Contaminated identities: Mercury and marginalization in Ghana’s artisanal mining sector |
| |
| Authors: | Petra Tschakert Kamini Singha |
| |
| Institution: | aDepartment of Geography/Alliance for Earth Sciences, Engineering, and Development in Africa (AESEDA), Pennsylvania State University, 315 Walker Building, University Park, PA 16802-5011, USA;bDepartment of Geosciences, Pennsylvania State University, 311 Deike Building, University Park, PA 16802, USA |
| |
| Abstract: | This article provides a counter-narrative to the dominant discourse of marginalization and criminalization of Ghana’s illegal gold miners (galamsey) by focusing on the contested mercury debate. We first examine the complex and multifaceted policy problem that underlies the current conflictual aspects in the small-scale mining sector, arguing that mercury use and contamination are key elements in the antigalamsey rhetoric. Second, we describe an interdisciplinary pilot study on human and environmental health that involved health personnel and illegal miners from two sites. Through participatory ranking and mapping activities, we explored participants’ understanding of mercury and other life hazards as well as causes and consequences of mercury contamination. We used chemical indicator strips to sample contaminated areas in collaboration with the miners. By drawing upon novel concepts from the environmental justice and ecohealth literature, we propose a political ecology of human and environmental health that advocates recognition of galamsey operators and their participation in learning opportunities as a first step out of the current impasse in the Ghanaian small-scale mining sector. |
| |
| Keywords: | Mercury Marginalization Illegal mining Political ecology Ecohealth Environmental justice Ghana |
| 本文献已被 ScienceDirect 等数据库收录！ |
|
