The Experts below are selected from a list of 4572 Experts worldwide ranked by ideXlab platform
Gavin Hilson - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
-
Artisanal Mining smallholder farming and livelihood diversification in rural sub saharan africa an introduction
Journal of International Development, 2011Co-Authors: Gavin HilsonAbstract:This special issue broadens understanding of the linkages between subsistence farming and Artisanal Mining in rural sub-Saharan Africa. Drawing upon fieldwork carried out in Liberia, Ghana, Sierra Leone, The Democratic Republic of Congo and Malawi, the articles report findings that could help to inform a policy machinery that has failed to yield effective solutions to the region's mounting rural poverty problem. It imperative that the linkages that have emerged between Artisanal Mining and smallholder activity in sub-Saharan Africa are preserved, not severed. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
-
Artisanal Mining, Smallholder Farming And Livelihood Diversification In Rural Sub‐Saharan Africa: An Introduction
Journal of International Development, 2011Co-Authors: Gavin HilsonAbstract:This special issue broadens understanding of the linkages between subsistence farming and Artisanal Mining in rural sub-Saharan Africa. Drawing upon fieldwork carried out in Liberia, Ghana, Sierra Leone, The Democratic Republic of Congo and Malawi, the articles report findings that could help to inform a policy machinery that has failed to yield effective solutions to the region's mounting rural poverty problem. It imperative that the linkages that have emerged between Artisanal Mining and smallholder activity in sub-Saharan Africa are preserved, not severed. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
-
De-agrarianization, re-agrarianization and local economic development: Re-orientating livelihoods in African Artisanal Mining communities
Policy Sciences, 2010Co-Authors: Sadia Mohammed Banchirigah, Gavin HilsonAbstract:This article contributes to the debate on livelihood diversification in rural sub-Saharan Africa, focusing specifically on the growing economic importance of Artisanal and small-scale Mining (ASM) in the region. The precipitous decline in the value of many export crops and the removal of subsidies on crucial inputs such as fertilizers have made smallholder production unviable, forcing many farmers to ‘branch out’ into non-farm activities to supplement their incomes. One of the more popular destinations for poor farmers is the low-tech ASM sector which, because of its low barriers to entry, has absorbed millions of rural Africans over the past two decades, the majority of whom are engaged in the extraction of near-surface mineral deposits located on concessions that have been demarcated to multinational corporations. The efforts made hitherto to control this illegal Mining activity, both through force and regulation, however, have had little effect, forcing many of the region’s governments and private sector partners to ‘re-think’ their approaches. One strategy that has gained considerable attention throughout the region is intensified support for agrarian-orientated activities, many of which, despite the problems plaguing smallholder agricultural sector and challenges with making it more economically sustainable, are being lauded as appropriate ‘alternative’ sources of employment to Artisanal Mining. After exaMining where Artisanal Mining fits into the de-agrarianization ‘puzzle’ in sub-Saharan Africa, the article critiques the efficacy of ‘re-agrarianization’ as a strategy for addressing the region’s illegal Mining problem. A case study of Ghana is used to shed further light on these issues.
Samuel J. Spiegel - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
-
Mobility, temporary migration and changing livelihoods in Zimbabwe's Artisanal Mining sector
The Extractive Industries and Society, 2020Co-Authors: Grasian Mkodzongi, Samuel J. SpiegelAbstract:Abstract This article examines mobility and trans-local livelihood practices linked to Artisanal Mining, exploring how movement in diverse socio-economic circumstances has profoundly shaped development dynamics in Zimbabwe. Following the fast-track land reforms in Zimbabwe, mobility across resettled large-scale (formerly white-owned) commercial farms created space for reshaping livelihoods across the country, and opened up mineral access to local populations. Beyond understanding mobility linked directly to land reform, we stress the need to appreciate diverse subsequent, interlinking and highly dynamic influences on mobility – as well as what mobility enables. We draw on ethnographic data gathered in three research sites in Mhondoro Ngezi district, in central Zimbabwe, analysing some of the changing socio-economic relations, exploitation concerns and opportunities linked to mobility and Artisanal Mining activities. As economic challenges have continued to multiply, the importance of Artisanal Mining – in many regions of the country – has intensified. Understanding mobility requires attention to both temporary and less temporary migration patterns and differentiated ways in which social networks and economic labour arrangements, including risks of mistreatment and new economic possibilities play out. We especially argue for more attention to varied forms of youth mobility and domestic migration around gold Mining amid Zimbabwe's deep economic challenges.
