Our Environment - Mining and the Environment: From Ore to Metal - page 338

to wilderness areas due to any development including mining, can contribute to increased
wildlife trade, unless specific steps are taken to avoid such an outcome.
All international agreements, once consent has been reached, become enforceable only
after certain criteria are fulfilled, the prominent criteria being the minimum number of
nations that have ratified the agreement. The rate at which parties are signing on and the
speed at which agreements take force have increased rapidly. The Biodiversity Convention
was enforceable after just one year, and had 160 signatories only four years after its
introduction.
One of the principal problems with most international agreements is the tradition that
they must be by unanimous consent. A single recalcitrant nation effectively has veto power
over the wishes of the vast majority. For instance, to reach unanimous consent more than
100 countries at the 1992 Earth Summit agreed to reword the climate convention, after
persistent representations by US negotiators, so that it only urges, not requires, nations to
stabilize their greenhouse gas emissions.

It is also widely recognized that
improved access to wilderness
areas due to any development
including mining, can contribute
to increased wildlife trade, unless
specifi c steps are taken to avoid
such an outcome.

Guidelines and Codes by Private Sectors, Financial
Institutions, and Other Stakeholder Organizations

It is not surprising that
anti-mining advocacies now
treat the industry's own
pronouncements as the best
evidence of the international
standards to which the industry
should be held accountable.

The mining industry itself and NGOs are producing an expanding body of guidelines,
standards, best practices, codes of conduct, technical and management procedures and
intra-company rules - both of general application and mining-industry-specific. It is not
surprising that anti-mining advocacies now treat the industry's own pronouncements
as the best evidence of the international standards to which the industry should be held
accountable.

The 1991 Berlin Guidelines
The 1991 Berlin Guidelines emerged from a United Nations convened roundtable discus-
sion of international mining experts in Berlin to address environmentally sustainable min-
eral development. The Berlin Guidelines set out mining-environment principles for the
mining industry as well as for multilateral and bilateral financing institutions. In 2002, a
second roundtable discussion produced a follow-up document referred to as Berlin II.

The Best Practice Environmental Management (BPEM) in Mining
The Best Practice Environmental Management (BPEM) in Mining programme is a
world-renowned partnership between the mining industry, interested stakeholders, and
the Australian Government ( www.ea.gov.au/industry/sustainable/mining/bpem.html ). It
aims to help all sectors of the minerals industry - minerals, coal, oil, and gas - to pro-
tect the environment and to reduce the impact of minerals production. Since the pro-
gramme began in 1994, the Australian Government has worked with industry partners
to produce 24 booklets on a range of topics, from community consultation to water man-
agement and cleaner production. The booklets present concise, practical information on
how to achieve environmental management best practice in the minerals industry any-
where in the world.

The 2005 International Cyanide Management Code
The 2005 International Cyanide Management Code ( www.cyanidecode.org ) is a volun-
tary initiative for the gold mining industry and the producers and transporters of the cya-
nide used in gold mining. It is intended to complement an operation's existing regulatory