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Jewels of Responsibility from Mines to Markets: Sarah Wade Dickinson Deleon University of Vermont

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Jewels of Responsibility from Mines to Markets: Sarah Wade Dickinson Deleon University of Vermont University of Vermont ScholarWorks @ UVM Graduate College Dissertations and Theses Dissertations and Theses 2008 Jewels of Responsibility from Mines to Markets: Sarah Wade Dickinson DeLeon University of Vermont Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/graddis Recommended Citation DeLeon, Sarah Wade Dickinson, "Jewels of Responsibility from Mines to Markets:" (2008). Graduate College Dissertations and Theses. 65. https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/graddis/65 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Dissertations and Theses at ScholarWorks @ UVM. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate College Dissertations and Theses by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks @ UVM. For more information, please contact [email protected]. JEWELS OF RESPONSIBILITY FROM MINES TO MARKETS: COMPARATIVE CASE ANALYSIS IN BURMA, MADAGASCAR AND COLOMBIA A Thesis Presented by Sarah Wade Dickinson DeLeon to The Faculty of the Graduate College of The University of Vermont In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science Specializing in Natural Resources May, 2008 Accepted by the Faculty of the Graduate College, The University of Vermont, in partial fulfiient of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science, specializing in Natural Resources. Thesis Examination Committee: Advisor Salee4 H. Ali, Ph.D. VY- Curtis L. Ventriss, Ph.D. *L Chairperson Michael A. Gurdon, Ph.D. /'--- President for Research Dean of Graduate Studies Date: March 27,2008 ABSTRACT Artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) are important sources of income for impoverished rural populations in many developing countries. Poor labor and environmental conditions often prevail because governments lack the capacity and sometimes the will to responsibly control ASM. At the other end of the supply chain, corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategies increasingly require jeweler’s suppliers to control social and environmental aspects of mining. In a sense, jewelry and mining corporations are voluntarily taking the issue of governance into their own hands. A combination of CSR and revenue-centric development strategies has the potential to further marginalize poor, rural populations who depend on ASM. It is therefore important to examine how ASM has been affected by global social responsibility trends, why it is often left out and to find ways that ASM populations can be successfully integrated into planning for sustainable development and socially responsible business. Gemstones and gold are economically the most important global commodities for ASM populations and precious colored gemstones are rarely mined on a large-scale. Ethnographic research was undertaken to explore how global social responsibility strategies interact with local realities of ASM colored gemstone and gold production. Burma, Madagascar and Colombia each present cases with clear interaction between global CSR trends and ASM, and combined provide a range of public policies with regards to rural populations who depend on ASM. Informal interviews and industry observations were conducted with a range of stakeholders in the global precious mineral trade and mineral development sector. Semi-structured interviews were recorded with key informants for each case study and these were triangulated with internal documents, press releases and articles. Burma illustrates a case where global CSR is attempting to halt ASM because of poor governance and human rights violations. Madagascar illustrates a case where governance and education are improving but widespread poverty and a legacy of corruption has so far prevented the direct integration of ASM into CSR strategies. In the case of Colombia, one region has successfully connected ASM with the global CSR dialogue by designing and implementing a certification program to effectively valorize and govern ASM production. Major findings reveal that (1) CSR in the mineral sector is a contentious and political issue with a range of stakeholder viewpoints; (2) a bottom-up, process-oriented approach can successfully drive economic and social improvement in ASM commodity chains; and (3) community empowerment, education, youth leadership and social networking appear to be key factors for driving production of ASM minerals that can comply with social and environmental standards. DEDICATION To my grandmother, Talitha Clark Jamieson She taught me to see that life is an adventure full of learning and inspired me to explore. and To my parents, Richard and Margaret Dickinson They taught me the value of looking at the world from many viewpoints and encouraged me to experience it from unusual angles. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First I would like to acknowledge the many people who spoke with me about their experiences in the mining and jewelry industries for their support, encouragement and willingness to connect me with their networks. This study would not have been possible without the conversations and emails in which these people engaged with me all over the globe. I am thankful that I was able to enter their lifeworlds to learn about their many viewpoints and experiences. I would also like to express my sincere and lasting gratitude to my graduate advisor, Dr. Saleem H. Ali, without whom I never would have delved into the fascinating world of gemstones and small-scale mining. His support and encouragement throughout my three years of graduate school have been invaluable to me. I would also like to thank the other members of my graduate committee, Dr. Curtis Ventriss, and Dr. Michael Gurdon, for their guidance and interest in my work on this interdisciplinary master’s thesis. I would like to acknowledge three organizations for their financial and intellectual support. The Tiffany Foundation is acknowledged for funding some of my research and funding me as a Tiffany Scholar during my first year of graduate school. The Rubenstein School of Environment & Natural Resources and Communities and Small-Scale Mining [CASM] funded and supported my fieldwork in Madagascar. The CASM Secretariat, Veronika Kohler, Christopher Sheldon, and Gotthard Walser, have been helpful throughout my research, and I thank them for the invitation and experience of presenting iii my early findings at the 7th Annual CASM Conference in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia as well as for the financial support to attend. A number of individuals also deserve acknowledgement for a variety of reasons. I do not have space or permission to list the many people who I interviewed here, but to all of them: Thank You! My husband, Patrick, was patient and flexible throughout my research and writing process. I think that finishing this document would have been nearly impossible without his support. Jennifer DeMambro assisted with Spanish translation of emails for my article on Colombia. Laurent Cartier reviewed my article on Madagascar and provided helpful feedback for the editing process. Laura Tilghman kindly shared her impressions and friends in Madagascar with me. Vincent Pardieu generously shared his impressions and wisdom of the gem world with me and provided wonderful visuals for my presentations and the gemecology website (http://www.gemecology.org). To all of the other family and friends who listened to my thoughts unfold during this process, housed me while traveling and cheered me on, many thanks and invitations to give me the opportunity to reciprocate in the future. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Page DEDICATION ..................................................................................................................................................... ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .............................................................................................................................. iii LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................................................ vii LIST OF FIGURES ......................................................................................................................................... viii CHAPTER 1: Context and Overview of the Research...................................................................................1 1.1 Introduction and Purpose............................................................................................................................1 1.2 Comprehensive Literature Review.............................................................................................................4 1.3 Overarching Research Questions ............................................................................................................ 32 1.4 Overarching Methods............................................................................................................................... 33 1.5 Summary of Key Findings....................................................................................................................... 34 CHAPTER 2: Journal Articles........................................................................................................................ 38 New Dimensions of Voluntary Regulation: The Jewelry Industry and U.S. Foreign Policy toward Burma ......................................................................................................................................................................... 38 A Jeweled Path to Poverty Alleviation: The Madagascar Model for Managing Gemstones .................... 64 Conservation, certification, and community: Sustainable gold digging in
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