|
Africa
Mining Network
TSL has
recently become involved in the Africa Mining Network, which
is one of two activities being undertaken in Africa under Project
M of the UN Development Account which addresses issues relating
to sustainable mineral-based development. TSL and CEESP are
expected to play a key role under a number of themes that
have been agreed on for activities and discussion groups:
small-scale and artisan mining (sustainable livelihoods,
etc), environment (biodiversity, land use, protected areas,
etc), gender, governance (co-management and participation
generally), human resources (learning sites, capacity building,
etc), society (local economic development/sustainable livelihoods).
The Network
will support on-going and emerging mining-related initiatives,
such as the Africa Mining Partnership, which aim at addressing
the many economic, environmental and social issues that mineral
operations raise in Africa. It will be a web-based, multi-stakeholder
forum. The public will have read-only access. Among other
things, the Network will provide database search and submit
facilities, with notification of new materials as well as
training and capacity-building facilities, with teaching materials
and distance-learning facilities.
The Network
will provide a platform for some really useful and interesting
work that addresses critical issues of sustainable mineral-based
development in Africa. It is worth remembering that mining
accounts for more than 50% of export revenues in 19 countries.
It also generates large amounts of fiscal revenues, while
small-scale mining supports the life of many local communities.
|
