IGF Case Study: Mine Water Management

This case study by the International Institute for Sustainable Development discusses the necessity of watershed-scale governance for mine water management to balance industrial needs with human rights and environmental sustainability, highlighting examples from Mongolia and Chile.

• Mining operations act as both significant consumers of water for activities such as staff use, maintenance, cleaning, and ore processing, and as potential sources of contaminants. Effective governance at the watershed scale is required to manage the balance between mining needs and those of other users, particularly the most vulnerable, to reduce conflict.
• Climate change increases risks to water security through intensifying extreme weather events, rising temperatures, and increased rainfall variability, which affect water availability and quality for all users within a watershed.
• Governments are the only entities capable of managing water resources at the watershed scale, as individual users are limited to the footprint of their own control. The goal is to integrate mine water management into the broader hydrology, ecosystems, and cultural values of the watershed.
• There is an emerging global trend of granting legal rights to nature, often rooted in Indigenous perspectives, which allows rivers to litigate for damages caused by use or pollution. Examples include the Whanganui River in New Zealand, the Ganges and Yamuna rivers in India, the Atrato River in Colombia, and national frameworks in Ecuador (2008) and Bolivia.
• Mongolia and Antofagasta, Chile, have implemented watershed-level management frameworks. Mongolia's approach began at a country-wide level and transitioned into management basins, while Chile's framework is administered by states at the regional level.

APA

Gillman,, J. H. (2021). IGF Case Study: Mine Water Management. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/publications/brief/igf-case-study-mine-water-management

Chicago

Gillman,, Jenifer Hill,Matthew. IGF Case Study: Mine Water Management. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2021. https://www.iisd.org/publications/brief/igf-case-study-mine-water-management.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Gillman, |first1=Jenifer Hill,Matthew |title=IGF Case Study: Mine Water Management |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=14 December 2021 |url=https://www.iisd.org/publications/brief/igf-case-study-mine-water-management |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{gillman2021igf, author = {Gillman,, Jenifer Hill,Matthew}, title = {{IGF Case Study: Mine Water Management}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2021}, month = dec, url = {https://www.iisd.org/publications/brief/igf-case-study-mine-water-management}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }