Events

Forest Smart Mining Event Launch: What are the challenges and opportunities for ASM in Forest-Smart Mining?

April 28, 2022

Online

Forest-smart mining approaches are required to minimize the direct and indirect impacts of mining on forests. Through its Climate-Smart Mining Initiative, the World Bank Group raises awareness of sustainable practices, policies, and integrated approaches to forest management.

This event will provide an opportunity to discuss and advance the concept and practice of Forest Smart Mining for the Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining (ASM) sector. The panel will discuss the opportunities and challenges of promoting forest-smart mining investments and interventions in developing countries while respecting local communities' environment and needs. Join this dynamic event to learn more about what the World Bank is doing in forestry and climate-smart mining.

Session Objectives

Effectively engage with relevant audiences to promote key findings of the reports.
Provide useful information to climate smart mining policy actors.
Motivate relevant stakeholders/target audience and encourage conversation addressing climate change in the ASM sector, in particular on the usefulness of the guidelines and PCIs developed and how feasible it would be to ‘bolt on’ these guidelines to target standards and complementary programs already in place.
Encourage public-private dialogue to create awareness and understanding among participants on FSM ASM opportunities.

AGENDA
SPEAKERS

3 min	INTRODUCTION Master of Ceremonies: Idriss Deffry, Environmental Specialist, World Bank Group
7 min	WELCOME John Drexhage, Climate Advisor, World Bank Group Idriss Deffry, Environmental Specialist, World Bank Group
10 min	ASM: SUMMARY OF RESULTS AND FUTURE ACTIONS Estelle Levin-Nally, CEO, Levin Sources Felix Hruschka, Alliance for Responsible Mining
35 min	PANEL DISCUSSION Moderator: Remi Pelon, Senior Mining Specialist, World Bank Group Panelists: Hon. David Abiamofo, Minister of Natural Resources, Suriname Louopou Lamah, Minister, Ministry of Environment and sustainable development, Guinea Ruby Weinberg, Program Manager GEMFAIR Gustavo Fonseca, Director of Programs, GEF
5 min	CLOSING REMARKS Idriss Deffry, Environmental Specialist, World Bank Group

Hon. David Abiamofo

Minister of Natural Resources, Suriname
Mr. David Abiamofo joined the Anton de Kom University of Suriname as lecturer in 2013 and served as Coordinator of the Department of Public Administration and Member of the Board of the Faculty of Social Sciences of the Anton de Kom University of Suriname in 2015 until July 2020. He has more than 20 years experience in Public Administration, Diplomacy, Higher Education, Election Monitoring, Capacity Building and Development Planning, including Project Implemen-tation, Monitoring and Evaluation in among others Community Relations and Sustainable Development.

Estelle Levin-Nally

CEO, Levin Sources
Estelle is CEO and Founder of social enterprise, Levin Sources, which builds sustainable, valuable and equitable minerals sectors and supply chains. Estelle is an internationally recognised leader at the nexus of mining, the environment and human rights, working on frontier issues, such as forest-smart mining, gold and illicit financial flows, and digitisation of corporate performance in sustainable supply chains.

Louopou Lamah

Minister, Ministry of Environment and sustainable development, Guinea
Mrs. Louopou Lamah is the Minister of the Environment and Sustainable Development of Guinea. She was previously the National Director of Foreign Trade and Competitiveness. Chief negotiator of Guinea, winner of her promotion of the Master's degree in ES SCIENCES She is strongly committed to the sustainable development of her country, the implementation of the climate climate commitment of the updated NDC and building of a balance between the development of the country with the mining and agriculture sector and the protection and promotion of its unique renewable natural capital.

John Drexhage

Climate Advisor, World Bank Group
John has worked on issues related to climate change, sustainable development and implications for resource based economies for 30 years. Most recently he is working with the World Bank, helping to develop and launch the concept of Climate Smart Mining.

Idriss Deffry

Environmental Specialist, World Bank Group
Idriss Deffry is an environmental specialist at the World Bank with 15 years of professional experience in natural resources management in Africa, with donors and international NGOs like WWF and IUCN. Driven by the impact of projects on the ground, Idriss has been involved in the design and implementation of programs linking environment, natural resources and development in various fields as protected areas, forest, marine and coastal environment, fisheries, mining, and agriculture. Idriss is part of the World Bank Climate-smart mining initiative working on the Forest-smart component since 2017 and has initiated with the support of the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF) the development of the Forest-smart ASM Standard.

Felix Hruschka

Alliance for Responsible Mining (ARM)
Dr. Felix Hruschka is a mining engineer and minerals economist with 30 years of professional experience in the artisanal and small-scale mining sector. His past and current assignments in Latin America, Africa and Asia cover the entire project cycle, from baseline research to planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of ASM projects. Issues addressed range from mining and mineral processing technology, environmental and social issues, capacity building, responsible mineral supply chains, development of ASM standards, to aspects of national and global minerals- and development policy.

Ruby Weinberg

Program Manager, GEMFAIR
Ruby Stocklin-Weinberg is an expert in the artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) sector with over a decade of experience in the extractive sector and responsible sourcing. She joined GemFair in 2017 as Program Manager where she oversees GemFair’s assurance program for sourcing from ASM diamond suppliers, which includes measurable standards on fair labor conditions, human rights and environmental impact management. Ruby designed GemFair’s training and capacity building materials for artisanal diamond miners and coaches GemFair field staff on delivering training and monitoring miner compliance with the GemFair standards. She also oversees GemFair’s work in mine site restoration, which is a very exciting and growing area for GemFair. Ruby holds a PhD in Mining Engineering from the University of British Columbia and an MSc in Global History from the London School of Economics.

Gustavo Fonseca

Director of Programs, GEF
Dr. Fonseca is the Director of Programs at the Global Environment Facility (GEF), where he oversees and manages a technical and administrative team in charge of programming and disbursing over $1 billion annually in grants and de-risking financing directed to projects and programs in over 150 developing countries dealing with biodiversity conservation; combating land degradation; promoting sustainable forest management and REDD+; climate change mitigation and adaptation; management of transboundary marine and freshwater resources; and phasing out harmful chemicals and mercury. He holds a Master’s degree and a Ph.D. from the University of Florida in Forest Resources and Conservation, and published over 160 publications, articles and books.

Remi Pelon

Senior Mining Specialist, World Bank Group
Remi Pelon is a Sr Mining Specialist with 15 years of experience with the World Bank. He previously worked as a Mineral Policy Analyst at BRGM (French Geological Survey) and holds a master’s degree in Engineering from Nancy School of Mines and a master’s degree in Political Sciences from Sciences-Po Paris.