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Summary of
Lessons Learnt About Small-Scale Mining
in the Asia-Pacific Region
Fifty
persons from government, academe, civil society and the mining
industry, including practitioners of small scale mining, from
eight countries in the Asia-Pacific (Australia, Cambodia, China,
India, Indonesia, Mongolia, Papua New Guinea, and the
Philippines), gathered in Makati City, Baguio City and Itogon
Municipality
in the Philippines from 7 to 12 June 2005, to exchange
experiences and views on small mining in the Asia-Pacific
region.
This
statement of the lessons learnt by the participants is based on
a draft discussed in the final plenary session of the main
meeting, and has been revised in the light of additional
comments received since then. The summary outcomes of three
workshops held before the final plenary session were used as the
basis for drafting the summary statement. The following
statement reflects the views of individual participants, and
should not be attributed to the CASM Secretariat or any of the
organizations which funded or organized the event.
Experiences and perspectives on small-scale
mining from eight countries were presented and discussed in the
Asia-Pacific Learning Event. Based on these, we considered in
plenary the following lessons on the state of, and interests in,
small-scale mining in the region:
INTERESTS
There is a wide diversity of interests in
small-scale mining in the region. These include those of
governments, small-scale miners, and many other stakeholders,
including the families and communities of small-scale miners,
big mining firms, civil society groups, and academics seeking to
understand the economic, environmental and social features of
the practice and traditions of small-scale mining.
It was concluded in workshops and plenary that:
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1. |
Governments often fail to recognize the potential
economic benefits, tax revenues, and development outcomes that
can be derived from small-scale mining. Government policies on
mining are often confused and inconsistent, and frequently
favour or focus on large-scale mining. Government neglect of the
small-scale mining sector can be costly to governments in
administrative, financial, political, and environmental terms. |
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2. |
Small-scale mining is a significant contributor to
the economic and social well-being of many people and households
in rural, remote, and poor communities, who are often hardly
reached by agencies responsible for the delivery of essential
public services. When other stakeholders make life more
difficult for small-scale miners, they may reduce the viability
of rural livelihoods and encourage urban drift. |
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3. |
Big mining firms can profit from harmonious,
well-thought out, and equitable collaborations with small-scale
miners. These benefits can be realized in terms of efficiency of
production, social and political stability in mining sites, and
long-term corporate prestige. |
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4. |
Societies at large can be both positively and
negatively affected by small-scale mining. Positive effects can
include the promotion of efficient resource use, such as
extracting ores from small deposits or from tailings, and
providing rural incomes. Negative effects can include water
pollution, the release of mercury and other toxic and hazardous
wastes into the free environment, and social tensions that can
lead to civil unrest. |
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5. |
While governments have an interest in attending to
the issues and plight of small-scale mining and small-scale
miners, society as a whole should have an interest in promoting
and strengthening the role of small-scale mining in national
development, and in legalizing, regulating, and strengthening
the developmental potential of the sector. |
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6. |
Both women and men play important roles in the
small-scale mining sector. These different gender roles are
linked to their different needs and interests in mining
communities. Through recognition of the diversity of these
gender roles and interests in small-scale mining, gender
mainstreaming becomes both practicable and desirable. |
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7. |
It cannot be assumed that the interests of
indigenous people are consistent with those of small-scale
miners. While some indigenous people may secure their
livelihoods from small-scale mining, there may be other cases in
which non-indigenous small-scale miners threaten the livelihoods
of indigenous people. |
ISSUES
Small-scale mining has definite social,
cultural, historical, economic and environmental contexts that
characterize its practice and traditions. But these are poorly
understood by government policy makers and bureaucrats, the
large-scale mining industry, and other stakeholders. It is this
widespread poverty of appreciation and understanding of the
issues in the small-scale mining sector that often (and too
easily) lead to confusion and conflicts over it.
It was concluded in workshops and plenary that:
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1. |
Government policies for the sector have to be
framed by the principles of growth, equity, and sustainability.
They need to be realistic, equitable, and implemented
effectively. Governments in the Asia-Pacific region have much to
learn from each other on ways to develop such policies. |
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2. |
Overlapping and conflicting laws, or laws and
regulations that are not based on an understanding of the local
context of small-scale mining, hinder and erode the sector’s
potential to contribute to sustainable development. |
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3. |
Small-scale miners need more information,
awareness, and education on the technical, economic, and
environmental aspects of their activities. Small-scale miners
can also improve their environmental performance and
productivity by sharing their knowledge and technologies with
each other. But there is often a lack of research, information,
or public awareness about the livelihoods of small-scale miners
and their communities. |
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4. |
The main threats to small-scale miners (and to the
sector) come from the combination of government repression,
expropriations by large-scale mining companies, and uncontrolled
immigration to small-scale mining areas. All three are partly
driven by failures to understand the technology, history and
social organization of small-scale mining and miners. |
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5. |
Large-scale mining companies can benefit from a
better understanding of the social and cultural environments of
their mining sites. They will benefit from exercising high
standards of corporate social and environmental responsibility
when dealing with small-scale mining and miners, but they will
also have greater capacity to engage local communities in
participatory processes. |
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6. |
Violence – in any form, against anyone – is
always counterproductive for the development of both the small-
and large-scale mining sectors. |
| 7. |
The contexts of control and power between women
and men in small-scale mining communities are not the same, and
this often means that women suffer more of the adverse impacts
of mining activities while their interests are neglected in the
development process. Small-scale mining as a livelihood must
change these unequal power equations by bringing women as well
as men into the decision-making process. |
OPPORTUNITIES
Opportunities for small-scale mining to
become a key sector for sustainable development, especially at a
local level, can be created by governments, by small-scale
miners themselves, and by other stakeholders. But this will only
happen if they can work together to:
(a) recognize the value of
existing indigenous or traditional mining practices;
(b)
establish better networks for sharing information and advocating
better policies
and practices for the sector; and
(c) develop an
agenda for integrating the small-scale mining sector in national
development plans and programs.
It was concluded in workshops and plenary that:
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1. |
Cross-sectoral and multi-stakeholder partnerships
can help to improve the technical and environmental performance
of small-scale mining and miners, and facilitate the sustainable
development of the small scale mining sector through the
production of rational and responsible mining plans and
programs. |
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2. |
Civil society can function as a “conscience
block” to mobilize public opinion to support the resolution of
conflict within small-scale mining communities, to harmonize the
interests and performance of the large- and small-scale mining
sectors, or to reconcile the interests of small-scale miners
with those of governments. |
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3. |
Academic institutions can provide support through
research, development of appropriate technologies, training and
education. A comprehensive database of small-scale mining
activities in different countries would be an invaluable
research reference. Continuous education and training, extension
and refresher courses, and technical advice in the areas of
greatest need, such as occupational health and safety. |
| 4. |
The negative environmental and social impacts of
small-scale mining may be the result of the sector being ignored
by government and other stakeholders. Small-scale miners
understand many of the negative environmental, social and health
impacts of their activities, and are generally open to efforts
by governments and other stakeholders to improve their
productive capacities and technical capabilities to accentuate
the positive impacts and reduce or mitigate the negative
impacts. |
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5. |
Many of the social and environmental issues in the
small-scale mining sector (such as gender equity issues) are
shared with other sectors and their stakeholders, so it is not
always necessary to develop special sectoral policies to deal
with these issues. |
| 6. |
Government policies and actions should be designed
to both promote and properly regulate small-scale mining as a
sector. Governments should enact appropriate, supportive and
attractive laws affirming their development partnerships with
small-scale miners. They need to provide or strengthen
institutions that allow for formally articulating, advocating,
and promoting the interests and well-being of small-scale
miners. They should reduce red tape in order to promote
small-scale mining. They need to be neutral in balancing the
interests of small- and large-scale miners. |
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7. |
Serious consideration must also be given to the
decentralization of policy and regulation functions for the
small-scale mining sector to local levels of government. This is
especially the case where small-scale mining is a highly
localized activity, the problems and issues in the sector vary
from one location to another, and local governments have the
capacity to manage the sector effectively. |
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The clarification and integration of the tenure
rights of small-scale miners and other stakeholders in
small-scale mining areas are crucial to the sustainable
development of the sector. One critical foundation for
strengthening the development potential of small-scale mining is
to respect, confirm, and affirm the locally-constructed
(statutory and customary) property claims and rights of
small-scale miners. |
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9. |
Women and men have different concerns in
small-scale mining. The small-scale mining sector overall is
strengthened when the needs and concerns of both women and men
are appreciated and understood by all involved in the sector.
