The Mining Policy Framework: Assessing the implementation readiness of member states of the Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, Metals and Sustainable Development

The report assesses three IGF member states—the Dominican Republic, Uganda, and Madagascar—against the six pillars of the Mining Policy Framework (MPF). While these countries show medium readiness in legal environments, financial benefit optimization, and environmental management, they exhibit low readiness in socioeconomic benefit optimization, mine closure, and artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM). A critical systemic barrier across all three nations is the lack of financial and human resources to enforce existing laws.

• The assessed countries show a medium level of implementation readiness in the legal and policy framework, financial benefit optimization, and environmental management pillars, though they lack the resources to enforce these laws.
• Socioeconomic benefit optimization is the weakest area across all three countries, as mining operators are not legally required to support local health and education initiatives or non-mine business development.
• Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining (ASM) remains largely informal and under-regulated, leading to pervasive child labour and unsafe conditions, while governments miss significant revenue opportunities.
• Mine closure and post-mining transition readiness is low to medium, characterized by a lack of adherence to international best practices and a failure to implement financial assurances for closure costs.
• The use of special contracts for large-scale projects alongside general mining laws creates parallel systems of accountability that reduce transparency and consistency.
• Environmental management legislation is generally strong on paper, but critical gaps exist regarding emergency preparedness plans and the management of transboundary impacts.

APA

Crawford, A. (2015). The Mining Policy Framework: Assessing the implementation readiness of member states of the Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, Metals and Sustainable Development. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/mining-policy-framework-synthesis-report.pdf

Chicago

Crawford, Alec. The Mining Policy Framework: Assessing the implementation readiness of member states of the Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, Metals and Sustainable Development. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2015. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/mining-policy-framework-synthesis-report.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Crawford |first1=Alec |title=The Mining Policy Framework: Assessing the implementation readiness of member states of the Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, Metals and Sustainable Development |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=October 2015 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/mining-policy-framework-synthesis-report.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{crawford2015mining, author = {Crawford, Alec}, title = {{The Mining Policy Framework: Assessing the implementation readiness of member states of the Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, Metals and Sustainable Development}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2015}, month = oct, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/mining-policy-framework-synthesis-report.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }