Reconfiguring Livelihoods, Re-Imagining Spaces of Transboundary Resource Management: A Study of Mining and Agency along the Zimbabwe-Mozambique Border
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Edinburgh
Department Name: Sch of Social and Political Science
Abstract
In many parts of Africa, changing patterns of cross-border migration are transforming the importance of borders for marginalised populations. Recent literature cautions that simplified narratives about illegality in border zones are complicating efforts at addressing social inequities. This research examines social and political dimensions of rural livelihoods along the Zimbabwe-Mozambique border in conjunction with current debates about transboundary resource management in the region, focusing on perspectives in artisanal gold mining communities in Manica, Mozambique, where Zimbabwean artisanal miners live and work side-by-side with Mozambicans. The study explores what displacement means to different rural actors and how challenges are negotiated in pursuing resource-dependent livelihoods, with the ultimate goal of enhancing policies for addressing livelihood insecurity on both sides of the border.
The Zimbabwe-Mozambique border is a high priority for research, as large numbers of Zimbabweans have crossed into Mozambique as Zimbabwe's economic and political crisis deepened and are engaging in artisanal mining. Empirically, the study addresses three interlinked research questions: 1) How does mobility across the border represent new opportunities or, conversely, new challenges, for reconfigured livelihoods in artisanal mining communities near/along the border?; 2) To what extent are global and national institutions taking these challenges and opportunities into consideration in their approach to transboundary resource management policies?; 3) How are formal artisanal miners associations and informal groups of artisanal miners (on both sides of the border) socially engaged in processes of contesting land near/at the border?
Through in-depth life history interviews, focus groups, field diaries, visual methods and participant observation with artisanal mining associations, the study will explore how women and men in mining communities negotiate livelihood struggles, analysing social and economic ties that transcend the border. Analysing perspectives on mining, displacement and migration in relation to transboundary resource governance, policy documents will be reviewed and interviews conducted with national and district government authorities, companies and civil society organizations.
This study will generate original data and contribute new insights to engage conceptual and policy debates as well as associated methodological and ethical debates in borderlands research. The analysis aims to inform researchers in geography, development studies, African studies and the growing field of borderlands research, as well as policymakers. In 2011, the African Union signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the African Borderlands Research Network, based at the University of Edinburgh, highlighting the need for research to support policymaking that enhances livelihoods in border regions. This project is especially timely in light of a global environmental treaty signed by more than 120 countries recently, including Zimbabwe and Mozambique, requiring governments to take new steps to manage artisanal gold mining. Government officials have expressed the need for research to inform National Action Plans for implementing the treaty in the 2015-2020 period.
The project's regional workshops will co-produce knowledge while building local capacity of artisanal mining associations, government agencies, civil society and universities in Zimbabwe, Mozambique and the UK. Theoretical, ethical and methodological insights will be disseminated through books, articles, briefs, lectures and courses, to inform crosscutting debates at the intersection of borderlands research and extractive sector research. Building on past experiences working with United Nations agencies, this project will be transformative in cultivating new skills to lead North-South-South collaborative research that informs policymakers at regional, national and global levels.
The Zimbabwe-Mozambique border is a high priority for research, as large numbers of Zimbabweans have crossed into Mozambique as Zimbabwe's economic and political crisis deepened and are engaging in artisanal mining. Empirically, the study addresses three interlinked research questions: 1) How does mobility across the border represent new opportunities or, conversely, new challenges, for reconfigured livelihoods in artisanal mining communities near/along the border?; 2) To what extent are global and national institutions taking these challenges and opportunities into consideration in their approach to transboundary resource management policies?; 3) How are formal artisanal miners associations and informal groups of artisanal miners (on both sides of the border) socially engaged in processes of contesting land near/at the border?
Through in-depth life history interviews, focus groups, field diaries, visual methods and participant observation with artisanal mining associations, the study will explore how women and men in mining communities negotiate livelihood struggles, analysing social and economic ties that transcend the border. Analysing perspectives on mining, displacement and migration in relation to transboundary resource governance, policy documents will be reviewed and interviews conducted with national and district government authorities, companies and civil society organizations.
This study will generate original data and contribute new insights to engage conceptual and policy debates as well as associated methodological and ethical debates in borderlands research. The analysis aims to inform researchers in geography, development studies, African studies and the growing field of borderlands research, as well as policymakers. In 2011, the African Union signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the African Borderlands Research Network, based at the University of Edinburgh, highlighting the need for research to support policymaking that enhances livelihoods in border regions. This project is especially timely in light of a global environmental treaty signed by more than 120 countries recently, including Zimbabwe and Mozambique, requiring governments to take new steps to manage artisanal gold mining. Government officials have expressed the need for research to inform National Action Plans for implementing the treaty in the 2015-2020 period.
The project's regional workshops will co-produce knowledge while building local capacity of artisanal mining associations, government agencies, civil society and universities in Zimbabwe, Mozambique and the UK. Theoretical, ethical and methodological insights will be disseminated through books, articles, briefs, lectures and courses, to inform crosscutting debates at the intersection of borderlands research and extractive sector research. Building on past experiences working with United Nations agencies, this project will be transformative in cultivating new skills to lead North-South-South collaborative research that informs policymakers at regional, national and global levels.
Planned Impact
This project will benefit the African Union (AU) in pursuing its goal of "uniting and integrating Africa through peaceful, open and prosperous borders," specifically assisting the AU Border Programme to promote evidence-based equity-sensitive policies for transboundary resource management.
The research will also benefit UK aid agencies and governments globally, informing debates at United Nations forums related to implementing the new international treaty on mercury signed by >120 countries, which includes special clauses on artisanal mining. Based on my past work, United Nations Environment Program officials invited me to share future research, creating opportunities over the next 10 years for influencing policies on mining and resource management that respect migrant rights and promote sustainable livelihoods. Donors and NGOs interested in promoting the treaty will also benefit from an enhanced understanding of cross-border livelihood issues to help orient their funding, education, training and service efforts. The project will particularly benefit the Southern African Development Community, as artisanal mining in the Zambezi River Basin alone affects 14 countries.
Government ministries (especially mining, environment, economic development and women/ empowerment) in both Mozambique and Zimbabwe will directly benefit from the study through deepened appreciation of the concerns of involved parties (see support letters). Incorporating findings into policy recommendations will further enhance their abilities to implement fair and sustainable policies, including those related to the above-mentioned treaty to which they are accountable over the 2015-2020 period. Both countries are explicitly seeking research to assist them in formulating their strategies.
Small-scale mining associations in both Zimbabwe (ZAMSC -Zimbabwe Artisanal and Small-Scale for Sustainable Development Mining Council) and Mozambique (UNIMA- Union of Mining Associations in Manica) will particularly benefit from this project. The data and more nuanced conceptualizations generated regarding livelihoods and migrant rights in border areas will enhance their abilities to work with diverse local communities, men and women; be they members or nonmembers; licensed or unlicensed; or other parties affected by the economics and social ties generated by borderlands small scale mining. As noted from my previous work (see letters), such research can contribute to valuable direct services (including health, environment, safety and livelihood security) through effective lobbying for improved government services and equitable policies.
Artisanal mining communities in border regions in other African countries will benefit, as the research informs debates on legalization of informal mining, risk mitigation, migrant rights, resettlement challenges and livelihood social and economic supports. With the head of ZAMSC being the president of the Africa-wide federation of artisanal miners, communities not only on both sides of the Mozambique-Zimbabwe border but in other countries as well will benefit from the data and insights generated to improve transboundary resource management, as associations across Africa will incorporate this evidence in their work.
Local governments, local training programmes and NGOs in Manica will benefit from the data, as well as network-building activities, enhancing their effectiveness in promoting social and economic benefits especially for communities in the Chimanimani Highlands. The most direct beneficiaries will ultimately be the migrant Zimbabwean artisanal miners and the communities where they resettled in Manica province. This benefit will be fostered through producing new conceptualisation and new evidence on migration-associated issues - including social, kinship and economic ties as well as challenges faced - that will stimulate new understandings and new approaches to harnessing opportunities and addressing migrant concerns.
The research will also benefit UK aid agencies and governments globally, informing debates at United Nations forums related to implementing the new international treaty on mercury signed by >120 countries, which includes special clauses on artisanal mining. Based on my past work, United Nations Environment Program officials invited me to share future research, creating opportunities over the next 10 years for influencing policies on mining and resource management that respect migrant rights and promote sustainable livelihoods. Donors and NGOs interested in promoting the treaty will also benefit from an enhanced understanding of cross-border livelihood issues to help orient their funding, education, training and service efforts. The project will particularly benefit the Southern African Development Community, as artisanal mining in the Zambezi River Basin alone affects 14 countries.
Government ministries (especially mining, environment, economic development and women/ empowerment) in both Mozambique and Zimbabwe will directly benefit from the study through deepened appreciation of the concerns of involved parties (see support letters). Incorporating findings into policy recommendations will further enhance their abilities to implement fair and sustainable policies, including those related to the above-mentioned treaty to which they are accountable over the 2015-2020 period. Both countries are explicitly seeking research to assist them in formulating their strategies.
Small-scale mining associations in both Zimbabwe (ZAMSC -Zimbabwe Artisanal and Small-Scale for Sustainable Development Mining Council) and Mozambique (UNIMA- Union of Mining Associations in Manica) will particularly benefit from this project. The data and more nuanced conceptualizations generated regarding livelihoods and migrant rights in border areas will enhance their abilities to work with diverse local communities, men and women; be they members or nonmembers; licensed or unlicensed; or other parties affected by the economics and social ties generated by borderlands small scale mining. As noted from my previous work (see letters), such research can contribute to valuable direct services (including health, environment, safety and livelihood security) through effective lobbying for improved government services and equitable policies.
Artisanal mining communities in border regions in other African countries will benefit, as the research informs debates on legalization of informal mining, risk mitigation, migrant rights, resettlement challenges and livelihood social and economic supports. With the head of ZAMSC being the president of the Africa-wide federation of artisanal miners, communities not only on both sides of the Mozambique-Zimbabwe border but in other countries as well will benefit from the data and insights generated to improve transboundary resource management, as associations across Africa will incorporate this evidence in their work.
Local governments, local training programmes and NGOs in Manica will benefit from the data, as well as network-building activities, enhancing their effectiveness in promoting social and economic benefits especially for communities in the Chimanimani Highlands. The most direct beneficiaries will ultimately be the migrant Zimbabwean artisanal miners and the communities where they resettled in Manica province. This benefit will be fostered through producing new conceptualisation and new evidence on migration-associated issues - including social, kinship and economic ties as well as challenges faced - that will stimulate new understandings and new approaches to harnessing opportunities and addressing migrant concerns.
