OGP Openness in Natural Resources Working Group 1

Background to Suggested National Action Plan (NAP) Commitments:

The Openness in Natural Resources Working Group has made a number of proposals for

Natural Resource commitments to the Colombian Government in the area of mining licensing,

public access to mining information, and mining concession details. We believe that the OGP

can serve as a platform to boast opportunities for effective expansion of good governance in

the areas of transparency and public participation consistent with the goals of OGP. In addition

we believe that these commitments have the potential to have transformative outcomes as well

as build on ongoing national and international priorities including the achievement of the

Sustainable Development Goals.

Commitment I: Divulge specific data about each mining project on a publicly

accessible and thoroughly promoted interactive portal with geo-tagged maps of

each project

Generating and sharing data on mining projects provides a useful tool for stakeholders. The

creation of an information portal can benefit anyone from foreign direct investors, to local

peoples, to mining agency assessors. This data portal should be interoperable; meaning it can

be integrated with future concession transparency initiatives in Colombia and other emerging

data maps from OGP participating countries. This portal can be used as a tool for Colombia to

achieve (and maintain) national EITI objectives and leverage new EITI requirements. Its goal

would be to ensure sustainable development and enable equal access to information and

publicity as should be guaranteed in the Código de Minas vigente, Ley 681 de 2011.

COLOMBIA Suggestions from the Openness in Natural Resources Working Group

OGP Openness in Natural Resources Working Group 2

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) covered by commitment #1

Goal 6: Water and Sanitation for all

6.1 By 2030 achieve universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water

6.3 By 2030 improve water quality by reducing pollution, eliminating dumping and minimizing the release of hazardous chemicals and materials, halving the proportion of untreated wastewater

Goal 12: Sustainable Consumption and Production

12.2 By 2030 achieve the sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources

12.4 By 2020 achieve the sound management of all chemicals and wastes throughout their lifecycle

12.6 By 2030 ensure that people everywhere have the relevant information and awareness for sustainable development

Goal 15: Forests, Land Degradation, and Biodiversity

15.9 By 2020, integrate ecosystem and biodiversity values into national and local planning and development processes

Suggested details:

Establish a public data portal and online indexing and mapping system which is both

geographically navigable and searchable using data categories and key words

Machine-readable data to include, but not be limited to:

o Company(s) operating on the concession and their: official company identifier

number, national affiliation, parent companies and subsidiaries, other projects in

Colombia, and beneficial ownership information

o Project Characteristics: type of mine or mining facility, mineral being extracted,

current (and past) stage of the mining process, area of the concession, quantity

extracted to date, total quantity allowed to be extracted, production volumes and

values, payments by year/commodity/revenue type

o Financing: Origin of the project’s capital, social or environmental stipulations of the

financing

o Licenses, contracts and other supporting documents: requests for licenses, licenses

granted, duration of license, and the full text of contracts, including any annexes,

addendums and amendments

o Environmental Data: inventory of chemicals and hazardous substances used, map of

potential contamination points, Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs), processes

used to extract the minerals, assessments of surrounding water and air quality (with

at least one baseline assessment before the project’s onset), environmental and

social management plans, reports based on the management plans

o Local Content Data (as required): local content plans and reports

o Spending Data: data on the use of extractives revenues, including subnational

allocations and data visualizations showing extractives revenues compared to public

spending and key sectors (health, education, infrastructure)

OGP Openness in Natural Resources Working Group 3

Suggested performance indicators:

Creation of the data portal

Number of visitors to the data portal

Ability of the portal to uptake new information, especially Open Data sets from citizens and

other OGP governments

Average number of criteria disclosed per project

Reuse of visualizations through image downloads, widgets or similar tools

Relevant Goverment Agencies:

Ministerio de Ambiente y Desarrollo Sostenible

www.minambiente.gov.co

Ministerio de Minas y Energía

www.minminas.gov.co

Agencia Nacional de Minería

www.anm.gov.co

Consultation with other OGP government commitments:

For additional counsel and knowledge exchange, other OGP governments which are

implementing (or have implemented) a similar commitment can be contacted

Mexico

Commitment #23 (2nd NAP)

Mining for all

Based on a diagnosis, guarantee the access to information in a manner which is: timely, appropriate,

attached to concept of open data, and within the regulatory framework valid from November 2013 to

October 2015.

Secretaría de Energía

Armenia

Commitment #1 (2nd NAP)

Digitization and publication of “Republican Geological Fund” SNCO

The program is expected to digitize over 12,000 geological reports on approximately 750 mines and 600

mineral occurrences and 8,000 mapping and drawing packages, to create a website where all the

materials will be posted (in PDF, JPG, EXEL and other formats), using the information search principle.

Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources

OGP Openness in Natural Resources Working Group 4

Sierra Leone

Commitment # 7 (1st NAP)

Establish an open data portal to improve transparency in fiscal and extractive transactions

a) Open data readiness assessment completed in collaboration with development partners.

b) Experts on the design of an open data portal with development partners and Non-Governmental

Organizations engaged.

c) Source funding to establish a data portal for pilot Government documents such as budget, 70% of

mining and agricultural contracts and 20% of Laws of Sierra Leone that have been gazetted.

Trinidad and Tobago

Commitment # 4.2 (1st NAP)

To make publicly available the cadastre of licenses and contracts for the exploration and

production of oil and gas in Trinidad and Tobago

Ministry of Energy and Energy Affairs

Mongolia

Commitment # 3.3.1.4 (1st NAP)

Develop central information database of minerals and oil license owners, open to the

public

Disclose general information on Special Licenses of minerals, oil and Land tenure ownerships

Ministry of Mining & Mineral resource authority

Commitment II: Mining Licensing Procedure Reform

The Colombian government can make improvements in the mining licensing process by

scheduling adequate time for sub national governments and multi-stakeholder groups to engage

with the process. Granting adequate time for collaboration will help to avoid long term

negative impacts on: social unrest, the environment, company profits, and government

windfalls.

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) covered by commitment #2

Goal 12: Sustainable Consumption and Production

12.8 By 2030 ensure that people everywhere have the relevant information and awareness for sustainable development and lifestyles in harmony with nature

Goal 15: Forests, Land Degradation, and Biodiversity

15.9 By 2020, integrate ecosystem and biodiversity values into national and local planning and development processes

Goal 16: Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development

16.7 Ensure responsive, inclusive, participatory and representative decision-making at all levels

OGP Openness in Natural Resources Working Group 5

Suggested details:

Improve local and regional governments’ participation in the process of granting

environmental licenses for mining concessions

Set reasonable timelines and mechanisms which allow for broader public participation in

environmental impact assessments (EIA)

Require a license for companies conducting exploration of minerals1

Suggested performance indicators:

Size of multi-stakeholder group consulted prior to the granting of a license

Removal of fast-track licensing procedures which don’t give adequate time for meaningful

stakeholder engagement

Number of exploration licenses requested and granted

National Laws:

Environmental Licensing Law Decree 2041 of 2014

Relevant Goverment Agencies:

Ministerio de Ambiente y Desarrollo Sostenible

www.minambiente.gov.co

Ministerio de Minas y Energía

www.minminas.gov.co

Colombian Geological Service

http://www2.sgc.gov.co/

Agencia Nacional de Minería

www.anm.gov.co

Additional References:

Red por la justicia ambiental en Colombia – Decreto 2041 of 2014

1 This recommendation has been made to the Colombian Government by the OECD (2014) which specifically suggested it "demand environmental licenses for mining exploration" in its evaluation of environmental performance of Colombia. Summarized here on page 14