Politics and Mercury (b5)

Peru is one of the world’s largest exporters of gold, exporting an estimated 150 tons of gold in 2013. In the past ten years Peru’s poverty has dropped from 54% to close to 34%. Those are some pretty impressive numbers and both economic wealth and low unemployment are high on the priority list of a stable government. In addition to gold, Peru is also a major exporter of oil, copper, tin, zinc, and silver. Many of these resources are found within Peru’s Amazon Rainforest.

Environmentalists, concerned about pollution and deforestation caused largely by mining, placed pressure on the Peruvian government leading to the appointment of a new office in the government. Antonio Brack Egg was appointed the first Minister of the Environment of Peru in May of 2008. Egg was passionate about cleaning up Peru’s environment and cracking down on illegal mining but was faced with much opposition from those profiting from the mining.

Egg supported the International Mercury Treaty, saying that the gold industry should have similar standards as the International Diamond Certifications, which were put into place to reduce human rights violations. Most people know what blood diamonds are and are pretty savvy about where they purchase gems but few people take note of where their gold comes from. Peru signed the International Minamata Convention on Mercury in October of 2013, just 10 months after it’s creation.

The Mimamata Convention on Mercury states that “mercury is a chemical of global concern owing to its long-range atmospheric transport, its persistence in the environment once anthropogenically introduced, its ability to bioaccumulate in ecosystems and its significant negative effects on human health and the environment.” The 62 page document talks in great detail about the adverse affects of mercury as well as the measures countries should take to limit mercury use.

In the past year Peru’s government has attempted to take a stand against illegal gold mining operations. Government officials have been monitoring gold traffic while police and armed forces have raided mining camps and destroyed mining equipment. ““It’s like a liberated zone. The state’s presence there is ephemeral. The operations all follow the same pattern: The interdiction lasts a day, but the next day, the miners are already replacing the destroyed equipment, and within three days, they’re back at work,” Puerto Maldonado resident  Victor Zambrano says.

There are many issues that stand in the way of fight against the illegal or artisanal gold mining. One problem is that there is no incentive for the illegal gold miners to apply for licenses. “Walther Arratia, director of the Madre de Dios Regional Government Office of Energy, Mines and Hydrocarbons, says that 3,770 miners registered with his office in 2012 to begin the process of formalizing their concessions, but no applications have been approved to date because of unresolved questions about the application of the new law. The office’s environmental expert says that once those questions are resolved, he will need to evaluate thousands of environmental impact studies, which could take years.”

In the meantime, there are no attractive alternatives for the miners to earn a living and provide for their families. Government interference is minimal at best so most choose to continue to take the risk and mine illegally. 

In order to effect change, people first need to be made aware of the problem. The miners who choose not to formalize their concessions need to be provided with a realistic alternative to provide for their families. The government must be willing to put into place policies that are reasonable to enforce and a process of formalization must be established that can be completed in a timely manner.