SITUATION ANALYSIS OF THE SMALL-SCALE GOLD ... - WWF

in the field, because that is where alluvial mining takes place. The rules should be
equitable, but the provisions of assistance should be made available to all miners on an
equal footing. Finally, control should not focus only on collecting fiscal revenues.
Assistance schemes to help develop sustainable mining practices and reduce negative
environmental impacts should receive equal priority.
Regulations
(Efficiency)
Assistance Control
(Equity) (Sustainability)
The stakes of the government must be also clearly defined and brought into focus. A
government that sees limited benefits from the SSM sector will not be motivated to set up
support schemes. Insufficient revenues will prevent the government from contributing to
assistance schemes. In order to protect its interests, the government would do well to
develop equitable and enforceable rules, set up a workable institutional infrastructure and
provide support to miners. Licensing of alluvial miners is basic in this respect. However,
there has to be sufficient institutional capacity to intervene. There have to be incentives;
technical and organizational support that enables miners to comply with the new laws and
regulations and that ensure substantial fiscal revenues from the sub-sector.
Finally, the diagram on the next page outlines the expanded three-tier relationship
between the regulatory, control and assistance parameters. The basic approach outlined
by Noetstaller is excellent. However, in the case of Suriname there is a critical need to
develop new legislation and flexible regulations, in addition to the development and
institutionalization of assistance and control schemes in the sub-sector.
7.4 The purpose and challenges of zoning
Analysis starts with classification. We need a way to partition up the gold mining regions
of the interior into manageable regions and zones, first for the purpose of gathering
information. As data from the field is gathered and analyzed, the process of zoning and
the organization of the mining regions and zones can get underway. Zoning is a critical
condition for realizing the main objectives identified by this report: 1) interactive policy
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