Voluntary gold certification programs: A viable mechanism for improving artisanal and small-scale mining in Peru?
Voluntary gold certification programs: A viable mechanism for improving artisanal and small-scale mining in Peru?
复制标题
自愿黄金认证计划：改善秘鲁手工和小规模采矿的可行机制？
DOI：
10.1016/j.jrurstud.2022.05.019
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发表时间：
2022
影响因子：
5.1
通讯作者：
Veiga, Marcello M.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Martinez, Gerardo;Smith, Nicole M.;Veiga, Marcello M.
在全球范围内，手工和小规模黄金开采直接养活了大约2000万人，间接养活了数百万人。尽管该部门为农村社区作出了经济贡献并创造了就业机会，但在地方、区域和国家可持续发展计划中仍然被忽视。由国际非政府组织创建和管理的自愿黄金认证计划已成为解决与ASGM部门相关的社会和环境问题的一种应对措施。尽管自愿的金牌认证正在获得更多的吸引力，但其影响尚不清楚。针对秘鲁这个拥有最多认证的手工和小规模黄金开采组织(ASMO)的国家，本文考察了获得认证后的实际影响，并找出了不足之处。根据对金牌认证工作人员和获得认证的ASMO成员的采访，以及对获得认证的采矿作业的实地考察，我们证明黄金认证计划正在推动ASMO实施更好的环境管理以及健康和安全实践。经过认证的ASMO也受益于在国际上销售黄金的经济激励措施，他们正在将从认证中获得的保费投资于有利于他们的工人和矿业城镇的项目。尽管如此，认证项目的覆盖范围仍然有限，只有一小部分矿工为获得认证的ASMO工作。本文的结论是，尽管黄金认证计划具有改善环境保护和促进农村发展的潜力，但小型采矿组织要获得并保持认证地位，仍面临着必须克服的挑战。
Globally, artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) provides a livelihood for approximately 20 million people directly and millions more indirectly. Despite its economic contributions and job creation for rural communities, the sector continues to be overlooked in local, regional, and national sustainable development plans. Voluntary gold certification programs, created and administered by international NGOs, have emerged as one response to tackle the social and environmental issues associated with the ASGM sector. Although voluntary gold certifications are gaining more traction, their impacts remain unclear. Focusing on Peru, the country with the greatest number of certified artisanal and small-scale gold mining organizations (ASMOs), this paper examines the practical impacts when certification is achieved and identifies the shortcomings. Based on interviews with gold certification staff members and members of certified ASMOs, as well as site visits to certified mining operations, we demonstrate that gold certification programs are driving ASMOs to implement better environmental management and health and safety practices. Certified ASMOs are also benefitting from the economic incentives of selling gold internationally, and they are investing the premiums they receive from certifications into projects that benefit their workers and the mining town. Still, the reach of certification programs remains limited, with only a fraction of miners working for certified ASMOs. This article concludes that although gold certification programs have the potential to improve environmental protection and contribute to rural development, there are challenges that will have to be overcome for small-scale mining organizations to achieve and maintain certification status.