Women’s Organization on mission to halt illegal mining activities

Nov 23, 2018 News

A growing number of women are involved in gold mining, either as regulators, owners of land or equipment or as operators in the field.
“These women are strongly motivated to make a decent living, so their children can go to school, they can help their families and develop their communities,” says Urica Primus, President of the Guyana Women Miners Organization [GWMO].

Caspar Verwer, Expert Nature Conservation, IUCN NL.

These fearless women, however, are faced with harsh conditions in the field including bullying, gender-based violence, corruption, even trafficking, Primus shared.
In the far out mining sites in dense forests, with hardly any facilities, the lack of control makes women even more vulnerable, she pointed out. However, with support from the ICUN NL, which is the National Committee of the Netherlands of the International Union for Conservation, GWMO came up with an innovative solution to halt illegal activities and improve the safety of women miners.

Urica Primus, President of the Guyana Women Miners Organization.

In this regard, GWMO is now preparing to use drones and a monitoring app that allows people in the field to report illegal activities in real time.
“The app enables women to report misconduct, threats and even injuries, immediately,” Primus explained, adding, “It gives them a lifeline to the appropriate authorities.”
The system also encourages and empowers women to take part in decision-making processes and bodies around their environment. According to Primus too, “The monitoring data and reports will help them steer towards evidence-based planning decisions, such as the best location for assistance or health clinics.”
Recognising the efforts of the GWMO, Caspar Verwer, Expert Nature Conservation at IUCN NL, said, “GWMO is the only civil society organization working intensively with the mining communities [here in Guyana] to address the social and economic issues in mining.”
He added, “By acting as eyes and ears in the field, they are well positioned to detect illegal activities such as deforestation, poaching and prospecting outside of legal concession areas.” The women miners’ organization is one that works in close cooperation with police departments to improve enforcement. However, Verwer noted that while safeguarding ecosystems, improved monitoring and enforcement also contribute to better working and safety conditions of women miners. He noted too that promoting responsible mining practices and enhancing inclusiveness go hand in hand.
Talk of the efforts being employed by the GWMO to halt illegal mining, comes even as focus is being directed to the fact that artisanal small-scale gold mining in the Guianas, causes deforestation and pollution of entire river systems, and women in this sector face harsh working conditions. However, it has been accepted that an innovative monitoring system promotes responsible mining practices, resulting in better working conditions for women and better protection of ecosystems.
“In the Guianas, deforestation due to gold mining has increased by an alarming 100,000 hectares in the period 2008 – 2015,” Verwer observed. In fact, he noted that over 40,000 km in waterways are affected directly or indirectly by gold mining.
It has been found too that there is insufficient governmental capacity to monitor illegal activities. “This lack of control poses a threat to biodiversity and the functioning of ecosystems. It also makes mining areas a dangerous place for women,” Verwer noted. It is for this reason that emphasis is being given to the laudable efforts of the local women miners’ organization.

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