Central Asia

The Environmental and Social Impact Asessment (ESIA) for the Oyu Tolgoi mine in Mongolia has been delayed for years and comes at a time when the commercial operations are soon to begin. By including only the construction phase of the mine, the impacts of its actual operations are neglected with potentially devastating impacts on water reserves in the Gobi desert - especially because the interrelation of the deep (fossil water) and shallow aquifers that are used by herders has not been thoroughly assessed and is based only on modelling and assumptions with no monitoring data publicly available.

Kyrgyzstan is a mountainous country rich in water and natural resources. It hosts one of the Earth's most important ecological regions with unique ecosystems and biodiversity and is considered the “water tower” of Central Asia due to its Tien Shan glacier reserves. At the same time, mining operations and the mismanagement of natural resources are increasing the threats posed by climate change and pollution.

The letter by the Green members of the European Parliament calls for active efforts of the EU representative at the European Bank for Reconstructoin and Development to ensure that the bank's new mining strategy endorses EU principles and standards for resource efficiency, biodiversity protection, poverty eradication, inclusive growth, transparency and public participation in the mining projects the EBRD supports.

The EBRD's development of a new Mining Strategy saw the publication last month of a draft that will now be consulted on. Among the passages in the draft to catch the eye are “Multi-national firms act as demonstrators of best (or at least better) practices in those EBRD countries of operations where EHS&S (Environmental, health, safety and social) legislation is lacking”, and that “investments by major international mining operators in local mining sites in the EBRD’s countries of operations have often led to rapid and significant improvements in the safety of workers, due to safety standards that generally exceed the most stringent local health and safety requirements”.

Following the EBRD's controvesial adoption in 2010 of a 'calibrated strategic approach' to guide its activities in the totalitarian state of Turkmenistan, annual discussions between the bank and civil society organisations have been taking place, with the most recent last month.

Centerra Gold’s announcement that the February 2012 ice and waste fall into the Kumtor pit will result in a cutback in gold production indicates that the measures the company has put in place to address the causes of past pit wall failures have been ineffective since those measures were not effective at preventing Davidov ice and waste from falling into the open pit and causing the current production cutback.