CNH2-S: Mercury Pollution and Human-Technical-Environmental Interactions in Artisanal Mining

本项目从社会、技术和环境系统的角度分析汞的使用和人类福祉，重点关注手工和小规模金矿开采（ASGM）。汞是一种环境污染物，可以从其排放源传播到很远的地方，损害人类健康和环境。据估计，ASGM是全球汞排放的最大来源，并在采矿社区的权力、种族和性别动态背景下发生。更好地了解影响ASGM中汞使用的多种相互作用因素，将有助于提高对大气汞系统的认识，并支持治理工作，以应对汞污染带来的环境和人类健康风险。该项目将开发和评估一个新的理论框架，该框架可用于分析可促进可持续转型的人、技术和环境之间的相互作用。该项目的更广泛影响将是为减轻ASGM活动的环境和社会危害的举措提供信息，包括根据全球《关于汞的水俣公约》开展的活动。项目参与者将与各组织、非政府组织、社区中受汞污染影响的人以及其他专家合作，将研究结果转化为实际行动。本项目从人-技术-环境综合系统的角度分析汞的使用和人类福祉，重点关注秘鲁马德雷德迪奥斯亚马逊地区的手工和小规模金矿开采（ASGM）。汞在当地和通过远距离迁移对人类健康构成重大风险，据估计，ASGM是全球大气中汞的最大来源。汞的使用和ASGM还伴随着一系列其他社会和环境问题。该项目将发展和评价基于人-技术-环境系统方法的新理论框架，以及衔接定量和定性系统分析的精细化方法。该项目提出了以下问题：Q1)全球和区域ASGM向大气排放了多少汞？Q2)支持在ASGM部门减少汞使用和改善人类福祉的主要多级治理需求和选择是什么？Q3)在权力、种族和性别背景下，关于汞和污染的观念如何影响ASGM地区可持续转型的前景？Q4)可以使用哪些框架来更好地理解ASGM与可持续性之间的联系，并衡量改善矿工福利的进展？该项目采用多学科研究方法，包括大气化学建模、治理研究方法和民族志方法。它应用一个系统框架，使用基于矩阵的方法将定量和定性分析联系起来。矩阵方法将对系统组件进行分类，映射这些组件之间的相互作用，并确定系统中杠杆的关键点。所有四个问题和研究方法都将通过与当地和国际利益攸关方的协调而得到完善。项目成果将通过发展评估综合社会环境系统的框架和见解，为更广泛的可持续性科学领域作出贡献。该研究还将促进大气化学（通过新的逆向方法和更好地限制汞排放）、治理研究（通过促进多层次治理的理论和经验分析）以及政治生态学和环境人类学（通过更好地评估与自然资源开采有关的复杂社会关系）等领域。社会效益包括通报各种努力，包括根据《关于汞的水俣公约》，减轻ASGM的环境和社会危害。学生将接受跨学科和跨学科研究方法的培训和参与，并将开发相关的案例研究材料用于教学。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This project applies a social, technical, and environmental systems perspective to analyze mercury use and human well-being with a focus on artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM). Mercury is an environmental pollutant that can travel far from its emission source, where it can damage human health and the environment. ASGM is estimated to be the largest source of global mercury emissions, and occurs in the context of power, race, and gender dynamics in mining communities. A better understanding of the multiple, interacting factors that influence mercury use in ASGM will help advance knowledge about the atmospheric mercury system and support governance efforts to address environmental and human health risks from mercury pollution. The project will develop and evaluate a new theoretical framework that can be employed to analyze interactions of people, technologies, and the environment that can contribute to sustainability transitions. The project's broader impact will be to inform initiatives to mitigate environmental and social harms of ASGM activities, including those under the global Minamata Convention on Mercury. Project participants will engage with organizations, NGOs, those affected by mercury contamination in communities, and other experts to translate findings to practical action. This project uses the perspective of an integrated human-technical-environmental system to analyze mercury use and human well-being with a focus on artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) in Peru's Amazonian region of Madre de Dios. Mercury poses substantial risks to human health, both locally and through long-range transport, and ASGM is estimated to be the largest source of mercury to the global atmosphere. Mercury use and ASGM is also accompanied by a range of other social and environmental problems. The project will develop and evaluate a new theoretical framework based on a human-technical-environmental systems approach, and refined methods for bridging quantitative and qualitative systems analysis. The project asks the following questions: Q1) How much mercury is emitted to the atmosphere from ASGM, globally and regionally? Q2) What are the main multilevel governance needs and options to support reduced mercury use and improved human well-being in the ASGM sector? Q3) How do ideas about mercury and pollution in the context of power, race, and gender affect prospects for sustainability transitions in ASGM regions? Q4) What frameworks can be used to better understand the links between ASGM and sustainability, and measure progress towards improving miners' well-being? The project deploys multi-disciplinary research methods, including atmospheric chemistry modeling, governance research methods, and ethnographic methods. It applies a systems framework using a matrix-based approach linking quantitative and qualitative analysis. The matrix approach will classify system components, map interactions among these components, and identify key points of leverage in the system. All four questions and research methods will be refined through coordination with local and international stakeholders. The project results will contribute to the broader field of sustainability science through developing frameworks and insights to assess integrated social-environmental systems. The research will also contribute to the areas of atmospheric chemistry (through novel inverse approaches and better constraints on mercury emissions), governance research (by contributing to theory and empirical analysis of multilevel governance), and political ecology and environmental anthropology (through a better assessment of complex social relationships related to natural resource extraction). Societal benefits include informing efforts, including under the Minamata Convention on Mercury, to mitigate environmental and social harms of ASGM. Students will be trained and involved in interdisciplinary and trans-disciplinary research methods, and related case study materials will be developed for teaching.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.