The Role of Indigenous Cultures in Securing Sustainable Economic Development Of Mineral & Energy Resources: Australia & Sweden

Transcription

1 The Role of Indigenous Cultures in Securing Sustainable Economic Development Of Mineral & Energy Resources: Australia & Sweden Principal Research Leader Dr Boyd Blackwell UNE Business School, Australia

2 Acknowledgement Project Partners & Participants

3 Outline Introduction Methods: Case studies Regressions (to come) Preliminary findings Discussion Conclusion 3

4 Introduction Practical, Geographic Background Sabbatical Proposal Ninti One Ltd funded project Prof. Dean Carsen Prof. Brian Dolllery Myself Thus, Australasia e.g. Australia and Europe e.g. Sweden comparison 4

5 Introduction Conceptual Background Mining Toolkit for Remote Communities (O Faircheallaigh, K. Pers. Coms, Feb 2016) Typical view, resource company delivers enduring community value from mining (ECVM) Instead: communities, ngos, and government (with companies) deliver ECVM? Counter-intuitive Remote communities under-resourced BUT: CSR SLO, Community Acceptance/Informed Consent Factor share theory (Blackwell & Dollery 2013; 2014) Land labour capital Royalties salary/wages dividends/interest/local supply Mine Lifecycle and Community Economic Cycle Planning (Robertson & Blackwell 2016; Blackwell & Robertson 2016) Importance of International Interests 5

6 Methods: Case Study Locations Characteristic Australia Sweden Resources Remoteness Geography Traditional people Climate Regional Political Vastest and rich inheritance (Marshall 1788, p. 349) Vast uninhabited ultrasparsely populated interior Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders - preponderance Arid deserts and tropical wetlands Doorstep of Asia Major Landmass in Australasia Antipodes Conservative Westminster democratic market economy with sovereign head of state Mineral wealth Sparsely populated north - Lapland Sami Arctic Part of Europe Major landmass in Scandinavia Strategic Socialist democratic market economy with sovereign 6

7 Findings: Mineral Development Australia and Sweden Characteristic Australia Sweden Resource owner Crown Crown Access manager Regulated? Institutional arrangements Delegated to the states (not Commonwealth) Yes, each state has a Mineral Resource Act EIS proponent; social and environmental impact assessment and mitigation Can trigger state/cth Acts e.g. EPBC Act (Cth) Social arrangements self governed e.g. SLO private royalties regional partnerships Minerals Inspector (exploitation concession) Yes Minerals Act Permit also required under Swedish Environmental Code?? Actors: Decision makers? Mineral Deposits of National Interest 7

8 Findings: Aboriginal &Torres Strait Islanders and Sami Characteristic Uniqueness Traditional Livelihoods Current Livelihoods Mining relationship Cultural evolution Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islanders 120+ Language groups, hence peoples (refer map) Hunters and gatherers, nomadic but language areas Two worlds strong connection to place and people Contested but growing wealth/affluence from royalties - disparity Exciting moment? Actors: Decision influencers? Sami Single northernmost indigenous people of European continent Reindeer herders As above Conflict Kiruna and the surrounding area where national interests for nature (green dots), outdoor life (green lines), reindeer husbandry (red lines), culture (purple hatched) and minerals (black lines) overlap each other. 8

9 Findings: Indigenous Peoples Driving ECVM Factor Resource Town nexus Royalties Jabiru, Ranger Uranium; Leigh Creek Coal R:One of World s largest, 2021 legal life, community operates L: Mine just closed, community in transition State, equiv. (R) & private Kristineberg Copper & Adak, Malå K: Mine open, 8-10 mines over 150yrs, community doesn t A: Mine closed, community thriving Employment Dividend/intere st/partnership Local supply Investment - infrastructure Cultural Investment Rareness R: Strong 20%, ~5-10% local L: Weak ~0%, 0% local Nil 100% company owned Yes R: Built & manage airport, power built town L: Closed town (100%) R: Regional partnerships & fund sports, art, music & cultural festivals L: Limited R: With Kakadu WHA wetlands, Cth, NT & Miner package deal, Jabiluka agreement L: No LGA, No land tenure, hist. apartheid Actors: Decision influencers BUT HOW? 9

10 Discussion If not acceptable to local people, how can it be acceptable to a nation, global community? Local people critical to ensuring mine operates sustainably i.e. delivers ECVM Not well resourced so rely on funding redirection from mining company the best way for miners to achieve ECVM Requires good understanding of mine lifecycle and community economic cycles BUT has potential to compromise their ethics E.g. leaders/guides sell-off trust of community for short term profit NB that leaders have enduring contract with their people & held to account but how? Canada IBAs? Governments ethics to serve the people also potentially compromised by desire for royalties, exports, GRP, taxes etc. Similarly need to be brought to account election sufficient? 10

11 Conclusion New view; indigenous people drive sustainable mineral resource development BUT need to know their current role in decision making process How to achieve ECVM? Through returns to factors of production and Need contracts with negotiating leaders in community and government and an instrument to bring them to account where break communities trust More research and help for remote communities to come through Mining Toolkit 11

12 Acknowledgement 12

13 References Blackwell B and B Dollery (2014) The impact of mining expenditure on remote communities in Australia: The Ranger uranium mine and the Tanami gold mine in the Northern Territory, Australasian Journal of Regional Studies 20(1): 'Accessed 19 Aug 2014 from: Blackwell B and B Dollery (2013) Income factor shares from mining in remote Australia: An analysis of the Ranger uranium mine and the Tanami gold mine in the Northern Territory, Australasian Journal of Regional Studies 19(3), pp Accessed 19 Aug 2014 from: Blackwell, B.D. and S. Robertson (2016), Enduring value for remote communities from mining: Synthesising production, employment, populations, and reform opportunities, Learning Communities: International Journal of Learning in Social Contexts, Special Issue: Synthesis & Integration Writing from the Cooperative Research Centre for Remote Economic Participation, April, No. 19, pp Robertson, S. and Blackwell, B., (2016) Remote mining towns on the rangelands: determining dependency within the hinterland, The Rangeland Journal, 37(6): Accessible 23 December 2015 from: Marshall, A. (1878) The Coal Question, Chapter X and XI in Thorpe, T.A. (Ed.) Coal: Its History and Uses, MacMillian, London. Accessed 14 July 2015 from: f 13