What Local People Want with Forests: Ideologies and Attitudes in Papua New Guinea

Abstract

This chapter questions how Fair Trade is being operationalized' in the mining context in sub-Saharan Africa. As is the case with the work being undertaken in the area of agriculture, the potential impact of any Fair Trade minerals program would be greatest in sub-Saharan Africa, by far the poorest area of the world. In addition to the information provided by their local jewelry shops, the public has been inundated with information about the challenges facing artisanal miners, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, by the media and Hollywood. Sierra Leone has been at the forefront of international interests in the Fair Trade of timber and mineral products in sub-Saharan Africa. However, for a number of reasons which will be discussed here, redressing the entrenched inequality in Sierra Leone's mining sector will involve much more than merely applying well meaning Fair Trade blue prints that aim to link the consumer with the producer.