UNEP produces impartial assessments, data and knowledge on the environmental threats and impacts of the extractive industry.
Environmental assessments
In Ogoniland, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) assessed over 200 locations and 122 kilometres of pipeline, reviewed 5,000 medical records and engaged over 23,000 people. The assessment led the Nigerian government to announce a US $1 billion clean-up programme in 2016.
A study on the social, environmental and economic impacts of mining in Mongolia’s Umnugobi province, carried out in 2014 and 2015 by the Poverty-Environment Initiative, led to the creation of a one-of-a-kind database that collates information on the impacts of large-scale mining. It includes data on air quality, water quality, land degradation, migration, gender equity, employment and budget revenues.
Transparency and monitoring
The Global Sand Observatory is a UNEP/GRID-Geneva initiative aimed at developing knowledge and providing decision making support on the sustainability issue of sand extraction and use.
UNEP works with GRID-Arendal on the Global Tailings Portal. This portal brings together all of the disclosures that mining companies have made about their tailings storage facilities. It gives communities, investors, regulators and the media unprecedented access to information about mine waste.
