On September 4, 2018, the first meeting of Peru’s Grupo Visión Minería 2030, or 2030 Mining Vision Group (hereinafter, GVM 2030) was held in the country’s Government Palace with the President of the Republic, Martin Vizcarra Cornejo. During the referred meeting, leaders of the State, Civil Society, the Private Sector and the Academy had the important task of jointly drafting a proposed vision for the future of the mining industry of the country. This multi-actor dialogue, aligned with the country vision being constructed in the National Agreement Forum, concluded with the following shared outlook.

By 2030, the Peruvian mining industry would have the following qualities:

1. It is inclusive and socially and territorially integrated

It promotes the integral development of the country, particularly of the areas in which it operates, fostering shared responsibility and value that will redound to the improved wellbeing of the population. To this effect, it participates in the planning and execution of actions aimed at closing social gaps, in the consensual land-use planning based on solid and reliable technical information and, together with the State, it boosts the territorial development through productive diversification and the articulation of the mining industry with other economic sectors. With this in mind, it strengthens the institutionalisation of citizen participation, the Prior Consultation of the Indigenous Peoples, pursuant to the law in force, and multi-actor dialogue. Likewise, its activities are guided by the respect for the Rule of Law and Human Rights, acting according to high social standards.

2. It is environmentally sustainable

It operates with responsibility and high environmental standards, ensuring the respect for and health of persons and the ecosystems to sustainably develop the natural resources, focusing on the integrated management of the water and energy resources with the aim of mitigating the causes and effects of climate change and promoting a circular economy. Furthermore, it continuously improves the mine closure procedures, incorporating the technological changes. It encourages and integrally and efficiently completes the remediation of environmental liabilities, promoting their economic redevelopment. All of the foregoing actions are supported, regulated, and supervised by solid public institutions that promote good practices, and effective and efficient environmental assessment and control.

3. It is competitive and innovative

It is ranked within the most favorable quartile worldwide, in terms of costs and productivity, promoting innovation and positioning itself as a benchmark in occupational safety. To this effect, it reduces the workers’ training gaps and invests in research, development and innovation (R+D+I) in the entire mining value chain, thereby increasing the value that it contributes to the country. Peru is an attractive market for investments in mining due to its modern, clear, efficient, stable and predictable legal framework, whereby the State guarantees respect for the Rule of Law as well as for the environmental and social standards.

4. It operates within a framework of good governance

It is committed towards the democratic system and decentralisation. It forms part of a system of governance through which development agreements are adopted and implemented with the participation of all the sectors and levels of the government, the private sector, organized society and the communities, thereby ensuring inter-sector, multilevel and multi-actor coordination. Hence, together with the State, it manages to prevent, handle and transform social disputes into opportunities for social development and peace.

It helps strengthen the capacities of the institutions and actors alike, overcoming the asymmetries of information and capacity of representation, for appropriate decision-making and their timely implementation as well as to fight corruption and operate with the highest levels of transparency. It respects the legal and regulatory framework thereof and ensures good labor relations. For its part, the State promotes the continuous improvement of the legal and regulatory framework to guarantee that the rights of all the actors involved are respected, ensures the Rule of Law and boosts the development, competitiveness and productivity of mining industry. Likewise, it ensures the effective, efficient and transparent use of tax revenues produced by the mining industry with a view to closing the significant gaps in the quality of life of the population.

5. Transversal actions

In addition to achieving the aforementioned qualities, by 2030 the State has formalised and improved the environmental performance, labor conditions and competitiveness of the small-scale and artisanal mining industry (MAPE, in Spanish) and has eradicated illegal mining.

Proposal

With the aim of moving forward towards achieving the Vision of the Mining Industry by 2030, the implementation of the following seven activities that the GVM 2030 has prioritised based on their feasibility, early maturity, impact and urgency, is suggested:

1. Strengthen the capacities of the regional and local governments to improve the State’s institutional management of the mining canon resources, the concerted development plans and the participative land-use planning.

