The History of the Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, Metals and Sustainable Development (IGF)

The Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, Metals and Sustainable Development (IGF) was established in February 2005 as a UN Type II partnership following the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development. It serves as a member-led platform for over 80 countries to advance sustainable development through the mining sector. The forum's central tool is the Mining Policy Framework (MPF), ratified in 2010 and updated in 2023, which provides a compendium of best practices across six pillars: laws, policies, and institutions; financial benefits; socio-economic benefits; post-mining transition; environmental management; and artisanal and small-scale mining. The IGF Secretariat has been hosted by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) since October 2015, with core funding provided by Canada and the Netherlands.

• The IGF was created to address the lack of a global forum for resource-rich countries to implement priorities from paragraph 46 of the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation, which focused on the "environmental, economic, health, and social impacts and benefits of mining, minerals, and metals".
• The Mining Policy Framework (MPF), ratified in 2010, serves as the IGF's cornerstone and a "compendium of best practices that support good governance in mining". It covers the entire mining life cycle from exploration to post-mining transition and includes all project scales from artisanal to large-scale operations.
• The IGF Secretariat has conducted MPF assessments for 18 member governments, involving in-country visits and stakeholder outreach to identify "strengths, weaknesses, and gaps in existing mining laws, policies, and regulations".
• The IGF's membership has grown from 25 founding members in 2005 to more than 80 nations by 2025. This expansion has led to a broadening of work to include "gender equality, sustainable economic growth, climate action, and critical minerals for the energy transition".
• In 2022, the IGF initiated a process to update the MPF to address the "increasing demand for critical minerals for the energy transition" and the need for more equitable practices, with the updated version ratified in November 2023.

APA

International Institute for Sustainable Development (2025). The History of the Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, Metals and Sustainable Development (IGF). https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2023-07/history-of-igf-en.pdf

Chicago

International Institute for Sustainable Development. The History of the Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, Metals and Sustainable Development (IGF). 2025. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2023-07/history-of-igf-en.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=International Institute for Sustainable Development |title=The History of the Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, Metals and Sustainable Development (IGF) |date=2025 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2023-07/history-of-igf-en.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{internationalinstituteforsustainabledevelopment2025history, author = {{International Institute for Sustainable Development}}, title = {{The History of the Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, Metals and Sustainable Development (IGF)}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2025}, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2023-07/history-of-igf-en.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }