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

years ago these countries initiated a conversion process that included the development of
uniform and transparent property laws accessible to entrepreneurs who were living
“outside the law.” The efficient property systems and improved tenure security provided
a basis for capital creation that financed the economic development of the industrialized
nations, “their economies began to soar into wealth without their even realizing what they
had done.”
This interpretation of the economic history of the developed countries contains insights
and ground rules that can be extremely useful for the formulation of an innovative
approach that will actually help resolve the chaos in the placer gold mining sector of
Suriname, but also help fill the legal vacuum in which this sector operates. In fact, de
Soto devotes an entire section of “The Mystery of Capital” to the transitional process that
brought about the regulation of the chaotic United States (U.S.) gold mining sector during
the 19 th century. Key elements that made this transition successful included the
realization that respect for the accumulated wisdom and customs of miners was essential.
Moreover, thousands of mining laws had to be consolidated into an integrated system that
guaranteed administrative efficiency and tenure security. The transition from SSM to
medium- and large-scale mining (LSM) requiring greater investment would have never
succeeded without mining codes that clearly define ownership and provide adequate
tenure security.
These “missing lessons of U.S. history” described by de Soto inspire a new way of
looking at the problems associated with the unregulated placer gold mining sector in
Suriname. An effort to legalize all placer mining operations and provide tenure security
to miners throughout the country is a key ingredient of the proposed transitional process.
This report recommends that the organizational patterns and the “miners‟ laws” that have
evolved in the gold fields of Suriname should be recorded and carefully studied. This
expertise could be used to add innovative elements to the draft legislation and regulations
that will actually succeed in introducing order into the sub-sector. The chance of
acceptance and compliance will be greatly increased, if the new regulations incorporate
rules that the miners themselves have developed.
1.4 The stakeholders and the stakes
The SSM methods now in use cause substantial damage to the natural environmental and
public health. Occupational risks to miners include health complaints associated with
inappropriate mercury handling; the release of mercury into the environment during
mining and during the burning of the gold-mercury amalgam in open air. Miners also risk
injuries and mortality from accidents, which occur regularly in the absence of adequate
safety regulations and gear. Mining-induced environmental degradation includes
deforestation, erosion, siltation of rivers and creeks, and alteration of the rainforest
micro-climate, all resulting in a significant loss of biodiversity. As mining tailings are
causing creeks and rivers to become increasingly turbid, forest communities are
experiences a shortage of clean drinking water and a subsequent increase in water
pollution related illnesses, including diarrhea. The threat of bioaccumulation of mercury
in fish, caimans and other animals consumed by communities in the mining areas is well
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