Filling the Void?

The increasing global influence of multi-national§companies has led to growing calls for a corporate§social responsibility ethic, especially in mining.§Western-based mining companies are under pressure to§give fair treatment to indigenous communities. This§work looks at illegal gold mining in Ghana, where§poverty and illegal mining plague the industry today.§Alternative livelihood projects, developed by§foreign-owned mining companies, are intended to§reduce the incidence of illegal mining. This study§gathered public perceptions on these projects, which§provides important indicators on the success of said§projects and evidence of the level of commitment that§is invested in them by their designers. Regulation§theory is employed to evaluate the evolution of§alternative livelihood programs as an emerging form§of social regulation within the minerals extraction§industry. Critical evaluation of these projects is§necessary to differentiate promising initiatives from§corporate PR exercises. This work should prove a§useful resource to the many people working in the§field of development, especially those involved with§the design and implementation of sustainable§livelihood initiatives.