-
Land and ‘space’ for regulating Artisanal Mining in Cambodia: Visualizing an environmental governance conundrum in contested territory
Land Use Policy, 2016Co-Authors: Samuel J. SpiegelAbstract:Globally, land use competition in Mining areas is coming under increased scrutiny, leading to critical debates about inter-related physical and political “spaces” for environmental governance. By signing a global treaty called the Minamata Convention on Mercury, governments worldwide have conveyed a commitment to formalizing or regulating informal Artisanal gold Mining as part of an environmental governance strategy. Drawing on a case study of disputed gold Mining territory in Kratie Province, Cambodia, this article examines how commitment to the Minamata Convention presents a conundrum given the government’s prioritization of larger-scale concessions in land use policy. In most mineral-rich regions of Kratie and other provinces, mineral exploration and/or Mining rights – and other kinds of resource concessions – have already been granted to established companies and powerful actors, leaving ambiguous physical and political space for licensing Artisanal Mining. The article explores contested representations of Mining as found in provincial government maps and civil society groups’ cartoon illustrations, unpacking how competing mandates in the Mining sector have created dilemmas for regional environmental governance as complex land-use conflicts between Artisanal miners and larger companies have unfolded. Diverse competing claims to resources in Kratie illustrate the need to move beyond framings of the Minamata Convention as a technical implementation challenge in order to carefully appreciate the power dynamics inherent in divergent ways of visualizing “productive space” in Mining regions. Contributing to recent scholarship in this journal on contested land use governance in Cambodia, the article calls for unpacking complexities of formally “making space” for Artisanal Mining in contested territory. At a wider conceptual level, the analysis highlights the importance of sensitively challenging common de-territorialized depictions of land use formalization that oversimplify the dialectical and contextually idiosyncratic interplays between political and physical space.
-
The Minamata Convention on Mercury: time to seek solutions with Artisanal Mining communities.
Environmental health perspectives, 2014Co-Authors: Samuel J. Spiegel, Marcello M. Veiga, Susan Egan Keane, Steve Metcalf, Annalee YassiAbstract:Gibb and O’Leary (2014) provided a timely review of the health effects of mercury in Artisanal and small-scale gold Mining (ASGM), calling for immediate implementation of the recently signed Minamata Convention on Mercury. They noted that Article 7 of the Convention [United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) 2013] requires national action plans that include a public health strategy on mercury exposure in ASGM. However, although the analysis of Gibb and O’Leary reminds health officials about the hazards of mercury in ASGM, broader government policies toward poverty-driven ASGM must also change in order for these health hazards to be addressed. One of the most critical shifts must be away from top-down mercury policy toward active engagement with ASGM communities to effectively address the underlying social and economic reasons why mercury is used. Notably, Annex C of the Convention (UNEP 2013) requires that governments devise strategies for involving stakeholders in developing national action plans. Currently, ASGM communities are widely excluded from health and environmental planning initiatives in many regions of Africa, South America, and Asia, inevitably leading to interventions that do not suit the communities’ realities (Clifford 2010; Hirons 2011; Spiegel et al. 2012). Public health professionals should encourage governments to pursue a participatory approach with ASGM communities to create successful local strategies for reducing mercury use. Strategies should reflect lessons learned in past programs about the Mining policies required for mercury reduction solutions to take hold in ASGM communities. The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) conducted mercury abatement programs in ASGM that yielded some positive results (Cordy et al. 2013), including programs in Sub-Saharan Africa supporting adoption of gold extraction technologies that significantly reduce mercury use employing low-cost alternative technologies (Chouinard and Veiga 2008; Spiegel and Veiga 2010). However, the widespread adoption of such technologies was often impeded by the lack of appropriate national policies toward ASGM. In many cases, Artisanal miners responded well to training on low-mercury technologies, but they struggled to obtain official “legal” Mining permits that would have facilitated making committed investments in these alternative practices. For example, Tanzania’s Mining policies favor large companies, relegate small-scale Mining to less desirable locations, and do not legally recognize most “Artisanal