Mining companies contribute to Puna Americana’s development

19 March, 2007

A side event was co-organized on the fringes of CRIC5, to illustrate the contributions of mining companies, to the sustainable development of Puna Americana - a high plateau spanning Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador and Peru.

The initiative was launched in March 2003, when the Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and the Managing Director of the GM, agreed to explore the possibility of involving the mining sector in the High Andes in sustainable development of Puna Americana, where water is scarce and severe land degradation and drought prevail.

The idea was to raise the mining companies’ interest in devoting efforts under their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programmes, towards the initiatives defined under the UNCCD Sub-regional Action Programme (SRAP).

Since the launch, significant resources have been allocated to activities supporting sustainable land management in Puna Americana, some of which were presented by two of the mining companies involved (SONAMI, Chile and ALUMBRERA, Argentina) during the side event. These activities are aimed, inter alia, at:

planting and irrigating the high altitude peat land
reforesting affected areas with endemic tree species
restoring the ecosystem using the mines’ waste water
establishing high-altitude greenhouses and cultivations, to produce fresh vegetables for local communities.

All the initiatives, the companies explained, were undertaken with the support of local communities and greatly benefited from indigenous knowledge.

In addition all the initiatives were established with public sector support, with a view to sharing information, enhancing dialogue with the private sector and promoting efficient use of water resources.

The GM and its partners anticipate that one of the outcomes of the initiative will be to generate processes directed towards build a common agenda for the sustainable development of the High Andes, bringing together governments, mining companies, community based organizations and other elements of civil society.

The GM intends to continue supporting Puna Americana SRAP and to spearhead, together with ECLAC, the ongoing process with the mining companies, seeking to involve other partners in this remarkable initiative.

For more information:

Mr Alejandro Kilpatrick, Programme Coordinator, Latin America and the Caribbean
Tel. +39 06 5459 2524
a.kilpatrick(at) ifad.org