Organisations
- University of Edinburgh (Lead Research Organisation)
- University of Zimbabwe (Collaboration)
- Sam Moyo African Institute for Agrarian Studies (Collaboration)
- Cherwell District Council (Collaboration)
- Zimbabwe Artisanal Mining Council (Project Partner)
- Eduardo Mondlane University (Project Partner)
- Universidade Zambeze (Project Partner)
- University of Zimbabwe (Project Partner)
- KU Leuven (Project Partner)
People |
ORCID iD |
| Samuel Spiegel (Principal Investigator) |
Publications
Brown B
(2019)
Coal, Climate Justice, and the Cultural Politics of Energy Transition
in Global Environmental Politics
Brown B
(2017)
Resisting coal: Hydrocarbon politics and assemblages of protest in the UK and Indonesia
in Geoforum
Chanakira D
(2019)
Traditional leaders and the politics of labour recruitment in Zimbabwe's platinum mining industry
in The Extractive Industries and Society
Gudhlanga J
(2021)
Gendered social media communication around mining: patriarchy, diamonds, and seeking feminist solidarity online
in Gender & Development
Kachena L
(2018)
Borderland migration, mining and transfrontier conservation: questions of belonging along the Zimbabwe-Mozambique border
in GeoJournal
Kistnasamy B
(2018)
Tackling injustices of occupational lung disease acquired in South African mines: recent developments and ongoing challenges.
in Globalization and health
Le Billon P
(2021)
Cleaning mineral supply chains? Political economies of exploitation and hidden costs of technical fixes
in Review of International Political Economy
Mkodzongi G
(2020)
Mobility, temporary migration and changing livelihoods in Zimbabwe's artisanal mining sector
in The Extractive Industries and Society
Mkodzongi G
(2018)
Artisanal Gold Mining and Farming: Livelihood Linkages and Labour Dynamics after Land Reforms in Zimbabwe
in The Journal of Development Studies
Moze F
(2022)
The aesthetic turn in border studies: Visual geographies of power, contestation and subversion
in Geography Compass
Mucherera B
(2022)
Forced displacement: critical lessons in the protracted aftermath of a flood disaster.
in GeoJournal
Spiegel S
(2022)
Climate disasters, altered migration and pandemic shocks: (im)mobilities and interrelated struggles in a border region
in Mobilities
Spiegel S
(2021)
Fossil fuel violence and visual practices on Indigenous land: Watching, witnessing and resisting settler-colonial injustices
in Energy Research & Social Science
Spiegel S
(2017)
EIAs, power and political ecology: Situating resource struggles and the techno-politics of small-scale mining
in Geoforum
Spiegel S
(2019)
Visual Storytelling and Socioenvironmental Change: Images, Photographic Encounters, and Knowledge Construction in Resource Frontiers
in Annals of the American Association of Geographers
Spiegel S
(2018)
Phasing Out Mercury? Ecological Economics and Indonesia's Small-Scale Gold Mining Sector
in Ecological Economics
Spiegel S
(2022)
Refugee Policy Amidst Global Shocks: Encampment, Resettlement Barriers and the Search for 'Durable Solutions'
in Global Policy
Spiegel SJ
(2017)
New mercury pollution threats: a global health caution.
in Lancet (London, England)
Tsang VWL
(2019)
Occupational Health Programs for Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining: A Systematic Review for the WHO Global Plan of Action for Workers' Health.
in Annals of global health
| Title | photovoice and related creative work in Chimanimani, Eastern Zimbabwe |
| Description | Community artworks and photovoice stories in communities in Chimanimani, Eastern Zimbabwe, were developed through this project, discussing community challenges, issues of local culture and livelihood struggles, and dimensions of community identity. |
| Type Of Art | Artwork |
| Year Produced | 2018 |
| Impact | There is ongoing discussion now on how to continue to further develop the collection of community artworks and plan some future exhibitions. |
| Title | visual methods and cartoon development on small-scale mining themes |
| Description | I commissioned artwork from a cartoonist in Zimbabwe to develop images related to research themes on small-scale mining, for discussion. This related to specific challenges that small-scale miners face in terms of licensing, managing the environmental risks and safety risks associated with mining, gaining trust from 'outsiders', and paying fees to government officials. The images are in some cases humorous and invite light-hearted responses, thus providing excellent foundations for discussion and reflection on the themes of the research. |
| Type Of Art | Artwork |
| Year Produced | 2016 |
| Impact | This collaboration with a cartoonist built on a much smaller knowledge exchange grant that I was awarded and the images have since been used by my research collaborators in Zimbabwe at important policy meetings with national policymakers, including a recent March 2017 workshop to prepare the Zimbabwe Government for implementing the Minamata Convention on Mercury. |
| Description | The findings have highlighted significant challenges that people face in relation to the extractive sector and broader economic challenges. Three main areas have been important in this regard: 1) The research program has highlighted challenges facing small-scale miners in meeting regulatory and legal requirements in order to legalise their livelihoods. Also, the findings have highlighted key advocacy processes initiated by small-scale miners associations in efforts to lobby for national reforms. Furthermore, the findings have highlighted key gaps and opportunities in terms of strategies for implementing the Minamata Convention on Mercury; my research has fed into one of the main national association of small-scale miners' efforts to build capacity in the government to better integrate social and economic understandings of small-scale mining into national strategies for pollution phase-out. Additionally, the research has highlighted the importance of migration (including temporary migration) and mobility as a livelihood strategy for people in precarious economic circumstances and the importance of traditional governance systems in accessing land and resource access and livelihood opportunities. 2) The research programme has also highlighted social, wellbeing and economic challenges facing communities experiencing the impacts of large-scale mining, including displacement and various other impacts. Moreover, the findings have highlighted the creativity of people in expressing their daily struggles and their community identities and needs, and various different gendered dimensions of current challenges. The work has helped to deepen understandings of the ways in which creative methods can be used to build collective solidarity and develop strategies for helping to address major challenges, communicating with different stakeholders in the community contexts themselves as well as beyond. 