TNRC Partner Resource USAID Artisinal Mining paper
Targeting Natural Resource Corruption
Harnessing knowledge, generating evidence, and supporting innovative policy and practice for more effective anti-corruption programming
Small-Scale and Artisanal Mining:
Impacts on Biodiversity in Latin America
This 2019 white paper from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) presents evidence on the environmental impact of artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) in Latin America, and identifies corruption as one element of a complex set of drivers. This information is relevant to conservation and natural resource management practitioners focused on drivers of deforestation and governance challenges in the region. The paper lays out the current extent of ASM and its impacts on biodiversity in Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Colombia, Peru and Brazil. It also reviews current policy and program approaches for addressing these impacts and assesses the effectiveness of these approaches. This analysis offers valuable contextual information and practical examples for practitioners working to target the social and environmental risks associated with ASM and to address the corruption that accompanies it.
Image attribution: © naturepl.com / Jen Guyton / WWF; © Brian J. Skerry / National Geographic Stock / WWF; © Georgina Goodwin / Shoot The Earth / WWF-UK; © Hkun Lat / WWF-Aus