Looking Ahead - Mining and the Environment: From Ore to Metal - page 851

to study how both coal mining and coal use will affect the global environment (see also
the Case 13.10 on Anvil coal mining in Chapter Thirteen). In the mining industry there is
now increasingly an internal requirement for the estimation of energy consumption and
greenhouse gas emissions for each project and the triggering mechanism for implement-
ing measures to reduce GHG emissions. LCA provides a quantitative and scientii c basis
for these new concepts. In simple terms, LCA is a method of quantifying and balancing
the environmental impacts of a product in relation to its production, transport (to end
user), use (consumption) and eventual disposal. This can be a complex and daunting task.
Fortunately, there is l exibility in the level of detail required for an LCA, depending on its
objectives and intents.
For mining projects, undertaking an LCA for products of a specii c mine is difi cult,
if not impossible. Mine products are part of the global pool of raw materials, and singling
out one product stream is impossible. An LCA does provide the basis for developing new
policies to inl uence producer and consumer behaviour as well as preferences. However,
because environmental degradation is seldom contained by political boundaries, the ulti-
mate challenge is to coordinate policy and legal responses across broad regions. Even in
the European Union, this can be difi cult.
But there are other reasons why it makes good sense to look beyond the geographic
study boundary when conducting an environmental impact assessment. As there is a link
between upstream and downstream activities, there is a strong link between projects of
similar types. These links may be easily detected as in the case of two mining projects in
the same host region, or they may be more subtle as in the case of new developments in
different regions ( Case 22.6 ).

For mining projects, undertaking
an LCA for products of a specifi c
mine is diffi cult, if not impossible.

As there is a link between
upstream and downstream
activities, there is a strong link
between projects of similar types.

CASE 22.6
Developing Palm Oil Plantations in Papua

While not related to the mining sector, the recent push by
the Indonesian government to develop palm oil plantations
in Papua illustrates the complex environmental and politi-
cal links between similar activities in the same jurisdic-
tion. Question: Is it environmentally acceptable to convert
pristine rainforest on the island of Papua into oil palm
plantations while, by some estimates, some 2 to 3 million
hectares on the island of Kalimantan are readily available,
previously deforested for the same purpose but never
developed as intended? This example illustrates the need
for strategic environmental assessments (SEA) to comple-
ment project-specifi c EIAs. The purpose of an SEA is to
integrate environmental and sustainability factors in policy
and national programme making.