On September 19-21, 2024, the International Symposium on Mining and Biodiversity Conservation was held in Changsha, Hunan Province of China. This symposium focused on "Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Development of Enterprises - Global Trends and China's Actions".
Thematic sessions were organized with an emphasis on 1) the interpretation of the latest domestic and international best practices on biodiversity conservation, 2) discussing how the mining and metal industry can respond to global and domestic demands of biodiversity conservation, 3) exchanging best-in-the-class experiences in implementing biodiversity conservation measures, especially on Mitigation Hierarchy Framework, and 4) encouraging diversified cooperation and dialogues among stakeholders in China and globally.
The symposium gathered 150 participants from 59 organizations and more than 22,000 visits by online live streaming. The participants included government agencies from 2 domestic and 5 international NGOs, 3 inter-government organizations, 30 companies and one commercial bank, International Council on Mining and Minerals )ICMM) and the China Chamber of Commerce of Metals, Minerals & Chemicals Importers & Exporters (CCCMC), and 17 academic groups and think tanks. It is the first such cross-sectoral gathering to facilitate conversation and exchange between stakeholders from mining industry and biodiversity conservation field.
A delegation from the Land and Environment Ministry of Mozambique participated in the symposium to share perspective and expectation of China’s investment in the mining industry as well as the work being done on policy and practice on the mitigation hierarchy in the context of the Conservation, Mitigation and Biodiversity Offsets Programme (COMBO+). The COMBO+ Director also gave a remote presentation on the programme’s objectives, its operation across six countries in Africa and Asia, and highlights of its core achievements to date. A discussion was organized to collect comments to improve the content of “Guidelines for Biodiversity Conservation in the Mining Sector” among all participants on the second day of the symposium.
In addition, a ceremony was held to inaugurate the "Center for Mining Biodiversity Research and Promotion of Central South University", which is jointly initiated by Central South University (CSU), Responsible Care for Critical Minerals Initiative (RCI) and Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), and is affiliated with the School of Resource and Safety Engineering of CSU. The Center will explore interdisciplinary cooperation between the mining industry and the conservation sector. It will promote and develop research, practices and technological innovation for biodiversity conservation in the field of mining and metal industry. The center will develop education and capacity-building activities which will support mining and metal companies developing road maps to contribute to Nature Positive, vital to the green transformation of the mining industry and the realization of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
The conference was co-sponsored by Central South University (CSU), China Minmetals Corporation (CMG), Aluminum Corporation of China (Alcoa), China Rare Earth Group Corporation (CREGC), China Nonferrous Metals Construction Corporation (CNMC), China Nonferrous Mining Group Corporation (CNMC), Zijin Mining Group Corporation (ZJMG), Grimmie Company Limited (GMC), Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt Company Limited (HYCOL), Center for Biodiversity Research and Promotion in Mining Industry of Central South University (CSU), School of Resource and Safety Engineering of Central South University and Hunan CIC Huaxin Conference and Exhibition Service Co. Wildlife Conservation Society provided leading role to organize this symposium behind sense, including agenda design, key speaker invitation, and coordination with Mozambique delegation. The World Resources Institute provided finance support and organized a round table to discuss coordination between investors and mining companies to mainstream biodiversity conservation.
The symposium highlights the importance and urgency of biodiversity conservation in the context of mining and also marks that mainstreaming biodiversity practices in mining has become an industry consensus. More symposium content can be found here 专家吁加强矿产全生命周期管理 缓解生物多样性丧失_环科频道_财新网 (caixin.com), 矿业生物多样性保护在行动，绿色矿山成重要抓手｜记者观察 (yicai.com) and 2024首届矿业生物多样性保护国际研讨会顺利召开-资源与安全工程学院 (csu.edu.cn).