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

2) Immediate action –radio-broadcasted information campaign for mining areas
and villages surrounding the mines, based on the findings of the earlier WWFstudy
on environmental perceptions among Maroon miners and villagers
affected by mining activity in the interior. Radio programs in the various local
languages should focus on health and safety in the mines, best practices,
mercury contamination, miners‟ associations, the new draft mining law, and
other topics discussed in this report.
3) Short-term: The organization of miners on a regional and perhaps even a zone
basis, that is, bring together, under an organizational umbrella, concession
holder, equipment owners and individual miners who wish to join. It is
suggested that a project be developed to survey the mining regions and zones
and to consult concession and equipment owners as well as miners about
setting up such an organization. The existing GMD/WWF study on this topic
and the proposed joint IADB/ WWG-Guianas “Establishment Suriname Gold
Mining Association” can be used as a starting point.. The focus should be on
assistance, to serve the well-being and the interest of the members.
4) Efforts to reform the sub-sector and introduce controls will be much easier
and effective with such an organization in place. The organization will
provide the government with a counterpart for the purpose of developing and
structuring assistance and regulatory schemes. The organization of miners will
provide a basis for the third action, namely the introduction of a zoning
system in the mining regions of Suriname. As noted above, this initiative
could be spearheaded by the outcome of a workshop of all key stakeholders in
the sub-sector, followed by survey in the field and a mapping project
component.
5) With a national organization of miners in place and with a zoning system of
the mining regions that has thoroughly documented and mapped the subsector,
the government will be in a much better position to develop a new
mining policy. In fact, the work done under steps one, two and three will have
produce significant input from the key stakeholders to already formulate a
policy framework, but the process of interactive policy making should be
institutionalized, as rapid changes will most certainly continue to occur in the
sub-sector. With a solid policy basis, the new laws that are drafted will be
much more practical and enjoy much greater support among the miners. The
likelihood of compliance with existing regulations will have been significantly
increased. It will also be much easier to design efficient and effective
institutions that have a strong operational capacity in the field. The BGS has
already developed a full proposal for the development of a Mineral Institute,
and this work could be used as a point of departure in the preparation of a
106