Environmental regulation of exploration and mining operations in Asian countries

Abstract

This paper offers a new perspective on the environmental laws in Asian nations affecting the exploration, mining, and reclamation activities of the mineral resource industry: the perspective of the senior government officials in those countries, whose job is to enforce these new environmental laws. The article presents the results of a 1998 survey of national environmental officials in Asia conducted by the Colorado School of Mines and the Metal Mining Agency of Japan. Officials in 10 diverse countries—Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Mongolia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam—responded to a detailed questionnaire covering applicable laws, agencies, protected areas, covered mineral activities, financial assurance, environmental impact assessment, public involvement, environmental standards, permit and reclamation requirements. The survey confirms that Asian nations are part of the global trend towards national government regulatory structures that balance mineral development objectives with environmental considerations. The survey also shows developing regulatory systems (some embryonic, some more mature) utilizing a combination of mining and environmental acts, and often an ‘insider’ perspective of the national officials administering the laws. While that perspective is not without its biases (not least the rigor of enforcement), it may nevertheless be of use in company planning. The emerging regulatory picture contradicts the conventional notion that it is the ‘lower’ level of regulation in Asia that is attracting foreign direct investment in mining.

Regulating mine land reclamation in developing countries: The case of China

“…But, at the same time, the complexity in jurisdiction and the regulatory frameworks has revealed more or less a contradictory ideology for objectives and benefits of various departments. As Otto et al (1999) note, these frameworks generally seek to reconcile the benefits between mining and the costs to control or mitigate resultant negative environmental effects. In reality or in perception, different parties apply different measurements in calculating cost and benefit, therefore arriving at a different assessment of the balance (Andrews-Speed et al, 2002).…”

ANÁLISE DAS NORMAS AMBIENTAIS FEDERAIS E ESTADUAIS (MG e SC) REFERENTES A EMPREENDIMENTOS DE MINERAÇÃO

“…Silva, Andersen e Kässmayer (2012, p. 120), chegaram a conclusões semelhantes em um estudo de avaliação comparativa de três políticas ambientais e suas normas reguladoras no estado do Paraná, onde observaram que as políticas ambientais no Brasil ainda estão relativamente à mercê do crescimento econômico. Sousa et al (2011, p. 748 NAITO;PRING, 1999, p. 332). Contudo, Dimitrov (2010, p. 40), em seu estudo sobre as políticas ambientas globais chegou à conclusão de que a criação de políticas ambientais mais responsáveis e coerentes com a demanda peculiar da região -e consequentemente de normas específicas para cada caso -, deve abranger conhecimentos ecológicos por cientistas das áreas afins e promover meios de nortear o desenvolvimento verdadeiramente sustentável.…”