Road map to assist development of our sea bed minerals sector

The Cook Islands is expected to benefit from a new management tool being developed by the ACP organization (African/Caribbean/Pacific) according to Sea Bed Minerals Commissioner Paul Lynch who has just returned from an ACP meeting in Brussels.
The new management tool or “Road Map” as it is being termed, arose out of the 2011 Framework of Action (FWA) developed for ACP Ministers following their 2010 ACP meeting. Commodities, and in particular Minerals, have become an urgent global issue and has come back onto the ACP Agenda for action by and for ACP member states.
Lynch reports that the draft Road Map tabled and discussed at this ACP meeting in Brussels, Belgium from 29-31 October 2012, seeks to set a realistic strategic plan for high level key decision makers, to permit an effective and durable development the Mineral Resources Sector (MRS) of the ACP members. ACP expects that the draft Road Map reach all sectoral players in ACP countries.
The Road Map intends to be a document that establishes a plan for accomplishing particular strategic goals and describes why the goals are in place and the strategy and methodology to reach them.
In particular, a Strategic Sectoral development Road Map, as the present one proposed by the Consultants, is a key-decision maker’s tool to show the path for the Sector Development from a current situation to a future one after a certain time . The Road map can be utilised as a planning support instrument both as a high level planning tool and as a communication promotion tool.
The present Road Map in particular, regards the foreseen desirable Development of the Mineral Resources Sector in ACP countries. It has been drafted in a way to be utilizable at high key-decision level, but also by supporting technical experts team, after discussions, amendments and further in-puts from ACP Institutions and Stakeholders.
Lynch says these comprehensive ACP plans for Mineral Sector Development in ACP states align well with the Cook Islands Government plans for the steady, informed development of our national Seabed Minerals (SBM) sector.
• SBM sector development is included in the ACP Road Map.
• The progress and direction to fulfil our national priorities for the SBM sector are being led by the Hon. Minister Tom Marsters and administered by the SBM Authority, according to a SBM work plan, being developed and implemented by the Seabed Minerals Commissioner.
• These ACP plans, which will receive multi-million dollar EU funding, will only serve to reinforce and enhance the benefits the Cook Islands can derive from connections with this ACP program of work in addition to EU benefits flowing from the existing SPC-EU DSM Project.
• Significant ACP assistance will be available to be accessed for the benefit of the development of our SBM sector, provided we stay connected to this new ACP work relating to the development of the Minerals sectors of ACP States including Pacific states, the Cook Islands.
Lynch says the ACP vision is for the Road Map to serve governments for the next 10-15 years and seeks for ACP MRS to be self-sustainable in economic, social and environmental terms.
The Vision that drove the ACP consultants in the formulation of the present ROAD MAP for the Development of the Mineral Resources Sector in ACP countries in the next 10-15 years, is to achieve the necessary results to reach a level where the ACP MRS can be self-sustainable as regards:
(i) States’ economy,
(ii) Social living conditions, and
(iii) Environment protection.
This is to be achieved says Lynch, through a path of regular and sustainable Development of all the Sectoral Players and Stakeholders participating to the Value Chain and to the Sector Management and ruling: from local Institutions to the Private Sector , the Communities and individual miners.

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