News
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as part of implementing the planetGOLD Ghana Project, has organised a consultative workshop on the preparation of a social license for stakeholders in the Artisanal Small- scale Gold Mining (ASGM) value chain, in the Prestea Huni-Valley Municipality
The workshop was aimed at gathering insights and expertise from stakeholders to facilitate the development of a robust Social License Protocol (SLP) that aligns with the project's objectives and the needs of the ASGM sector in Ghana.
The Municipal Chief Executive of the Prestea Huni Valley Municipal Assembly, Hon. Isaac Dasmani in his opening remarks commended the project team for the engagement.
He disclosed that his Municipality is endowed with a lot of gold deposits but there are some challenges with the mining operations and urged small-scale miners to support the project on the new approaches including mercury-free interventions to ensure responsible mining in the Municipality.
Hon. Dasmani appealed to the miners to put into practice everything they learn from the workshop to help protect their health and the environment, while encouraging mining companies, both large and small-scale to fulfil their corporate social responsibility to help develop the communities in which they operate.
He urged all stakeholders in the mining value chain to work together to ensure responsible mining and development of communities.
The Project Coordinator, Mr. Lovelace Sarpong said the project aims to minimize the risks posed by mercury use in the ASGM sector by improving sound chemical management and eliminating pollution hazards while improving financial inclusion and transition to the formal economy.
It also seeks to strengthen national and jurisdictional capacity to enhance Ghana's compliance with the Minamata Convention following national environmental and formalization policies, alongside global platforms on mercury reductions, responsible supply chains, and mineral resource governance.
He said the project, funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) with the support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), has four main components including optimizing formalization through Jurisdictional Approaches (JAs), accelerating financial inclusion and responsible supply chains, enhancing uptake of mercury-free technologies, and fostering knowledge sharing and local capacity building support.
Mr. Isaac Owusu, Safeguard Officer on the Project said mining plays a major role in the development of our nation. About 13 out of the 16 regions in Ghana are endowed with mineral deposits. Although the small-scale mining value chain support millions of livelihoods in Ghana, environmental impacts arise during all stages of the mining processes.
He said the impacts of mining activities transcend the boundaries of the mine, hence mining companies must ensure that appropriate mitigation measures are put in place to address the negative impact associated with their operations.
He also stated that, in mining, Social license to operate is the level of acceptance and approval that a company earns from the communities, stakeholders, and the broader public for its business activities. It goes beyond legal requirements and implies that the company is perceived as responsible, ethical, and respectful of the community’s values and expectations.
He indicated that Communities are now aware of the impact of mining activities on their livelihood and expect to have more say over the activities that affect them. Mining entities must therefore build cordial relationships with all shareholders in the industry to foster peaceful coexistence between the mining companies and the catchment communities.
He further stated that maintaining Social License to operate is a process and not an event, hence there should be continuous engagement and relationship-building with all the project-affected communities. Companies must have self-reflections of their attitude towards the project-affected communities and all the stakeholders. If the company fails to gain social legitimacy, the stakeholders may rise against the project and reject it.
Participants at the workshop agreed that the issues discussed should be incorporated into the development of protocols for the social license, while recommending that further engagements be organized in the other project districts for stakeholders.
Knowledge Areas: