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Recent estimates in Indonesia indicate that 500,000 people are directly involved in artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM), with 3 million people dependent on income generated by ASM activities. While ASM can be a source of poverty alleviation, the ASM sector is frequently associated with significant environmental impacts including mercury pollution and deforestation. ASM activities in Indonesia operate mostly outside of a formal regulated framework. Following a three-year initial phase of the UN-REDD program in 2012, the Government of Indonesia passed several decrees to curb deforestation, including from ASM activities. In 2013, the Government of Indonesia signed the Minamata Convention on Mercury, a treaty that calls for new measures to formalize and regulate ASM. Now the government needs to increase its understanding of this sector in order to develop appropriate policies and legislation to implement the treaties.
Led by Dr. Sam Spiegel from the University of Edinburgh, in partnership with Yayasan Tambuhak Sinta (YTS) a local NGO, this project provides technical assistance to the Indonesian government at the district, provincial and national levels to improve design and implementation of environmental policies for the ASM sector. The three principal components of the project include:
Gender
Environment
Governance
The team has reviewed implementation of environmental policies affecting artisanal and small-scale miners in two districts in Central Kalimantan: Gunung Maas, Murung Raya. The researchers consulted with government officials at the national, provincial and district levels, as well as with small-scale miner associations, specifically assessing chemicals management and forest protection measures.
The team is working closely with the same stakeholders on collaborative strategy building for improved policy compliance and implementation, and will deliver targeted training to community leaders to improve village development planning.
The dissemination of the project findings will better inform national authorities and the international community of policy and legislative challenges related to ASM in Indonesia. Through increased knowledge, local and national officials will be better equipped to work together towards a sustainable development plan that alleviates poverty. The project will also directly benefit miners by increasing their capacity to engage with government and facilitating access to project data to inform discussion.
By Dr. Sam Spiegel, University of Edinburgh. In this blog, Sam writes about his research for the CIRDI project Capacity-Building for Multi-Level Governance of ASM in Indonesia. Sam is working […]
Artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) is the focus of the 2017 AGM of the Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, Metals and Sustainable Development (IGF), held October 16-20 in Geneva. CIRDI […]