RWANDA Law and Practice Contributed by: Aimery de Schoutheete and Penina Ngabire, Liedekerke Great Lakes
2.9 Good and Bad Examples of Community Relations/Consultation Impacting Mining Projects All LHs must comply with health and safety standards and must carry out their operations diligently and in line with the business plan sub - mitted to the RMB. They must also create income-generating activi - ties for the surrounding communities, carry out reforestation and implement their social activi - ties. LHs that fail to meet these obligations risk hav - ing their ML revoked by the RMB.
found in the agreement that any LH must enter into with the government. As a result, all mining investors must, among other things: • comply with strict environmental regulations; • conform to applicable policies on the recruit - ment and training of Rwandan nationals; • purchase local goods and services; • guarantee the health and safety of their employees and people living in the vicinity of the licensed area; and • abide by anti-corruption laws and regulations. 2.8 Illegal Mining So far, illegal mining does not appear to be a major issue in Rwanda. However, there are still cases reported from time to time with a recent publication from August 2023 indicating approx - imately 100 identified illegal mines. The Government’s Response One of the government’s strategies is to profes - sionalise the mining sector by better regulating and controlling the sector and attracting inves - tors. In addition, investigation and prosecution are key in cracking down illegal mining. To this effect, the RMB works closely with local authori - ties and security organs and deploys district task forces responsible for monitoring of mining and quarries. These task forces will conduct regular inspections to assess the activities at these min - ing sites. In addition, the RMB encourages all stakeholders, ie, local leaders, security organs and the communities to play their part in fighting illegal mining.
3. Climate Change, Energy Transition and Sustainable Development in Mining 3.1 Climate Change Effects
Rwanda has recently revamped its environ - mental legal framework to better tackle climate change and protect the environment. It has also launched a series of initiatives as part of its “Vision 2050” and its aspiration to be a green, carbon-neutral and climate-resilient country by 2050. These recent developments should con - tribute to more responsible development of the mining industry, which is set to grow rapidly in the coming years. Revamped Environmental Legal Framework Rwanda’s revamped environmental legal frame - work can be summarised as follows. • Rwanda is party to various international instruments tackling climate change, includ - ing the 1992 United National Framework Con - vention on Climate Change, the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, and the 2015 Paris Agreement.
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