Canada and South Africa have announced that together they will seek a dialogue on sustainable development in the minerals sector as a follow-up to the World Summit on Sustainable Development, which took place in Johannesburg earlier this month.
The forum would mark the first time that representatives of international governments have agreed to discuss environmental, social and economic issues related directly to the minerals and metals sector.
The dialogue would address a range of issues including building capacity, transparent taxation and investment policies, sustainable communities, poverty alleviation, and environmental protection.
The dialogue would also take into account industry-based activities such as the Global Mining Initiative, a project undertaken by the mining industry to examine how it could best contribute to sustainable development and how it could get stakeholders involved.
A meeting is tentatively planned for 2003.
“The sustainable development of minerals and metals can contribute to economic growth and poverty alleviation in both developed and developing countries,” said Herb Dhaliwal, federal minister of Natural Resources. “Canada has worked hard to put this critical aspect of sustainable development on the world agenda, and we are pleased with the interest in this global dialogue.”
In other news, the government of Canada has launched a Web site that documents social practices in the Canadian minerals and metals industry.
For more information, visit www.nrcan.gc.ca/mms/sociprac
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