Mining and the Environment

International Perspectives on Public Policy

For centuries, denuded landscapes, fouled streams, and dirty air were accepted by society as part of the price that had to be paid for mineral production. Even initial environmental legislation devised by industrialized countries in the 1960s and 1970s was largely designed without mining in mind. And developing countries had little in the way of environmental policy. With the advent of sustainability in the 1990s, times have changed. Today's economic development, many now feel, must not come at the expense of an environmentally degraded future. Current policies toward mining are under rigorous review, and mineral-rich developing countries are designing environmental policies where none existed before. In Mining and the Environment, noted analysts offer viewpoints from Australia, Chile, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the European community on issues and challenges of metal mining.