El medio ambiente en la minería

EL MEDIO AMBIENTE EN LA MINERIA 30 health, for example, through policies which encourage the collection of bat– teries and the recycling of the lead. Similarly, if one examines the draft of the Rio Declaration (formerly referred to as the Earth Charter) and other draft UNCED documents, you will see reference to the use of the precautionary principIe. The idea behfud tbis principIe is that governments should not wait for clear scientific evidence before reacting to a perceived threat to the environment. While 1 can appreciate the rationale for the use of the principie, it can be abused by governments if it remains unqualified or undefined. For example, governments could decide arbitrarily on a case-by-case basis on what is suffi– cient evidence upon which to acto lt could lead to regulatory restrictions which disadvantage imported products and favour domestically produced substitutes. With an iIl-defined principIe enshrined in the Río Declaration or in interna– tional agreements' it becomes highly questionable whether a govemment's decision lo act on fragmentary or insufficienl scientific evidence could be challenged, for example, in the GATI. Another issue being discussed in UNCED is that of"full cost pricing". For sorne, full cost pricing would ensure that any impact on the environment from the production and consumption of products and services would be reflected in the market price, normally as a result of charges on producers, sufficient to cover any environmental damage. While the concept of full cost pricing is based on the generally accepted polluter pay principIe, 1 am somewhat concerned about its application. The inappropriate applicatíon of full cost pdcing could again significantly distort competition, markets, international trade and increase environmental as well as social costs resulting from industry closures or restructuring. In short, a Iot of careful analysis, consideration and consultation, on a global basis, is re– quired. The JCME will be publishing a discussion paper on this subject in a few weeks time. A related issue is the system of environmental or resource accounting. In this concept, resource depletion would be deducted as a cost from the Gross National Product of a country. Those advocating this approach are treating depletion of ore bodies in a country like depreciation of physical assets of a company. , Apart from the possible policyconsequences oC tbis accounting systein, are the problems of defining and quantifying the resource base, especially in relation to minerals. At the same time, it needs to be made cIear why' the extraction of natural resources should be treated as a cost, and!or a "loss",given the inherent ability of metal products to be recycled and traded. Again, there is a need for careful analysis and consideration, involving various stakeholders, notably