ABSTRACT
Innovation in the environmental management of artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) has gained notable traction in the past few years. The Frugal Rehabilitation Methodology (FRM) and the Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services Transformative ASM ("BEST-ASM") initiatives are ASM environmental management programs that can help to address this oversight by pragmatically institutionalizing sustainable environmental management in the ASM sector. This chapter discusses the design of the FRM based on the successful development and implementation of Frugal Rehabilitation Demonstration (FRD) on ASM-degraded lands in Mongolia. It also discusses how the BEST-ASM initiative is seeking to broaden the application of the FRM, along with additional methodologies shown to improve the ASM sector's environmental management, to additional active ASM sites around the world. While the Mongolian government made progress in developing and implementing mining legislation with the 2006 Minerals Law, there was no legal provision recognizing ASM, or requiring its formalization.
