Project profile — Improving environmental management of mining and energy activities in Peru

• Peru (100.00%)

• Water And Sanitation: Water sector policy and administrative management (14010) (4.36%)
• Decentralisation and support to subnational government:
Decentralisation and support to subnational government (15112) (4.36%)
Democratic participation and civil society (15150) (13.07%)
Women's rights organisations and movements, and government institutions (15170) (8.72%)
• Mineral Resources And Mining: Mineral/mining policy and administrative management (32210) (8.72%)
• Environmental policy and administrative management:
Environmental policy and administrative management (41010) (52.06%)
Environmental education/training (41081) (8.71%)

• Gender equality (significant objective)
• Environmental sustainability (cross-cutting) (principal objective)
• Participatory development and good governance (significant objective)

This project aims to improve sustainable economic growth for Peruvians including women and vulnerable groups, while reducing the environmental impacts of mining and energy activities. Specifically, the project intends to consolidate the leadership role of the Ministry of the Environment over environmental issues related to large mining and energy projects. It also aims to strengthen the capacity of regional governments responsible for handling the environmental impact assessments of small and medium-scale mining projects. Project activities include: (1) conducting a participatory diagnostic study of the current framework of Peru’s environmental assessment and management process; (2) providing technical assistance to key stakeholders for the development of an employee training program in environmental management; and (3) providing operational and technological support for environmental management and enforcement.

The expected outcomes of this project include: (1) improved effectiveness of the environmental assessment and management process of mining and energy activities by public institutions and private sector firms in Peru; and (2) strengthened governance for the environmental management of mining and energy activities in Peru, with significant input from women and vulnerable groups.

Results achieved at the end of the project (March 2024) include: (1) increased by 3138% the number of artisanal miners formalized within the project area, from 236 miners in 2016 to 7,405 in 2023; (2) reduced by 10% socio-environmental conflicts related to mining and energy activities in Peru, from 126 in 2015 to 113 conflicts by 2023; (3) designed, built, and transferred the Portal for Environmental Certification, called the "EVA Platform", to the Government of Peru. It is now used to manage 100% of Peru's environmental impact assessments and modifications of mining project; (4) 44% of the project stakeholders surveyed reported perceiving improvements in the environmental management of mining activities. This increased by 26% from the baseline of 18% in 2015; (5) trained 558 regional and national civil servants (236 women and 322 men) responsible for implementation of gender policies and relevant women's collectives. This increased their awareness of good environmental management practice and improved their knowledge of environmental assessment and certification; (6) supported 505 additional women to participate in environmental governance. This includes specific governance bodies in target communities, regional decision-making, environmental agencies at the local, regional, and national level; (7) supported 223 civil servants (125 women and 98 men) from Peru's 5 targeted regions and various relevant national government bodies to learn about and identify gender gaps in institutional policies and guidelines related to environmental management through training courses and participatory activities; (8) purchased 6 water quality testing units, developed training materials, and delivered training to targeted regional governments in support of environmental supervision and monitoring of artisanal miners; (9) updated and approved 11 regional regulatory tools for environmental supervision and monitoring; (10) supported 5 regional governments to dedicate budgets to implementing water quality monitoring activities as part of the Annual Environmental Assessment and Control Plan; and (11) established 15 mechanisms to improve participation of women and vulnerable groups in environmental management of Peru’s extractives sector.

• Proactive disclosure