Implications of the Minamata Convention on Mercury for informal gold mining in Sub-Saharan Africa: from global policy debates to grassroots implementation?

Abstract

In October 2013, after years of negotiation, governments from 92 countries signed a historic agreement called the Minamata Convention on Mercury, establishing mandatory measures to curb mercury use and pollution. Article 7 of the Convention stipulates that governments must create National Action Plans to reduce and where feasible eliminate mercury use in artisanal gold mining, a rapidly growing informal sector in much of Africa, with strategies to be monitored by the Convention Secretariat. The purpose of this study is to critically analyze the implications of the Minamata Convention for the artisanal mining sector in Sub-Saharan Africa, which currently depends upon mercury amalgamation for gold extraction. Our analysis draws on examples from Zimbabwe and Tanzania, countries with divergent political challenges but both with expanding artisanal mining sectors. We argue that a paradigm shift is needed to address intertwined technological, political and socio-economic challenges facing marginalized populations in mining communities. We highlight why meeting the Convention targets requires that international donors and national policymakers proactively engage -rather than vilify -artisanal miners who use mercury, prioritizing local knowledge and collaborative community-based decision-making to develop effective pollution abatement initiatives in gold mining regions. We further argue that gendersensitive grassroots empowerment initiatives including microfinance programmes are vital to facilitate adopting cleaner technology, as required by Article 7. Finally, the analysis underscores the need for fundamentally reforming national mining policy priorities, recognizing marginalized mining communities' resource rights and tackling livelihood insecurity as part of efforts to implement the Minamata Convention. In considering what 'grassroots' implementation could mean, the article contributes to a growing body of scholarship calling attention to fairness and equity concerns in order to achieve the aims of global environmental agreements.

Senegalese artisanal gold mining leads to elevated total mercury and methylmercury concentrations in soils, sediments, and rivers

“…Previous work at ASGM sites in Ecuador suggest that using evidence to increase awareness of ASGM-associated risks among miners can lead to increased action to reduce these risks [Adler Miserendino et al, 2013]. In fact, education of miners is likely the most influential means for enacting change from these traditional methods of mercury-gold amalgamation to less risk-intensive mining practices that can simultaneously increase gold recovery [Spiegel et al, 2006;Adler Miserendino et al, 2013;Clifford, 2014], particularly when this education blends technical knowledge with traditional knowledge [Spiegel et al, 2015]. In Senegal, many miners are already organized in a mining collective group; this infrastructure could provide a means for changing miners' practices, as miner organization in Portovelo-Zaruma, Ecuador has shown to be effective at reducing environmental and occupational risks associated with ASGM [Velásquez-López et al, 2010].…”

Land and ‘space’ for regulating artisanal mining in Cambodia: Visualizing an environmental governance conundrum in contested territory

“…A small but emerging body of scholarship is focusing on the Minamata Convention as a global environmental governance instrument that beckons the re-conceptualization of multi-scalar resource management and risk mitigation challenges (Selin, 2014;Clifford, 2014;Spiegel et al, 2015 text of the Minamata Convention also stipulates that each country where ASM activity is "more than insignificant" should "take steps to facilitate the formalization or regulation" of the ASM sector and "submit its National Action Plan to the Secretariat no later than three years after entry into force of the Convention" (Article 7, Paragraph 3b). However, the Convention text merely assumes that "space" is available for "formalizing" ASM, without engaging spatial issues at all, thereby leaving it to the countries themselves to create specific strategic priorities.…”

Artisanal gold mining in Antioquia, Colombia: a successful case of mercury reduction

“…While Clifford (2014) acknowledges that there are some positive signs that academics and policymakers are reaching a new consensus on how to tackle the issue more effectively, he advocates more 'humanistic' reconceptualisations of approaches to mercury pollution in the sector. Spiegel et al (2014) outline possible ways to address intertwined technological, political and socio-economic challenges facing marginalized populations in mining communities. They stress the need for international donors and national policymakers proactively engagedrather than vilifydartisanal miners, and for gender-sensitive grassroots empowerment initiatives.…”