Mining and infrastructure projects should listen to the voices of surrounding communities.
There is a growing emphasis on the need for large-scale mining and infrastructure projects to safeguard the rights of specific groups within the surrounding communities, particularly vulnerable groups.
Good international industry practice and lender standards increasingly call for a differential approach to engagement with vulnerable groups. This is to ensure that their voices are heard, and their human rights are upheld.
Furthermore, vulnerable groups are more likely to be negatively affected by project-induced impacts, which could exacerbate existing vulnerabilities.
Vulnerable groups include women, children, the elderly, people living with disabilities, indigenous peoples, and the unemployed. Also regarded as vulnerable are those without access to services like education, health, and digital connectivity, as well as people who are illiterate or have no secure land tenure. More recently, artisanal and small-scale miners have also been considered vulnerable.
“In large infrastructure and mining projects that require involuntary resettlement and livelihood restoration, it is particularly important to consider vulnerabilities,” says SRK Consulting principal consultant and partner Vassie Maharaj. “New challenges could be induced that cannot be offset by like-for-like compensation and livelihood restoration.”
Read the full article on Why Africa.
