IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/lauspo/v102y2021ics0264837720325679.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Customary governance of artisanal and small-scale mining in Guinea: Social and environmental practices and outcomes⋆

Author

Listed:
  • Huntington, Heather
  • Marple-Cantrell, Kate

Abstract

In Guinea, attempts are underway by international donors, development practitioners, and the national government to bring artisanal and small-scale diamond mining in line with a formal regulation and parcel allocation system. This formalization initiative in Guinea—along with similar reforms aimed at land tenure regularization across Africa—attempt to superimpose modern legal institutions onto community institutions. Artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) in Guinea’s Forécariah and Kindia regions is currently governed by customary governance structures and deeply rooted customary institutions for land and property rights management. Thus far, formal structures have failed to replace or integrate with customary institutions. Identifying how to achieve complementarity between informal and formal systems that are defined by deep cultural and structural tensions requires a solid understanding of customary institutions (Ensminger, 1997). This paper analyzes social and environmental practices and ASM outcomes in an area with a history of strong informal customary governance. The study has three research objectives. First, the study seeks to provide a deeper understanding of the customary institutions and systems governing ASM in Guinea’s Forécariah and Kindia regions. Second, the paper draws on empirical analysis of village level quantitative and qualitative data to identify whether and how customary governance and institutional factors affect social and environmental outcomes in the context of ASM. Based on these findings, the paper closes with concrete policy recommendations for promoting greater complementarity between the formal and informal systems. Given the scale and scope of quantitative and qualitative data sources applied to the analysis, this study utilizes the most comprehensive empirical data to-date on ASM in a customary context. As such, this paper presents a unique contribution to the literature around customary governance, resource contestations, and land governance for mining communities and the ASM sector in sub-Saharan Africa.

