| Date: | September 8 - 12, 2007 |
| City: | Ulaanbaatar |
| Organiser: | Government of Mongolia, CASM Secretariat at the World Bank, and The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and other stakeholders |
| Country: | Mongolia |
| Contact Name: | Veronika Kohler |
| Telephone: | +1-202-458-9597 |
| Email: | vkohler@worldbank.org |
| Event Website: |
http://www.casm.mn/index.php |
The Communities and Small-Scale Mining (CASM) initiative was launched in March 2001 in response to international recognition of the need to address the challenges presented by artisanal miners and the communities in which they operate. A need was also recognized for improved coordination in addressing the development needs of this dimension of the mining sector.
Since its foundation CASM has successfully raised the profile of the ASM sector. This profile and the challenges posed by the sector have never been higher. The expectations of CASM to lead the way in finding solutions have also escalated.
If appropriately managed the ASM sector can make a considerable contribution to growth and poverty reduction within the communities and countries where small-scale mining is a significant activity. CASM’s goal is to ensure this happens.
Objectives
The main goal of the Conference will be to better align the challenges of ASM to the international development agenda. Since the 2006 CASM Madagascar Conference there have been several significant developments and the international communities are turning to CASM to lead in the identification of solutions. The conference will also review progress on the initiatives that were established at the 2006 conference.
In addition to taking stock of CASM’s progress and future needs the Conference has the following objectives:
1. Preparing an action plan for reporting progress on addressing ASM issues for upcoming discussions on mining at the United Nations.
2. Engaging new and existing partners in addressing the ASM agenda.
3. Providing a platform for recent best practices in the ASM sector
4. Addressing the need to more fully integrate ASM into social and economic development processes at local, national and international levels.
5. Identifying and coordinating donor support on the priority needs of ASM.
