EDUCATING IMPOVERISHED BOLIVIAN COMMUNITIES ON ACID MINE DRAINAGE; A RURAL MODEL FOR EDUCATION, MONITORING, AND REMEDIATION

While mining has been the economic pulse in the Bolivian Andes for over three centuries, rich mineral resources have not brought wealth to most inhabitants. In fact, in 2002 the United Nations reported that 79.2% of rural Bolivians live in “extreme poverty,” defined as family income that is insufficient to satisfy the nutritional needs of all household members. In many cases, the environmental damage incurred by mining activities has further impoverished the welfare of Bolivians. Recent studies have documented concentrations of heavy metals in important rivers in the Lago Poopo watershed that are well above World Health Organization standards. In this watershed, acid mine drainage (AMD) is a leading cause of the contaminated drinking and irrigation water. Effluent from the San Jose mine has a pH of 1.4, total dissolved solids of 74,836, and 62.97 mg/l of arsenic, along with high concentrations of other metals. To improve the standard of living of many Bolivians and their environment, action is needed to educate communities on AMD risks and to spearhead cost-effective mitigation projects.

Terra Resource Development International (Terra), a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, recently formed to help impoverished Bolivians improve their standards of living. In 2006, after analyzing water quality samples, Terra initiated a project to reduce the impact of AMD on health and agriculture. The goals of the project are 1) to educate communities on the health and economic risks of AMD and to demonstrate simple measures to reduce these risks; 2) to teach community leaders and students to collect basic water quality data; and 3) to harness motivated communities to devise site-specific passive AMD remediation systems, some of which may provide alternative sources of income by mining the leached metals.

Integral to this project are the partnerships Terra has forged with the University of Oruro in Bolivia and the Denver professional chapter of Engineers Without Borders (D-EWB). Teachers from the University of Oruro will help lead the educational workshops, while D-EWB is currently translating an instructional video which will be instrumental in the educational campaign. By 2010, Terra hopes to have educated at least five high-risk communities and to have begun installation of several passive AMD treatment systems.