Gold Mining and Mercury in the Amazon

  • What can civil society do to address the environmental and social harms caused by gold mining and associated mercury contamination in the Amazon Basin?

This multidisciplinary SNAPP Working Group includes experts in conservation, mining, health, legal, policy, technology and crime science, alongside Indigenous peoples’ groups. We will formulate a strategy to reduce the environmental and social harms caused by mercury use in artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) in the Amazon Basin. Focusing on a single priority sub-basin, the working group will apply situational crime prevention techniques to break down the complex ASGM supply chain into thematic areas, stages, and actors. This analysis will lead to identifying strategic points of intervention and defining a set of tailored responses to be implemented post-SNAPP working group.

Team Status:

  • Ongoing

Goals

  1. Using a crime science approach to develop a multi-stakeholder theory of change, we will recommend actions for tackling gold mining impacts and reducing mercury use in ASGM.
  2. This will include strengthening stakeholders’ understanding of their respective roles and responsibilities in addressing ASGM-related harms and securing their commitment to implement the recommended responses.
  3. We will facilitate management recommendation adoption through key regional bodies and initiatives, including the Amazon Waters Alliance and Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization, share targeted communication materials at high-level meetings and build political support and regional coordination.

Teams

Leaders

Sebastian Heilpern

  • Stanford University

Silvia Lopez Casas

  • Wildlife Conservation Society

Members

Luis Felipe Salazar

  • Wildlife Conservation Society

Erika Bermeo

  • UNDP/PlanetGOLD

Maria Eulalia Silva Ricaurte

  • Ecuador Chamber of Mining

María Amparo Alban

  • Inter American Institute on Justice and Sustainability

Korik Vargas

  • Biodiversity Research Institute

Maria Franco

  • Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation

Matthew Finer

  • Amazon Conservation

Jeremy Campbell

  • Chicago Field Museum

Gohar Petrossian

  • John Jay College of Criminal Justice

Marion Adeney

  • Conservation X Labs

Luis Fernandez

  • Amazon Scientific Innovation Center (CINCIA)

Tassio Franchi

  • Brazilian Army Command and General Staff College

Allison Aldous

  • The Nature Conservancy

Silvia Benitez

  • The Nature Conservancy

Advisors

Camila Ribadeneira

  • Wildlife Conservation Society

Matthew Linkie

  • Wildlife Conservation Society

Mario Rodas

  • UNDP/PlanetGOLD

David Evers

  • Biodiversity Research Institute

Richard Gutierrez

  • Minamata Secretariat

Sebastian Valdivieso

  • Wildlife Conservation Society
Explore More Teams Like This