April 2006, International Council on Mining & Metals (ICMM), UNCTAD, The World Bank
In May 2004, ICMM initiated its Resource Endowment initiative to better understand how large scale mining activity in low and middle income countries can enhance the socio-economic development of host countries. The initiative aims to isolate the drivers of development effectiveness in the mining and metals sector and to document the policy frameworks, operational practices, and partnership arrangements that deliver sustainable outcomes on the ground. This action-research project is being done together with UNCTAD and the World Bank Group. ICMM also consulted stakeholders such as mining companies, governments, donor agencies, labor and non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
Much of the ‘resource curse’ literature has focused on problems rather than solutions. Consequently it is not of much practical help in designing improved policy or filling gaps in knowledge. For example, how have apparently ‘successful’ countries avoided problems now so widely perceived? Can such outcomes be repeated in other developing economies endowed with an abundance of mineral resources? How should the main stakeholders work together to enhance positive socioeconomic outcomes from mining investments?
To help bridge these gaps, some of the specific questions the Resource Endowment initiative attempts to address are:
- How the mining sector overall contributes to national development?
- What strategies have been effective in managing revenues generated by natural resources for sustainable development and poverty reduction?
- How an individual mining project contributes to development at national, regional and local levels?
- What are the practical and policy implications for mining companies, host country governments, development institutions, and NGOs?
- What might the distinct responsibilities of these development partners be to support implementation of findings and recommendations?
