Rural Knowledge Transformation in Terms of Mercury Used in Artisanal Small-Scale Gold Mining (ASGM)—A Case Study in Gorontalo, Indonesia

Andi Patiware Metaragakusuma (), Masayuki Sakakibara, Yayu Indriati Arifin, Sri Manovita Pateda and Mohamad Jahja
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Andi Patiware Metaragakusuma: Research Institute for Humanity and Nature, Kyoto 603-8047, Japan
Masayuki Sakakibara: Research Institute for Humanity and Nature, Kyoto 603-8047, Japan
Yayu Indriati Arifin: Department of Geology, Universitas Negeri Gorontalo, Gorontalo 96100, Indonesia
Sri Manovita Pateda: Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Negeri Gorontalo, Gorontalo 96100, Indonesia
Mohamad Jahja: Department of Physics, Universitas Negeri Gorontalo, Gorontalo 96100, Indonesia

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 17, 1-22

Abstract: Gorontalo is reputed to be one of the best-quality gold producers in the Indonesian archipelago. Gold production has been largely achieved through the activities of artisanal small-scale gold mining (ASGM), which as part of its extraction process, primarily uses mercury—a substance known to cause negative impacts on health and the environment, leading also to numerous socio-economic issues. This research aims (1) to investigate the extent of rural knowledge regarding mercury and to determine whether a video that explains mercury and the problems that occur as a result of ASGM can significantly transform rural populations’ knowledge; (2) to inspect different factors separating the SR group (those who live in the same regency as the ASGM area) from the NR group (those who live in the neighboring regency/city of the ASGM area) and to find out whether said factors are statistically significant. The results show that the test subjects’ knowledge of mercury had increased after watching the video, and that their willingness to oppose ASGM activities is one of the significant factors within the two groups. Moreover, this paper briefly describes the follow-up activities of the SRIREP project (Co-creation of Sustainable Regional Innovation for Reducing Risk of High-impact Environmental Pollution) in encouraging rural communities to explore sustainable livelihoods as an alternative to ASGM.

Keywords: rural knowledge; mercury; artisanal small-scale gold mining; ASGM; TDCOPs; TBO (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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