Mining and Sustainable Development II - DTIE

Mining
Social issues
Mining and the social imperative
Nola-Kate Seymoar, President and CEO, The International Centre for Sustainable Cities (ICSC), Suite 901, 1090 West Georgia St.,
Vancouver BC V6E 3V7, Canada
Abstract
Most mining executives are geologists or engineers, male and over 50. They can relate on some
level to environmental scientists or technologists, but they are ill equipped to understand social
scientists, community workers and community activists whose focus is on cultural and relational
issues. Yet, increasingly it is the community groups and social activists that determine
whether or not the company obtains its permits and/or tax and other concessions from national
and local governments. And it is those same community groups, indigenous tribes and
NGOs that can affect a company’s image and stock prices worldwide. Uncomfortable though
it may be, mining executives, government officials, NGOs and community leaders are finding
themselves forced to work together.
Résumé
La plupart des cadres de l’industrie minière sont des géologues ou des ingénieurs de sexe masculin,
âgés de plus de 50 ans. S’ils peuvent s’entendre à un certain niveau avec des chercheurs
ou des techniciens de l’environnement, ils sont par contre mal équipés pour comprendre les
chercheurs en sociologie, les travailleurs sociaux et les militants sociaux, principalement préoccupés
par des questions culturelles et relationnelles. Pourtant, ce sont de plus en plus les
groupes et les militants sociaux qui déterminent si une entreprise obtiendra des autorités
nationales ou locales les autorisations nécessaires et/ou des dégrèvements fiscaux et autres. Et
ce sont ces mêmes groupes, tribus indigènes et ONG qui peuvent remettre en cause l’image de
marque d’une entreprise et avoir un effet sur le prix des actions dans le monde entier. Malgré
toutes les difficultés que cela peut poser, les cadres de l’industrie minière, les représentants des
gouvernements, les ONG et les animateurs de communauté sont bien obligés de travailler
ensemble.
Resumen
La mayoría de los ejecituvos mineros son geologos o ingenieros, de sexo masculino y mayores
de cincuenta años. Están capacitados para relacionarse hasta cierto punto con científicos o
técnicos ambientales, pero no están preparados para comprender a los científicos sociales,
trabajadores comunitarios y activistas comunitarios que se centran en aspectos culturales o
relacionales. Sin embargo, los grupos comunitarios y los activistas sociales son quienes determinan
cada vez más si la compañía obtiene o no sus licencias y/o excenciones impositivas u
otras concesiones por parte de los gobiernos nacionales o locales. Y son esos mismos grupos
comunitarios, tribus indígenas y ONG’s los que pueden modificar la imagen de la empresa y
los precios de las acciones alrededor del mundo. Por incómodo que resulte, los ejecutivos
mineros, funcionarios de gobierno, ONG’s y líderes comunitarios se ven obligados a trabajar
en conjunto.
At ICSC we define sustainable development
as development that enhances the economic,
social and ecological well-being of current
and future generations. John Robinson and
his colleagues at the Sustainable Development
Research Institute (SDRI) refer to it as an integration
of economic, social and ecological imperatives.
When it comes to mining issues, I am more
inclined to SDRI’s definition. What is emerging
in the field is a sense of imperative that goes
beyond a desire to enhance well-being. Companies
cannot afford to invest in a mine unless they
are assured of a secure economic return over many
years, and that in turn is more and more dependent
upon their ability to take environmental
impacts into account. This reality has been part of
the mining scene for the past decade. A review of
annual reports of the progressive and largest mining
companies shows that environmental impact
assessments have become a fact of life and considerable
effort is put into mitigating the negative
impacts of mining activities. Some mining executives
argue that environmental science and technology
has become mainstream in their
companies.
It is often these same executives who see the
emergence of social issues as by far the most difficult
part of the sustainability triangle. They point
with some trepidation to the complexity of relations
with communities, indigenous tribes and
with NGOs at both the local and international
level. Most mining executives are geologists or
engineers, male and over 50. They can relate on
some level to environmental scientists or technologists,
but they are ill equipped to understand
social scientists or community workers whose
focus is on cultural and relational issues (and
whom, they can’t help but notice, are often
women). Nor are they comfortable relating to
community activists whom they perceive as operating
from an emotional base without sufficient
access to the facts. Yet, increasingly it is the community
groups and social activists that determine
whether or not the company obtains its permits
and/or tax and other concessions from national
and local governments. And it is those same community
groups, indigenous tribes and NGOs that
can affect a company’s image and stock prices
worldwide. Uncomfortable though it may be,
mining executives, government officials, NGOs
and community leaders are finding themselves
forced to work together.
A survey conducted by Dr. Allen Clark, of the
East-West Centre in Honolulu, presented in the
World Bank Conference on Mining and the
Community in 1997, identified land access and
UNEP Industry and Environment – Special issue 2000 ◆ 57