This book uses text and photographs to highlight a transdisciplinary research project (2018-2022) about artisanal and small-scale gold mining that involved transdisciplinary collaboration between... Show moreThis book uses text and photographs to highlight a transdisciplinary research project (2018-2022) about artisanal and small-scale gold mining that involved transdisciplinary collaboration between academics, artists, and gold miners. With the title Exploring Transformations to Sustainability in Artisanal and Small-scale Gold Mining: Trans-regional and Multi-Actor Perspectives, or Gold Matters for short, the project examined whether and how societal transformations towards sustainable mining futures are possible in artisanal and small-scale gold mining. It brought together a multi-national team to conduct research in Brazil, Suriname, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Guinea Conakry, and Uganda. Show less
Growth strategies in mining regions promote gold extraction basedonindustrial mining, associating Artisanal and Small-scale Gold Mining (ASGM) with persistent informality. Against this background,... Show moreGrowth strategies in mining regions promote gold extraction basedonindustrial mining, associating Artisanal and Small-scale Gold Mining (ASGM) with persistent informality. Against this background, we consider how to approach transformations to sustainability in ASGM. Acknowledging how problematic this topic is for sustainability debates,given howASGM is associated with a host of environmental and social problems,we argue that a justice lens demands we confront such challenges within the global politics of sustainability. This leads us to review advances inthe study of ASGM, linked to debates on extractivism, resource materialities, and informality. We use the notion of gold lifeways to capture how the matter of mining shapes different worlds of extraction. We argue that consideration of the potential for transformations to sustainability needs to be grounded within the realities of ASGM. This necessitates giving value to miners’ knowledge(s), perspectives and interests, while recognising the plurality of mining futures. Nevertheless, we conclude that between the immediacy of precarious work and the structural barriers to change in ASGM, the challenges for transformation cannot be underestimated. Show less
Fisher, E.; Luning, S.; D’Angelo, L.; Araujo, C.H.; de Balme, L. A.; Calvimontes, J.; ... ; Twongyirwe, R. 2021
Growth strategies in mining regions promote gold extractionbased on industrial mining, associating Artisanal and Small-scaleGold Mining (ASGM) with persistent informality. Against thisbackground,... Show moreGrowth strategies in mining regions promote gold extractionbased on industrial mining, associating Artisanal and Small-scaleGold Mining (ASGM) with persistent informality. Against thisbackground, we consider how to approach transformations tosustainability in ASGM. Acknowledging how problematic thistopic is for sustainability debates, given how ASGM is associatedwith a host of environmental and social problems, we argue that ajustice lens demands we confront such challenges within theglobal politics of sustainability. This leads us to review advancesin the study of ASGM, linked to debates on extractivism, resourcematerialities,andinformality. Weuse thenotionofgoldlifewaystocapture how the matter of mining shapes different worlds ofextraction. We argue that consideration of the potential fortransformations to sustainability needs to be grounded within therealities of ASGM. This necessitates giving value to miners’knowledge(s), perspectives and interests, while recognising theplurality of mining futures. Nevertheless, we conclude thatbetween the immediacy of precarious work and the structuralbarriers to change in ASGM, the challenges for transformationcannot be underestimated. Show less
Weerd, M. van; Gatan-Balbas, M.; Luning, S.; Taggueg, J. 2019
Since 2011, the Faculty of Social Sciences (FSW) and the Institute of Environmental Sciences (CML) of Leiden University, in cooperation with Isabela State University and the Mabuwaya Foundation in... Show moreSince 2011, the Faculty of Social Sciences (FSW) and the Institute of Environmental Sciences (CML) of Leiden University, in cooperation with Isabela State University and the Mabuwaya Foundation in the Philippines organize an annual month–long international, interdisciplinary course on sustainable development, water issues and water management in the Cagayan River basin in Northeast Luzon in the Philippines. Thirty students participate in this course, 15 through Leiden University and 15 through Isabela State University. The students are enrolled in different studies, encompassing social, natural and applied sciences. The annual report contains background information, all student reports and the online blog that the students maintained during the course. Show less
Since 2011, the Faculty of Social Sciences (FSW) and the Institute of Environmental Sciences (CML) of Leiden University, in cooperation with Isabela State University and the Mabuwaya Foundation in... Show moreSince 2011, the Faculty of Social Sciences (FSW) and the Institute of Environmental Sciences (CML) of Leiden University, in cooperation with Isabela State University and the Mabuwaya Foundation in the Philippines organize an annual month–long international, interdisciplinary course on sustainable development, water issues and water management in the Cagayan River basin in Northeast Luzon in the Philippines. Thirty students participate in this course, 15 through Leiden University and 15 through Isabela State University. The students are enrolled in different studies, encompassing social, natural and applied sciences. The annual report contains background information, all student reports and the online blog that the students maintained during the course Show less
