Insights from a Chance Conservation Conversation
It seems quite ironic, and perhaps encouraging, that the first person I struck up a conversation with on Day One in Peru happened to both be very interested as well as informed about conservation issues in his country. Striking up a conversation with a friendly local on the beach of Miraflores, Lima, I mentioned that I’ll be shooting a video series about a sustainable livelihood initiative in Madre de Dios, capturing stories of participants in agroforestry, fish farming, ecotourism, and sustainable logging activities. Immediately Carlos* began to describe in impressive detail many of the environmental and social issues of the region, topics that I’ve been researching over the past four months – gold mining, mercury pollution, and political resistance to conservation. But he also offered some interesting insights related to the challenges of conservation in Madre de Dios.
In this region compared by some to the Wild West, the thirst for gold has been driving many of these environmental and social justice issues. One of the points he raised was the exploitation of workers. Mining organizations recruit impoverished workers from the Andes region with promises of great riches, truck them in to Puerto Maldonado in droves, and ultimately trap them into a work/debt cycle that is nearly impossible to escape. At the end of each week, the debt trap is set with practices that sound equivalent to the payday loans that are a social justice epidemic in the United States – offering high interest loans for quick cash, which is then used to fuel their needs over the weekend after a long week of extremely hard (and dangerous) work. He described this as part of the “gancho”, the hook, that unscrupulous companies use to exploit workers.
The exploitation then extends to the women who are likewise seduced into prostitution. In the camps where the workers live, young girls are tricked using some form of gancho, in order to provide “services” to the workers. Naturally there are those who benefit from this arrangement – the pimps and the payday loan sharks, at the least. Presumably there are some who play both roles, and benefit twice. All around Peru you’ll see the evidence of pervasive sexual exploitation, from the airport to billboards on city streets, there are advertisements warning offenders of the strict punishment for sexual exploitation, especially of minors. Enforcement of these offenses must be particularly challenging though, particularly in the isolated, and heavily protected mining camps.
When I described the idea of promoting agricultural activities as alternatives to gold mining, he quickly raised the issue of profitability – considering that gold mining stands to produce exponentially greater revenues for companies and some individuals, agriculture barely stands a chance. This is a somewhat obvious obstacle, and certainly not unique to Madre de Dios. Where great profits can be reaped, concerns for ethics easily are pushed aside.
As we see anywhere in the world, where profits are threatened, those who speak out will likewise be threatened. Infected with the greed and ambition of Gold Fever, people will take drastic measures to protect those profits. He indicated that anyone who attempts to interfere with operations, whether by complaining or speaking to the press or outside agencies, or those who make an attempt to flee, will be “pushed in the river”, never to be seen again.
(Definitely a warning well taken by a gringo like myself preparing to capture stories of people of the area.)
This exploitation, pollution, and risk of violence doesn’t have any easy solution. Like many intractable problems worldwide, a dominant thread in the whole tangled mess is that the parties at the heart of the issues are often closely linked with those in political power. Carlos mentioned that the mining companies and the local and regional politicians are all friends, with a revolving door between the two.
As such, in his opinion the only solution is for conservationists to penetrate the political system. Until those with an interest in protecting natural resources and ensuring social justice for communities are elected to the local, regional, and national government, then policies will continue to favor gold mining over all else. His argument is that without the protection offered by the government, then the short-term gains mentality of fast profits through gold will counteract the longer-term efforts of sustainable management of resources.
While this story is on one hand unique to the department of Madre de Dios, Peru, on the other hand, it is all too familiar. Carlos’ solution certainly has promise, but gaining political power is not easily done either; particularly when certain parties are entrenched in “BAU”. There is clearly no easy solution to the issues of deforestation and corruption here, or to any other highly complex issue facing our societies. No doubt some combination of political, scientific, social, psychological, and economic activities will have to be involved.
In the meantime, onwards to Puerto Maldonado! Let’s see how some storytelling videos can fit into that mix of solutions.
* Name has been changed in the interest of protecting his privacy