Artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) accounts for approximately 20% of world supply, and is an important livelihood for tens of millions of people. However, since much of this production is informal and unregulated, the ASGM sector is vulnerable to criminal exploitation and illicit financial flows (IFFs). Furthermore, the millions of dollars being invested by development actors into programming seeking to formalize the sector and reduce negative impacts is at risk of being co-opted by criminal and corrupt actors or not achieving its maximum impact due to established criminal networks.
The Gold Watch project aims to shed light on the role and influence of illicit actors in the ASGM sector, and implications for development efforts.
