Involving the Public - Mining and the Environment: From Ore to Metal - page 122

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Involving the Public

Forging Partnerships and Trust

Agenda 21 and Principle 10, which emerged from the Earth Summit in 1992,
both called for increased public involvement in environmental decision-making. In
Europe, this led to the adoption of the Aarhus Convention in 1998, which, to date,
is the most comprehensive international agreement on the right and importance
of public participation in environmental decision-making. Public consultation and,
as a mining project evolves, public participation is now accepted as an integrated
part of any mine development (WSSD 2002), as it should be. The importance of
public consultation and participation is also refl ected in the World Bank's Policy
on Environmental Assessment OP/BP 4.01 and the more recent IFC Performance
Standards (IFC 2006), part of what is now referred to as 'The Equator Principles'
(EP), the industry standard for best environmental and social assessment practice.

Public participation is now
accepted as an integrated part of
any mine development.

Equator Principle 5 (Consultation and Disclosure) states ( www.equatorprinciples.com July
2006):

'For all Category A and, as appropriate, Category B projects located in non-OECD coun-
tries, and those located in OECD countries not designated as High-Income, as dei ned by
the World Bank Development Indicators Database, the government, borrower or third
party expert has consulted with project-affected communities in a structured and cultur-
ally appropriate manner. For projects with signii cant adverse impacts on affected com-
munities, the process will ensure their free, prior and informed consultation and facilitate
their informed participation as a means to establish, to the satisfaction of the Equator
Principles Financial Institutions (EPFI), whether a project has adequately incorporated
affected communities' concerns. In order to accomplish this, the Assessment documenta-
tion and Action Plan, or non-technical summaries thereof, will be made available to the
public by the borrower for a reasonable minimum period in the relevant local language
and in a culturally appropriate manner. The borrower will take account of and document
the process and results of the consultation, including any actions agreed resulting from
the consultation. For projects with adverse social or environmental impacts, disclosure
should occur early in the assessment process and in any event before the project construc-
tion commences, and on an ongoing basis.'