National Mineral Policy 2006 - Department of Mines

conservation. There are trade-offs that may be made in order to generate benefits in onedomain, but decisions on these should not be taken without inclusion of and negotiation withall those likely to be directly affected. A broad consensus must be achieved on themanagement of protected areas (e.g. forests) and the trade-offs involved. The local stake inthe success of protected areas and resources available to manage them needs to be ensured.The decision whether or not to mine a certain area should be undertaken through ademocratic decision-making process and be based on an integrated assessment of ecological,environmental, economic, and social impacts. The planning process will be more effective inthe presence of equitable and inclusive rules of tenure, compensation schemes for thoseaffected, and strong governance, including mechanisms for arbitration where necessary.MINING ACTIVITIES AND THE ENVIRONMENT3.5 Mining activities have a significant environmental impact. Managing this impacteffectively requires dealing with issues such as handling of immense quantities of waste, aciddrainage, environmental impact assessments (EIAs) and environment management systems(EMS), effective mine closure planning, and restoration of the ecological balance. Modernpractices in mining operations represent a great improvement over the past but these have notspread to all parts of the industry and the world. The objective of best practice is to ensurethat critical natural capital is maintained, that eco-systems are enhanced where possible, andthat mineral wealth contributes to net environmental continuity. Mining produces very largequantities of waste and decisions about where and how to dispose of the waste are among themost important in the mineral cycle. In this context, the mining plan becomes vital in that itmust not only enable optimal mining to prevent wastage of national resources but ensure thatextraction processes do not damage the environment. The best way to obtain protection of theenvironment is to ensure the development of a mine closure plan at the outset of operations.This can guide individual decisions taken during mining itself to ensure that they are orientedtowards this end. EIAs are perhaps the most widely used tool of environmental managementin the mineral sector. EIAs, as part of EMS, have to integrate environmental responsibilitiesinto everyday management practices through changes in organisational structure, procedures,and processes. Loss of biodiversity is loss of natural capital and is irreversible. TheConvention on Biological Diversity provides the mineral sector with a sound basis for takingappropriate steps for preserving and enhancing biodiversity in its areas of operation andengaging in constructive dialogue and partnership with the biodiversity community. The68