Impact case study database

Limited water resources of variable quality present a significant hazard to public health and wellbeing, the environment and its ecosystem services and food security. This hazard is particularly acute in arid regions of the world impacted by mining, where limited water resources may be prioritised for mineral extraction, processing and waste disposal, and then re-enter the natural environment in a highly degraded state. Unfortunately, for Bolivia, it has a large number of these hazard hotspots, exemplified by the Río Pilcomayo basin and many drainage systems on the Bolivian Altiplano, which have been negatively impacted by centuries of poorly regulated mining activity resulting in heavy metal contamination of soils and waters. UCL–Birkbeck research on the impacts of mining has resulted in improvements in water resource management in Bolivia and subsequently in tailings risk management in Chile and the UK. The work has benefitted indigenous communities, government and non-government bodies and business, and has enhanced UK international relations in science and innovation.

Building indigenous community resilience to reduce water quality risk in Bolivia and positioning the UK as a key science, innovation and research partner with Bolivia

The Catholic Agency for Overseas Development (CAFOD) operates one of the largest aid networks in the world and works with in-country partners to alleviate poverty and suffering in developing countries. CENDA is a key partner in Bolivia and has supported indigenous peasant communities for over 30 years. Of its four thematic areas, community water management was initiated in 2012, as a consequence of collaboration with UCL–Birkbeck researchers ( S1). It became firmly established in 2014 with a community water monitoring programme in the Poopó and Antequera river basins (combined area of 335 km²) in the Poopó and Pazña municipalities of the Department of Oruro. In these basins, unregulated tin, silver, lead and zinc mining and waste disposal has occurred since the 16^th century affecting the quality and availability of water, which puts the survival of 12,000 indigenous peasant people at risk ( S2). The underpinning research carried out by UCL–Birkbeck researchers informed CENDA that only 2% of waters sampled were suitable for direct human consumption and it provided essential evidence of the causes and extent of contamination ( S1, S3). In 2015, CENDA published the findings of the UCL–Birkbeck research online, which has been viewed more than 1186 times, and also submitted the findings to the Bolivia Vice Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation, which then identified the Poopó and Antequera river basins as priorities for monitoring, because of the contamination of water by mining ( S3).

The underpinning research from UCL–Birkbeck led to the development of a uniquely versatile and qualitative tool for water quality hazard assessment—the CWQHR. The tool is specifically designed to be locally relevant and to be understood and used by community members and environmental and health managers on the Bolivian Altiplano and similar environments elsewhere. Unlike existing indices at the time, the CWQHR is applicable in areas affected by mining or natural contamination and encompasses all aspects of water use, including potable, agricultural, ecological and recreational uses, and broader environmental aspects. It also enables recommendations to be made about the level of treatment required for specific uses of water. Providing this tool and educating members of local communities in water monitoring and hazards, resulted in their active participation in water monitoring activities, understanding health risk and making informed decisions about water use ( S1). Commenting on the benefits of the CWQHR tool and the underpinning water quality data, CENDA stated that most importantly these “provided the hard evidence to enable the communities to stand up for their water rights” ( S1) and this had three key outcomes. Firstly, “communities now have volunteer water monitors and have been able to self-organise and find their own solutions to the water problem by managing the uses of water according to its quality and availability, greatly aided by the CWQHR” ( S1). Secondly, “active coordination was achieved with the Vice Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation, and the Autonomous Municipal Governments of Poopó and Pazña–Antequera” ( S1). This consolidated a water monitoring and surveillance system in each of the two river basins ( S1, S3), delivering to the Bolivia National Watershed Plan ( S3). Thirdly, the Integral Health Centre of Poopó, through its Community and Intercultural Family Health Programme, took responsibility for reporting the quality of the water. This led to the Autonomous Municipal Government of Poopó installing chlorination and filtration systems to improve water quality for the communities, thus ensuring they had access to more water of better quality ( S4).

Towards the end of 2019, 200 families had directly benefitted from improved water management and 1,400 indirectly in the Poopó and Pazña–Antequera municipalities ( S2). The community water monitoring has been replicated in other locations in Bolivia: on the Altiplano at Coro Coro (projected population of about 9500) and along the Amazonian Río Rocha ( S2) (that flows through the city of Cochabamba and has more than 1,400,000 people living in its 3700 km² basin, which is equivalent to 12% of the country’s population). This has helped to ensure communities have greater access to potable water. This has all been possible, thanks to the UCL–Birkbeck research that “ strengthened the capacities of the researchers at CENDA” ( S1).

