The Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources has been spearheading the review of the mining law and policy in a process that started in 2004 by developing proposals for the two documents. Buoyed by the desire to ensure that the process was consultative, ILEG partnered with like minded civil society organizations to bring on board other sectors of society particularly communities and other stakeholders in the sector and lobbied the relevant government department for inclusion in the mining law review and policy development process. A workshop on ethical mining hosted by ILEG and Kenya Human Rights Commission in 2006 served to bring in more stakeholders on board and mandate the lobby to have a more inclusive and consultative process.
Between January and March 2007, ILEG organized two consultative sessions with artisenal miners from the Migori District in Western Kenya, and with those from Taita Taveta District in the Coastal region. These sessions gave opportunity for communities living in mining areas to voice their views on the existing situation on the ground, inform them of the ongoing process of reviewing the mining law and development of a new mining policy. The sessions also provide an avenue through which the community members could present their views and engage in the decision making process.
Unfortunately, despite efforts by ILEG impress the government on the need for a more consultative and inclusive process, the Ministry of Environment went ahead to produce a draft mining bill and present it to parliament. Undeterred, ILEG in collaboration with civil society organizations engaged a consultant to review and give technical input on the policy and legal changes proposed by the government in the draft bill.
The process of reviewing the mining law and developing a mining policy is still ongoing and ILEG is now preparing a simplified version of the mining legislation in Kenya which essentially takes the form of a community guide addressing itself to a review of current law, contemporary issues as well as proposals for inclusion into the proposed law and policy and is engaging with partner institutions in the civil society to put together a collective plan of action so that the new mining law and policy is developed through a process that is participatory and widely inclusive
Since September 2005, ILEG has been implementing a project which seeks to reduce the vulnerability of coastal communities to disasters. This initiative arose out of the devastating effects of the December 2004 Tsunami which was triggered by a magnitude 9.0 earthquake off the coast of Sumatra in South East Asia. The project was implemented with the collaboration of 11 institutions each undertaking a specific aspect of disaster preparation.
The project components undertaken by the partnering institutions were; educational and disaster preparedness in radio programming (Mediae Trust); restoration of livelihoods of fishermen affected by the Tsunami in Malindi (Kenya Red Cross Society); improving disaster preparedness and response among Tanzanian fishermen (Tanzania Red Cross Society); research on the governance, rights and policy issues relating to disasters (CARE Tanzania); an in depth study at a rights based approach to reducing community vulnerability to disasters (Coast Rights Forum); a review of the legal and policy framework for disaster management in Tanzania (Lawyers’ Environmental Action Team) and in Kenya (ILEG); strengthening disaster mental health preparedness, response, recovery and on-going phsycho-education (United States International University-Africa); developing coastal communities capacities for eliminating vulnerability to disasters (Ujamaa Centre); training on disaster prevention and management (University of Witwatersrand’s Office of Disaster Preparedness in Africa); tapping and using coastal natural resource management and knowledge across generations (World Agro forestry Centre) and protecting children in emergencies(the United Nations Children Fund.)
This project came to a successful conclusion in June 2007. It brought out various issues that need to be borne in mind as communities, civil society, NGOs and government departments continue in their own capacity or as part of their work to effectively prepare to mitigate the effects of disaster. First, the role of education and awareness is of paramount importance. Whether disasters are anticipated or sudden, sharing of information and knowledge whether traditional and modern scientific amongst all members of society greatly reduces vulnerability and adverse impacts.
Secondly, sustainable use of natural resources reduces vulnerability to disaster. Documenting and share indigenous knowledge is critical in reducing vulnerability as well as availability of restoring community members that have been affected by disasters. Thirdly, the role of government is important from development and implementation of appropriate legal and policy frameworks and the role of the National Disaster Operations Centre of the Office of the President in coordinating national disaster prevention and post disaster management.
The project gave a clearly depicted the importance of partnership and collaboration among the different sectors of society including government agencies, national and international NGOs, civil society, private sector and communities in disaster preparedness and response.
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