CHAPTER 9 LOCAL COMMUNITIES AND MINES

1 CHAPTER 9 LOCAL COMMUNITIES AND MINES198 Sustainable Development at the Community Level200 Gains and Losses at the LOCAL Level201An Economic Perspective202A Social Perspective206A Cultural and Political Perspective207An Environmental Perspective208 Maximizing Mining s Contribution to Communities209 Revenue Distribution and Use212 Gender Disparities213 Projects, Funds, and Foundations214 Supporting Small LOCAL Businesses215 Employment and Skills Development216 Retrenchment216 Conflict and Dispute Resolution217 Community Health Initiatives220 Mine Closure221 Fly-in.

2 Fly-out Operations222 Community Participation in Decision-making224 Improved Social Impact Assessment226 The Way Forward226 Company-Community Engagement227 Integrated Impact Assessment for Sustainable Development227 Community Sustainable Development Plans228 Roles and Responsibilities229 EndnotesMineral development can create new COMMUNITIES andbring wealth to those already in existence, but it canalso cause considerable disruption. New projects canbring jobs, business activities, roads, schools, and healthclinics to remote and previously impoverished areas,but the benefits may be unevenly shared, and for somethey may be poor recompense for the loss of existinglivelihoods and the damage to their environment andculture.

3 If COMMUNITIES feel they are being unfairlytreated or inadequately compensated, mining can leadto social tension and sometimes to violent conflict.(See CHAPTER 8.) Mining s interaction with LOCAL COMMUNITIES haschanged over the dramatic decline in thecosts of transporting bulk materials and the emergenceof multinational companies as major players, MINES cannow be located far from where the ores are the same time, they have become larger and moretechnically complex, bringing a decrease inemployment and an increase in the skill levels requiredof workers.

4 In many countries, MINES have tended tobecome specialist enclaves, isolated from other sectorsof the premier example of this is fly-in,fly-out operations based on long-distance invariably means that the COMMUNITIES livingnearby gain less in terms of jobs, businessopportunities, and the multiplier increasingly occurs in remote regions withlittle or no development. By nature of theirremoteness, the areas to be explored are frequentlyones where the title to land is disputed orunacknowledged and where LOCAL government lacksthe capacity to provide essential services or to mediatebetween mining companies and LOCAL consequence is the potential for mining companies towield too much power in the LOCAL may have difficulty coping with vast industrialoperations and the influx of outsiders.

5 A growingappreciation of the intrinsic value of traditionalcultures has heightened awareness of these these trends have significantly changed the balanceof costs and benefits at the community level and havecontributed to a rethinking of addition, all MINES have a finite life span, and it isdifficult to sustain the direct benefits they bring tocommunities in terms of wages and improved welfareafter mine infrastructure that developswith a mine may be scaled down or neglected whenthe mine closes unless provision has been made formaintenance and upkeep well in are particularly vulnerable wherelinkages with other sectors of the economy are is an inherent tension between LOCAL andnational rights to mineral wealth and the other benefitsbrought about by people living nearmines or adversely affected by them

6 Should becompensated for any inconvenience, hardship, or loss of opportunity suffered is generally not question is, should they receive a larger share ofthe benefits? If so, how should that share bedetermined? The rationale for LOCAL COMMUNITIES toreceive a greater share of the benefits is clear: first, forcommunities to accept mining on their doorstep, theymust see some realizable benefits over and above beingcompensated for loss or other impacts. Second, formining to contribute to the goals of sustainabledevelopment at the community level, it must provide anet benefit to the affected community.

7 Sustainabledevelopment requires an equitable sharing of benefits;if there is obvious inequity, there will be strife, whichimpedes the development question istherefore more appropriately, how should the share ofbenefits received by COMMUNITIES be decided? This isdiscussed later in the Development at the Community LevelAt the LOCAL level, sustainable development is aboutmeeting locally defined social, environmental, andeconomic goals over the long term. Interactionsbetween the mine and community should add to thephysical, financial, human, and information resourcesavailable not detract from them.

8 (See Table 9 1.) The challenge is to ensure that the effect of interactionsare regarded as positive by those affected locally as wellas by the promoters of the project, and thatcommunities develop in ways that are consistent withtheir own may be realized through, forexample, the provision of social services, income, orskills development. Enhancing community valuespresents a particular challenge, given the often intensesocial change brought about by mining and thepotential influx of NEW GROUNDTHE MINING, MINERALS AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT PROJECT MMSD198 LOCAL COMMUNITIES AND MINES CHAPTER 9 MMSDTHE MINING, MINERALS AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT PROJECT199 Power differentials can leave a sense of helplessnesswhen COMMUNITIES confront the potential for changeinduced by large.

9 Powerful external problems are most acute where LOCAL governmentcapacity or other forms of LOCAL representation arelacking and where community rights are not enforcedby the central government. Ensuring that mechanismsare in place to enable LOCAL COMMUNITIES to playeffective roles in decision-making is one of the greatestchallenges in mining s ability to contribute tosustainable development at the LOCAL is agreed to (or not, as the case may be),minerals activities must ensure that the basic rights ofthe individual and COMMUNITIES affected are upheldand not infringed may include the rightto control and use land; to clean water, a safeenvironment, and a livelihood; to be free fromintimidation and violence.

10 And to be fairlycompensated for loss. Such rights may be enshrined inthe national law or based on and expressed through a range of international human rights instruments andagreements. (See CHAPTER 8). Moreover, all groups havea right to development, and the interests of the mostvulnerable groups the poor and the marginalized need to be identified and protected. Reconciling thevarious rights and responsibilities in differentgovernance environments to the satisfaction of thoseconcerned is perhaps one of the most quantity, quality, access to them, and realizablevaluePhysical resources Land, natural resources, and environmental services Productive equipment to make use of these services Infrastructure (especially safe and secure shelter, watersupply and sanitation, education, energy, transport,communications)