The Baseline - Mining and the Environment: From Ore to Metal - page 353

Based on its life history and physical characteristics, a selected species can provide insights
about environmental changes at various scales, for example, over time or space. Each senti-
nel species is specii c to particular environmental conditions. In selecting a sentinel species
we attempt to answer the same question: Can any of these species tell us something about
the impacts of the mining project, and their relationship to human health and biological
integrity? Appendix 8.1 contains examples of environmental indicators covering the full
range of natural resources. Other indicators may be more appropriate taking into account
the specii c characteristics of a particular mine site.

Indicators Applied to the Human Environment

Evaluating the human environment is more difi cult, particularly in assessing how well
communities are doing, and progress towards sustainability. Statistical indicators as com-
monly used in environmental assessment can only portray a narrow view of a particular
sector or issue, rather than a holistic picture of the community: economic progress (growth
rates, unemployment, incomes); social well-being (infant mortality, years of schooling,
number of people per dwelling); and environmental monitoring (air and water quality,
emission of pollutants, hectares of protected areas). As such, designing appropriate indica-
tors for a given community is crucial, and their interpretation has always to be in a larger
context, preferably including comparison to one or more control communities unaffected
by the project. An important aspect of developing indicators at community level is that
they be dei ned, developed, and used jointly with the community. The community then
becomes stewards of the indicators, and communicating community benei ts due to mine
development becomes easier and more transparent.
Social indicators are designed to point to measurable change in social and economic
systems among communities in the host region resulting from a mining development.
Appendix 8.1 suggests some social indicators. A novel, readily measured indicator of dis-
posable income is illustrated in Case 8.2 .
The indicator grouping depends on the framework used to present baseline data, and it
can vary widely. One example of the many alternative groupings follows (NOAA 1992):
●

Designing appropriate indicators
for a given community is crucial,
and their interpretation has
always to be in a larger context.

Population characteristics including: present population and expected change, ethnic
and racial diversity, and inl uxes and outl ows of temporary residents as well as the
arrival of seasonal or leisure residents.

●

Community and institutional structures including: the size, structure, and level of
organization of local government including links to the larger political systems. They
also include historical and present patterns of employment and industrial diversii ca-
tion, the size and level of activity of voluntary associations, religious organizations, and
interest groups, and i nally, how these institutions relate to each other.

●

Political and social resources including: the distribution of power authority, the inter-
ested and affected publics, and leadership capability and capacity within the commu-
nity or region.

●

Individual and family changes refer to factors which inl uence daily life including:
attitudes, perceptions, family characteristics, and friendship networks. These changes
range from alteration in family and friendship networks to perceptions of risk, health,
and safety.

●

Community resources include: patterns of natural resource and land use; availability of
housing and community services such as health, welfare, police protection, and sanita-
tion facilities. The continuity and survival of human communities depends partly on
their historical and cultural resources.