3) Following Cyclone Idai - which struck Chimanimani in March 2019, the research programme focused on recovery challenges after this disaster, which significantly exacerbated existing struggles and mapped onto complex histories dynamics of marginalisation and land alienation. Populations in the Chimanimani mountains along the Zimbabwe-Mozambique border - the focus in this project - were among the most severely affected by Cyclone Idai. The project's final (2019-2020) year was dedicated to working with 5 impacted communities, using arts-based methods, focus groups, and ethnographic techniques examining social, economic, environmental and cultural issues surrounding efforts to rebuild food security, health and social capital. Findings stressed 1) severe gaps in donor- and policy- responses on food security (prioritising short-term food aid - with inadequate attention to Indigenous food systems and basic water/irrigation infrastructure support); 2) diverse epistemologies surrounding creative approaches, through storytelling linked to map-drawing, photovoice, and community drama to express collective planning aspirations; and 3) the significance of rigorous gender-based analysis and intergenerational knowledge in mobilising to re-establish healthy communities. The outcomes included sharing knowledge with district officials that led to two important water systems in two different communities where this project worked -- showing the ESRC projects can achieve hugely important impacts in addressing water challenges when the research adapts through creative methods in the field; the discussions also highlighted the needs for far more robust long-term activities to address social challenges tied to long-term recovery. Very importantly, this award created a baseline of detailed knowledge of community challenges in Chimanimani leading up to the 2020 period, including major climate shocks and other economic and political shocks, and our team has also been involved in 2020-2021 in following up the ongoing changes to community challenges during the COVID19 pandemic. Many of the people we conducted research with prior to 2020 were highly dependent on migration and mobility as a livelihood coping strategy; thus, the COVID pandemic impacted them in significant ways, and the baseline of knowledge that we created is going to help with putting into context the ongoing changes to socio-economic struggles. |
| Exploitation Route | The findings have highlighted key gaps and opportunities in terms of strategies for implementing the Minamata Convention on Mercury; the research has fed into one of the main national association of small-scale miners' efforts to build capacity in the government to better integrate social and economic understandings of small-scale mining into national strategies for pollution phase-out. There are further meetings that are planned in the years ahead - to link government actors, small-scale miners, and others, as users of the research. The findings have also highlighted key needs for follow-up in regards to supporting communities affected by large-scale mining and ways of addressing socially and economically marginalised communities in Transfrontier Conservation Areas (TFCAs). The research offers insights on methods and focus points for using research to improve social services and access to key amenities of life in communities dealing with challenges of land alienation, extraction and livelihood insecurity. Finally, the outcomes will be important in helping address post-cyclone disaster planning to engage with 1) severe gaps in donor- and policy- responses on food security (the prioritising just of short-term food aid - with inadequate attention to Indigenous food systems and basic water/irrigation infrastructure support); 2) diverse epistemologies surrounding creative approaches, through storytelling linked to map-drawing, photovoice, and community drama to express collective planning aspirations; and 3) the significance of rigorous gender-based analysis and intergenerational knowledge in mobilising to re-establish healthy communities. The outcomes included sharing knowledge with district officials that led to two important water systems in two communities where this project worked -- showing the ESRC projects can achieve hugely important impacts in addressing water challenges when the research adapts through creative methods in the field; the discussions also highlighted the needs for far more robust long-term activities to address social challenges tied to long-term recovery. As noted above, very importantly, this award created a baseline of detailed knowledge of community challenges in Chimanimani leading up to the 2020 period, including major climate shocks and other economic and political shocks, and our team has also been involved in 2020-2021 in following up the ongoing changes to community challenges during the COVID19 pandemic. Many of the people we conducted research with prior to 2020 were highly dependent on migration and mobility as a livelihood coping strategy; thus, the COVID pandemic impacted them in significant ways, and the baseline of knowledge that we created is going to help with putting into context the ongoing changes to socio-economic struggles. |
| Sectors | Agriculture, Food and Drink,Communities and Social Services/Policy,Creative Economy,Environment,Government, Democracy and Justice |
| Description | My work has been used by a national association of small-scale miners in Zimbabwe in its presentations to senior government authorities who are developing Zimbabwe's National Action Plan to implement a global treaty - the Minamata Convention on Mercury. This took place in 2017. I also directly presented my research findings to the Zimbabwe Ambassador to Canada and other international stakeholders involved in policy and donor aid work in supporting livelihoods and tackling challenges in small-scale mining communities internationally. Notably, I also helped the Zimbabwe Environmental Lawyers Association in 2018 to develop new strategies for using visual methodologies of community engagement and also new strategies for particularly supporting settlements affected by diamond mining in Eastern Zimbabwe. Moreover, three of my team members have been leading a project to support clean water access in the two main communities where my project is based, in Eastern Zimbabwe, and have particularly used the findings from the research to create a new set of support measures through an Australian Embassy grant. In the aftermath of Cyclone Idai, a devastating climate change-related disaster that struck Chimanimani severely in March 2019, my research in this project helped to inform programmes to establish equitable water access and nutrition gardens to enable people - through piped water systems -to improve health, livelihoods and wellbeing. The two communities of focus in these water programmes were the community living in Masiza and the community surrounding Westward Ho Primary School in Chinyai; the research project became action research in 2019 and 2020 that helped to establish these programmes and involve people across generations to be engaged in storytelling and collective planning in regards to actions to achieve sustainable benefits in the district. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2017 |
| Sector | Agriculture, Food and Drink,Communities and Social Services/Policy,Creative Economy,Environment,Government, Democracy and Justice |
| Impact Types | Societal,Economic |
| Description | Contributions to new university training curricula on engaging with displaced populations' struggles, methodological challenges and choices, and engaging policymakers internationally |
| Geographic Reach | Europe |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Impact | Knowledge and insight from this ESRC project and specific case studies from the Chimanimani region in this project have been incorporated in new courses delivered at the University of Edinburgh, including specific dedicated modules in curricula for the following courses: • Displacement and Development (online) (Graduate level) (>40 students) • Displacement and Development (on-campus) (Graduate level) (>30 students) • International Development, Aid and Humanitarianism (Undergraduate level) (>170 students) • Africa in the Contemporary World (Undergraduate level) (>100 students) • Interpreting Development: Institutions and Practices (graduate level) (>70 students) In particular, the material incorporated into the above courses has helped students (both research-oriented students and practitioners who are taking the courses as a ways of strengthening their practitioner work in development projects) to engage in new ways with dilemmas that displaced populations face and dilemmas on the choice and adaptation of participatory methods. Additionally, insights have been shared through contribution cross-college university dialogue on strategies for "impact" and "engaging with policymakers internationally" - through invited presentation and workshop interaction at a cross-college event; my contribution noted in blog here - https://blogs.ed.ac.uk/research-office/2020/01/15/engaging-with-policymakers-internationally/ |
