Minerals and petroleum are vital to the economies, livelihoods and development prospects of countries around the world. For example, mining contributes an average of 10 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and about 60 per cent of foreign exchange earnings of the countries of the Southern African Development Community (SADC).^[1]

However, mining is in an unprecedented period of transition as it continues to face a broad array of interrelated technical, environmental and social issues. Financial implications have multiplied as investors, indigenous people, communities, non-governmental organizations and other interests apply increasing scrutiny to mining operations. With the immediacy of worldwide communications, local incidents become global news overnight. For some, mining's "social licence to operate" is under question.

Consistent with its mission of championing innovation and enabling societies to live sustainably, IISD has stepped into this process of change in a significant way.

In 2001, the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (Geneva) and the International Institute for Environment and Development (London), initiated a global review of mining-related practices through the project, "Mining, Minerals and Sustainable Development (MMSD)."^[2] As part of the global review, a number of independent regional reviews were initiated. One of the regional initiatives took place in Canada and the United States where the Mining/Minerals Team of the International Institute for Sustainable Development led "MMSD – North America." The final results of MMSD – North America are documented in a final report.

While the MMSD initiative was completed in 2002, the work of the IISD Mining and Mineral Team has continued. One output of MMSD – North America was the collaborative development of a robust framework for tracking the contribution of mining and mineral activities as a means of assessing the compatibility of mining/mineral projects and operations with the concept of sustainability. The framework came to be known as the Seven Questions to Sustainability (7QS). Motivation for the development of this template came from a desire to find a practical expression of today's concerns—in a way that is meaningful to explorer, mine manager, mill superintendent, community leader or public interest group. The Seven Questions publication is available in English and Spanish.

Since its development, the IISD Mining/Mineral team has sought projects in which practical applications would test the effectiveness of the framework. Out of Respect, the report of the Tahltan Mining Symposium documents one such application. Although the source of this work is the mining industry, applications of the framework now span forestry, aquaculture, fisheries, community development, aid and assistance projects and the management of protected areas.

Continuing refinement of the 7QS framework and broadening of its application is a major focus of ongoing work of the IISD Mining/mineral Team.

Activities previewed for 2004 include:

• workshop leadership in major mining meetings and conventions in the U.S., Canada, and Australia;

• continued work on practical 7QS applications;

• mounting of a major symposium that will reconvene the original MMSD – North America Work Group responsible for the 7QS framework along with practitioners who have applied it; and

• participation by IISD's president, David Runnalls, on Shell Canada's Climate Change Advisory Panel.

[1] Southern African Development Community. Mining Sector Five Year Strategy (1997-2001). http://www.sadcmining.org.zm/sadcsub.htm (August 2, 2001)

[2] Results of MMSD Global are reported in Breaking New Ground – Mining, Minerals and Sustainable Development (2002, London: Earthscan Publications), available online at http://www.iied.org/mmsd