Guía para Gobiernos: Gestión ambiental y gobernanza minera

The document outlines a comprehensive approach for governments to regulate the environmental impacts of large-scale mining throughout a project's life cycle. It emphasizes the use of Environmental and Social Impact Assessments (ESIAs) and Environmental and Social Management Plans (ESMPs) to ensure sustainable resource management. The guide details specific standards for water quality and basin-level management, the application of the mitigation hierarchy to achieve 'no net loss' or 'net positive impact' on biodiversity, the technical and financial requirements for stable mine waste storage (particularly tailings dams), and the necessity of inclusive, risk-based emergency response planning. It concludes with a five-step gap analysis process—review, evaluate, prioritize, implement, and monitor—to help governments align their national legal frameworks with international sustainability standards.

• Governments should manage water at the watershed level to balance the needs of mining, agriculture, and domestic consumption, ensuring the human right to potable water and sanitation.
• To protect biodiversity, governments should require mining companies to follow the mitigation hierarchy: avoid, minimize, rehabilitate/restore, and offset, aiming for 'no net loss' (NNL) or a 'net positive impact' (NPI).
• Mine waste management must prioritize long-term physical and chemical stability, particularly for tailings dams, to prevent catastrophic failures and environmental contamination.
• The use of independent tailings review boards is becoming an international standard to provide multidisciplinary oversight of the design, construction, and operation of high-risk tailings facilities.
• Emergency preparedness and response plans must be risk-based, inclusive of vulnerable groups (including women and indigenous peoples), and integrated into national emergency networks.
• Governments should implement a five-step gap analysis process—review, evaluate, prioritize, implement, and monitor—to align national mining laws with international environmental best practices.
• Financial guarantees must be established and updated throughout the mine's life cycle to ensure funds are available for closure, remediation, and long-term monitoring of waste facilities.
• Climate change increases the risk to mining infrastructure, necessitating adaptive management and the inclusion of extreme weather scenarios in the design of water and waste systems.
• Gender-specific vulnerabilities must be addressed in environmental management, as women often have a deeper dependence on ecosystem services and are disproportionately affected by mining-related pollution.
• The 'upstream' method of tailings dam construction is identified as higher risk and has been prohibited in some jurisdictions, such as Brazil, following catastrophic failures.

APA

Crawford, A., Hill, J., & Bliss, M. (2021). Guía para Gobiernos: Gestión ambiental y gobernanza minera. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2021-10/igf-guidance-governments-environmental-management-mining-es.pdf

Chicago

Crawford, Alec, Jenifer Hill, and Matthew Bliss. Guía para Gobiernos: Gestión ambiental y gobernanza minera. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2021. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2021-10/igf-guidance-governments-environmental-management-mining-es.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Crawford |first1=Alec |last2=Hill |first2=Jenifer |last3=Bliss |first3=Matthew |title=Guía para Gobiernos: Gestión ambiental y gobernanza minera |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=May 2021 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2021-10/igf-guidance-governments-environmental-management-mining-es.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{crawford2021gua, author = {Crawford, Alec and Hill, Jenifer and Bliss, Matthew}, title = {{Guía para Gobiernos: Gestión ambiental y gobernanza minera}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2021}, month = may, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2021-10/igf-guidance-governments-environmental-management-mining-es.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }