Best Practice Guidance
The principal activity of the Group of Experts on CMM is development and dissemination of the Best Practice Guidance for Effective Methane Drainage and Recovery in Coal Mines.
In this context, The Group develops case studies on the application of BPG in various coal mines across the world. As experiences in CMM management vary significantly among states, exchange of knowledge and good practices is critically important.
Case Studies
In 2011 the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations (ECOSOC) invited the United Nations Member States, international organizations and the regional commissions to take appropriate measures to ensure worldwide application of BPG (see ECOSOC Decision 2011/222). The Group of Experts on CMM works hard to effectively respond to this call.
In 2015, in order to keep BPG in tune with the most recent developments in the field of coal mine methane management, it undertook a task of updating and revising the document. As the first edition was published in 2010, the industry practice and regulations have evolved, and the second edition captures the most critical developments.
Mindful of the fact that dissemination of best practice principles is facilitated by providing access to case studies illustrating the successful implementation of practices that improve workers’ safety, reduce greenhouse emissions, and enhance economic performance of mines, the Group made every effort to assure that the second edition is even more comprehensive in this regard than the original document.
The second edition was released in December 2016 in electronic version and in March 2017 as a printed document.
Translation
In order to facilitate dissemination of the new edition of BPG worldwide, the Group undertakes efforts to assure that the document can be easily accessible to stakeholders operating in every major coal basin in the world. While the task of translating the document into two remaining official languages of UNECE, namely French and Russian, has been taken up by the secretariat, the Group is also looking for partners that are willing and able to arrange for translation of the text into other languages.
Please visit a website dedicated to the BPG to access the document in various languages.
The Group of Experts warmly invites all stakeholders interested in engaging in this translation activity to contact the secretariat and explore the issue in greater detail. In this context, please also consult Draft Procedure for Managing Translation of a Best Practice Guidance from the English Original developed by the Group.