6 June 2016: More than 30 private sector institutions operating in 15 countries agreed to contribute to the African Mining Vision (AMV) compact, as part of efforts to ensure that the mineral resources sector plays a transformative role in achieving sustainable development on the continent. The compact was launched at an event co-hosted by the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and the African Union Commission (AUC), held from 1-2 June 2016, in Kigali, Rwanda.

Formally adopted by African heads of state in 2009, the AMV outlines a roadmap to the transparent, equitable and optimal exploitation of mineral resources to underpin broad-based sustainable growth and socio-economic development in Africa. The AMV compact targets mining companies including oil and gas, Chambers of Mines and other mineral sectors and seeks to contribute to corporate social responsibility by companies in the extractive sector.

In an opening speech at the meeting, which was titled, ‘Leveraging the role of Chambers of Mines and Mining Associations in the implementation of the Africa Mining Vision,’ Frank Mugyenyi, AUC, pointed out that high economic growth rates across the continent had not translated into job creation and poverty reduction, and called for Africa to rewrite its own “narrative for development,” as articulated in the African Union’s Agenda 2063 strategy.

A number of recent multilateral environmental processes have similarly sought to enhance efforts to grapple with Africa’s natural resource “curse,” where the best-endowed countries also have the lowest rates of economic and human development. The 2015 and 2016 sessions of the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN), held in Cairo, Egypt, have paid particular attention to the need to sustainably harness Africa’s vast reserves of natural capital, observing that it could generate up to $103 billion every year to drive economic growth and help Africa achieve the goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the continent’s Agenda 2063.

At the second UN Environment Assembly (UNEA-2) of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), which took place from 23-27 April in Nairobi, Kenya, a number of countries, including Botswana, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Kenya and Zimbabwe, spearheaded efforts to adopt a resolution on optimizing natural capital for sustainable development in Africa. The final resolution encourages countries to, inter alia: take measures to promote sustainable management of natural capital including protection of ecosystem services and their functions as part of the contribution to implementing the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); put in place natural capital and natural resource valuation and accounting mechanisms to help them assess and “appreciate the worth and full value of their natural capital”; and incorporate information and knowledge on natural capital analyses into national accounts, development planning and decision making.

In a follow up coordination meeting that opened in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, on 6 June 2016, participants embarked on the development of a continent-wide Geological and Minerals Information System (GMIS), which aims to underpin the AMV by establishing a mechanism to obligate all private exploration companies to lodge geo-information with their national geo-survey entities and providing the necessary support to governments and geoscience institutions to monitor such data. [ECA Press Release] [AUC Press Release] [Africa Mining Vision Website] [AMCEN Website] [IISD RS Summary of UNEA-2]