| URL | https://blogs.ed.ac.uk/research-office/2020/01/15/engaging-with-policymakers-internationally/ |
| Description | Establishment of second new community water system in Chimanimani |
| Geographic Reach | Africa |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| Impact | In addition to the impacts from the Australian Embassy's funding of the "Water, Children and Wellbeing in Eastern Zimbabwe" project in Masiza (the first community of focus in this ESRC project), there were funds left over that were used to fund a second water project in Westward Ho Primary School - in a different ward of Chimanimani - where after Cyclone Idai my ESRC research project also was focused on highly creative participatory arts-based storytelling, and where participants had articulated the need for re-establishing safe water systems after the cyclone disaster. This ESRC project created a unique avenue for dialogue with the Chimanimani Rural District Council on ways of 'following the implications of the stories' - and the new piped water scheme was established in March 2020, providing more than a 1000 people with safe drinking water as well as irrigation for a community nutrition garden at Westward Ho Primary School. A formal government celebration of this activity is scheduled for March and April 2020. This ESRC project was instrumental in helping to share insights about the benefits of using targeted resources to benefit water at this school location, where previously uncertainties had inhibited local planning. The creative storytelling in this ESRC project, using arts-based approaches, was a vital step in improving awareness and strategic planning. The benefits can be quantified in terms of number of people accessing the safe water (>1,000) as well as the nutritional benefits of the nutrition garden over time. |
| Description | Influence on lawyers network and legal practices to support local rights in rural communities affected by large-scale mining |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Impact | I was invited to presentation to a group of leading lawyers in Zimbabwe and other countries in Africa who attended the annual strategic planning meeting of the Zimbabwe Environmental Lawyers Association (ZELA) in July 2018. I presented on two dimensions. The first dimension was sharing insights from my use of visual methods to support in-depth community engagement in driving local knowledge production - particularly the use of photovoice, a methodology that I have been using my ESRC Future Research Leader Project and that the ZELA group was interested in replicating in their campaigns. Subsequent to my presentation, I also helped the ZELA group to devise strategies for this too. The second dimension was sharing insights from my project's fieldwork in Chimanimani, where two communities have been affected by diamond mining-related displacement and other negative impacts from mining, in a part of the country that has not been reported on to date; this was particularly important as ZELA had lawyers active in supporting communities affected by mining elsewhere in the country and we discussed details for how a lawyer from ZELA might travel to my ESRC project community field site and engage in supporting advice to community members. Also, in attendance at the meeting was the coordinator of the Kimberley Process Civil Society Coalition, who was able to learn about this particular context of community displacement related to diamond mining, and engage in discussion on planning to support future improvements to national policies related to displacement and resettlement. After the activity, one of the most notable impacts emerged through having a lawyer from ZELA travel with me in Chimanimani, in my project site, and subsequently learn about the issues for himself while I was there. The research project that I was leading enabled him to quickly identify key needs and quickly meet key actors - and help support efforts to avoid wrongful eviction practices and ensure that proper Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) mechanisms are followed by the mining company. |
| Description | influencing government authorities in the implementation of the Minamata Convention on Mercury |
| Geographic Reach | Multiple continents/international |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to a national consultation/review |
| Impact | This project is supporting ongoing dialogue on the implementation of the Minamata Convention on Mercury - a global treaty signed by more than 120 countries that was formally ratified in 2017. This treaty has implications for artisanal and small-scale gold mining - one of the largest sources of mercury pollution globally, but a sector that has been poorly regulated in the past. My research is teaming up with institutions such as the Zimbabwe Miners Federation to build the capacity of local associations of artisanal and small-scale miners to pursue measures that will help to implement the Minamata Convention, reducing negative social, economic and environmental risks associated with pollution, and supporting the recognition of livelihoods. The research is also working to inform policymakers on implementation strategies - and has supported, for example, dialogue with policymakers in Geneva and in Harare on key issues of tackling social marginalisation linked to both "artisanal" and "small-scale" mining. The research is specifically feeding into the development of Zimbabwe's National Action Plan for the implementation of the Minamata Convention (currently in progress) and also targeting global stakeholders convening international implementation strategies (some of whom have asked me for advice). |
| Description | Small Grant Pilot Project: Storytelling After Climate Disaster: Creative Communication, Post-Cyclone Transformations and Aspirations for the Future along the Zimbabwe-Mozambique Border |
| Amount | £5,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | University of Edinburgh |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 03/2020 |
| End | 07/2020 |
| Description | University of Edinburgh Strategic Impact Grant |
| Amount | £5,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | University of Edinburgh |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | |
| End | 01/2018 |
| Title | Piloting of post-cyclone recovery-focused creative methods that support healing, knowledge sharing and arts-based expression. |
| Description | The project adapted the methods after Cyclone Idai (March 2019), and focused on allowing participants to use any artistic medium they wished to express what is important to them - which in many cases meant using photovoice, map-making and drawing to express issues of importance. This innovative approach allowed for the project to adapt to diverse interests and concerns people wished to articulate, including those of youth and elders and people across different classes and social positions. |
| Type Of Material | Improvements to research infrastructure |
