November 2010: The Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, Metals, and Sustainable Development (IGF) held its Annual General Meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, from 1-4 November 2010. Delegates finalized the IGF Mining Policy Framework that will be tabled during the 19th session of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD 19).

This Framework is a compendium of best practices to enhance the contribution of mining to sustainable development, and summarizes the lessons learned by the IGF in the course of its activities. It is proposed as a global reference or base line for good governance of mining globally.

In addition to the mining policy framework, this year’s meeting also focused on contributions to the World Economic Forum (WEF) Mineral Development Initiative and the future of the Forum. The meeting was hosted by the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). The Forum held a workshop to provide input in the WEF’s Mineral Development Initiative that will be presented at the WEF in Davos in January 2011. Also, as required by its Terms of Reference, the members held their five year review of the Forum. They reviewed recent experience, objectives, structure, functions, funding and work priorities. Having analyzed the usefulness of the Forum, the members concluded that the Forum must continue. They agreed to extend the Terms of Reference of the IGF for another year in order to determine the manner in which it will do so. The Forum also decided to create a task force with the mandate to explore opportunities to expand cooperation with other organizations.

With 43 member countries, the IGF is the only global intergovernmental policy forum in the mining/metal sector. It emerged as an outcome of the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) held in Johannesburg, South Africa. [Meeting Website]