Editing Gold mining (section)

===Responses===
[[Human Rights Watch]] produced a report in 2015 that outlined some of challenges faced globally. The report notes that
{{blockquote|Thousands of children in the Philippines risk their lives every day mining gold. Children work in unstable 25-meter-deep pits that could collapse at any moment. They mine gold underwater, along the shore, or in rivers, with oxygen tubes in their mouths. They also process gold with mercury, a toxic metal, risking irreversible health damage from mercury poisoning.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.hrw.org/report/2015/09/29/what-if-something-went-wrong/hazardous-child-labor-small-scale-gold-mining|title=What ... if Something Went Wrong? Hazardous Child Labor in Small-Scale Gold Mining in the Philippines|date=2015-09-29|newspaper=Human Rights Watch|access-date=2016-10-17|archive-date=18 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161018210739/https://www.hrw.org/report/2015/09/29/what-if-something-went-wrong/hazardous-child-labor-small-scale-gold-mining|url-status=live}}</ref>}}

''Fairtrade'' and ''Fairmined'' dual certification for gold was launched across the United Kingdom on 14 February 2011,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2011/feb/14/fairtrade-gold?INTCMP=SRCH|title=Fairtrade hallmark sets the gold standard|author=Kate Carter|date=14 February 2011|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=20 December 2012|archive-date=12 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160312150149/http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2011/feb/14/fairtrade-gold?INTCMP=SRCH|url-status=live}}</ref> a joint scheme between [[The Fairtrade Foundation]] and [[The Association for Responsible Mining]]. The ''Fairmined'' mark ensures that the gold has been extracted in a fair and responsible manner.

[[File:Lone Tree Gold Mine From The California Zephyr - panoramio.jpg|thumb|Lone Tree gold mine taken from the California Zephyr train, showing the extent of deforestation]]

A [[United Nations|UN]] investigation reported human rights abuses such as sexual exploitation of women and children, [[mercury poisoning]], and child labor affecting communities where illegal gold production occurs. The reports said global buyers such as [[Switzerland]], through which roughly two-thirds of global trade transits, need to ensure that human rights are respected throughout supply chains.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/business/gold-sourcing-and-switzerland-in-focus-at-the-human-rights-council/47925514|title=Gold sourcing and Switzerland in focus at the Human Rights Council|access-date=26 September 2022|website=Swissinfo|date=26 September 2022 |archive-date=26 September 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220926070359/https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/business/gold-sourcing-and-switzerland-in-focus-at-the-human-rights-council/47925514|url-status=live}}</ref>

The "No Dirty Gold" campaign, working with a number of campaigning partners, was established in 2004 and aims "to ensure that gold mining operations respect human rights and the environment" through a call for changes in gold mining techniques and processes.<ref>Earthworks, [https://earthworks.org/campaigns/no-dirty-gold/ No Dirty Gold], accessed 30 October 2023</ref><ref>Bland, A., [https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/environmental-disaster-gold-industry-180949762/ The Environmental Disaster That is the Gold Industry], ''Smithsonian Magazine'', published 14 February 2014, accessed 30 October 2023</ref> The impacts of mining on the environment are long-lasting, and active land management and restoration are needed to ensure recovery.<ref name=":14"/> A barrier to the restoration of environments is cost. Limited funding is a major barrier in implementing commitments.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Chazdon |first=Robin L. |date=2008-06-13 |title=Beyond Deforestation: Restoring Forests and Ecosystem Services on Degraded Lands |url=https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.1155365 |journal=Science |language=en |volume=320 |issue=5882 |pages=1458–1460 |doi=10.1126/science.1155365 |pmid=18556551 |bibcode=2008Sci...320.1458C |s2cid=206511664 |issn=0036-8075|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Restoration costs vary widely between difference approaches, such as passive and active restoration.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Holl |first1=K.D. |last2=Aide |first2=T.M. |date=2011 |title=When and where to actively restore ecosystems? |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0378112710003750 |journal=Forest Ecology and Management |language=en |volume=261 |issue=10 |pages=1558–1563 |doi=10.1016/j.foreco.2010.07.004|bibcode=2011ForEM.261.1558H |url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Brancalion |first1=Pedro H. S. |last2=Schweizer |first2=Daniella |last3=Gaudare |first3=Ulysse |last4=Mangueira |first4=Julia R. |last5=Lamonato |first5=Fernando |last6=Farah |first6=Fabiano T. |last7=Nave |first7=André G. |last8=Rodrigues |first8=Ricardo R. |date=2016 |title=Balancing economic costs and ecological outcomes of passive and active restoration in agricultural landscapes: the case of Brazil |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/btp.12383 |journal=Biotropica |language=en |volume=48 |issue=6 |pages=856–867 |doi=10.1111/btp.12383 |bibcode=2016Biotr..48..856B |s2cid=89600560 |issn=0006-3606|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Additionally, governments have started to promote the formalization of gold mining.<ref name=":15">{{Cite journal |last1=Salo |first1=Matti |last2=Hiedanpää |first2=Juha |last3=Karlsson |first3=Teemu |last4=Cárcamo Ávila |first4=Luciano |last5=Kotilainen |first5=Juha |last6=Jounela |first6=Pekka |last7=Rumrrill García |first7=Róger |date=2016 |title=Local perspectives on the formalization of artisanal and small-scale mining in the Madre de Dios gold fields, Peru |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S2214790X16301733 |journal=The Extractive Industries and Society |language=en |volume=3 |issue=4 |pages=1058–1066 |doi=10.1016/j.exis.2016.10.001|bibcode=2016ExIS....3.1058S }}</ref> This formalization puts the government in a better position to govern the sectors, manage environmental impacts, and direct mining away from ecologically sensitive areas.<ref name=":15" /><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Fritz |first1=Morgane M.C |title=Global Trends in Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining (ASM): A review of key numbers and issues |last2=Mcquilken |first2=James |last3=Collins |first3=Nina |last4=Weldegiorgis |first4=Fitsum |date=2017 |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |location=Winnipeg |language=en}}</ref>