PROJECTS
Land use planning
In order to operate, the mining industry needs access to land and the natural resources found within it.
Economic and social development and environmental protection and enhancement are essential elements of sustainable development. Effective land use planning takes all of these factors into account and assists in achieving balanced development and conservation outcomes.
Mining is a temporary activity with potential for sequential or multiple use
In general, a variety of approaches to land use planning are adopted to determine the allocation of future uses in regions or localities undergoing change. In many cases planning decisions are not based on a systematic process; often the decisions are arbitrary and do not always include comprehensive consideration of the costs and benefits.
One consideration that is rarely given due weight in land use planning is mineral resources. This may be because there is no strong advocate for them- the resources are usually owned by the state and may not be commercially exploited at the time land use decisions are taken, or simply because their value may not be fully recognized.
A further problem is that mining is often seen as a single type of activity, being large surface or underground mines, and thus is treated conservatively in terms of compatibility with other uses. The full range of modern mining methods, which incorporate effective environmental management, are not always fully understood.
Another fact that is not always recognized is that mining is a temporary activity after which rehabilitation occurs, which creates potential for sequential or multiple use. The consequence of ignoring this is that valuable resources are sterilized, at cost to society.
What is ICMM doing?
ICMM is developing a paper that will outline a method for systematic consideration of mineral resources in land use planning. The aim is not to advocate that priority be given to mineral resources over other land uses, but rather to seek equitable consideration of minerals, conservation and other relevant interests. The paper will be published in 2009.
PROJECT DETAILS
Effective land use planning assists in achieving balanced development and conservation outcomes.
- Partner
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- UNESCO
- European Commission
- WBCSD
- IUCN
- IPIECA
- Contact
RELATED PUBLICATIONS
Good Practice Guidance for Mining and Biodiversity
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Planning for Integrated Mine Closure: Toolkit
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Impact Assessment, Biodiversity and Extractive Industries Workshop
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2008 IUCN-ICMM Roundtable on Restoration of Legacy Sites
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ICMM perspective on the IUCN protected areas category management system
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ICMM Newsletter: Volume 4 Number 3 - Oct 2005
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Biodiversity Offsets - A Briefing Paper for the Mining Industry
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Biodiversity Offsets - A Proposition Paper
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Perspective on the IUCN protected areas category management system
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ICMM preliminary comments on the draft Framework for Responsible Mining
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RELATED LINKS
- ICMM launches Portuguese version of mine closure toolkit in Brazil
- Planning for Integrated Mine Closure: Toolkit - Now available in Spanish
- Biodiversity Guidance publication now available in Mandarin
- ICMM a key contributor to IUCN's World Conservation Congress
- ICMM publishes Closure toolkit
- Argentine NGO bases environmental training course on ICMM biodiversity guide
- Social risks in the spotlight in Panama
- Improving coverage of biodiversity in EIAs
- Exploration in a biodiversity hotspot
- Canada's mineral and energy resource assessments
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK
Principle 07:
Contribute to conservation of biodiversity and integrated approaches to land use planning
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