National Geographic’s January issue highlights “The Real Price of Gold”, bringing focus to the disastrous impacts of gold mining on communities around the world. The article focuses on Peru, Indonesia, and Ghana and provides a compelling look into the high costs of gold for both people and the environment. From the degradation of rivers and oceans to the devastating effects mining has on the health and quality of life for local people, the article will have you thinking about this luxury commodity in a whole new light.
We are delighted that National Geographic has provided such an in-depth overview of the immensity of problems associated with gold mining. Greengrants has been funding local groups in their struggles for increased accountability, cleaner practices, and improved human rights from the mining industry for the last 15 years. There are not always success stories to report, but we know that groups are mobilizing, networks are forming, and pressure for changing the cycle of abuse around gold mining is emerging from those who are most affected.
Our grants have supported groups in increasing their ability to voice their concerns in powerful and effective ways. From workshops on legal rights of indigenous peoples—on whose land much mining occurs—to monitoring the impacts of mining practices, to funding health surveys and hiring lawyers, these activities are a crucial part of building a movement towards environmental sustainability and justice.
In Peru, Greengrants supports local groups in bringing attention to the environmental and social impacts of the Yanacocha gold mine, owned and operated by Denver-based Newmont Mining Corporation. To read past Greengrants profiles about these efforts, click here and here.
In Buyat Bay, Indonesia, our support helped communities to bring the impacts of yet another Newmont Mining project to the forefront. The result of years of tireless efforts by community and advocacy groups, Newmont Mining was actually brought to court to face criminal charges for environmental abuses at the Minahasa mine. Click here to read more about this case and the role of grassroots groups in protecting their rights and environment.
In Ghana, local groups like Livelihood and Environment Ghana, Concerned Citizens of Chirano, and Adrobaa Community Group have helped to nurture the growth of community-led efforts to build awareness about the negative socio-environmental outcomes of regional gold mining. To learn more about this work, click here.
Just last month, Greengrants celebrated with our grantee partners Alburnus Maior and Terra Mileniul III in Romania as they won a landmark supreme court victory to stop gold mining in a historic village. For all of our grantee partners, these are long, hard battles, but their determination and dedication can and does pay off. Public recognition of their hardships, such as that provided by this National Geographic article, is an important step in shifting public opinion to eventually insist on an end to dirty gold mining practices.