Scope of Work
The work plan starts with the identification of the needs from industry, regulatory bodies and stakeholders (society, NGOs) to evaluate the indicators and parameters to be taken into account in the assessment of the environmental, socio-economic and societal footprints of the extractive industry at each stage of a project, from exploration to exploitation and closure. Corporate level (extractive industry and relevant associations) as well as public level (regional, national to international) will be considered.
This stage will serve as the basis for:
- Identifying parameters and indicators that can be addressed by Earth Observation methods, and to be used during the EO tools and methods development phase over demonstration sites
- Identifying stakeholders to be addressed during the dissemination phase at the end of the project
A strong RTD component will consist in developing EO-based tools and methodologies to observe and monitor the environmental and societal footprint of extractive industry activities over three demonstration sites located in heavily exploited areas:
- In Europe : the Sokolov lignite open cast in Czech Republic
- In Southern Africa: the Witbank Coalfields, Mpumalanga Province, South Africa
- In Central Asia : the Makmal gold mine in Kyrgyzstan
Innovation will consist in the juxtaposition and/or fusion of various EO data through models or data integration schemes which fit at best with i) site specific requirements, and ii) the parameters and indicators to be addressed as defined during the previous stage.
In the perspective of the societal acceptability of extractive industry, one of the major aim of the project being to define tools “opposable” during discussions between the parties involved in a mining project life, a particular attention is paid to the definition and application of protocols and standards to EO data and added value products that guarantee the “quality and objectivity” of data and products.
Dissemination activities are addressed through:
- Communication, dissemination and capacity building: The target audience will include, but not be limited to, the European Technology Platform on Sustainable Mineral Resources (ETP SMR), national and international organisations (e.g. EU, UNEP, UNECA, etc), the extractive industry and their trade associations, and NGOs.;
- Initiating and developing a sound “trialogue” (definition: “An interchange and discussion of ideas among three groups having different origins, philosophies, principles, etc.”) between the three main groups involved, the industry, governmental organisations and other stakeholders (e.g. NGOs) based on reliable and objective information about ecosystems, populations and societies affected by mining activities.
