All that glitters is not gold or platinum: Institutions and the use of mercury in mining in Chocó, Colombia

Lara‐Rodríguez, Juan Sebastián

doi:10.1016/j.exis.2018.03.011

Cited by 11 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…According to [54], Ecuadorian legislation has its own dynamics in situ, and it is naïve to believe that the laws of the country can control the sector [54]. Other authors, such as [55], mention that legislation often involves two factors that generate negotiations in the legal framework of the mining sector: national laws and socio-normative agreements, which in this case are those that are applied in the country, although not in a recognized manner [56].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the Los Ajos sector of the San Lorenzo canton, illegal mining activities were registered in January 2021, despite the fact that the measures imposed prohibit it. As a result, the Ecuadorian Chocó (one of the areas with the highest endemism of species in the country) is being affected by indiscriminate deforestation to make way for roads for illegal mining machinery [54][55][56]. Inhabitants of the area state that not even the COVID-19 situation has stopped the "sableros", because there are 52 active mining camps in the area that are causing great damage to the area, while also creating insecurity, so they demand that the authorities control the permits granted for these activities.…”

Section: Environmental Impactsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…illegal mining machinery [54][55][56]. Inhabitants of the area state that not even the COVID-19 situation has stopped the "sableros", because there are 52 active mining camps in the area that are causing great damage to the area, while also creating insecurity, so they demand that the authorities control the permits granted for these activities.…”

Section: Environmental Impactsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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History, Current Situation and Challenges of Gold Mining in Ecuador’s Litoral Region

Mestanza-Ramón

Paz-Mena²,

López-Paredes

et al. 2021

Land

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Gold mining in Ecuador has been present in the country since Inca times; over the years interest in the mineral has increased, leading to the creation of legislation to control the mining sector in a safe manner. The Litoral region consists of seven provinces, six of which have registered gold concessions; the most affected provinces are El Oro and Esmeraldas. The objective of this study was to analyze the historical and current situation of artisanal and industrial gold mining in the Litoral region of Ecuador. Different methodologies were used for the elaboration of this study, including bibliographic review, grey literature, field interviews and a validation of expert judgment. The main results indicate that El Oro and Esmeraldas are essentially the most conflictive areas in the region, as they have sometimes had to establish precautionary measures due to the risks caused by illegal mining. In addition, in both areas there is a great socioeconomic impact ranging from lack of opportunities, forgetfulness, migration, emigration, and violation of rights, among others. With respect to environmental impacts, the study highlights the contamination of water sources (which leads to a lack of drinking water for people), and damage to aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. Finally, the study concludes that the authorities should control the mining sector more by implementing more laws and carrying out inspections to put an end to illegal gold mining, in order to improve the situation in the areas.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Environmental Impactsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Environmental Impactsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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History, Current Situation and Challenges of Gold Mining in Ecuador’s Litoral Region

Mestanza-Ramón

Paz-Mena²,

López-Paredes

et al. 2021

Land

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“…Illicit crops and alluvial mining are dispersed over the study area, however, concentration of coca crops is found in Cauca and Nariño, while alluvial mining is concentrated mostly in the Chocó department. Collective territories of El Cantón de San Pablo and Nóvita were the most affected, with degraded areas of 44 and 48 km 2 respectively [62], which is aggravated by the use of mercury in artisanal and small scale mining [64,65]. Vélez et al [66] found that land titling programs were an important strategy to reduce deforestation rates, however, Afro-Colombian collective territories are heavily affected by this land use, while indigenous reserves are almost not affected [62].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Drivers of Forest Loss in a Megadiverse Hotspot on the Pacific Coast of Colombia

et al. 2020

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Tropical forests are disappearing at unprecedented rates, but the drivers behind this transformation are not always clear. This limits the decision-making processes and the effectiveness of forest management policies. In this paper, we address the extent and drivers of deforestation of the Choco biodiversity hotspot, which has not received much scientific attention despite its high levels of plant diversity and endemism. The climate is characterized by persistent cloud cover which is a challenge for land cover mapping from optical satellite imagery. By using Google Earth Engine to select pixels with minimal cloud content and applying a random forest classifier to Landsat and Sentinel data, we produced a wall-to-wall land cover map, enabling a diagnosis of the status and drivers of forest loss in the region. Analyses of these new maps together with information from illicit crops and alluvial mining uncovered the pressure over intact forests. According to Global Forest Change (GFC) data, 2324 km2 were deforested in this area from 2001 to 2018, reaching a maximum in 2016 and 2017. We found that 68% of the area is covered by broadleaf forests (67,473 km2) and 15% by shrublands (14,483 km2), the latter with enormous potential to promote restoration projects. This paper provides a new insight into the conservation of this exceptional forest with a discussion of the drivers of forest loss, where illicit crops and alluvial mining were found to be responsible for 60% of forest loss.

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“…However, like most extractive anthropogenic activities, they generally have a negative and large-scale impact on natural ecosystems due to air, soil, and water pollution [ 4 , 5 , 6 ]. Although artisanal and SSGM provides economic opportunities for local people, it also causes negative impacts [ 7 ]. Historically, amalgamation with mercury, or leaching with sodium cyanide, or both were the most widely used process for gold recovery [ 8 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mercury Phytotoxicity and Tolerance in Three Wild Plants during Germination and Seedling Development

Kalinhoff

Calderón

2022

Plants

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By examining plant responses to heavy metal stress during the early stages of the life cycle, we can predict their tolerance and survival in polluted areas as well as their potential for bioremediation. The objective of our study was to evaluate the effect of exposure to mercury (Hg) on the germination and in vitro development of three plant species: Bidens pilosa, Taraxacum officinale (Asteraceae), and Heliocarpus americanus (Malvaceae). These are wild ecotypes adapted to local edaphoclimatic conditions in southern Ecuador, an area which has been historically affected by artisanal and small-scale gold mining (SSGM). For comparison, we additionally used a known Hg-tolerant plant, Lactuca sativa (Asteraceae). We tested biorelevant concentrations of Hg, equivalent to those occurring in soils affected by SSGM, i.e., up to 4.0 mg/L of Hg. The relative inhibitory effects of the treatments (0.6, 2.0, and 4.0 mg/L of Hg) on the germination percentage were most evident in T. officinale, followed by B. pilosa, while L. sativa and H. americanus were not affected. In terms of the time needed to reach 50% germination (T50), B. pilosa exposed to higher concentrations of Hg showed an increase in T50, while H. americanus showed a significant reduction compared to the control treatment. The reduction in radicle length at 4.0 mg/L Hg compared to the control was more evident in L. sativa (86%) than in B. pilosa (55.3%) and H. americanus (31.5%). We concluded that, in a scenario of Hg contamination in the evaluated concentration range, the grass B. pilosa and the tree H. americanus could have a higher probability of establishment and survival.

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All that glitters is not gold or platinum: Institutions and the use of mercury in mining in Chocó, Colombia

Cited by 11 publications

References 22 publications

History, Current Situation and Challenges of Gold Mining in Ecuador’s Litoral Region

History, Current Situation and Challenges of Gold Mining in Ecuador’s Litoral Region

Drivers of Forest Loss in a Megadiverse Hotspot on the Pacific Coast of Colombia

Mercury Phytotoxicity and Tolerance in Three Wild Plants during Germination and Seedling Development

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