352 - Collaborative Research Design and Stakeholder Perceptions of Hg Toxicity: Sustainability Challenges and Solutions

Ethnographic fieldwork plays an important role in highlighting social concerns that present challenges to transitioning to reducing Hg and Hg-free technologies. This paper presents results from preliminary Collaborative Research Design (CRD) ethnography with Andean and Amazonian indigenous stakeholders involved with and/or affected by Hg in ASGM in Peru’s mineral-rich region of Madre de Dios. This research identifies stakeholder’s perceptions of mercury toxicity on human health that affect adoption of Hg reduction technologies, perceptions that are impacted gender, indigeneity, and social status. The aim of this research is to develop actionable responses to Hg usage in ASGM. CRD can most simply be summarized as research “with” rather than “on” other people. Research questions and design stem from the researcher(s) working with the stakeholders’ expressed concerns, interests, and questions about a topic or event that directly involves them. How do stakeholder concerns about the quality and quantity of gold produced impact the switch to new technologies that reduce and reuse Hg – more so than concerns about Hg toxicity? One of the major concerns for implementing the Minamata Convention on Mercury’s protocol involves crafting policies for Hg capture and cleanup regulations. This research identifies specific areas of concern among indigenous Amazonian and Andean stakeholders that point to novel policy solutions.

Authors: Ruth Goldstein, Noelle Selin, Henrik Selin