What legislation exists to regulate the social and environmental impacts of gold mining?

Each country has its own set of legislation governing mining, and issues that are related to mining such as resettlement, water, air, biodiversity and so on. The nature and extent of this legislation has to be assessed on a country-by-country basis. Globally, growing awareness of environmental issues is being translated into increasingly stringent requirements being placed on mining companies.

International law is that which is defined through various multi-party conventions like the Kyoto Protocol, Convention on Biological Diversity, etc. which countries sign-up to and intact through national legislation. There are of course international bodies which, through contractual agreements, encourage and enforce global standards such as the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) Performance Standards. NGO’s are playing an increasingly active role in defining what can best be described as ‘soft law’.

By developing and promoting and participating voluntary initiatives, such as Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance, the Voluntary Principles on Human Rights, and Global Reporting Initiative, multi-stakeholder approaches are being developed to guide the various role players globally.

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