environmental and social costs and benefits and how to account for them in natural resource...
TRANSCRIPT
1
Environmental and Social Costs and Benefits and How to Account
for them in Natural Resource Decisionmaking
Sandra Nichols ThiamGuinea Project Coordinator
2
Pourquoi industries extractives? Pourquoi les
mines?
3
ContaminationSometimes toxic or radioactiveLoss of drinking waterGroundwater impactsSedimentation, sometimes contaminatedHigher water levelsFloodingContamination, death of fish, aquatic life food chainErosionLoss of arable land
Changes to topographyDestruction of forestLoss of animal species or habitatDisplaced communitiesLoss of livelihoods, way of lifeCultural sitesDisparate impacts on womenClimate impactsToxins in the dust, sometimes radioactiveConflict, violence
4
Oil, Gas, Mining: What is at risk?
Water
Air
Land
5
Oil Spill
6
Mine Tailings Storage
7
Persistent Mine Waste ImpactsOk Tedi copper mine, PNG1984 – 200680 – 90 m tons of mine tailings released annually• 1,000 km of waterways impacted; flooding, contamination of water,fish, ag land• up to 3,000 km2 forest destroyed
Talvivaara, Finland2012 – present 1.2 m m3 water, sedimentpersistent overflows; contamination of heavy metals
8
Sudden Mine Waste Impacts Baia Mare, Romania Jan. 30, 2000
• 100,000 cubic meters water spilled when dam burst• cyanide and heavy metals
leaked into the Somes River, trib to the Danube
Mount Polley, BC, Canada August 2014• 4km2 tailings pond emptied in 4 days• 10 million ft3 water; 4.5 million ft3 slurry; • heavy metals
9
More than 25 years later, impacts just as severe in some places
March 24, 1989
Exxon Valdez oil tanker ran aground
10
Roman Mine in Great Britain
11
Understand the Risks
Cost-Benefit analysis traditionally considers only the costs and benefits internal to the project…
… environmental and social impacts are externalities…
… quantification of environmental harm controversial
12
Environmental (and Social) Impact Assessment
1. Screening2. Scoping3. Prediction4. Mitigation5. Management and monitoring6. Audit
13
Generalized EIA Process
14
Public Participation
• Central to E(S)IA process• Critical to project success• Often improves project • Must do stakeholder analysis to be
effective• Project proponent should pay for
potentially-impacted people to participate meaningfully
15
Prediction
• Assessments to set a baseline• Social and scientific studies• Identify potential impacts based on
the characteristics of the site• Identify alternative approaches for
the project
16
ContaminationSometimes toxic or radioactiveLoss of drinking waterGroundwater impactsSedimentation, sometimes contaminatedHigher water levelsFloodingContamination, death of fish, aquatic life food chainErosionLoss of arable land
Changes to topographyDestruction of forestLoss of animal species or habitatDisplaced communitiesLoss of livelihoods, way of lifeCultural sitesDisparate impacts on womenClimate impactsToxins in the dust, sometimes radioactiveConflict, violence
17
Mitigation of Impacts• Identify alterative operational and
technological approaches– Placement of infrastructure–Waste treatment and disposal– Runoff control– Dust suppression– Erosion control, etc…
• Throughout the project• Closure – Reclamation, Restoration,
Rehabilitation, Post-closure…?
18
Environmental Compensation
• Conservation of a similar area of land – no net loss– Biodiversity offsets– Ecosystem services esp. hydrology,
livelihoods
• Compensation funds•Complex valuation methodologies
19
Environmental Action/Management Plan
The guide to implement the approach identified by the prediction and mitigation phase of the EIA - Following mitigation measures- Carrying out compensation
measures etc.
20
Compliance Monitoring
Translating the rules to reality:• Can be costly• Highly technical• Informed public can help
21
Informed/participatory decisionmaking
• Due Process critical for proper Ex Ante consideration of env’l and social context and values
• Involves assuring that potentially impacted communities and their advocates and governments are capable of participating meaningfully
• Improves projects
22
Compensation to Communities
• Traditional village = tin roof tenement?
• Seedlings = mature fruit trees?
23
How to Share Benefits?
Central Government
Regional Government
local government
Communities
Communities
Regional Government
Local Government
Community
Community
Local Government
Community
Community
Local Goverment Community
Regional Government
Local Government Community
local government Community
extractive industry
24
Local Content
• Increasingly required by local law• Very context specific• Services, supplies and jobs
25
What if…?
26
Preparedness
• Plan ahead – be ready • Consider downstream/transboundary effects• Consider potential political constraints• Joint UNEP/OCHA Environmental
Emergencies Unit
27
Instruments for Enforcing Environmental and Social Protections
• Contract provisions• National lawe.g. Water laws protect basic
human needs; ownership
• Implmenting regulations• Constitutions• Lender standards: IFC-PS; EP; VP• Associations of companies: ICMM, IPIECA• International laws/agreements• Laws and standards of the country where the
company is based
28
Who is responsible for applying environmental and social
safeguards?• Government• Company• Community• Checks and balances critical! Need
effective monitoring but also strong judiciary and legislature
• These are inter-ministerial concerns: authorizing environment
29
Tools applied successfully
• Leading oil companies have pledged to avoid operating in natural World Heritage Sites
• Multi-sectoral decisionmaking: HidroAysén mega-dam project in 2014
• El Salvador froze the issuance of all mining licenses to conduct env’l study in 2008
30
PASCUA LAMA
31
32
• Planned to start construction in 2004
• EIAs approved in both countries in 2006
• Suit to stop the project because of risk of harms to water supply
• $5 billion spent• Construction stopped in 2013;
project now in care and maintenance
Pascua Lama
33
When should Env’l and Social Impacts be Considered?
34
35
StrategicEnvironmental (and Social) Impact Assessment
Important to take a comprehensive view of resources…
… and look at project specific impacts.
36
Env’l and Social Reasons not to develop a deposit?
• Primary forests• Biodiversity hotspots i.e. those listed
by IUCN• Water-producing regions/tops of
watersheds• World Heritage Sites – natural and
cultural sites• Indigenous lands• Conflict zones
