Our Environment - Mining and the Environment: From Ore to Metal - page 335

TABLE 7.5
The Earth Summit (United Nations 1997) - The Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro was unprecedented for a UN Conference, in terms of both its size and the scope of its
concerns. The Earth Summit infl uenced all subsequent UN conferences, which have examined the relationship between human rights, population, social development, women and
human settlements - and the need for environmentally sustainable development ( www.un.org )

Conference United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), Rio de Janeiro, 3 to 14 June 1992

Informal name The Earth Summit

Host Government Brazil

Number of Governments participating 172, 108 at level of heads of State or Government

Conference Secretary-General Maurice F. Strong, Canada

Organizers UNCED secretariat

Principal themes Environment and sustainable development

NGO presence Some 2,400 representatives of non-governmental organizations (NGOs); 17,000 people attended the parallel

NGO Forum

Resulting document Agenda 21, the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, the Statement of Forest Principles, the

United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the United Nations Convention
on Biological Diversity (UNCBD)

Follow-up mechanisms Follow-up mechanisms: Commission on Sustainable Development; Inter-agency Committee on Sustainable

Development; High level Advisory Board on Sustainable Development

Previous/subsequent conferences UN Conference on the Human Environment, Stockholm (1972) and Johannesburg (2002)

The Biodiversity Treaty
One of the major accomplishments of the 1992 Earth Summit - the Convention on
Biological Diversity (Biodiversity Treaty) ( www.biodiv.org ) - has major implications for
the mining industry. Its core concept is that nations are ' responsible for conserving their
biological diversity and for using their biological resources in a sustainable manner '. It is this
preservation provision that has the most immediate relevance to mining. It requires State
governments to develop and implement national biodiversity plans, which include the
establishment of protected areas of in situ biodiversity, and the prevention of significant
impacts on biological diversity. The Biodiversity Treaty encourages States to place new
areas off-limits to mining and development and to urge more support from international
companies; that is greater financial responsibilities from mining companies operating in
developing countries with substantial biodiversity resources. This in turn offers the oppor-
tunity to mining companies to contribute to the establishment of protected areas contain-
ing valuable wildlife in the host region, to offset potential mining induced impacts on
wildlife ( Case 7.11 ).
Currently, both onsite and offsite opportunities are being pursued by leading companies
to enhance their contributions to biodiversity conservation. These include assessments and
conservation of unique flora and fauna, research and development, support for protected
area site management programmes, and proactive community development programmes
to provide sustainable economic and social benefits, even after mine closure. A number

This in turn offers the
opportunity to mining
companies to contribute to the
establishment of protected areas
containing valuable wildlife in the
host region, to offset potential
mining induced impacts on
wildlife.