Strategic Environmental Assessment for the Mining Sector

The report advocates for the adoption of Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) in the mining sector to integrate environmental and social considerations into high-level policies, plans, and programs (PPPs). Unlike project-level Environmental and Social Impact Assessments (ESIA), SEA provides a broad perspective to manage cumulative effects, balance sectoral interests with other development goals, and improve governance. Through case studies in Namibia, Ghana, Romania, and Mozambique, the report demonstrates that SEA can lead to optimized infrastructure, sustainable mine closures, and better regulation of artisanal and small-scale mining. Key obstacles identified include limited institutional capacity, lack of political will, and insufficient stakeholder awareness. The report recommends that governments prioritize capacity building, inter-ministerial collaboration, and the active involvement of Indigenous and local communities, particularly when managing critical minerals for the energy transition.

• SEA differs from ESIA by focusing on a broad, long-term perspective applied to policies, plans, and programs (PPPs) rather than specific project specifications, and it is the responsibility of the public agency rather than the project proponent.
• In Namibia, a SEA for the uranium sector led to a moratorium on new exclusive prospecting licences in 2007 and encouraged mining companies to jointly develop shared infrastructure, such as powerlines and a seawater-desalination facility, which reduced costs and resource use.
• Ghana's mining SEA, completed in 2008, informed the 2014 minerals and mining policy and led to the establishment of district mining and satellite offices to better regulate artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM).
• A SEA in Romania focused on the environmentally sustainable closure of mines and resulted in new legislation for dam safety, including the reclamation of eight tailings dams to reduce the risk of failure.
• In Mozambique, a SEA for the lower Zambezi Valley (2011–2016) integrated environmental and social aspects into regional spatial planning and was later used to determine resettlement areas for families affected by Cyclone Kenneth in 2016.
• The development of a regional assessment in Canada's Ring of Fire area highlighted the necessity of Indigenous partnership; initial terms of reference from 2020 were rejected by First Nations for being too narrow and offering only 'token' roles, leading to a 2023 restart of the process based on co-development.
• Common obstacles to implementing SEA in mining include a lack of stakeholder awareness, limited institutional capacity, lack of political will, and difficulties in accessing reliable, up-to-date environmental data.

APA

International Institute for Sustainable Development (2024). Strategic Environmental Assessment for the Mining Sector. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2024-04/igf-strategic-environmental-assessment-mining.pdf

Chicago

International Institute for Sustainable Development. Strategic Environmental Assessment for the Mining Sector. 2024. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2024-04/igf-strategic-environmental-assessment-mining.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=International Institute for Sustainable Development |title=Strategic Environmental Assessment for the Mining Sector |date=2024 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2024-04/igf-strategic-environmental-assessment-mining.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{internationalinstituteforsustainabledevelopment2024strategic, author = {{International Institute for Sustainable Development}}, title = {{Strategic Environmental Assessment for the Mining Sector}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2024}, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2024-04/igf-strategic-environmental-assessment-mining.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }