Sustainable Industrialialisation

Photo: Open-pit mine Montepuez, considered the world’s most lucrative ruby operation. Source: Gemfields

African Villagers Tortured For ‘Blood Rubies’ Worn By Stars

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) – A British mining company has agreed to pay over $7 million to settle claims including allegations of torture and murder at ruby mines in the northeast of Mozambique. The brilliant red stones, worth millions, have been worn by international actresses Mila Kunas, Bel Powley, and Sophie Cookson, among others.

The company, Gemfields, chose to pay community members living near its Montepuez ruby mine on a “no admission of liability” basis that settles a claim of human rights abuses over a decade brought against it by local villagers.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 16 February 2019

Photo: President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo. Credit: GhanaWeb.

African Leaders Put Rich Nations On Notice That Days Of Cheap Resources Are Ending

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK | CAPE TOWN (IDN) – African leaders had a new message for foreign companies seeking the diamonds, gold, rubies and emeralds so plentiful in desperate dirt-poor countries and so pricey when polished and sold in New York, Paris and Switzerland.

We’re no longer a cheap date. That message – in so many words – was heard again and again at this year’s posh African Mining Indaba (February 3-6) – a glittering conference in Cape Town, South Africa, that unites investors, mining companies, governments and stakeholders from around the world with the single goal of advancing mining on the African continent.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 12 February 2019

Photo: Euro-Asian Regional Midterm Review participants. Credit: UNESCAP

Bangkok Meeting Reviews Programme of Action For LLDCs

By Santo D. Banerjee

NEW YORK | BANGKOK (IDN) – Lack of territorial access to the sea, isolation and remoteness from world markets impose constraints on trade competitiveness of the 32 landlocked developing countries (LLDCs) and their overall socio-economic development.

In addition to the geographical impediments, LLDCs face challenges linked to high trade and transport costs, limited or low-quality infrastructure, delays at borders, bottlenecks related to customs procedures and border crossing regulations, and productivity constraints.

: Santo D. Banerjee; UN INSIDER; 12 February 2019

Photo: An exceptionally rare high quality 5,655 carat (1.13kg) emerald crystal discovered at Kagema mine in Lufwanyama. Source: Zambia Reports.

Emeralds, Rubies Could Make Zambia Rich

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) – Foreign mining companies extract more than a quarter of the world’s production of rare emeralds in Zambia yet, in some quarters, are alleged to declare losses to make themselves tax exempt.

So far, charges of tax evasion filed against Kagem mine, a subsidiary of the London-listed gemstone miner Gemfields, have been unsuccessful on investigation and dismissed by the Zambian Revenue Authority.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 06 February 2019

Photo: Skyline of Abu Dhabi, UAE, which will host 18th session of UNIDO's General Conference in November 2019.

UAE Hosts UNIDO's Supreme Policy Making Organ in November

By Ramesh Jaura

BERLIN | VIENNA (IDN) – When the Heads of State and Government, Ministers, and other official representatives, gathered in 2013 at the fifteenth session of the General Conference of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) in Peru's capital Lima, they agreed that eradication of poverty – Goal 1 of UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – deserves priority.

Six years on, industrial development for poverty reduction, inclusive globalization and environmental sustainability will be the principal issues at the eighteenth session of the UNIDO General Conference in Abu Dhabi, from November 3 to 7 at the invitation of the Government of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

: Ramesh Jaura; UN INSIDER; 12 January 2019

Photo: Coal-fired power plant. Credit: ozone.unep.org

New Agreement Seeks To Resist Powerful Greenhouse Gases

By Devendra Kamarajan

NAIROBI (IDN) – A new agreement signed in Kigali, the capital city of Rwanda, promises to fight global warming. Known as the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, came into force on January 1, 2019.

According to UN Environment, it will reduce the projected production and consumption of powerful greenhouse gasses termed as hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) by more than 80 per cent over the next 30 years.

: Devendra Kamarajan; UN INSIDER; 06 January 2019

Turning Waste into Wealth for Growth and the Planet

Viewpoint by LI Yong and Hongjoo Hahm

LI Yong is the Director General of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and Hongjoo Hahm, Officer-in-Charge of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP).

BAGKOK (IDN) – The business case for making our economy more sustainable is clear. Globally, transitioning to a circular economy – where materials are reused, re-manufactured or recycled – could significantly reduce carbon emissions and deliver over US$1 trillion in material cost savings by 2025.[1] The benefits for Asia and the Pacific would be huge. But to make this happen, the region needs to reconcile its need for economic growth with its ambition for sustainable business.

: J Nastranis; OPINION; 04 October 2018

Photo: Development minerals in Zambia. Credit: developmentminerals.org

Catalysing Deep and Lasting Changes in the Minerals Sectors

A global conference in Zambia aimed at the improvement of the miners' productivity and its cumulative impact on poverty reduction at local and national levels.

By Dr. Patrick I. Gomes

The author is Secretary General of the African Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States comprising 79 member countries – 48 from sub-Saharan Africa, 16 in the Caribbean and 15 in the Pacific. ACP countries are endowed with enormous mineral resources. yet are characterised by chronic poverty, low human development and overall under-development; causing the categorisation of 39 ACP Member States as Least Developed Countries. – The Editor

: Dr. Patrick Gomes - ACP Seretary-General; GLOBAL GOVERNANCE; ACP Group of States; 19 September 2018

Photo: Mining impacts at least two of the 17 Goals: SDG9 (Infrastructure, Innovation, and Industrialization) and SDG8 (Employment and Economic Growth). Credit: Prossy Nandudu | IDN-INPS.

A Ugandan Brings Home The Value Of Neglected Minerals

By Prossy Nandudu

KAMPALA (ACP-IDN) – With the African population expected to increase by roughly 50 percent over the next 18 years to over 1.8 billion in 2035, demands for mineral resources will also climb sharply to meet the need for additional housing units, roads, energy and other urban infrastructure using development minerals, averred Dr Patrick Gomes, Secretary General of the African, Caribbean, Pacific (ACP) Group of States.

"In most ACP countries, growth rates are recorded due to the construction, mining and transport sectors. Interventions in this sector may be an effective way to help countries achieve the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030," he told a high-level ministerial meeting of the Group at the ACP Secretariat early this year in Brussels.

: IDN-INPS Middle East & Africa Editor; THE WORLD; Africa; 02 May 2018

UN Industrial Development Arm Grabs Opportunity in Germany

By UNIDO

HANOVER (IDN) – The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) had a strong presence at the annual Hannover Messe, the world’s leading industrial trade fair which attracts over 6,500 exhibitors and 200,000 visitors. UNIDO has participated in the Hannover Messe every year since 2015 to provide a platform where institutions and industrial enterprises from its Member States can promote themselves at this important international trade setting.

Fulfilling one of its core functions of convening stakeholders and brokering partnerships for knowledge transfer, networking and industrial cooperation, this year UNIDO organized a variety of events.