The Alliance for Responsible Mining (ARM) signs contract with UNIDO and begins work in West Africa.
The Alliance for Responsible Mining (ARM) is pleased to announce the signing of the contract with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) for implementation of a regional project “Fair gold supply chain and reduction of mercury use in Artisanal and Small scale Mining in West Africa”
in Burkina Faso, Mali and Senegal. This 3 year project led by UNIDO is financed by FFEM (Fonds Français pour l’Environnement Mondial), an organization created by the French government to promote environmental protection in developing countries, and GEF (Global Environmental Facility), with participation of UNEP, NRDC, SAICM, the US Department of State and the European Union
The project will pilot in West Africa the FAIRMINED approach to Artisanal and Small-scale Mining (ASM) formalization through market incentives and will promote drastic reduction of mercury emissions associated with the use of alternative mercury free techniques. With the recent agreeing of the Minamata Convention on Mercury, the timing can ́t be better; various experiences show that effective and long lasting mercury reduction can only be achieved if the ASM groups are organized and develop their capacity
“ARM is proud to have been selected to implement fair trade mechanisms in the francophone West African artisanal gold sector by the specialized agency of the United Nations that promotes industrial development for poverty reduction and environmental sustainability. This proves that the ASGM sector is increasingly being considered by governments and international agencies as an essential economic actor that has proved it can be a leader in responsibility through the FAIRMINED certification. ARM would like to thank UNIDO and FFEM who identified gold from Artisanal and Small scale minersas a development tool.”, said Patrick Schein, Trader and Executive Board Member in ARM.
The main objective of the project is to enable favorable conditions to set up a FAIRMINED supply chain in three West African countries: Burkina Faso, Mali and Senegal. On their way to achieving the FAIRMINED certification, the ARM team will accompany the artisanal mining organizations in the process of formalization and implementing improved and more efficient environmental, social and business practices in mining. In the field implementation ARM will work closely with Artisanal Gold Council (AGC). The long term objective is to contribute to ASM becoming a more sustainable, formal economic activity, recognized and endorsed by the governments.
By working closely with national and local government representatives through project ́s steering committees, the initiative promotes dialogue between artisanal miners and administration and invites to review the mining legislations in order to facilitate the inclusion of the ASM sector into the formal economy. Communication is another important component of the project, to make sure that the learning achieved in the project is efficiently shared with a variety of stakeholders in the Responsible ASM Networks in Africa, Latin America and Asia. A dedicated website will be created to make sure that up-to date information on project’s development is available.
