Limits of Growth

Non-invasive matrices in human biomonitoring: a review.

Corporate Social Responsibility in the Extractive Industries: Experiences from Developing Countries

Current progress on understanding the impact of mercury on human health.

We estimate mercury releases from artisanal and small scale gold mining (ASGM) based on available data about mercury and gold exports and imports by country and from field reports from the countries known to have active ASGM communities. The quality of the estimates ranges from reasonable to poor across the countries. This paper aims to give a first order estimate of the amount and location of mercury being released into the environment globally by ASGM, to motivate stakeholders to improve the quality of these estimates, to illustrate the linkages between global mercury trade and its use in ASGM, and the fourth objective is to provide a practical outline of the options available for reducing mercury use in ASGM. We estimate that artisanal and small scale gold mining releases between 640 to 1350 Mg of mercury per annum into the environment, averaging 1000 Mg yr-1, from at least 70 countries. 350 Mg yr-1 of this are directly emitted to the atmosphere while the remainder (650 Mg yr-1) are released into the hydrosphere (rivers, lakes, soils, tailings). However, a significant but unknown portion of the amount released into the hydrosphere is later emitted to the atmosphere when it volatilizes (latent emissions). Considering that ASGM is growing, latent emissions conservatively amount to at least 50 Mg yr-1 bringing the total emission of mercury to the atmosphere from ASGM to 400 Mg yr-1. This estimate of emission to the atmosphere differs from the previous one provided in the 2002 UNEP Global Mercury Assessment both in terms of its magnitude (400 Mg yr-1, versus 300 Mg yr-1) and in the way the estimate has been made. The current estimate is based on a better understanding of ASGM and on a wider variety of information sources, more field evidence, better extrapolation methods, and independent testing by analysis of official trade data.

World emissions of mercury from artisanal and small scale gold mining

Artisanal and small-scale mining as an extralegal economy: De Soto and the redefinition of “formalization”

Mercury contamination in fish from gold mining areas in Indonesia and human health risk assessment.

This paper aims to resolve a fundamental policy question: Should international institutions concerned with the environmental hazards produced by artisanal and small-scale gold mining attempt to direct miners into alternative livelihoods, or promote mining as a means of poverty alleviation? It is argued here that gold rushes are forces of economic history undeterred by policy, and that small-scale mining activities are expanding throughout the world because of gold's firmly rooted market value. Gold mining presents a unique opportunity for the world's poor, generating 3-5 times the income of other livelihoods, and international policy must be pragmatic about this reality.

The myth of alternative livelihoods: artisanal mining, gold and poverty

Community without solidarity: mercury pollution from small-scale mining and Colombia's crisis of authority

This dissertation examines the role of donor-funded international projects to reduce mercury pollution from artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASM). ASM is the second largest source of anthropogenic global mercury pollution, accounting for roughly 1000 tonnes of atmospheric emissions and releases to the environment per annum. The artisanal mining economy involves 10-15 million people across the developing world, and supports 80-100 million people directly and indirectly. In 2003 the Governing Council of the United Nations Environment Program reached consensus that there is sufficient scientific evidence to trigger an international response to global mercury pollution, including the pollution generated by ASM. Yet thus far most international interventions have concentrated on environmental monitoring and assessment, while virtually no efforts have focused on implementing solutions. The aim of this dissertation is to move global mercury policy for ASM past its emphasis on assessments. It does this by developing a philosophical and strategic policy framework to guide future interventions by international institutions. A brief history of global mercury policy is provided, illustrating how ASM has been neglected and examining divisions between ecocentric and technocentric theories of environmental intervention. The relationship between ASM and poverty is examined, reaching the conclusion that because artisanal gold mining is a form of upward mobility for the world's extreme poor, the idea of reducing mercury pollution by redirecting miners into alternative livelihoods is unrealistic; indeed gold itself is the alternative livelihood. Using case studies collected in the field, the issue of conflict over property rights between artisanal miners and large-scale mining companies is explored, and a risk mitigation framework presented to assist companies to coexist with artisanal miners. Finally, a new approach to international intervention is proposed based on three interdependent principles of formalization, capitalization, and education. A plan is developed for directing more expertise and financial resources to the field, and more effectively meeting the needs of miners. Specific recommendations include a rapid assessment methodology to select project sites, and improving operational linkages among public and private institutions.

Shefa Siegel

Papers

Artisanal and small-scale mining as an extralegal economy: De Soto and the redefinition of “formalization”

Mercury contamination in fish from gold mining areas in Indonesia and human health risk assessment.

The myth of alternative livelihoods: artisanal mining, gold and poverty

Community without solidarity: mercury pollution from small-scale mining and Colombia's crisis of authority

The needs of miners: political ethics, mercury abatement, and intervention in artisanal gold mining communities