Reflections from the First International Gathering on Artisanal and Small-scale Mining
Tetra Tech’s Terah DeJong, country director of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Property Rights and Artisanal Diamond Development (PRADD II) project in Côte d’Ivoire, participated in an expert interview with USAID LandLinks, titled “Reflections from the First International Gathering on Artisanal and Small-scale Mining.” All opinions expressed in this post are the author’s own.
In the blog, Terah provides an overview of lessons learned at the 2018 International Conference on Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining (ASM) and Quarrying in Zambia—the first international gathering dedicated to ASM in more than a decade. Terah discusses the concept of formalization in the mining sector in Africa and how it has contributed to the success of the PRADD II project.
On the LandLinks blog, Terah writes:
ASM formalization is the process of collaborative rule-setting and rule enforcement across supply chain actors, governments, and communities with the aim of enabling ASM to contribute to local and national peace and prosperity, both now and for future generations.
By thinking of formalization in this way, we avoid just counting licenses and miner cards and instead look at the degree to which governments, communities, miners, and buyers have a productive and collaborative relationship. This relationship must be built on a shared understanding of the legitimate role of ASM in national and local economies and a shared strategy to regulate and promote it.
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ASM18 was a great forum to share PRADD II experiences and learn from the hundreds of others working on the formalization agenda. With a clear vision and clear strategies to achieve formalization, the decade ahead bodes well for ASM, increasing the chances that it will truly live up to its development potential.
Read the full post on the USAID LandLinks blog.
