Guinea: Independent Advice on an iron mine scoping report

24 July 2024

Responding to a request from the Guinean Agency for Environmental Assessment (AGEE), the NCEA is providing independent advice on the ESIA scoping report and Terms of Reference of two iron mine projects. The sites are located on and around Mount Nimba, a UNESCO world heritage site spanning Guinea, Liberia and Ivory Coast. 

The independent advice is part of our cooperation with UNESCO and IUCN for better integration of biodiversity considerations into Environmental Impact Assessment.

In July the NCEA working group conducted a country and site visit where key stakeholders, including affected communities, were consulted. In total, the team discussed concerns and expectations with 372 people affected by this project. 

At the end of the visit, the Secretary General of the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development (MESD), Dr. Karim Samoura, organised a first-of-its-kind multi-stakeholders feedback meeting in Guinea. For this meeting representatives of the ministries of mining and environment were invited, but also relevant stakeholders from the public and private sectors.

The NCEA working group presented several project-related preliminary key observations as well as more strategic ones, aimed at the strengthening of the impact assessment system. Key initial observations revolved around the adherence to the legal framework, description of the projects, identification of the scope and zone of influence of the project, stakeholder engagement, cumulative impacts and Environmental and Social Management Plans.

It was encouraging and gratifying to witness the strong leadership of the MESD, enabled by an outspoken commitment of the Guinean government to effectively balance economic, social and environmental aspects of projects to secure sustainable socioeconomic development.