama, and Peru with the objective of strengthening the participation of communities and civil society actors in the environmental monitoring of mining activities.

The upcoming report will help mining, environmental and human rights stakeholders better understand the conditions that enable participatory environmental monitoring committees to have an influence on decision making in the mining sector.

The report will be available soon on Exposure and UNDP and EGP websites. In the meantime, check our latest blog and an interview about a pilot participatory environmental monitoring project in Mozambique.

INTERNATIONAL TRAINING PROGRAMME ON MINE WATER AND WASTE

The EGP flagship publication on Extracting Good Practices: A Guide for Governments and Partners to Integrate Environment and Human Rights into the Governance of the Mining Sector will be featured in Sweden's International Training Programme on mine water and mine waste management, which is organized by the Geological Survey of Sweden in partnership with the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency and Luleå University of Technology.

The programme supports 25 government authorities tasked with permitting and inspecting mines in low and middle income countries. The training consists of three full weeks of lectures and field work in the north of Sweden, the center of the Swedish mining industry, along with ten months of project work supported by a mentor from the programme.

Visit the International Training Programme website and the calendar for upcoming courses.

International Training Programme (ITP) in Malå, Sweden. Photos by the Swedish Geological Survey/Sveriges geologiska undersökning (SGU)

gET INVOLVED:

FREE ONLINE TRAINING COURSE

Since its launch on March 1, 2019 more than 800 people have participated in the online training course on Integrating Environmental, Social, and Human Rights Protection into the Governance of the Mining Sector, which was developed in partnership with the UN Institute for Training and Research. The online course is self-paced and will run throughout 2019. Register for the free course here.

Increasingly government authorities, civil society organizations and companies dealing with mining need to have 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 approaches and tools to manage them.

CALL TO ACTION: YOUNG ENVIRONMENTAL JOURNALISTS

The EGP calls for 50 young volunteers to join an online campaign for ‘Young Environmental Journalists’. Online volunteers will help the EGP produce inspiring stories of change related to environmental and human rights protection in the mining sector in Colombia, Kenya, Mozambique and Mongolia.

To participate in the campaign, volunteers need to be enrolled in high school or college or be between 14 and 24 years of age and register with the UNV online volunteering platform.

YOUR SUGGESTIONS ARE WELCOME

The EGP was established in 2014 to support countries to integrate environment and human rights into the governance of the mining sector. The programme partners are currently discussing a potential new phase (EGP+), building on the successes and challenges of EGP's work in Colombia, Kenya, Mongolia, and Mozambique. We welcome your views and perspectives!