Geneva, 30 October 2009 -- An UNCTAD Global Commodities Forum (GCF) will be held in early spring 2010 and will focus on extractive industries, the Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, Metals and Sustainable Development was told this week.
A new UNCTAD initiative, the GCF, will try to develop answers to issues such as instabilities in commodity markets and to develop policies that will make the commodity sector a true engine for development, Kwabena Baah-Duodu, Senior Advisor to the Secretary-General of UNCTAD and Officer-in-Charge of UNCTAD´s Special Unit on Commodities, said in opening the Mining Forum´s 26-29 October session.
About 60 participants representing about 30 countries took part in the meeting. Known as the Intergovernmental Forum (IGF), the annual gathering is the only global intergovernmental policy forum in the mining/metals sector. It is a voluntary initiative that was officially established in 2005 by governments interested in promoting the contribution of the sector to sustainable development by enhancing capacities for good governance. Hosted by UNCTAD, the Forum is an outcome of the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) held in Johannesburg in 2002.
This year´s IGF meeting focused on further advancing preparations by the Forum and its members for upcoming meetings of the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development (UNCSD) in 2010-11 to review progress on the mining sector´s contribution to the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation.
In his opening address, Mr. Baah-Duodu noted the importance of mining in resource-rich countries and said that investment in mining in developing countries can present an opportunity, with appropriate policies, to generate sustainable benefits and help nations reduce poverty. He added that UN organizations can play a greater role in helping more developing countries benefit from mining and pledged UNCTAD´s continued cooperation with such sustainable-development efforts.
It was in this context that Mr. Baah-Duodu announced UNCTAD´s initiative to hold a Global Commodities Forum.
During the IGF session, delegates reviewed the results of an extensive survey conducted by the Forum on mining in developing countries. They elaborated a list of recommendations that will be tabled at UNCSD 2011 as an integrated policy framework. This framework will be a compendium of best practices in dealing with a complete set of issues related to mining, social, environmental and economic issues. The framework also will be an opportunity for members to inform the United Nations and the international community of the challenges they face in exercising good governance and to explain how their needs can be best addressed so that they can optimize the benefits from mining investments and use these benefits to reduce poverty.
Reflecting the global scope of the Forum, delegates were informed and consulted on the European Commission´s Raw Materials Initiative; the International Council on Mining and Metals´ work programme; the World Economic Forum Mining Group´s 2030 scenarios project; the United Nations Department of Social and Economic Affairs´ (UNDESA) activities in connection with the UN Commission for Sustainable Development´s (UNCSD) 2010-11 review of mining; the work of the Communities and Small Scale Mining (CASM) initiative; and the emerging Natural Resources Charter contributions.
Members noted that more work needs to be done to better understand the full contribution of mining to sustainable development and that capacity is needed so that countries can capture the full range of benefits from mineral resources development. Members recognized the importance of mining for their development, and this importance was reflected by the submission of national reports on mining for the UNCSD 2010 meetingMembers recognized the important role that UN and international development agencies can play in providing development assistance in this area.
With the accession of Namibia, the Forum now has 43 member countries. Germany and Australia participated as observers, along with international organizations such as the World Bank, World Economic Forum, International Council on Mining and Metals, and the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs.
Funding for the Forum is provided by the United Kingdom´s Department for International Development and Canada´s Department of Natural Resources. UNCTAD hosts the yearly meetings of the Forum.
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