Empowering women has long-term effects on a community’s
well-being, leading to a form of sustainable development that
does justice to both women and men. |
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10. |
Regulations on child labour may become a pretext
for eliminating or marginalizing the interests of women who are
lumped together with children. When this occurs, the potential
of small-scale mining to promote development or alleviate
poverty is eroded. Local customs or traditions associated with
child labour may be inconsistent with principles of social
justice or sustainable development. While these need to be
understood in their social
context, the provision of more education and opportunities will
help to improve the life choices of the children. |
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Small-scale miners need to organize themselves in
order to do a more effective job of relating their interests to
those of governments and other stakeholders. There is also a
need to preserve, advocate and disseminate existing models of
indigenous or traditional good practice in the sector by lining
local, national and international institutions within the
Asia-Pacific region. |
| 12. |
Large-scale and small-scale mining can co-exist.
Big mining companies have the resources, in areas such as
technology, safety, processing and marketing, to support the
sustainable development of the small-scale sector. Small-scale
miners have the experience and local knowledge to provide
technical, environmental, social and cultural information which
may be useful to big companies. Their co-existence and
collaboration should not be a threat to either side, but an
opportunity for both. Employment and subcontracting arrangements
have good potential for harmoniously linking small and large
miners, but such arrangements, in order to be beneficial to both
sides, must be based on mutual respect and confidence and on the
principles of social justice. |
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13. |
Big mining companies can also work through their
corporate or community affairs departments to develop forms of
collaboration with national or local government agencies to
deliver support and assistance to small-scale miners in the
areas affected by large-scale mining operations. |
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A policy and development consensus can be built
among small-scale miners and other stakeholders, for the benefit
of society at large, but only when anchored on mutual
recognizance of each others’ worth and dignity, on trust, and
on social capital. Obstacles abound that prevent this from
happening, but a consensus is possible, and so, too, is a future
in which small-scale mining and miners find their rightful place
in a nation’s endeavours to achieve sustainable development. |
CONCLUSION
The participants invite governments,
small-scale miners, large-scale miners, civil society groups,
academics, religious groups, international organizations, and
all others concerned with mining and development, to consider
these lessons, and if they agree with them, to translate them
into action.
The participants propose these ways forward
for the network of individuals and institutions established by
means of this meeting:
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1. |
Establish better mechanisms for sharing
information and advocating better policies and better practices
for the sector. |
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2. |
Establish more opportunities or venues for the
sharing of relevant knowledge and experience within and between
different countries and localities of the region. |
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3. |
Advocate and disseminate existing models of good
practice in the small-scale mining sector through the
information network. |
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4. |
Bring small-scale mining issues to the attention
of donor agencies and non-government organizations, as well as
government agencies. |
And above all -
invite all
stakeholders with an interest in the sector to learn from
concrete examples of equitable, effective, and sustainable
local-level partnerships which include small-scale miners or
their communities as a guide to the development of better policy
and practice in the different jurisdictions of the Asia-Pacific
region.
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