Peru, Madre de Dios: illegal gold mining out of control – experts

Peruvian authorities have no control over large areas of the country and have allowed illegal gold mining activities to destroy thousands of acres of rainforest in the Madre de Dios region, experts said at a conference in capital Lima.

“Tens of thousands of people [involved in illegal gold mining] have destroyed 150,000ha in Madre de Dios where 40,000kg of mercury is dumped into the environment annually. Nothing is ever going to grow there again and nobody says anything,” said Fernando Rospigliosi, head of consulting company Human and Social Capital and the country’s former interior minister.

The individuals involved in the industry are armed and go about their daily activities without any interference from environmental organizations or authorities, according to Rospigliosi. In fact, the industry is the main economic activity in cities like regional capital Puerto Maldonado, he said.

Officials from the Peruvian society of mining, petroleum and energy have complained repeatedly that there is an absolute lack of government control over these activities which include the hiring of minors and the dumping of mercury into bodies of water.

Deputy mining minister Fernando Gala said it is impossible for the ministry to address the problems in Madre de Dios alone. “The issue of Madre de Dios has to do with totally informal mining so it must be dealt with by all sectors,” Gala said.

“The first step is to formalize these activities but that requires resources. The ministry is working on two projects on informal mining as well as on an agreement with the UN. The ministry is also opening local offices to support regional governments in the search for a solution to the problem,” said Gala.

The solution must consist of an expansive plan to be coordinated by all ministries, Gala added.

“That is a typical bureaucratic reply. Everybody throws the ball into the other court,” Rospigliosi told BNamericas, adding: “This confirms that the government is not doing what it is supposed to do and as the [regional] elections of 2010 and [presidential] elections of 2011 get closer it will do less.”

Rather than corruption, the lack of government control is mainly due to authorities’ fear of tackling difficult issues and consequently losing their jobs, according to Rospigliosi.

Authorities were speaking at a congress on mining, hydrocarbons and electricity legislation held in Peruvian capital Lima from November 12-13, 2009.

Source: Renzo Pipoli, BNamericas.com [subscription site], Nov 2009