Building an innovative space for learning and knowledge exchange to strengthen the governance of mining in the Moquegua region of Peru

In the Moquegua region of Peru, a new community of learning has launched, in which representatives of civil society, government, business, and academia jointly explore problems and solutions relating to mining governance in the region. The community offers a neutral space to build and strengthen the trust among and within the different stakeholder groups in the Moquegua region in order to promote dialogue, exchange of experiences, and learning – all aimed at achieving more inclusive, fair, and effective mining governance in the region.

In recent years, initiatives linked to the mining sector of Peru have carried out various efforts to achieve adequate synergy and coordination between government actors, companies, civil society, and communities regarding the governance of extractive projects. They commonly seek to achieve consensus among the different actors to enable appropriate governance and collective action to solve specific problems in the different territories where extractive projects are developed. Because of historical tendencies towards conflict among stakeholders, however, results have been suboptimal and practical application of recommendations and lessons falls short.

In 2021, one of those efforts, a multi-stakeholder dialogue process at the regional level called RIMAY Moquegua (a Quechua word meaning “to speak”), promoted by the Regional Government of Moquegua, the Peruvian Ministry of Energy and Mines, and with support of the Inter-American Development Bank, produced a co-created mining vision for the region.

A community of learning to spur collective action

Building upon the RIMAY Moquegua process and taking into account the region’s long-standing tradition of multi-stakeholder dialogue processes, in early 2022 the Leveraging Transparency to Reduce Corruption initiative (led by the Brookings Institution and Results for Development) engaged with CCPM Consulting Group to create an innovative Community of Learning in Moquegua dedicated to the strengthening of governance around mining in the region. A community of learning approach was selected because it offers a neutral space for diverse actors to interact and learn about issues of joint interest, explore opportunities for collaboration, and thereby plant the seed for further collaboration, creativity, and collective action.

The goal of the Community is to promote the exchange of knowledge and experiences among key stakeholders (civil society, academia, business, citizens, and various levels of government) in the Moquegua region. Its ultimate goal is to contribute to improving governance and the effective management of mining revenue in the region. The Community aims to produce and disseminate relevant information, studies, lessons learned, and shared reflections about the challenges and opportunities related to improving governance of mining revenue, with particular focus on curbing corruption.

Including diverse partners in the governance ecosystem

For the implementation of the Community, different methodologies and approaches that have worked in similar projects and related initiatives (such as R4D’s Collaborative Learning approach, the Open Government Partnership, and the World Bank’s Global Partnership for Social Accountability) are being used and adapted. A key approach informing the Community’s design is LTRC’s TAP-Plus framework, which emphasizes identifying and prioritizing solutions that focus on the missing pieces in a governance ecosystem, while taking into account the limitations and windows of opportunity in a particular context. In addition, to guarantee the success of the Community, the Community of Learning is working to include a broad diversity of partners at the local level.

Read More:

• About The Community of Learning and Practice on the Governance of Mining in the Moquegua Region of Peru
• Foundational Document Summary – Community of Learning and Practice on the Governance of Mining in the Moquegua region of Peru

A Community grown by its members

A key component of the Community of Learning has been the participatory approach taken in its design and implementation. From the beginning, key actors from civil society, private sector, government, and academia have been actively involved, so that together, they are building a space that identifies and responds to the needs and problems of their region. Within the complex mining sector space, they can exchange their knowledge and practical experiences and discuss issues and/or problems that exist in the region. This process helps generate the necessary trust to be able to propose concrete solutions that can be put into practice for the development of the region.

The Community holds regular face-to-face and virtual workshops in which participants in 2022 have worked on the Community’s foundational and operational aspects (included in the Foundational Document) and the definition of the topics that the CoL will address and prioritize. For the latter, the Community’s participants took into account the results of a study that systematized the multi-stakeholder development initiatives and programs that have been implemented in the region to date. They then worked based off the RIMAY Moquegua consensus document, which prioritizes four key themes for the socio-economic development of the region: 1) closing gaps in public services and use of mining revenue; 2) diversification of production; 3) integrated water resources management; and 4) management of environmental aspects.

The community of learning continues to grow

Participants will continue exchanging experiences and knowledge around the selected priority issues based on previous experiences or good practices, in order to identify practical solutions that can be replicated in the region. In a future stage, the Community will issue a broader call for other actors from different sectors to join and contribute to its exchange of experiences and collective learning, leading to the practical application of effective solutions for the inclusive development of the region.

The community has also formed its initial Core Group. It is made up of the following institutions:

• Regional Government of Moquegua
• Fondo de Desarrollo de Moquegua (Development Fund of Moquegua)
• Mesa de Concertación de Lucha Contra la Pobreza en Moquegua (Roundtable for the Fight Against Poverty in Moquegua)
• Centro de Educación, Organización y Promoción del Desarrollo – Ilo (Center for Education, Organization and Promotion of Development Ilo (CEOP ILO)
• Propuesta Ciudadana (Citizens’ Proposal, consortium of NGOs)
• Colectivo Frida Morante Soria (Frida Morante Soria collective)
• Instituto de Formación Social, Comunicación y Juventud (Institute for Social Training, Communication and Youth)
• Moquegua Crece (Moquegua Grows)
• Colegio de Economistas de Moquegua (CEM, (CEM, Professional Association of
• Economists of Moquegua)
• Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Moquegua
• Minera Hampton Perú (Hampton Peru mining company)
• Compañía Minera Southern Perú Corporation (Southern Perú Copper Corporation)
• Compañía Minera Anglo American Perú (Anglo American Peru mining company)
• MINSUS-GIZ (Regional Cooperation Programme for Sustainable Mining in the Andean Countries for GIZ)
• Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI)

To learn more:

Read about the Leveraging Transparency to Reduce Corruption initiative

Read about LTRC’s country work

For further updates about the Community of Learning in Moquegua, visit CCPM Consulting Group (in Spanish).