| Year Produced | 2019 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | The creative methods helped to raise awareness of specific challenges community members identified - and led to the creation and development of new community water programmes at Westward Ho Primary School (benefiting more than 1,000 people, particularly children and surrounding communities near the school) and the community in Masiza (which had been cut off from safe water sources). In both cases, new water programmes emerged after rigorous creative storytelling involving methods that allowed arts-based approaches to communicate challenges, histories, experiences and ideas for the future. Funding from the Australian Embassy was obtained as a consequence of these creative methods. The new programmes have important benefits not only in creating safe drinking water through piped water (transported through gravitational water pipe systems) but also this benefits nutrition gardens and it is hoped that it will strengthen livelihoods. More broadly, the creative methods have given community members a strong sense of the possibilities of using arts-based approaches to express what is important, and reinforced the key understanding that everyone - from diverse perspectives - has important contributions to make to planning processes. It is hoped that this will lead to many ripple benefits in the future on other planning issues as well. |
| Title | participatory research using cartoons to explore social marginalisation |
| Description | My research has involved teaming up with a prominent cartoonist in Zimbabwe who has regularly done cartoons for a major national newspaper. I teamed up with him and a group of small-scale miners in Zimbabwe to share insights from field research and past experiences, to highlight some of the struggles experienced in mining communities. Cartoons were used in a workshop with policymakers, NGO representatives, small-scale miners and others, and the discussions led to 're-visualising' the nature of struggles in mining communities as well as potential policy implications. Through structured questions explored in small groups, the cartoons became the basis for exploring stories and solutions to major challenges, including policy reform recommendations. |
| Type Of Material | Improvements to research infrastructure |
| Year Produced | 2017 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | I have shared insights from these experiences both regionally in Zimbabwe as well as internationally with people from different countries involved in a 3-year collaboration project - "Security at the Margins" (SEAM) - between University of Edinburgh and University of Witwatersrand - a collaboration funded by the ESRC and Newton Fund to support cutting-edge interdisciplinary research and methodological innovation, both in person and through online mediums such as live online discussions. (The Seam Project twitter feed is here: https://twitter.com/seam_project) . ( I am also working on an academic publication to share this with further audiences. ) |
| Title | photovoice methods |
| Description | participatory photography (photovoice) methods were developed to support community-led narration about key concerns, challenges, experiences and interests, used to guide the research process and help deepen understanding of local cultural, economic and gendered dimensions of life in rural communities. |
| Type Of Material | Improvements to research infrastructure |
| Year Produced | 2019 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | I have developed this method and am currently working on publications in the context of eastern Zimbabwe. I have also helped other teams elsewhere to use this method. One paper that is now forthcoming is called "Visual storytelling and socio-environmental change: images, photographic encounters, and knowledge construction in resource frontiers" (forthcoming - to be published in Annals of the Association of American Geographers). This methodology has helped to inform people in government about challenges in rural communities and actively facilitate creative dialogue between different stakeholders. |
| Description | Collaboration with researcher based at University of Zimbabwe Centre for Applied Social Science, focused on experiences on both sides of Zimbabwe-Mozambique border |
| Organisation | University of Zimbabwe |
| Department | Centre for Applied Social Sciences |
| Country | Zimbabwe |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Within my Future Research Leader project, I recruited a researcher at the University of Zimbabwe to assist with conducting fieldwork in the Zimbabwe-Mozambique border region, including logistical planning, conducting interviews and focus groups and writing up, particularly in gaining insights from park authorities, chiefs, artisanal miners and other stakeholders on both sides of the border. The person I recruited is a junior researcher young in his career and very bright, and my role in this has involved a lot of mentoring to build his research skills as well as to learn from him; rather than seeing him as a 'research assistant' I have nurtured the idea of seeing him as a research collaborator, and have spent a lot of time on sharing literature, sharing suggestions on how to strengthen writing, and sharing critical ideas about what it could mean to build a highly internationally influential research agenda on the themes of this project - we have thus had a lot of detailed conversation on both the research project itself and the region of focus (along the border) as well as its wider academic context. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The researcher recruited in this role (Lameck Kachena, who holds an MSc in Social Ecology) has successfully contributed to the project, over multiple phases of fieldwork and detailed collaboration. Thus far, this work has included more than 50 interviews and a handful of focus groups - and the work has led to a co-authored paper with me that is currently under peer review with an academic journal, particularly looking at the issue of how notions of belonging and different identities are contested vis-a-vis the tranfrontier conservation discourse on both sides of the Zimbabwe-Mozambique border. His contributions also involve introducing me to the senior academic staff at the University of Zimbabwe's Centre for Applied Social Science and we plan to present our findings to the academic community at the University of Zimbabwe later in the project. |
| Impact | So far one co-authored paper has been published based on this collaboration: Kachena, L., & Spiegel, S. J. (2019). Borderland migration, mining and transfrontier conservation: questions of belonging along the Zimbabwe-Mozambique border. GeoJournal, 84(4), 1021-1034. |
| Start Year | 2017 |
| Description | Collaboration with the Chimanimani Rural District Council (Local Government) and Miracle Helping Hand Foundation (MHHF) |
| Organisation | Cherwell District Council |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | I travelled with the key local government AGRITEX (agricultural extension office) expert and representative of an NGO called Miracle Helping Hand Foundation (MHHF) to the field, to help deepen the engagement with the communities in the aftermath of the cyclone (Cyclone Idai), which devastated communities in 2019. The ESRC project supported collaborative field visits, which resulted in unique abilities to gather social and technical information to help inform development strategies of crucial importance to the communities that were participating in the research. Notably, the collaboration resulted in the establishment of vital new community water systems. This new development - a vital impact - also became part of the research itself. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The Chimanimani District Council (local government) and MHHF have both been very supportive of the project in various ways. The Rural District Council's main AGRITEX officer helped to facilitate important knowledge gathering on water access and possible strategies for improving health and irrigation to support improvements to livelihoods. This collaboration has been deeply valuable to the research; not only did this collaboration result in the establishment of vital new community water systems in specific communities that were visited; it also enabled vital new relationship building to help inform future steps that could have larger more widespread benefits. MHHF has also been actively involved in the research and supported steps taken to acquire funding from the Australian Embassy to fund new water infrastructure directly as a consequence of this research. |
