©ARM
April 8th 2015
Yesterday, representatives from major mining cooperatives and the public sector in Bolivia met in the city of La Paz on the premises of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF), to address main issues in the small-scale gold mining sector. Under the framework of Bolivia’s new mining law, the main topics examined included: funding for investment in technologies, miner-State interactions, and occupational health and safety in the sector.
The meeting was characterized by a mutual willingness to engage in open dialogue in order to come up with joint recommendations. Participants stressed the importance of strengthening the sector through adequate assistance and capacity-building processes regarding technical and administrative aspects for cooperatives. Miners emphasized the need to promote the development of funding mechanisms as well as the need of making these mechanisms more flexible. The necessity to implement programs that help improve health and safety in the sector was also highlighted.
“This is an interesting initiative, we rarely see this; especially the Government reflecting on the situation of the cooperatives. We have asked the government to help us in different economic, health related, and technical issues. With their support we can improve our conditions and mitigate the impact on the environment and replace the use of mercury. ” said Paulino Mamani Condori, Secretary of Education and Environment at the National Federation of Mining Cooperatives.
Participants included representatives of the mining cooperatives FENCOMIN, FEDECOMIN, COMPROMINSA, Yani, Señor Mayo and 15 de Agosto. Representatives of key institutions such as the National Geology and Mining Service, the Authority of Mining Administration, the Mining Financial Fund, the Vice Ministry for Productive Development, the Vice Ministry of Mining Cooperatives and CECI were also present.
“These discussions – where different actors such as cooperatives, the State, and organizations that support the sector participate- help us visualize various needs that were not known to us. I think these mechanisms and opportunities for dialogue are very necessary – for us as government representatives to be able to meet the demands of the sector, and for them to know what the government offers and proposes. The dialogues may also generate partnerships for future work.” said Ilse Beltran, Head of the Technical Management and Institutional Monitoring Unit at the Bolivian Ministry of Mines.
The Gold Dialogues is a space created by the Alliance for Responsible Mining (ARM) for respectful dialogue and debate among stakeholders where the main challenges of artisanal and small-scale are addressed. They are part of a regional project, funded mainly by the IDB-MIF, which seek to strengthen formalization processes through best practices promoted by the Fairmined Standard.
“It would be of great value to the sector to continue these roundtables that allow us to reach agreements and to be informed. The dialogues are crucial to the commitment to environmentally and socially responsible mining “said Ana Maria Aranibar, General Manager at Cumbre del Sajama.
The Alliance for Responsible Mining is an independent organization that works to promote the social, environmental and economic development of artisanal and small-scale mining communities. In Bolivia ARM works closely with Cumbre del Sajama who was part of the organizing team of the first Gold Dialogues in Bolivia yesterday. The event was held thanks to the support from the IDB-MIF and Fundación Avina.
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