In June 2016, the British Embassy in La Paz showcased the UCL–Birkbeck research in Bolivia in a special supplement of La Razon (the leading newspaper in La Paz) and via the Embassy’s Facebook page. This publication reached approximately 50,000 readers and its purpose was “to project the UK as a good commercial partner for Bolivia and a leader in different prosperity areas, including the UK’s academic capabilities for innovation and collaboration in the mining sector” ( S5); the UCL–Birkbeck research “in mined areas on the Bolivian Altiplano provided an excellent example in this regard” ( S5). Subsequently, the British Embassy in La Paz “intensified its efforts to strengthen the science and research relationship between the UK and Bolivia and generate a greater amount of academic links between both countries. The Vice-president of Bolivia visited the UK in February 2019 and signed an agreement with the British Embassy in Bolivia to that effect. The success and positive impact of projects such as [that undertaken by UCL–Birkbeck on the Altiplano] has been vital in positioning the UK as a key partner for Bolivia in terms of science and innovation, leading to this agreement” ( S5).

Enhancing capacities of government and business in Chile and the UK to monitor, model and reduce tailings disaster risk

Mining is one of the key priorities of the UK Department for International Trade (DIT), particularly in South America through the British Embassy in Chile. The DIT encourages and promotes UK research and commercial know-how in mining in order to attract foreign sources of business for the UK. Since 2015, the impact of the research in Bolivia has evolved to generate profound impacts for tailings risk understanding and management, which have benefitted the DIT and Mining Ministry of Chile, and created new business for CGG in the UK.

In Chile in December 2015, Edwards presented the UCL–Birkbeck research and community water monitoring programme in Bolivia to the Mining Minister of Chile and the British Ambassador to Chile ( S6). This resulted in the Minister inviting Edwards and the British Embassy to collaborate with her ministry, through SERNAGEOMIN (the National Service of Geology and Mining), to explore ways to reduce the risk from mine tailings in Chile. This “ enabled the Embassy to greatly enhance its engagement with the Mining Ministry” and resulted in the Minister requesting “tailings be identified as a priority theme in the 2016 UK Cross-Government Prosperity Fund call for Chile, which they were” ( S6). Through this competitive call, the Foreign & Commonwealth Office awarded Edwards GBP114,000 for the project “Promoting Sustainable Mining in Chile: Building Capacity in Mine Tailings Hazard Management” and subsequently, in 2017, GBP23,500 from the Global Britain Fund for the project “Tailings Risk Analysis and Management in the Central Zone of Chile and Associated Research, Training and Commercial Opportunities” ( S6). There were high impact results from these projects for SERNAGEOMIN in Chile and CGG in the UK.

Under Chile Supreme Decree No. 248 of 2007, it is a legal requirement for every mining operation in the country to report the dangerous distance, which is the distance tailings would flow should a tailings dam fail. Between 1915 and 2010 in Chile, 80% of the 38 reported tailings dam incidents were caused by earthquakes. As a consequence and at the request of SERNAGEOMIN within the agreement of the Prosperity Fund project, the UCL Hazard Centre developed a physical model to generate scenarios for earthquake-induced failures of tailings storage facilities and the subsequent run-out flow distance of tailings and the area they could inundate. For SERNAGEOMIN, the model “remains the most comprehensive, rigorous and advanced methodology available” ( S7) and the “advanced knowledge of the values calculated with [the UCL model] has prompted mining companies to make serious efforts to assess the distance by their own methods” ( S7). Moreover, commenting on proposed new national tailings regulations, SERNAGEOMIN stated that the “pioneering work to model the area of inundation has been pivotal in developing the proposed new regulations regarding the safety and management of tailings storage facilities in Chile; we have suggested to forcibly ask the mining companies to inform affected area (as your results show), in addition to the dangerous distance” ( S7). The model also enables assessment of potential human, infrastructural and environmental damages from a tailings inundation that “provides unique critical information for SERNAGEOMIN, which must present such information to public authorities for purposes that include informing territorial polices and urban planning, and reducing potential tailings disaster risk” ( S7).

CGG is a global geoscience technology leader employing some 4,000 people worldwide. The impact on business and development for them came from UCL Hazard Centre research and expertise on tailings dam failures in Chile being applied to one that occurred at Cadia Mine in Australia in March 2018. The Cadia study used Earth observation data to retrospectively forecast the failure and “resulted in significant exposure and business for CGG” ( S8). The study became a catalyst “for CGG formally marketing its satellite remote sensing capabilities under a new brand called ‘MineScope’. This has become a leading and renowned service in the [mining] sector and has been the driver for significant growth for CGG; we saw an up-tick in revenue during 2020 and have been perfectly placed during the COVID-19 pandemic to support clients with remote mine site intelligence. This significant increase in commercial demand resulted in CGG establishing a new business line in Minerals & Mining in October 2020” ( S8).