| Impact | Two new community water programmes were established in Chimanimani as a result of this collaboration - 1) in Masiza and 2) at Westward Ho Primary School. In both cases, an NGO called Miracle Helping Hand was directly involved in the collaboration with the Chimanimani Rural District Council and this ESRC project. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | collaboration for research on small-scale mining, land and migration |
| Organisation | Sam Moyo African Institute for Agrarian Studies |
| Country | Zimbabwe |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | I hired a Zimbabwean post-doc based in Harare (Dr. Grasian Mkodzongi), to collaborate with me in part of the research in the Future Research Leader Project. We conducted research and co-wrote an article together that has been published (in the Journal of Development Studies: Mkodzongi, G., & Spiegel, S. (2019). Artisanal gold mining and farming: livelihood linkages and labour dynamics after land reforms in Zimbabwe. The Journal of Development Studies, 55(10), 2145-2161.) and a second one that is currently being finalised (for Extractive Industries in Society) focusing on empirical findings and a conceptual approach that closely attends to multiple kinds of artisanal mining/farming linkages and issues of migration and mobility. This second article (currently being finalised) is called "Mobility, Temporary Migration and Changing Livelihoods in Zimbabwe's Artisanal Mining Sector." |
| Collaborator Contribution | My partner in this collaboration has shared in-depth knowledge of land reform/mining linkages and we have together built on our respective areas of expertise to come up with a strong collaboration strategy that is poised to add innovative insights to scholarship in this field of research in Southern Africa. |
| Impact | currently under review in a leading journal |
| Start Year | 2016 |
| Description | collaboration on gender, water and displacement experiences |
| Organisation | University of Zimbabwe |
| Country | Zimbabwe |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | I have hired two academics - Juliet Gudlhanga and Lameck Kachena - as research assistants and collaborators in the fieldwork in Chimanimain, focusing on various forms of displacement and resilience among populations in Chimanimani, including through creative methods that focus on various forms of storytelling. After Cyclone Idai, our fieldwork together focused heavily on aspects of reconstituting social capital to deal with re-establishing food security and wellbeing following disaster, and various gendered aspects have been engaged in the field research. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Juliet has a particular emphasis on gender and Lameck has a particular focus on social ecology issues, and they have played very valuable roles in the fieldwork with me. |
| Impact | Field reports have been given to Chimanimani Rural District Council. Academic papers are being prepared at the moment. |
| Start Year | 2017 |
| Description | collaboration on traditional leadership and governance |
| Organisation | University of Zimbabwe |
| Country | Zimbabwe |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | A major theme in this ESRC project is understanding the nuances of traditional leadership structures, including the roles of chiefs and headmen in governing relationships to land, resource extraction and livelihoods. My team and I have been centrally focused on this in Chimanimani District, engaging with three chieftaincies within Chimanimani. In addition to that, I have also collaborated with other Zimbabwean scholars elsewhere in the country - which has involved me mentoring two Zimbabwean scholars in this publication: Chanakira, D. K., Mujere, J., & Spiegel, S. (2019). Traditional leaders and the politics of labour recruitment in Zimbabwe's platinum mining industry. The Extractive Industries and Society, 6(4), 1274-1281. |
| Collaborator Contribution | While my mentoring role in this collaboration has helped to deepen the use of methods and analytical tools in grappling with the complexities and nuances of traditional leadership, it is important to stress that partners have contributed vast knowledge and insight. In the case of the paper with Chanakira and Mujere, our paper together benefited from tremendous in-depth knowledge of traditional leadership structures and the perspectives of how traditional leaders' roles can fluctuate over time and adapt to diverse constraints and pressures in an economy facing severe crises and unemployment challenges. |
| Impact | Chanakira, D. K., Mujere, J., & Spiegel, S. (2019). Traditional leaders and the politics of labour recruitment in Zimbabwe's platinum mining industry. The Extractive Industries and Society, 6(4), 1274-1281. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | Delivered keynote lecture at the 'International Conference on Community Mining in Indonesia: Minimising Harm, Maximising Benefits' |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | I was invited to give a keynote speech on community mining issues in Indonesia, sharing my research on small-scale mining to date. I was invited by the Indonesian Small-Scale Miners Association for this, and I also in fact put the Indonesian Small-Scale Miners Association with one of my main collaborators in my Future Research Leaders Project- the Zimbabwe Miners Federation, in the spirit of supporting cross-country (and cross-continent) knowledge-exchange in regards to experiences with organising miners associations, mobilising for social justice and supporting equitable systems for improving sustainability in mining communities. My speech shared critical insights from research over a ten year period and the audience included a range of people - including policymakers in Indonesia (who are responsible for managing small-scale mining), academics in Indonesia, NGO representatives, and other organisations. Having the opportunity to discuss experiences in both Asia and Africa together also opened up avenues for planning future cross-continent collaborations and knowledge exchange activities. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| URL | http://tambangrakyat.org/conference/speaker |
| Description | International conference on visual storytelling methods and communities affected by resource extraction |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | In January 2019, I presented in and participated in an international conference on visual storytelling in communities affected by resource extraction. This was held in Indonesia (Central Kalimantan) and offered valuable opportunities or discussing key methods of engagement with communities, strategies for building research methods that impact policy processes, and strategies for developing interdisciplinary community-engaged research approaches that are especially focused on exploring voice and intention in socially marginalised research settings. The impact of the activity is that the methods discussed are now better understood, and future adaptations of the methods are likely to occur. