Recording Kastom: Alfred Haddon's Journals from the Torres Strait and New Guinea, 1888 and 1898

Abstract

a win-win scenario, the company’s predilection for modern infrastructure does not always properly address on-the-ground realities, while the dynamics of corruption also diminish the potential benefits received by local people. The last chapter of this book provides a novel and bold analysis of knowledge production in culturally sensitive contexts. Gil Ramón details how an effective ‘culture of hazard exposure prevention’ (232) can only be developed through a cultural dialogue between short-term investments and long-term benefits. Importantly, this book provides a critical reflection alongside actionable measures to create a realistic and site-specific socioeconomic hazard prevention plan. Peru, specifically, has seen a damaging reduction in environmental regulation leading to an inability to develop or implement proper EIAs and related socio-economic measures. The differences in the definition of environmental pollution between the mining companies and the impacted communities remain a critical barrier that is deepened in cases of risks to unquantifiable values, such as religious or sacred sites. Gil Ramón’s book, at the corner between ethnographic study, political analysis, and advocacy concerns, makes an impressive contribution to the study of large-scale mining (LSM) and its relationship to neighbouring communities. This study is neatly situated in the Peruvian context, with problematics specific to the political history of the country. However, its framework and conclusions are applicable to a wider variety of contexts, from the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Copperbelt to extractive projects in Papua New Guinea. This book, targeting an academic audience, is a must read for practitioners all around the globe. In a time when responsible minerals sourcing is increasingly at the fore of corporate social responsibility (CSR), Gil Ramón provides much-needed answers to key questions facing the industry.