Expert in Sustainable Mining Practices and Standards

Apply by Date: November 20th, 2024  
Type: Part-Time/Short-Term
Position Location: Home-based    
 
 
Background: 
Funded by Global Affairs Canada, the Expert Deployment Mechanism for Trade and Development (EDM) provides technical assistance to Official Development Assistance (ODA)-eligible countries to maximize the development impacts of trade and investment. Over seven years (2018-2025), EDM will invest CAD 16.5 million to support Canada’s developing country trading partners to negotiate, implement, benefit from, and adapt to trade and investment agreements with Canada.
 
EDM is a demand-driven project that benefits potential partners—including governments, local private sector groups, and local civil society organizations—through capacity building and technical advisory support on policy reform issues that have the potential to reduce poverty and gender inequalities and support progress in trade and investment agreement negotiations.
 
Malaysia has achieved extraordinary economic growth since the Asian financial crisis of 1998.  Over the past decade, GDP growth has averaged 5.4% and, after a contraction due to the COVID-19 pandemic, grew by an impressive 8.7% in 2022.  Growth moderated to 3.68% in 2023, and sustained growth of 4% is expected over the medium term. Trade has played an important role in that growth, with a current trade-to-DGP ratio of 130% and a trade surplus of $47.09 billion USD in 2023.  Malaysia has established one of the most open economies in the world, and, as a result, 40% of jobs are linked to exports.  As part of its trade strategy, Malaysia has concluded sixteen free trade agreements, including seven through its membership in ASEAN and two mega-agreements – the Regional Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP) and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).
 
Mining is one of the main sectors of the economy, contributing almost 10% of Malaysian GDP and creating roughly 80,000 jobs.  The National Mineral Industry Transformation Plan 2021-2030 seeks to further “raise the sector’s contribution to the economy, reduce trade imbalances and develop the entire value chain of the domestic mineral industry.”
 
Mining also attracts the third-largest share of foreign investment.  One of the principal policy priorities of the Government development plan, the Twelfth Malaysia Plan 2021-2025, is to “promote quality investment.”  To achieve that goal, the Plan notes that “Standard operating procedures on sustainable mining practices will be developed, while mining operators will be further encouraged to subscribe to sustainability rating.”  This objective builds on the 2008 National Mineral Policy 2 (NMP2), which includes, among its nine policy objectives, the promotion of environmental stewardship (including through the introduction of an Environmental Impact Assessment requirement for the approval of new projects) and community involvement (including the promotion of Social Impact Assessments).  The Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia has recently announced a further amendment of the NMP2, focused on guidelines for the responsible mining rare earths. 
 
This focus on “quality” investment is in response to concerns raised by mining communities regarding the environmental impacts of mining operations and the limited benefits to local populations.  The most recent concerns are specific to bauxite mining, but the issues raised apply to mining operations generally and have been the target of policy review and public awareness efforts over the past several years.
 
In 2023, EDM provided technical assistance to the Ministry of Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change (NRECC) to promote sustainable mining practices.  The assistance included benchmarking Malaysia’s sustainability standards against international best practices, including those of Canada; stakeholder consultations in Malaysia to assess the on-the-ground realities in mining communities; and regional workshops to present the report and raise awareness of sustainable mining standards among government private sector and civil society organizations.  The report recommended the adoption of the Mining Association of Canada’s Towards Sustainable Mining (TSM) standard.
 
Responding to this recommendation, the Ministry (now called the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability, NRES) has requested expert assistance to develop a detailed roadmap to the adoption of TSM, facilitate an exchange with Canadian mining companies operating under the standard, and engage stakeholders in adapting the standard for Malaysia.
 
Linkage to EDM Performance Measurement Framework:
 
This assistance is consistent with the EDM Performance Management Framework, Immediate Outcome 1210 Enhanced ability of partner country MDAs to strengthen, develop, and execute legislation, regulations and policies supporting the implementation of sustainable and inclusive trade and investment agreements with Canada.
 
