OVERVIEW OF THE IMPACT OF MINING ON THE ... - IIED pubs

1. INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND INFORMATION
1.1 Introduction
The Mining, Minerals and Sustainable Development Project (MMSD) is an independent, participatory project
aimed at understanding how the mining and minerals sector can best contribute to the global transition towards
sustainable development. The enormous diversity of views and definitions of “sustainable development” have
created considerable uncertainty in the minds of many people. In an effort to reduce some of this uncertainty
and provide greater focus and cohesion for the research teams, the final MMSD report will provide greater
clarity on what is implied by the term “sustainable development”, as well as precise recommendations on how
the sector can best contribute to the global transition towards this ideal.
The range of views and issues amongst different groups and individuals across the world prompted the project
originators to launch six MMSD Projects in different geographical regions. The MMSD southern African regional
project (MMSD SOUTHERN AFRICA) is one of these six projects and addresses issues important to the mining and
minerals processing sector in southern Africa. In the context of this project, southern Africa has been taken as
the twelve mainland African countries forming the Southern African Development Community, namely (in
alphabetical order): Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia,
South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
The primary objective of MMSD SOUTHERN AFRICA is to place the mining and minerals processing sector in
southern Africa within the context of the stated SADC goals for sustainable development, as outlined in Text
Box 1.1, below.
The goals for sustainable development in the Southern African region are to:
• Accelerate economic growth with greater equity and self reliance;
• Improve the health, income and living conditions of the poor majority; and
• Ensure equitable and sustainable use of the environment and natural resources for the benefit
f f
Text Box 1.1: Goals for sustainable development in southern Africa.
The context provided by acceptance of the defined goals for sustainable development in SADC countries
(above) precludes the necessity to become engaged in the protracted debates that surround the numerous
definitions of sustainable development. Concentrating on the generic concepts or principles of sustainable
development will ensure that MMSD SOUTHERN AFRICA has regional relevance as well as applicability to the
mining and minerals processing sector. However, in addition to the three primary principles listed in Text Box
1.1, the transition towards sustainable development within the SADC region also requires stakeholders to:
• Actively contribute to processes and structures that support good governance;
• Participate in initiatives aimed at strengthening regional co-operation; and
• Recognize that the profits gained at the expense of environmental or social systems are short-term and
therefore non-sustainable.
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