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WORKING TOGETHER TOWARDS RESPONSIBLE ARTISANAL AND SMALL SCALE MINING REPORT MAY 2013 ARTISANAL AND SMALL-SCALE MINING IN PROTECTED AREAS AND CRITICAL ECOSYSTEMS PROGRAMME (AM S -PACE) CAN ARTISANAL MINING & CONSERVATION CO-EXIST? A case study of artisanal gold & diamond mining in and adjacent to Sierra Leone’s Gola Rainforest National Park and recommendations on the way forward MA Y 2013 By Cristina Villegas, Ansumana Babar Turay, and Daniel Sarmu The aim of ASM-PACE is to address the environmental impacts of artisanal and small scale mining Front cover image: Mining site on the (ASM) in some of the world’s most important ecosystems. The project uses a scientific foundation outskirts of the Gola Rainforest National Park in Sierra Leone, © Estelle Levin Ltd of knowledge, participatory methods and rights-based approaches to work with miners and their All images: © Estelle Levin Ltd communities – rather than in opposition – to design sustainable, win-win solutions that will last. The project is focused exclusively on ASM occurring in and around protected areas and critical ecosystems Published in May 2013 by WWF-World Wide Fund for Nature (formerly World Wildlife (“PACE”) that are judged to be key sites for conservation. For more information please visit www.asm- Fund) and Estelle Levin Ltd. pace.org. Any reproduction in full or in part must mention the title and credit the above- Estelle Levin Ltd. iis a boutique development consultancy specialising in natural resources mentioned publisher as the copyright owner. governance and sustainable supply chains. We work in the extractives sector at all levels of the supply chain on behalf of development agencies, NGOs, mining companies, mineral processors, © Estelle Levin Limited and WWF consultancies, industry associations, and end-users like jewellers. We help our clients build resilient This report is prepared from sources and futures for themselves and their stakeholders by guiding them through the risks and opportunities data which ASM-PACE believes to be reliable, that the natural resources sector presents; development through sustainability & sustainability but ASM-PACE makes no representation as to its accuracy or completeness. This report through development. Contact us through www.estellelevin.com. is provided for informational purposes and is not to be construed as providing WWF’s mission is to stop the degradation of the planet’s natural environment and to build a future endorsements, representations or warranties in which humans live in harmony with nature, by conserving the world’s biological diversity, ensuring of any kind whatsoever. WWF and Estelle that the use of renewable natural resources is sustainable, and promoting the reduction of pollution Levin Ltd. accept no liability for any and wasteful consumption. consequences whatsoever of pursuing any of the recommendations provided in this report, The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) aims to save threatened birds and either singularly or altogether. Opinions and wildlife across the UK and overseas. It is the largest wildlife conservation organization in Europe with information provided are made as of the date of issue of the report and are subject to over one million members. Our work is focused on species and habitats that are in the greatest danger. change without notice. As part of the BirdLife International partnership, a global partnership of national conservation organisations, we work with and support like-minded conservation organizations in more than 20 The contents do not necessarily reflect the views of any of the ASM-PACE Programme countries in Africa, Asia, and southern and eastern Europe to save our most endangered wildlife and funders. special places. We have extensive experience of managing large projects in the developing world with local partners including the Gola Rainforest National Park. For more information, please Gola Rainforest National Park (GRNP). The unique value of the Gola forests for biodiversity was visit our website at www.asm- highlighted over 20 years ago by a series of rapid biodiversity assessments led by the Conservation pace.org, or contact: Society of Sierra Leone and the RSPB. A partnership developed between the Forestry Division of the Jonathan Hobbs Government of Sierra Leone, the Conservation Society of Sierra Leone (National BirdLife Partner) International Network Coordinator and the RSPB to conserve the 71,000 hectares of Gola Forest Reserves (sitting within a larger area (Extractive Sector) referred to as Gola Forest) and agreements were made with the local communities in 2001 and 2002 WWF International to manage the forests for conservation. The Gola Forest Reserves then became the Gola Rainforest Tel: +254 20 3877355, 3872630/1 National Park (GRNP), officially launched in December 2011 [email protected] Estelle Levin Technical Director, ASM-PACE Director, Estelle Levin Limited UK This report was written by Cristina Villegas, Ansumana Babar Turay, and Daniel Sarmu. All photographs Tel : +447876743587 are the work of Cristina Villegas or Babar Turay, unless otherwise credited; photographs and figures may [email protected] only be reproduced with the permission of Estelle Levin Ltd. The lead author can be contacted at cristina@ estellelevin.com. The authors would like to thank the following people and institutions who generously donated their time and knowledge in the course of this study. In particular, we would like to thank Nicolas Tubbs (RSPB) for taking leadership on a difficult issue, Fomba Kanneh (GRNP) for exceptional community engagement and assisting us as a local guide, Dr Frazer Sinclair for his assistance in coordinating local knowledge required for mapping, and the entire staff of the Gola Rainforest National Park programme and the GRNP partners that so helpfully facilitated our site visits. Thank you to Estelle Levin (ELL), Jon Hobbs (WWF), Jonathan Barnard (RSPB), Emma Tatum-Hume (RSPB) and Richard Lloyd (RSPB), who each reviewed an early version of this report. Thanks also to Rachel Lichte of the Clarity Project and Professor Danny Hoffman Africa Biodiversity Collaborative Group of the University of Washington provided useful framing and contextual advice, and Kate Malpeli of the US Geological Service (USGS) who assisted authors with geological queries. Most of all, we are in deepest thanks to the area communities who so graciously welcomed the research team and who wanted to help us learn about mining in this part of the Gola forest. During the course of this research project, Sierra Leone’s Director of Mines Jonathan Sharkah, passed away suddenly. We extend our most profound condolences to his family. This specific report was completed with the generous support of The Tiffany & Co. Foundation. The ASM- PACE Programme is generously funded by The Tiffany & Co. Foundation, the World Bank’s Programme on Forests (PROFOR), the World Bank’s Sustainable Energy Gas, Oil and Mining (SEGOM) Unit, WWF- Netherlands, WWF-USA, WWF-DRC, CARPE, WWF-Madagascar, Projet de Gouvernance des Ressources Minérales (PGRM/ Madagascar), the World Bank’s Mining and Gas Unit, Estelle Levin Ltd. (ELL), The Arcus Foundation, and the Africa Biodiversity Collaborative Group (ABCG) through funding by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), with the technical support of WWF-International. Can Mining & Conservation Co‐exist? A Case Study of Sierra Leone Table of Contents Acronyms ................................................................................................................................................. 6 Glossary ................................................................................................................................................... 7 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ....................................................................................................................................... 8 1. INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................................... 11 1.1 Important definitions and distinctions .......................................................................................................... 12 1.2 Methodology ..................................................................................................................................... 13 1.3 Research limitations ............................................................................................................................. 14 2. BACKGROUND INFORMATION ........................................................................................................................ 16 2.1 Conservation Context .............................................................................................................................. 17 2.1.1 Conservation Governance ............................................................................................................................... 17 2.1.2 Environmental laws ......................................................................................................................................... 17 2.2 Mining in Sierra Leone ........................................................................................................................... 18 2.2.1. Artisanal Mining ............................................................................................................................................. 18 2.3 Mining in protected areas and critical ecosystems ...........................................................................................