Description of Technical Assistance Request/Key Responsibilities: 
 
The technical expert(s) will:

• Prepare a written report on:
• the process to adopt and administer the TSM standard in Malaysia, including the roles and responsibilities of governments and civil society organizations;
• related government policy and program measures required to achieve sustainability in the mining sector;
• the increasing demands of major export markets with respect to mandatory and voluntary sustainability standards and the cost-benefit of adopting the TSM standard in Malaysia.
• Design and deliver a study tour to Canada to exchange experiences on the adoption of the TSM standard with officials of the Mining Association of Canada and member mining companies.

Gender equality, social inclusion, and environmental sustainability considerations should be integrated throughout the planning, content development, and delivery of the technical assistance, including the consultations, the report and the meetings with stakeholders.  Methodologies for monitoring, evaluating and reporting on mining practices should include the assessment of the impacts on women, Indigenous People, minorities and other marginalized groups.
 
The direct beneficiaries of this technical assistance will be the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability officials. Indirect beneficiaries include other government agencies at national and state levels, industry associations, non-governmental organizations and local community representatives. 
 
The technical assistance is expected to increase government officials' and stakeholders' knowledge of sustainable mining practices. In the medium term, it is expected to contribute to greater use of sustainable mining practices, reduce mining's negative environmental impacts, promote investment, and increase economic and social benefits to local mining communities. 
 
Technical Expert Profile/Expertise Required:
Bidders for this technical assistance activity must demonstrate expert knowledge and extensive experience in the following:

• implementation of the Towards Sustainable Mining standard;
• the Canadian and Malaysian mining industries and regulations;
• the delivery of trade and investment technical assistance to developing countries;
• the impact of trade and investment on gender equality/social inclusion and environmental protection. 

Note: The EDM includes a core focus on gender and social inclusion as well as on environmental issues associated with trade and investment activities. Successful applicants must research and integrate specific good and emerging practices in this area, partnering with other expert consultants if necessary. Any prior experience providing TA on gender equality, social inclusion, and the environment will be considered a strong asset.   Before starting activities, the successful Consultant (s) will be required to complete the Government of Canada’s online Gender-Based Analysis Plus (GBA+) training (approximately 2 hours).
 
Timelines: 
The recruitment of experts is expected to be completed in November 2024, and the technical assistance activity by May 2025.
 
Deliverables:

• A detailed work plan, work schedule and budget for the delivery of activities.
• Draft and final texts of the written report.
• Draft and final study tour program and presentations.
• Completed EDM Performance Measurement Framework template for the TA, including baseline data and targets against EDM indicators.

Final Narrative Report on Mandate: Due within 30 calendar days of completing all TA activities. The report shall describe activities delivered; results achieved (versus initial expected results and baseline); lessons learned relevant to future EDM activities, and expenses incurred by the Consultant in carrying out this mandate. This report will be reviewed and approved by EDM before being shared with Global Affairs Canada.
 
Proposal Submission Process: For your proposal to be considered, please name your document in the following format: 7.6 Consultant Last Name, First Name (Proposals can be submitted by a single consultant or a consortium of consultants).  Your proposal should be in English and contain the following sections:

• Cover letter
• Your approach to implementing this TA (up to 10 pages maximum);
• Your approach to ensure that gender equality and social inclusion are considered in all aspects of the TA, including approach, content, and delivery (up to 2 pages maximum);
• Your approach to ensure that environmental impacts are considered in all aspects of the TA, including approach, content, and delivery (up to 1 page maximum);
• Your project management and monitoring strategy for implementing the activities (up to 2 pages maximum).
• All proposed personnel to implement this project and their roles and responsibilities. Include all CVs of proposed personnel/experts (up to 20 pages maximum).
• Estimated level of effort (in days) and consulting rates (in CAD) for each proposed personnel member and/or expert implementing the project.

Please submit your proposal as one PDF document through the Cowater Career Page (Resume Tab). Emailed proposals will not be accepted. If you have any questions, please email info@edm-mde.ca. At EDM, we recognize the value of using open AI tools like ChatGPT to enhance productivity. However, for the purpose of this tender, we encourage the bidders to write their responses independently. This will allow us to better understand your expertise, analysis quality, organization of your ideas, etc.  
 
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