• Develop the management capacities of the State for the development of land and its articulation with the mining activity, as well as favor the alignment of the plans, programs and social interventions of companies with the regional concerted development plans.
• Furnish the necessary technical and scientific information for the concerted development plans and land-use planning.
• Adjust the objectives of concerted development plans and land-use planning to meet the State’s policies and the national and sub-national plans, taking the Agenda
  2030 and its Sustainable Development Objectives as a reference.
• Allocate resources for the development of the capacities of regional and local governments.
• Establish incentives for the fulfillment of goals and transparency of information of the national, regional and local authorities.
• Strengthen and extend the Extractive industries transparency initiatives (EITI, in Spanish), at the regional government level.

2. Disseminate and adopt the best national and international practices on water management throughout the mining value chain, mainly to contribute towards the integrated management of the water resources in the country, adopting the highest environmental standards to that effect.

• Strengthen the institutional framework and capacities for the integrated management of water resources as well as the production, analysis, management and dissemination of information, etc.
• Identify key actions that will enable the country to improve the provision and use of the water basins.
• Identify, systemise, disclose and promote the voluntary adoption and continuous improvement of the existing good practices that may provide solutions to the detected situations or needs.
• Grant incentives for the adoption of good practices.
• Strengthen the role of citizen monitoring and surveillance of water resources.

3. Boost the R+D+I throughout production cycle and mining value chain

• Develop the Mining Technology Roadmap to promote integration with other economic sectors based on the receipt of services and products of high technological value.
• Promote the use of technology to improve productivity and environmental protection in the mining activity, particularly in small- scale and artisanal mining.
• Develop innovative solutions to issues related to mine closure, remediation of environmental liabilities, energy efficiency, the use of clean energy and optimization of the use of natural resources in the mining industry.
• Study and promote technologically sustainable solutions for placer gold mining.
• Promote and increase investment in R+D+I, both in the public and private sectors, taking advantage of the available instruments.

4. The State must promote a modern and innovative legal framework, including the promotion of mining exploration, maintaining high environmental and social standards.

• Promote the Executive Energy-Mining Board to define specific actions in favor of the productivity of the sector with emphasis on mining exploration.
• Map the procedures and examine the quality of the regulatory framework for its constant improvement and efficiency.
• Obtain an international comparative study on environmental and social procedures to assess the continuous improvement of the laws adjusted to the country’s reality.
• Increase the efficiency of the processes, optimizing the timelines of paperwork and procedures in the three levels of government, maintaining high environmental and social
standards.
• Improve the environmental legislation, in terms of mine closure, remediation of environment-related liabilities and offenses, in accordance with the international technological progress and the national reality.
• Evaluate the legal and technical improvements required to strengthen the environmental impact assessment and control system, with the aim of achieving a modern and innovative legal framework.

5. The State must strengthen the process for the implementation of the comprehensive plan for the eradication of illegal mining and its impacts on human rights and environment.

• Strengthen and articulate the actions of public entities involved in the eradication of illegal mining.
• Map and classify illegal mining, identifying and characterizing the vulnerable areas affected by and actors involved in illegal mining.
• Execute an articulated multi-sectoral Action Plan at the national, regional and local governmental level to solve cases related to the adverse impact of illegal mining activities on human rights and environment.

6. Encourage clusters, linkages and productive diversification in the territories, promoting a favourable legal environment.

• Analyse the reality and potential of the integral and diversified development of the territory, based on a competitive and sustainable approach, within the context of the information required for the concerted development plans.
• Update the identification of the existing and potential clusters and production chains in the territory.
• Design and implement productive diversification plans in the territories, with emphasis on the use of mining resources to that effect.
• Plan the necessary infrastructure that will favor the development of the potential of the territory, the articulation of the mining sector with other sectors and bridge the social gaps by geographical area.
• Improve inter-sector coordination and among the different levels of government to achieve production linkages between economic activities.
• Develop the human and institutional capital of the population in the national, regional and local governments to articulate the mining activity with the development of the territory.

7. Design and execute a pilot plan to secure permanent public-private and multi-actor articulation spaces with a purpose associated with but not limited to the productive development of the region and the territory.

• Establish a specific multiannual action plan, incorporating mechanisms for the follow-up and monitoring of results as well as transparency and accountability.
• Design and implement public-private financing and cooperation mechanisms with high level government support.
• Strengthen the existing capacities including civil society organizations.
• Search for synergies with Regional Development Agencies and other spaces should these already exist.
• In the pilot plan, include the promotion of clusters, linkages and productive diversification.