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Led an event on small-scale mining and livelihoods in Zimbabwe - presented research in Ottawa for the Zimbabwean Ambassador to Canada, other Zimbabwe Embassy staff and international researchers |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The purpose of this event was to share findings from my research to date and to discuss future needs in communicating research about mining and livelihoods to policymakers. I prepared a talk that included a 1-hour review of my research to date on mining, environmental governance issues and livelihood challenges in Zimbabwe, focusing on challenges that small-scale miners have faced in complying with environmental impact assessment (EIA) policy requirements and alternative proposals for reforming the EIA system - drawing both on experiences in Zimbabwe (over a 10-year period since I initially began doing research in Zimbabwe) and a review of international experiences. I was deeply fortunate that the ZImbabwean Ambassador to Canada attended this event, as did other people who were involved in international development organisations. Following the 1-hour presentation, there was another hour of discussion with audience members, with vibrant discussion involving questions, debate and exchanges on policy ideas. The talk was critically framed around the idea of moving beyond conventionally narrow 'engineering'-oriented solutions that presuppose what community needs are, and adopting a more flexible policy approach that requires the various types of artisanal and small-scale mining, as small-scale miners associations have lobbied for reforms to the Mines and Minerals Act that take into account definitions and guidelines for different types of mining (at the moment, there is a generic policy rather than a policy for different types of small-scale mining). The Ambassador was appreciative of the talk and expressed considerable interest in following up with these ideas further, as did 2 other staff members from the Zimbabwean Embassy who accompanied the Ambassador. Other people in attendance at the event also expressed interest in following up on the talk and included people advising international development organisations as well as people involved in other major international research projects spanning other countries in Africa. This included research teams involved in work in Mozambique, thus providing an especially important connection with my Future Research Leader project. Some of the researchers in attendance in the event subsequently cited my research in their work. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| URL | https://carleton.ca/npsia/cu-events/14381-2/ |
| Description | Presentation and advisory panel contribution at workshop for post-cyclone recovery organised after Cyclone Idai in Zimbabwe |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | I was invited to support local Chimanimani-based NGOs and the local government of Chimanimani District in the aftermath of Cyclone Idai, which displaced thousands of people and devastated the livelihoods of people in this region, in addition to killing hundreds of people immediately, as my research project was focused right on the communities most heavily affected by the cyclone. My contribution was a presentation as well as participation in helping to organise a team dedicated to rebuilding livelihoods and supporting governance institutions in the aftermath of the cyclone. The inception workshop organised by the NGO and government stakeholders took place on 3-4 July 2019, in Harare; I participated in this as well as subsequent follow-up training in the region, including in Biri and activities in Chimanimani communities. Sharing insights from my project's successful support for new community-based water programs helped to inspire others involved in the network on the possibilities of using community storytelling as a way of catalysing new strategic thinking on infrastructure that can improve livelihoods, health and wellbeing. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Presentation of research findings on environmental governance dimensions of small-scale mining, as invited speaker at University of Oxford conference |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | This event brought together academics from several countries globally, focusing on different anthropological, geographical and sociological dimensions in the researching of mining and resource extraction, looking at the theme of "exclusion." I was invited to present my work and also to ask as a discussant and chair for other talks - and the event was highly successful in stimulating rich debate and fostering new connections. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | http://www.geog.ox.ac.uk/events/171019/ |
| Description | Support for key project collaborator to share findings and participate in Geneva at First International Conference of Parties to the Minamata Convention on Mercury (officially invited as part of Zimbabwe delegation) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | A key collaborator in my Future Research Leader project is Wellington Takavarasha, the leader of the Zimbabwe Miners Federation, which represents artisanal and small-scale miners associations across Zimbabwe. He has participated extensively in fieldwork (and knowledge exchange activities) with me in the past and in 2017, he asked me if I could assist him with finding funding to help travel to Geneva to share findings from our research with policymakers, including the Zimbabwe government delegation and other government delegations and UN authorities participating in the first meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Minamata Convention on Mercury (COP1), 24 to 29 September 2017 at the International Conference Centre in Geneva, Switzerland. I was able to secure knowledge exchange grant from my University (University of Edinburgh) to support this - which complements the work in the ESRC Future Research Leader project - and his presence and participation at this event proved to be very important. He was subsequently invited to formally advise the Government of Zimbabwe in developing its National Action Plan for the implementation of the Minamata Convention on Mercury and to be a member of its standing working group to support this treaty's implementation in Zimbabwe. Several follow-up meetings with government officials have occurred afterwards. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | http://cop1.mercuryconvention.org/ |
| Description | invited speaker, presenting findings at international conference in Montreal |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | I was an invited speaker at the conference called "Normative orderings, contested resource claims and emergent politics in the EI sector in Africa, Asia and Latin America" held in Montreal in September 2017. The conference was largely composed of academics but some practitioners also attended. My research findings on environmental governance dimensions of small-scale mining were presented. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | workshop on policy implications of new data on artisanal mining (at Surrey Business School, UK) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
| Results and Impact | This event provided me with an opportunity to share my research and disseminate key knowledge with non-governmental organisations (such as PACT - which has DFID-funded development programmes to assist artisanal miners in capacity-building projects in Zimbabwe and other countries) and representatives of the United Nations Environment Programme who are working on the global mercury strategies related to small-scale gold mining. Through workshop discussions structured to create deepened understanding of key knowledge and policy implications, I shared results from my work and suggested how practitioner projects seeking to improve livelihoods, safety and environmental governance in mining areas could be improved. After the workshop, I continued to dialogue with people working at the United Nations Environment Programme, to share findings with the goal of shaping strategies to implement the Minamata Convention on Mercury. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |