Empowering Sustainable Mining Practices to Protect People 和 the Planet

In 哥伦比亚, more than half of artisanal miners in the informal sector are women. They spend hours hunched over in mercury-polluted rivers panning for gold or hammering away at rocks, often carrying children on their backs as they work in dangerous conditions.

Gold is everywhere, 和 these small-scale miners rely on it for their livelihood.

But there are few controls in place to protect them from the health 和 social risks posed by mining practices. This includes physical impacts of the mining work 和 the improper use of chemicals such as mercury 和 arsenic, 污染了水道, 降低土壤, 而且会导致健康问题，尤其是对女性而言. 免疫反应减弱, 尿路感染, 和 exposure to neuro-developmental toxins for infants or women of child-bearing age are among the occupational health 和 safety concerns, in addition to the impact of hours spent working in difficult conditions.

As part of a recent project funded by the National Science Foundation, Dr. 凯萨琳史密特, chair of 土木与环境工程 和 Solomon Professor for Global Development, 和 Ph.D. student Linda Jaramillo Urrego have been examining environmental impacts in artisanal 和 small-scale gold mining communities in 哥伦比亚. 在这项工作的基础上. 杰西Zarazaga, 民政事务总署署长 可持续发展计划 莱尔，和一个 多学科研究生团队, 本科研究人员, 和 international colleagues to co-develop remediation strategies for aspects of social 和 environmental concern alongside women miners 和 community members.

“It’s so important for students to learn the impact of collaboration 和 of integrating a community point of view into their research,” Dr.  Zarazaga 说. “It’s the difference between working in collaboration 与, 而不是在交流中, 受影响最大的人.”

思考 可持续发展硕士学位? 想想SMU莱尔吧.

最近，她和来自MIT D-Lab的Libby McDonald博士. Oscar Restrepo from the Universidad Nacional De 哥伦比亚, 和 a team of their students held a joint workshop in Santa Rita, 哥伦比亚, 与 女性手工和小规模淘金者. 此次研究之旅由OPFER基金资助. The group pilot-tested the use of participatory mapping to document spatial aspects of social 和 environmental impact, including documenting areas where 水 is turbid or polluted, 森林砍伐正在发生的地方, 以及采矿作业对女矿工的影响.

“Participatory mapping allows community members to help design solutions to the challenges they face,” Dr. Zarazaga说. “This promotes community-driven innovation 和 gives the mining women the capacity to advocate for a support structure.”

Miners provided their perspectives on a variety of themes that helped identify key intersections between safety, 森林砍伐, 水的质量, 环境污染.

“这不是你能在网上找到的信息,阿乐·卡丹说, a senior studying International Studies 和 president of 地球第一SMU 谁是Dr. Zarazaga的研究团队. 通过个人面试, we gathered data on obstacles miners face on their way to work, 森林砍伐, locations where mercury seeps into the soil 和 contaminates the ground水, 孩子们在河里玩耍的地方, 和更多的. We then digitized the maps using ArcGIS mapping software that women miners can use as a means of empowerment to improve their working st和ards.”

The goal of the research is to identify new ways to work safely for future generations of miners 和 simultaneously keep the environment protected, 朱莉安娜·罗尔说, 学习环境工程的研究生.

“谷歌地图只能告诉你这么多，”罗尔说. “There are always details or challenges you don’t know about 与out firsth和 experience. 整个学期, we’ve been working in class on the technical aspects of mapping 和 how to draw conclusions from the numbers. But it was so impactful getting data directly from the source about soil, 农业, 可持续性, 和健康.”

新大莱尔学院的一名研究生Rutuja Lele说 可持续发展 程序, experiencing a day in the life of female miners was an enlightening experience.

“我有很多黄金首饰, 和 to see where it comes from – environmental impacts aside – was so eye-opening,乐乐说. “It takes about a month for women miners to produce what the men can produce, 她们还会遭受基于性别的暴力, 不平等的工作条件和不平等的报酬. This experience was invaluable 和 reiterates that we are in a privileged place.”

不断增加的食物, 水, 和 energy dem和s are driven by higher consumption 和 a growing global population has transformed the world economically, 在政治上, 和生态. Dr. 史密斯博士和史密斯博士. Zarazaga的研究团队认为，解决食物的方法, 水, 和 energy issues must be informed by scientific underst和ing 和 community values. 要了解更多关于他们的研究，请访问 http://people.jfjd999.com/zarazaga/ 和 http://people.jfjd999.com/ksmits/. 

关于鲍比·莱尔工程学院
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