process of increasing the strength
and effectiveness of communities,
improving people’s quality of life
and enabling people to participate
in decision making to achieve greater
long-term control over their lives.
Sustainable community development
programs are those that contribute
to the community’s long-term
development needs and priorities
and ensure a fairer distribution of
the costs, benefits, risks and
responsibilities associated with
mining activities. The essential
element of sustainability in
community development is that
actions must be community planned
and driven, not imposed by donors
or companies. Mining and mineralprocessing activities can play a
central role in sustainable community
development by acting as a catalyst
for positive economic and social
change in areas that may otherwise
have limited opportunities for
economic and social development.
They can also influence the equitable
distribution of mine-related benefits
by ensuring that opportunities are
created for women and vulnerable
and/or marginalized groups such
as Indigenous Peoples, ethnic
minorities and the economically
displaced.