Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen:Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden.Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen.Sofern die Verfasser die Dokumente unter Open-Content-Lizenzen (insbesondere CC-Lizenzen) zur Verfügung gestellt haben sollten, gelten abweichend von diesen Nutzungsbedingungen die in der dort genannten Lizenz gewährten Nutzungsrechte. Terms of use: Documents in AbstractSelf-regulation by firms and industries in relation to the environmental impact they cause is not a full substitute for more traditional regulation of environmental externalities. However, some self-regulatory efforts do involve very specific actions that serve to reduce externalities for a specific industry and certainly achieve more than the presentation of a responsible image to the world. An example of such efforts that go beyond common claims about "sustainable activities", are seen in the increasing numbers of mining firms that generate and issue environmental reports. While there is as yet no indisputable proof that reporting has a direct effect on environmental performance, this paper shows that within a single industry there are wide variations in reporting practices and that sincerity is apparent in the process.Acknowledgements: The authors would like to thank Fritz Balkau, Wanda Hoskin, Svend Ole Madsen and Bill Prast for helpful comments on previous versions of this paper. We also thank participants at the Mining Seminar at the Centre for Energy, Petroleum and Mineral Law and Policy and an anonymous reviewer for their comments. Both authors contributed equally: we rotate authorship.

No abstract

Artisanal and small‐scale mining are activities that have long been established in many developing countries, employing millions of people globally, either directly or in affiliated industries. Also, such activities are deplored for their adverse environmental impacts and their general avoidance of governments, tax collectors and other regulators. Decades of work have gone into addressing these problems, but with limited overall progress in evidence. Going back to some of the key dynamic relationships involved in artisanal mining and small‐scale mining, the need for policy reform that gives consistent and effective incentives is argued to be the foundation on which other discussions about environmental protection, sustainability and livelihoods can be built.

No abstract