About This Project

This study explores gold production governance and its impact in the Global South and North. Unlike studies focusing solely on extraction, it follows the production process from the Peruvian Amazon (extraction) to Switzerland (refining). It delves into gold's sustainability, human rights, and certification challenges. In Peru, it combines technology with Indigenous knowledge to produce spatiotemporal maps that can be used to protect land from illegal mining.

Ask the Scientists

What is the context of this research?

The Amazon rainforest is a critical ecosystem under threat of collapse due to human activity such as gold mining. Madre de Dios, Peru is one of the most biodiverse places in the world and home to the majority of Peru's illegal gold mining. This mining causes deforestation and releases toxic mercury into the ecosystem. As the price of gold has risen, this damage has drastically expanded. Many indigenous communities are living in the region, including some living in voluntary isolation from the outside world, and require a healthy ecosystem to survive. Additional research is needed to understand this rapidly-changing socioeconomic and environmental situation and protect these areas.

While my full research project focuses on Peru, Switzerland, and the gold supply chain, here I focus on Peru.

What is the significance of this project?

This research sheds light on the socioenvironmental dynamics of gold production, contributing valuable insights to geographical knowledge through its focus on the seemingly disparate locations of Peru and Switzerland. With an emphasis on both the social and physical aspects of gold production, it puts forth an interdisciplinary lens weaving together elements of human and environmental geography. It will address literature gaps by examining socioenvironmental and economic gold production contexts in both the Global North and South, furthering Global Production Network theory, political ecology, and economic geography through its advancement of a Multi-Node Global Gold Production System framework.

What are the goals of the project?

This project aims to analyze the governance structures surrounding gold production in Peru and Switzerland, examining their impact on local livelihoods, social justice, and environmental sustainability. It seeks to understand how formal and informal governance regimes shape labor dynamics, community agency, and socio-environmental outcomes. Additionally, it aims to use spatiotemporal data collected via drones to map mining impacts and evaluate the efficacy of gold certification programs in addressing challenges within the industry and explore the power dynamics at play. Ultimately, the project aims to provide insights into potential avenues for improving governance practices and fostering more equitable and sustainable gold production processes.