Industry intelligence
Conference highlights key impacts of mining
Although the environmental and social
impact assessments (ESIAs) of projects
are based mainly on government
regulations, human rights and justice are
taking this discipline into new ground.
This is according to Tim Hart, principal
scientist at consulting engineers and
scientists, SRK Consulting.
Hart was speaking at a conference of
the International Association for Impact
Assessment (IAIA) held in Durban
recently. Hart presented a paper at the
event, titled “Full project cycle social
impact assessment (SIA): Optimising
social outcomes”, describing work in
progress to optimise outcomes of social
projects and investments in mining
communities. (To read the full paper, visit:
https://www.srk.co.za/en/publication/
za-full-project-cycle-sia-optimising-
social-outcomes-2)
Thula Nembula, SRK environmental
scientist, emphasised the human aspects
of ensuring that key impact assessment
requirements like public participation
remain meaningful — and do not become
‘tick-box’ exercises.
[6] MINING MIRROR SEPTEMBER 2018
He emphasised that one of the primary
concerns of stakeholder engagement
was to understand the livelihoods of
the society affected, so that strategic
management plans such as the
Resettlement Action Plan (RAP) could
contribute to restoring those capacities.
Among the delegates were several
international finance institutions
and lenders. According to Andrew
Hart, senior environmental scientist
at SRK, this was a clear indication of
how seriously ESIA is being taken in
the investment world. He presented a
paper — “Managing RAP expectations
and timelines” — exploring how mines’
unrelenting schedules and budgets
often do not align well with a carefully
managed and implemented resettlement
process, potentially undermining both the
resettlement process and the social license
to operate. (See https://www.srk.co.za/en/
publication/za-managing-resettlement-
expectations-risks-and-timelines)
“Among the useful discussions at the
conference was the potential for artificial
intelligence or machine learning to make
impact assessment quicker and more
cost effective,” said Philippa Burmeister,
principal environmental scientist at SRK.
While environmental regulations
have become more stringent around the
world, there remains “a long way to go” in
terms of achieving environmental justice,
according to SRK environmental scientist
Tamaryn Hale.
“Presenters at the conference showed
clearly that the implementation of
environmental laws and policies in many
developing countries was still in its
infancy,” said Hale. “In the meantime,
the environment continues to suffer; this
forum highlighted the need for impact
assessment practitioners, governments,
developers, and communities to work
much more closely together.”
In a similar vein, the conference’s
keynote address by activist and retired
Constitutional Court judge Albie Sachs
hit a positive note by highlighting the
fact that South Africa is the first country
to have included environmental rights
in its Constitution, said SRK senior
environmental scientist Kirsten King.