2015- Citizen Development of Mining Legislation Draft

According to an interview conducted with a representative of the Humboldt Centre as part of The Legal Cultures of the Subsoil project, in 2015 the Centre began to develop a new proposed mining law that aimed at establishing an effective mechanism for regulating, controlling, and monitoring mining operations, including the taxation and royalty rules, the process for granting concessions, and technical issues relating to small and large-scale mining operations. The draft was prepared in consultation with small-scale and artisanal mining collectives, along with other affected community members. It took into consideration that, while some communities in Nicaragua reject mining outright, others have a history of small-scale mining and depend on these activities for residents’ economic livelihoods. The Centre’s position is that if mining is going to be developed in Nicaragua, it should only be in the traditional mining districts, applying appropriate and effective mechanisms of monitoring, regulation, control, and respect for the environment. It believes that mining should not expand beyond these areas, and particularly not to protected areas or fragile natural areas, such as the San Juan River watershed.