Mining” (Bryceson et al. 2014; UNEP 2012). In Mgusu (Tanzania), the UNIDO project sought to provide education to minimize mercury use in ASGM but was hindered by ambiguity over who had the “right to mine”—Artisanal miners or a medium-scale Mining company—preventing the long-term delivery of such initiatives (Spiegel 2009a). To convey messages about mercury risks and mercury-free alternatives, community-based approaches can be more effective than conventional technical strategies that have dominated mercury-reduction initiatives. In Zimbabwe, UNIDO mercury abatement campaigns had some promising results in promoting cleaner technologies using such alternative approaches (Metcalf and Spiegel 2007). In Kadoma District, Artisanal miners’ associations sought to raise awareness of Mining communities’ rights while promoting education on mercury risk management strategies (Metcalf and Viega 2012). Working with a community theater group, a play was held to facilitate dialogue between Artisanal miners, farmers, and others affected by mercury, adapting the narrative of Romeo and Juliet to illustrate tensions in the community about toxic risks from Mining (Metcalf and Viega 2012). Finally, public health officials and others should ensure that ambitious mercury reduction targets are not used as a rationale for harshly policing impoverished Mining communities. The government of Zimbabwe implemented heavy-handed police crackdowns on ASGM between 2006 and 2009, which had negative environmental and social repercussions, weakening trust between regulators and low-income Mining communities (Metcalf and Veiga 2012; Spiegel 2009b). More than 30,000 miners were arrested, some Artisanal miners turned to working at night to avoid police, and some Artisanal primary ore (land-based) miners turned to environmentally hazardous riverbed gold panning to evade surveillance, all resulting in worse public health and environmental outcomes. The challenges of reducing mercury use in ASGM have long been documented, as noted previously (Kessler 2013; Schmidt 2012). We strongly agree with Gibb and O’Leary (2014) that national health campaigns—as required by the Minamata Convention—should be implemented immediately, but we advise governments to work on rectifying the inequities in Mining policy needed to facilitate the shift away from mercury use. The World Federation of Public Health Associations has called on all governments and stakeholders to promote essential values of public health when implementing public policies—including solidarity, participation, empowerment, fairness, and social justice (Borisch 2012). Now that Gibb and O’Leary (2014) have synthesized the vast evidence confirming that mercury use in ASGM results in health impacts, countries should move toward working with ASGM communities to implement local solutions. Thus, we urge governments to focus on equity-sensitive approaches consistent with these essential values of public health.
-
Socioeconomic dimensions of mercury pollution abatement: Engaging Artisanal Mining communities in Sub-Saharan Africa
Ecological Economics, 2009Co-Authors: Samuel J. SpiegelAbstract:In recent years, strategies to tackle mercury pollution from Artisanal gold Mining have mainly included restrictions -- banning mercury trade internationally, prescribing alternate technologies and tightening regulations on Mining (e.g. banning mercury use). However, Artisanal Mining communities in Africa are often trapped in cycles of poverty that make it difficult for workers to improve technologies and reduce mercury pollution. This article assesses problems with narrow pollution abatement discourses and top-down regulations, exaMining the need for integrated approaches to address pollution and socioeconomic challenges in low income Mining communities. It advances the hypothesis that pollution abatement strategies fail if they do not explicitly address local socioeconomic capacities for improving environmental management, informed by an adaptive understanding of labor dynamics. Case studies in Mozambique and Tanzania are examined where United Nations pilot projects sought to address local challenges. These combined training on improved technologies and environmental risk mitigation with efforts to empower miners by enhancing access to microfinance services and fairer gold marketing arrangements. These case studies demonstrate adaptive ways of engaging local concerns in Mining areas, highlighting lessons that are especially urgent now that recent policy commitments from Europe and the United States to ban mercury exports have specifically sought to make mercury more expensive for African Mining communities. Ultimately, the analysis suggests how regionally focused ecological economics research has a vital role to play in (a) revealing how narrowly conceived responses to pollution can yield counterproductive results as well as exacerbate exploitative labor conditions in low income contexts; and (b) stimulating analytic focus on innovative ways of integrating pollution reduction strategy with grassroots socioeconomic empowerment strategies.
Christopher Anderson - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
-
The strategic plan for INCAM: The Indonesian Centre for Artisanal Mining
2015Co-Authors: Dadan Nurjaman, Yudi Prabangkara, Christopher Anderson, Ruby Stocklin Weinberg, Abdul HarisAbstract:Indonesia has a long Mining history; mineral resources have been mined across the country since the 16th century, before the colonial period. Location on a plate boundary makes Indonesia a rich host for mineralisation. Artisanal gold Mining is a consequence of this rich mineralisation. Artisanal miners began working visible gold in alluvial deposits hundreds of years ago using simple separation technology. Today tens-of-thousands of miners extract fine gold from primary ore deposits using a range of techniques. As the technology became known, miners embraced mercury amalgamation and this technique has become widely used, regardless of the type of ore, due to its simplicity and versatility. However, amalgamation can be very inefficient, and the mercury can cause detrimental effects to public health and the environment. Mercury is a pervasive and insidious trans-boundary contaminant. Artisanal Mining has also brought about occupational hazards and a range of social problems in Mining areas. Human safety, traditional livelihoods and community values are being eroded by the pursuit for gold. A continued and focused effort is therefore required to increase the technical capability of the Artisanal and small-scale miners to enhance the sustainability of Mining. Capability building is required to promote better and safer Mining and processing of gold ore, as well as to protect the environment. Such effort is desperately needed to reduce social tensions and to protect future generations. The Indonesian government has realised that Artisanal and small-scale Mining is a part of society. Artisanal Mining is therefore included in the Mineral and Coal Law No. 4/2009. The government is also a signatory to the Minamata Convention to phase out mercury use (October 2013). These two instruments are being used to regulate Artisanal Mining and to establish this activity as a formal part of the extractive industries. BPPT is a key stakeholder in the government’s National Implementation Plan to phase out mercury use in the Artisanal Mining sector. BPPT has taken a lead in establishing the Indonesian Centre for Artisanal Mining (INCAM) which will contribute to the government’s agenda through technology innovation and the education of miners. INCAM is expected to become a national node for Indonesian and international expertise working to secure a better future for the Artisanal and small-scale Mining sector. INCAM has the potential to harmonise national and international efforts in this space. Keywords: Indonesia; Artisanal and small scale gold Mining; Minamata Convention; mercury, National Implementation Plan
-
rehabilitation of Artisanal gold Mining land in west lombok indonesia characterization of overburden and the surrounding soils
Journal of Geology and Mining Research, 2012Co-Authors: B Siswanto, W H Utomo, B D Krisnayani, Christopher AndersonAbstract:This study was carried out to characterize the overburden materials and soil properties of Artisanal Mining at Sekotong, West Lombok, Indonesia to suggest an appropriate rehabilitation technology. The results of the study showed that the properties of overburden materials from Sekotong Artisanal Mining has a relative neutral acidity (pH about 6.4), however, with time together with the formation of sulfate compounds, such as Cu-sulfate, the pH decrease to more acid condition. The overburden materials have a low water holding capacity, low in N, P and K, but rich in Ca, Mg. Landform of the area varies from undulating to hilly with land slope of 30 to 45%, and the soil have a shallow effective depth with sandy clay loam to clay loam. Key words: Artisanal Mining, gold, overburden, rehabilitation, reclamation, Indonesia.
-
rehabilitation of Artisanal Mining gold land in west lombok indonesia 2 arbuscular mycorrhiza status of tailings and surrounding soils
The Journal of Agricultural Science, 2010Co-Authors: B Prasetyo, Dewi B Krisnayanti, W H Utomo, Christopher AndersonAbstract:Artisanal Mining plays an important role in the Indonesia economy; however, it has created serious environmental destruction. The prohibition of Artisanal Mining is not a wise policy and never works. A more valuable strategy is to encourage Artisanal Mining; however, the associated poor health, safety, and environmental conditions must be improved. Therefore, effective rehabilitation of the environment post Mining is essential. Phytoremediation is considered to be one method to achieve this rehabilitation. In this method, the interaction of plant roots with mycorrhiza is one of the key determinants of successful rehabilitation. A study to identify the indigenous mycorrhiza present in soil was carried out at an Artisanal gold Mining region at Sekotong, West Lombok, Indonesia. Soil samples were collected from the rhizosphere of a selection of indigenous plant species for the identification of the associated mycorrhizal fungi. Rhizosphere samples were collected from a normal agricultural soil as well as waste rock and mine tailings. The plants studied were Acassia sp, Gmelina arborea, Leucaena glauca, Tectonia grandis, Manihot utilissima, and Zea mays. There was an abundance of mycorrhizal fungi species associated with all observed plants, with the dominant genus being Glomus. The spore density varied from 77 – 240 spores/100g in natural soils, with the percentage of infected roots varying from 10 to 40%, and decreasing as the soil was disturbed. Some of these mycorrhizal fungi showed a relatively good ability to grow in the heavy metal contaminated gold mine tailing.
Sadia Mohammed Banchirigah - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
-
De-agrarianization, re-agrarianization and local economic development: Re-orientating livelihoods in African Artisanal Mining communities
Policy Sciences, 2010Co-Authors: Sadia Mohammed Banchirigah, Gavin HilsonAbstract:This article contributes to the debate on livelihood diversification in rural sub-Saharan Africa, focusing specifically on the growing economic importance of Artisanal and small-scale Mining (ASM) in the region. The precipitous decline in the value of many export crops and the removal of subsidies on crucial inputs such as fertilizers have made smallholder production unviable, forcing many farmers to ‘branch out’ into non-farm activities to supplement their incomes. One of the more popular destinations for poor farmers is the low-tech ASM sector which, because of its low barriers to entry, has absorbed millions of rural Africans over the past two decades, the majority of whom are engaged in the extraction of near-surface mineral deposits located on concessions that have been demarcated to multinational corporations. The efforts made hitherto to control this illegal Mining activity, both through force and regulation, however, have had little effect, forcing many of the region’s governments and private sector partners to ‘re-think’ their approaches. One strategy that has gained considerable attention throughout the region is intensified support for agrarian-orientated activities, many of which, despite the problems plaguing smallholder agricultural sector and challenges with making it more economically sustainable, are being lauded as appropriate ‘alternative’ sources of employment to Artisanal Mining. After exaMining where Artisanal Mining fits into the de-agrarianization ‘puzzle’ in sub-Saharan Africa, the article critiques the efficacy of ‘re-agrarianization’ as a strategy for addressing the region’s illegal Mining problem. A case study of Ghana is used to shed further light on these issues.
-
Challenges with eradicating illegal Mining in Ghana: A perspective from the grassroots
Resources Policy, 2008Co-Authors: Sadia Mohammed BanchirigahAbstract:This paper argues that Artisanal Mining communities are somewhat bound to their operations, and helps explain why formalisation, alternative livelihood projects and military intervention--the traditional strategies employed by governments to tackle illegal Mining--have proved ineffective. Findings from recent research carried out in Noyem (Eastern Region of Ghana) are used to illustrate why illegal Artisanal Mining is such a deeply rooted activity in sub-Saharan Africa. The analysis provides four explanations in support of this: a heavy involvement of traditional leaders in operations; the mindsets of many operators toward alternative income-earning activities; the numerous and diverse range of employment opportunities provided by the sector; and the level of investment in operations.
-
How have reforms fuelled the expansion of Artisanal Mining? Evidence from sub-Saharan Africa
Resources Policy, 2006Co-Authors: Sadia Mohammed BanchirigahAbstract:Abstract This paper investigates whether and how World Bank Mining sector reforms have fuelled the expansion of illegal Artisanal Mining activity in Sub-Saharan Africa. In doing so, the analysis examines three issues. First, the emerging correlation between reforms and poverty, mainly a result of increased unemployment caused by Structural Adjustment Programmes and concurrent privatisation of state-owned enterprises, is explored. Second, the possibility that reform of large-scale Mining has decreased available land for peasant farming as well as legalised small-scale Mining activity is discussed. Finally, the notion that the regularisation of informal Mining activities has been an exceedingly bureaucratic procedure in Africa, therefore providing individuals with little incentive to operate within the legal domain, is examined. Faced with few employment prospects, a growing number of Africans are pursuing employment in the Artisanal Mining sector, a worrying prospect given its intimate association with environmental degradation and HIV/AIDS.
Musah Saeed Zango - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
-
Trace elements distributions at Datoko-Shega Artisanal Mining site, northern Ghana.
Environmental geochemistry and health, 2015Co-Authors: Emmanuel Arhin, Apea Ohene Boansi, Musah Saeed ZangoAbstract:Environmental geochemistry classifies elements into essential, non-essential and toxic elements in relationship to human health. To assess the environmental impact of Mining at Datoko-Shega area, the distributions and concentrations of trace elements in stream sediments and soil samples were carried out. X-ray fluorescence analytical technique was used to measure the major and trace element concentrations in sediments and modified fire assay absorption spectrometry in soils. The results showed general depletion of major elements except titanium oxide (TiO2) compared to the average crustal concentrations. The retention of TiO2 at the near surface environment probably was due to the intense tropical weathering accompanied by the removal of fine sediments and soil fractions during the harmattan season by the dry north-east trade winds and sheet wash deposits formed after flash floods. The results also showed extreme contamination of selenium (Se), cadmium (Cd) and mercury (Hg), plus strong contaminations of arsenic (As) and chromium (Cr) in addition to moderate contamination of lead (Pb) in the trace element samples relative to crustal averages in the upper continental crust. However Hg, Pb and Cd concentrations tend to be high around the Artisanal workings. It was recognised from the analysis of the results that the Artisanal Mining activity harnessed and introduces some potentially toxic elements such as Hg, Cd and Pb mostly in the artisan mine sites. But the interpretation of the trace element data thus invalidates the elevation of As concentrations to be from the mine operations. It consequently noticed As values in the mine-impacted areas to be similar or sometimes lower than As values in areas outside the mine sites from the stream sediment results.