Suggested Citation

  • Huntington, Heather & Marple-Cantrell, Kate, 2021. "Customary governance of artisanal and small-scale mining in Guinea: Social and environmental practices and outcomes⋆," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 102(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:lauspo:v:102:y:2021:i:c:s0264837720325679
    DOI: 10.1016/j.landusepol.2020.105229
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264837720325679
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.landusepol.2020.105229?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Geenen, Sara, 2012. "A dangerous bet: The challenges of formalizing artisanal mining in the Democratic Republic of Congo," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(3), pages 322-330.
    2. Nyame, Frank K. & Blocher, Joseph, 2010. "Influence of land tenure practices on artisanal mining activity in Ghana," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(1), pages 47-53, March.
    3. Siegel, Shefa & Veiga, Marcello M., 2009. "Artisanal and small-scale mining as an extralegal economy: De Soto and the redefinition of "formalization"," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 34(1-2), pages 51-56.
    4. Berry, Sara, 2009. "Building for the Future? Investment, Land Reform and the Contingencies of Ownership in Contemporary Ghana," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 37(8), pages 1370-1378, August.
    5. Spiegel, Samuel J., 2012. "Governance Institutions, Resource Rights Regimes, and the Informal Mining Sector: Regulatory Complexities in Indonesia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 40(1), pages 189-205.
    6. Yelpaala, Kaakpema & Ali, Saleem H., 2005. "Multiple scales of diamond mining in Akwatia, Ghana: addressing environmental and human development impact," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 30(3), pages 145-155, September.
    7. Knud Sinding, 2005. "The dynamics of artisanal and small‐scale mining reform," Natural Resources Forum, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 29(3), pages 243-252, August.
    8. Hilson, Gavin, 2009. "Small-scale mining, poverty and economic development in sub-Saharan Africa: An overview," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 34(1-2), pages 1-5.
    9. Béatrice Labonne, 2002. "Commentary: Harnessing Mining for Poverty Reduction, Especially in Africa," Natural Resources Forum, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 26(1), pages 69-73, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Fernando Morante-Carballo & Néstor Montalván-Burbano & Maribel Aguilar-Aguilar & Paúl Carrión-Mero, 2022. "A Bibliometric Analysis of the Scientific Research on Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(13), pages 1-29, July.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Fernando Morante-Carballo & Néstor Montalván-Burbano & Maribel Aguilar-Aguilar & Paúl Carrión-Mero, 2022. "A Bibliometric Analysis of the Scientific Research on Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(13), pages 1-29, July.
    2. Hook, Andrew, 2019. "Fluid formalities: Insights on small-scale gold mining dynamics, informal practices, and mining governance in Guyana," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 324-338.
    3. Geenen, Sara, 2014. "Dispossession, displacement and resistance: Artisanal miners in a gold concession in South-Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 90-99.
    4. Keovilignavong, Oulavanh, 2019. "Mining governance dilemma and impacts: A case of gold mining in Phu-Hae, Lao PDR," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 141-150.
    5. Verbrugge, Boris & Besmanos, Beverly, 2016. "Formalizing artisanal and small-scale mining: Whither the workforce?," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 134-141.
    6. Mark L. Wilson & Elisha Renne & Carla Roncoli & Peter Agyei-Baffour & Emmanuel Yamoah Tenkorang, 2015. "Integrated Assessment of Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining in Ghana — Part 3: Social Sciences and Economics," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-24, July.
    7. Salas-Urviola, Fernando B. & Calsina-Paricahua, Lesmes G. & Vilca-Salas, Ayde C., 2021. "Analysis of the formalization process of artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM): Case region Puno-Peru," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    8. Sauerwein, Titus, 2020. "Gold mining and development in Côte d’Ivoire: Trajectories, opportunities and oversights," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    9. De Jong, Terah U. & Sauerwein, Titus, 2021. "State-owned minerals, village-owned land: How a shared property rights framework helped formalize artisanal diamond miners in Côte d’Ivoire between 1986 and 2016," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    10. Kilosho Buraye, Janvier & Stoop, Nik & Verpoorten, Marijke, 2017. "Defusing the social minefield of gold sites in Kamituga, South Kivu. From legal pluralism to the re-making of institutions?," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 356-368.
    11. Hook, Andrew, 2019. "Over-spilling institutions: The political ecology of ‘greening’ the small-scale gold mining sector in Guyana," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 438-453.
    12. Van Bockstael, Steven, 2019. "Land grabbing “from below”? Illicit artisanal gold mining and access to land in post-conflict Côte d’Ivoire," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 904-914.
    13. Kumah, Richard, 2022. "Artisanal and small-scale mining formalization challenges in Ghana: Explaining grassroots perspectives," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    14. Deberdt, Raphael, 2022. "Land access rights in minerals’ responsible sourcing. The case of cobalt in the Democratic Republic of the Congo," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    15. Roy Maconachie & Gavin Hilson, 2011. "Safeguarding livelihoods or exacerbating poverty? Artisanal mining and formalization in West Africa," Natural Resources Forum, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 35(4), pages 293-303, November.
    16. Smith, Nicole M. & Smith, Jessica M. & John, Zira Q. & Teschner, Benjamin A., 2017. "Promises and perceptions in the Guianas: The making of an artisanal and small-scale mining reserve," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 49-56.
    17. Nik Stoop & Janvier Kilosho Buraye & Marijke Verpoorten, 2016. "Relocation, reorientation, or confrontation? Insights from a representative survey among artisanal miners in Kamituga, South-Kivu," Working Papers of LICOS - Centre for Institutions and Economic Performance 573254, KU Leuven, Faculty of Economics and Business (FEB), LICOS - Centre for Institutions and Economic Performance.
    18. Bazillier, Rémi & Gibertini, Beatrice & Jackson, Stephen, 2023. "Gold and diamond artisanal mining in Liberia: Under the umbrella of (in)formality?," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 86(PB).
    19. Hook, Andrew, 2019. "The multidimensionality of exclusion in the small-scale gold mining sector in Guyana: Institutional reform, landlordism, and mineral uncertainty," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 1-1.
    20. Rejoice Selorm Wireko-Gyebi & Michael Osei Asibey & Owusu Amponsah & Rudith Sylvana King & Imoro Braimah & Godfred Darko & Anne Mette Lykke, 2020. "Perception of Small-Scale Miners on Interventions to Eradicate Illegal Small-Scale Mining in Ghana," SAGE Open, , vol. 10(4), pages 21582440209, October.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:lauspo:v:102:y:2021:i:c:s0264837720325679. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Joice Jiang (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/land-use-policy .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.