Rodríguez Ortuño, Karla
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Academic year 2014 -2015 MULTIPLICITY AND COMPLEXITY LANDSCAPE APPROACH PRINCIPLES ANALYSED IN THE GOVERNANCE OF GOLD MINING AREAS IN ECUADOR Rodríguez Ortuño, Karla Promoter: Elisabet Rasch Ph.D. (Wagening University) Co-promoter: Katharine N Farrell Ph.D. (Humboldt University of Berlin ) Thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the joint academic degree of International Master of Science in Rural Development from Ghent University (Belgium), Agrocampus Ouest (France), Humboldt University of Berlin (Germany), Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra (Slovakia) and University of Pisa (Italy) in collaboration With Wageningen University (The Netherlands). This thesis Was elaborated and defended at Wageningen University, Netherlands within the frameWork of the European Erasmus Mundus Programme “Erasmus Mundus International Master of Science in Rural Development " (Course N° 2010-0114 – R 04-018/001) Governance of gold mining landscapes in Ecuador Karla Rodríguez SUMMARY Since the beginning of the 21st century the price of gold has increased With several hundred percent; combined With the increased demand in countries such as China and India, this has turned gold mining into an attractive industry in Ecuador, as it has in all of Latin America. For the first time mining activity is considered a strategic sector by the Ecuadorian government, Who considers it to have the capacity to contribute to economical resources that Will be used to achieve Buen Vivir – Sumak Kawsay, Good Way of living– for the Ecuadorian population. Even though Ecuador is a country without experience in large-scale gold mining exploitation, there are already tWenty-five large-scale mining projects in exploration, nineteen of Which have gold as their main mineral. This master thesis analyses the governance of gold mining landscapes in Ecuador through the reference of three principles of landscape approaches to sustainable management of natural resources: multiple stakeholders, multiple functions and multiple scales. This analytical governance framework is analysed together With the concepts of valuation triadics, drawn from ecological economics and landscape narratives, drawn from anthropology. The methods used in this research were the review of academic and policy documents, as Well as thematic intervieWs and communications With experts, national government decision makers, local governmental authorities and mining activists in Ecuador. While all identified stakeholders share the Wish to have the local population of gold bearing areas achieve a ‘good Way of living’, they all see the Way to do this differently. Landscape narratives of tensions between the pro- and anti-mining perspectives of the National Government, local communities (activists and defenders) and ecologic organisations in Ecuador, regarding whether or not they believe mining can help the country to achieve Sumak Kawsay are detailed throughout the analysis. International actors, mining companies and international non-governmental organisations, also influence both, pro-mining and anti-mining camps, respectively. Some actors, such as academics, local communities and parish governmental authorities, cannot be generalised into these camps. Their allegiance depends on Which group is more in line With their values, or Which group can satisfy their individual interests better. As they directly manage the mining sector and are in charge of Ecuadorian laWs, the National Government is the dominant actor in mining and their values represent the structural level in this analysed governance. Nevertheless activist groups have substantial influence over What is done and how things are done in mining landscapes. Both groups of stakeholders do not consider or value all the functionalities and mining scales that are part of the gold areas in the country as an integrated context, nor do they consider all the stakeholders. Instead an individual approach is used Were tWo radical mining perspectives are competing aiming at articulating each one's respective values in gold mining landscapes in Ecuador, the focal level of this study. 2 Multiplicity and complexity landscape approach principles Karla Rodríguez PREFACE When I started thinking about my thesis, I Was determined to Work on my oWn topic, although, to be honest, I Was not sure Which sector to focus on. I kneW I Wanted something related to associativity, cooperatives, or other approaches, Which alloW bringing different stakeholders together. Keeping this in mind, I tried to find an inspiring topic, Which can alloW me to apply What I have learnt, in my professional life afterWards. I started researching and looking at projects, programs, etc. and I encountered a ‘new’ landscape approach discourse that called my attention, as they do not look at singular spaces, but to context of landscapes. I found out that mining is considered a competing activity of traditional activities such as agriculture, and one of the most conflicting sectors WorldWide. This situation brought me into this neW field, the mining sector, Which has not been studied Within the discourse of landscape approaches. My idea was to see if in such conflicts, different stakeholders and levels can be brought together, through bottom up and top down approaches, and make mining and other income activities complementary to each other in a sustainable Way. With this in mind, I looked up places in Africa and South America Where I could make my investigation. Through my research I found out that in Ecuador, my home country, the large-scale mining industry has become a neW objective for the current Ecuadorian Government. This turned out to be quite a stimulating topic for me. With these main ideas I approached some professors Who could be interested to Work With mining, agriculture and landscape approaches, at Wageningen UR and Humboldt University. In this process I could get in touch With Dr. Katharine Farrell, thanks to Prof. Konrad Hagedorn, and With Dr. Elisabet Rasch, thanks to Prof. Dirk Roep, both of Whom I Would like to thank for directing me to the right persons to guide my thesis research. And here is my final report. It is the result of hard Work and dedication, not just by me, but also by several others Whose support has proven to be the decisive factor that made me reaches this goal. I would like to start by thanking my supervisor Elisabet Rasch and my co-supervisor Katharine Farrell, for all their support, criticism and for guiding me through this learning process of writing a master thesis. Personal thanks go to Thomas de Wilde Who has supported me throughout the process, in the good and not so good moments I experienced. Besides that I Would like to thank him for all the time and effort he put in critically reading my entire text. I also thank my family and friends for their interest in my headWay, and their support in general. For all this and more, thank you so much! To conclude I Would like to thank Marc Craps, Lee Gross, James Reed, James Langston, William Sacher, Jeffrey Sayer and Marcelo Vásconez, Who took the time to ansWer my many questions, providing me With material, as Well as contacts, that Were very helpful in the process of my research. With infinite gratefulness for all the received support, Karla Rodríguez Ortuño 3 Governance of gold mining landscapes in Ecuador Karla Rodríguez TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 7 LIST OF IMAGES ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7 LIST OF TABLES ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8 LIST OF ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS -------------------------------------------------------------- 8 1. INTRODUCTION --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10 2. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 13 2.1. GOVERNANCE OF LANDSCAPES AND TEN LANDSCAPE APPROACH PRINCIPLES --------------------------- 13 2.2. VALUATION TRIADICS AND TERRITORIAL NARRATIVES --------------------------------------------------- 16 3. METHODOLOGY --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 17 3.1. CONTEXT OF GOLD MINING IN ECUADOR ------------------------------------------------------------------ 17 3.2. RESEARCH OBJECTIVE -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 19 3.3. RESEARCH QUESTION --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 20 3.3.1. Sub research questions --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 20 3.4. SCOPE OF INVESTIGATION ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 20 3.5. RESEARCH METHOD ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 21 3.6. ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 24 3.7. OTHER CONSIDERATIONS AND LIMITATIONS -------------------------------------------------------------- 24 4. MINING IN THE ECUADORIAN CONTEXT ------------------------------------------------------------- 26 4.1. MININING IN THE ECUADORIAN NATIONAL CONTEXT AND WITHIN THE BUEN VIVIR NARRATIVE ----- 26 4.1.1. The responsible mining narrative within the Ecuadorian National Government context to achieve Buen Vivir -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------