The two-day intergovernmental regional consultations will be dedicated to stocktaking of existing activities and actions in the public and private sectors to enhance the environmental sustainability of minerals and metals, including based on the outcomes of the implementation of the UNEA-4/19 resolution on mineral resource governance. National focal points will also be invited to share forward-looking proposals including for enhanced international cooperation, and with a view to fostering capacity-building and technological, technical, and scientific cooperation in the mining sector, in particular with developing countries.
In addition, two further elements will be explored during the consultations:
(i) the topic of sand and sustainability, in particular global policies and actions regarding the environmentally sound extraction and use of sand. This session will be led and organized by UNEP/GRID-Geneva.
(ii) the topic of tailings management. This session will discuss knowledge gaps related to tailings management and proposed solutions. The session will also raise awareness and provide updates on the implementation of the Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management.
Following the regional consultations, a 2 day in-person global consultation will be held on 7th and 8th September 2023 in Geneva, Switzerland which will highlight the key findings of the regional consultations and provide an opportunity to gather additional feedback to potentially inform a co-chairs’ summary of outcomes. Participants will also be able to provide written input to the consultations prior to and after the consultations.
The detailed agenda of the two-day regional intergovernmental consultations and global intergovernmental meeting will be determined in due course in consultation with the co-chairs. Invitations will be sent out at least one month prior to the consultations.
Member States and other stakeholders are invited to submit suggestions and proposals in advance of the intergovernmental meetings on enhancing environmental sustainability of minerals and metals management (OP3). Please use the links provided in the table below to make your written submission or send your inputs to [email protected]
The intergovernmental consultations will take place between April and September 2023.
Dates
UNEP will organize 2 day in-person regional intergovernmental consultations for each UN region:
In the lead up to the intergovernmental consultations, webinars and events will be organized. A webinar was organized by Geneva Environment Network on 28 February 2023 to share information on the resolution and the proposed implementation plan. The purpose of the event was to raise awareness of the resolution among Member States but also stakeholders from industry, finance and civil society sectors, and to engage them on their contribution to the implementation of the resolution. More information can be accessed here. Watch the recording here.
