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INTRODUCTION TO PARTICIPATORY
ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING
COMMITTEES: WHAT HAS BEEN LEARNED IN
LATIN AMERICA & WHAT IS USEFUL IN
MONGOLIA?
March 2019
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PARTICIPATORY MONITORING
Is a collaborative process of collecting and analyzing
data, and communicating the results, in an attempt to
identify and solve problems together IFC Ombudsman Office, 2008
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PARTICIPATORY MONITORING
Is a social management tool, which seeks to work with
the emotions and interests of the parties, in order to
facilitate dialogue to achieve agreements and
monitoring of those agreements, to reduce socio-
environmental conflicts
Tapia & Mellace, 2018
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DRIVERS TO CREATE PEMC

In response to…
legislation, or to
communities’
increase
socio-environmental questions and
transparency and
conflicts concerns about
legitimacy of the
impacts
company
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PARTICIPATORY ENVIRONMENTAL
MONITORING BENEFITS – FOR
COMMUNITIES

Learning opportunities, training in new

skills, and improved understanding about
administrative procedures and
environmental impact assessments (CAO,
2008)

Scientific literacy and capacity, stronger

sense of stewardship and new data on
water quantity and quality (C. C. Conrad &
Hilchey, 2011)
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PARTICIPATORY ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING

BENEFITS - FOR COMPANIES
Identify problems in their projects
Identify resolvable tensions with
that may be addressed with better
communities and facilitates open
processes/technology (A. J. Bebbington &
dialogue. Bury, 2009)
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PEMC BENEFITS – FOR GOVERNMENTS

Generates valuable data on
Generates information for watershed hydrology to assist
decision making governments responsible for
monitoring mining operations
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UNDP-SEPA-CIRDI RESEARCH: UNDERSTANDING

PARTICIPATORY MONITORING COMMITTEES

OBJECTIVE:

To better understand the

characteristics and conditions which
enable participatory environmental
monitoring committees to have an
influence on decision making in the
mining sector
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METHODOLOGY AND COUNTRY CASE STUDIES

BOLIVIA

l Pocoata
l Tupiza

PANAMA

l Chilibre
l Donoso

PERU

l Juprog
l Mallay
l Orcopampa
ARGENTINA

l Jujuy
l Alumbrera
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RESEARCH FINDINGS HIGHLIGHTS

THE CREATION OF PEMCs OCCURS IN DIFFICULT EVEN AT VARIOUS STAGES OF MATURITY, PEMCs
CONTEXTS HAVE TANGIBLE IMPACT

MONITORING IS TECHNICALLY COMPLEX IT IS IMPORTANT TO AGREE ON PRIORITIES AND HOW

THE COMMUNITY WILL PARTICIPATE
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PANAMA REGIONAL WORKSHOP: OCT. 3-5 MONITORING COMMITTEES

v Organized with CIRDI and Grupo de Diálogo

v Interactive sessions with over 40 participants:

v Objectives:
ü Exchange experiences among case
studies
ü Validation of preliminary results of a
regional PEMC report
ü Develop ideas for future programming
ü Build a support network
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WORKSHOP FINDINGS
IDENTIFIED CHALLENGES
• Sustainable Financing
• Issues with formalisation, and institutional
linkages to local governments
• Autonomy, and legitimacy
• Difficulties disseminating monitoring results
(community, media, other actors)

OTHER HIGHLIGHTED TOPICS

• Context specific, hard to find one-size-fits-all
solutions
• Capacity building needed within PEMCs
• Role of the State and legal framework
• Importance of building peer networks and
experience-sharing
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FUTURE PROGRAMMING OPPORTUNITIES ON PEMC

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A COMMUNITY-BASED MONITORING SYSTEM CAN PREVENT

CONFLICTS BECAUSE:

• It gives communities control over their resources

• It empowers communities
• It strengthens communities’ resilience
• It empowers women inside communities
• It monitors human rights and therefore prevents abuses
• It prevents companies’ misconduct
• It prevents corruption
• It strengthens communities’ internal communication
• It helps communities to get better deals
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WHAT HAS BEEN LEARNED ABOUT PEMC THAT IS USEFUL

IN MONGOLIA?

GROUP WORK ACTIVITY IN SESSION 5

INTRODUCE GROUP WORK TOPICS FOR SESSION 5 –

• Session 5 will start after the break

• You must sign up for your selected topic before the break
• If more than 10 people sign up for the topic & question, the
facilitator will create two groups who will each address that
topic
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GROUP TOPIC OPTIONS FOR YOU TO CHOOSE FROM:
TABLE 1: Internal Governance
(a) What level of committee’s
formalization is optimal? What are
the pros and cons of government
authorities participating in the
committees? What role do
government agencies play in the
committees (at each level of
government?
TABLE 2: Internal Governance
(b) How do committees move from
tracking environmental parameters to
taking action if there are abnormal
results? What process can committees
use, in order to bring about action? Ie//
should committees be approaching the
government agency or the company?
Can committees take action to bring
about policy changes? If so, how?
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GROUP TOPIC OPTIONS FOR YOU TO CHOOSE FROM:

TABLE 3: Learning

(a) What do you think are the most important skills or topics that members
learn by participating in the monitoring committees – is it about
environment, about mining or other? On the other hand, what do the
companies participating in the committees most need to learn to allow
them to work effectively as committee members?

(b) If you have previously been involved in a community based

environmental monitoring initiative, what factors have contributed to the
success or achievements of the committee you worked with?
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GROUP TOPIC OPTIONS FOR YOU TO CHOOSE FROM:

TABLE 4: Socioeconomic Topic TABLE 5: Environment Topic
(a) Do you think the legislation in Mongolia
supports the establishment and work of
(a)How should committees choose
the committees? Why or why not? Is the
legislation adequate? Do you have any the monitoring sites?
suggestions on what would need to be
changed or added to the legislation? (a) If you had to choose only one
water related parameter to
(b) Do you see any other benefits of the
monitor, which one would you
committee’s work beyond the measuring
of environmental parameters? Are there choose, and why?
any unintended costs or consequences?
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GROUP TOPIC OPTIONS FOR YOU TO CHOOSE FROM:

TABLE 6: Gender Topic

(a) Some committees have equal participation of men and women, for
others there are barriers. In Mongolia, are there opportunities for women
to participate in this type of forum?

(b) If you have worked in a committee that has notable participation

from women, what is different in these committees? How did women’s
participation affect how the committee worked or the outcomes
reached?