Participatory Environmental Monitoring in Mining Contexts: A Practitioner Checklist to Start PEM
Step 1: Convene and organize the monitoring team
Step overview:
The first table gives a summary of issues and challenges present during this step. Below the table more detail can be found.
| Pillar | Key tasks | Key questions to discuss |
|---|---|---|
| Governance | Socialize the idea of PEM |
|
| Bring all parties on board: monitored producers, State officials, communities |
|
|
| Define the purposes of the PEM effort |
|
|
| Environment | Assess the production context |
|
| Learning | Understand the regulatory context |
|
| Gender | Acknowledge specific challenges and opportunities of women and other underrepresented groups in mining context |
|
| Governance | ||
| Key tasks | Key questions to discuss | |
| Socialize the idea of PEM |
|
|
| Bring all parties on board: monitored producers, State officials, communities |
|
|
| Define the purposes of the PEM effort |
|
|
| Environment | ||
| Key tasks | Key questions to discuss | |
| Assess the production context |
|
|
| Learning | ||
| Key tasks | Key questions to discuss | |
| Understand the regulatory context |
|
|
| Gender | ||
| Key tasks | Key questions to discuss | |
| Acknowledge specific challenges and opportunities of women and other underrepresented groups in mining context |
|
|
You can download a worksheet and use it to write down your thoughts about the proposed tasks and discussion questions as part of the planning.
Governance
Socialize the idea of PEM
Socialize the idea of PEM
To introduce the concept of PEM to a large audience to gain the support across all parties, three approaches can be used: bottom-up - focusing on the communities, top-down - focusing on the State and companies, or a mix of both. The choice depends on who will act as the main convener of the PEM effort.
Suggestions when PEM is:
Executed by community members
When community members plan to do the monitoring themselves, the convener should implement a bottom-up approach. This could mean contacting existing local organizations to discuss PEM and gain support.
Executed in partnership
When activities will be implemented through a partnership, a mix of the bottom-up and top-down approaches is recommended.
Supervised by community members
When community members will oversee the monitoring and external parties (State, mining company or other) will carry out the monitoring, a top-down approach can suffice. This can consist of delivering seminars and workshops to government authorities or mining company executives.
Bring all parties on board: monitored producers, State officials, communities
Bring all parties on board: monitored producers, State officials, communities
Once a PEM effort has started, the three main parties must be involved to achieve the best possible results.
Suggestions when PEM is:
Executed by community members
Even when communities are working autonomously, they may need to engage with mining producers to enter their premises for monitoring, or to push for change based on results. They may also need to convey to the State if producers are unresponsive or are working illegally. This means that some outreach is necessary.
Executed in partnership
By definition, this approach seeks to bring everyone to the table in an equal capacity (non-hierarchical). Therefore, proper time and resources should be in place for supporting trust building among people that likely have not been together before.
Supervised by community members
When companies or governments are pursuing PEM, it is vital to get the community’s agreement. Otherwise, PEM will be perceived as conventional monitoring. A key action of the convenor is to listen attentively for community members’ concerns and give assurances that their involvement will be considered.
Define the purposes of the PEM effort
Define the shared goal and purpose of the PEM effort
These goals motivate and guide everyone participating in PEM. There may be multiple goals that go beyond solely environmental monitoring. The geographical scope of monitoring must be defined, aligned with communities’ expectations.
Suggestions when PEM is:
Executed by community members
An example of a PEM purpose in this context may be community members wanting to raise awareness and education about environmental issues within their community.
Sometimes, the purpose of PEM is linked to the type of mining activity. For example, EGP initiatives in Gbarpolu and Grand Cape Mount counties, acknowledge that they work in areas where Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining (ASM) is carried out. In addition to safeguarding the environment, the PEM work aimed to provide surveillance and minimize mining accidents for this sector (Liberia).
Executed in partnership
Goals suitable for this participation level include enhancing public participation in issues relevant to the community or creating a positive relationship among the community, the monitored companies and the government.
Supervised by community members
Goals suitable for this level include building trust among all involved parties and promoting dialogue across multiple sectors to address community concerns.
Environment
Assess the production context
Assessing the community's concerns and the mining context is an important first step in deciding what to monitor. Several indicators and techniques can be used to monitor the environment.
Suggestions when PEM is:
Executed by community members
Community members’ concerns form a preliminary assessment of the production context - PEM can be used to document this more systematically. From there, the community can better understand the work of State agencies overseeing mining or environmental protection, and do a web search of the companies involved or talk to community knowledge holders. This will allow for a deeper understanding about whether environmental changes have been observed on the local territory and if any changes have been previously reported.
Executed in partnership
All parties work together to assess current conditions. The design of the monitoring usually centres on external guidelines for the specific type of mining present and the local concerns of the community. This approach requires an exchange about how the mining is operating and how the communities see the operation; this is the foundation to build a common understanding of the production context.
In the Moatize region, communities near a coal mine complained about dust and high noise levels. With this in mind, the EGP, through an international NGO, promoted air and noise monitoring. Further, a specific training component for the communities was included to raise their awareness of existing legislation (Mozambique).
Supervised by community members
While the external people leading this effort may be focusing on monitoring using strict protocols that can be repeated over time, it is essential to include the socio-environmental concerns of communities, so that they see value in participating in PEM. Assessing the production context requires community members, and cannot be solely made from an external perspective.
Learning
Understand the regulatory context
While regulations may not explicitly mention PEM, they can still present opportunities to support public participation. Understanding existing regulations can help to use the correct terminology, access available information, and use monitoring results effectively.
Knowing the regulatory context can help the community understand what information is most useful to collect during monitoring.
Suggestions when PEM is:
Executed by community members
Understandably, in many situations, the community may not have the time or resources to survey existing regulations. Local universities and NGOs can help.
Community members needing support to make sense all existing laws and regulations can reach out to local NGOs or universities for support.
Executed in partnership
In this scenario, different State agencies may be working together for the first time, each with differing concerns and goals, resulting in a challenging mix of objectives. Dialogue and pursuing trade-offs where possible, become vital in this scenario.
The State can provide specific guidance for implementing participatory environmental committees in mining contexts. Yet, from the experiences of committees in Antamina, Orcopampa and Quellaveco, the EGP found that this does not mean that monitored companies must consistently implement committees’ decisions or that committees’ financing is secured (Peru).
Supervised by community members
Companies and governments may be tempted to use the legal framework to claim that their methods of monitoring are the only legitimate ones, yet they must take into consideration other approaches to address communities’ concerns.
Gender
Acknowledge specific challenges and opportunities of women and other underrepresented groups in mining context (considering intersectional challenges)
Underrepresented groups face mining from different perspectives than those in power positions or some of their fellow community members. For example, when there is armed conflict, women and children are more at risk. Intersectional challenges can be acknowledged too. For example, women face lower work stability and representation in formal leadership roles, and among them, widows or non-landowners can be particularly disadvantaged. PEM efforts that are conscious of this from the outset can help address gender and other types of inequalities.
Suggestions when PEM is:
Executed by community members
During the organization step, community members must take care to avoid perpetuating gender inequalities. In Step 2, we suggest specific actions that can be taken, yet the willingness to study and implement such actions should be present from the start.
Executed in partnership
Partnering with existing women’s organizations can be a constructive way to incorporate gender issues in PEM. For example, for the community it can be inspiring to see women from external organizations in leadership roles; in other instances, companies learn from matriarchal societies. Men can be more open to different gender roles when these topics are brought in from outside the community.
Supervised by community members
When outsiders lead the monitoring effort, they should identify their own biases and work to achieve safe and meaningful participation by women and other underrepresented groups.