Artisanal Mining and Property Rights Quarterly Progress Report January 1 – March 31, 2020

Executive Summary

This quarterly performance report describes achievements realized under USAID’s AMPR project in the CAR between January 1 and March 31, 2020. The AMPR team made significant advancements as summarized below.

Objective 1: Assist the Government of the CAR to Improve Compliance with KP Requirements to Promote Licit Economic Activities:

  • Technical support provided for preparing the Terms of Reference (TOR) for a field visit and technical workshop in Cameroon to present the results of the smuggling diagnostic (Rapport Diagnostic Sur La Contrebande Des Diamants En Republique Centrafricaine [Diagnostic Report on Smuggling of Diamonds in CAR]) and identify opportunities for cross-border coordination and experience sharing.
  • Produced an action plan for strengthening diamond supply chain governance, including regulatory and institutional changes completed and shared with the Ministry of Mines and Geology (MMG).
  • Provided technical and logistical support to designing legal texts for the CAR Kimberley Process Permanent Secretariat (KPPS).
  • Supported joint missions with the CAR KP National Monitoring Committee (CNS PK) to reconstitute the Kimberley Process Local Monitoring Committees (Comités Locaux de Suivi, CLS).
  • Trained six CLS on the use of the AMPR-developed meeting agenda and reporting tools.
  • Carried out the second field mission in Carnot and Nola sub-prefectures with an enlarged team of experts from the MMG, Ministry of Habitat and Urbanism, and spatial planners from the University of Bangui to gather additional information and get buy-in from communities in the ZEAs.
  • Participated in the CAR International Mines, Quarries, and Petroleum Exhibition (SEMICA).
  • Started filming training videos on the Kimberly Process, CLS, CLPR, and pastoralism.
  • Participated in technical inter-donor coordination meetings among USAID, World Bank Appui à La Professionnalisation des Coopératives Minières de la République Centrafricaine (APCM), and EU Renforcement de la Gouvernance dans les Secteurs de l’Extraction Artisanale du Diamant et de l’Or en République Centrafricaine (GODICA) projects providing support to the MMG.

Objective 2: Strengthen Community Resilience, Social Cohesion, and Responses to Violent Conflict in the Central African Republic:

  • Completed a rigorous and participatory evaluation of the model of peacebuilding committees (CLPRs), including its impact, activities, successes, failures, legitimacy, lessons learned, and recommendations.
  • Completed the official installation ceremonies of the 11 CLPRs in Carnot and Nola sub-prefectures.
  • Conducted a literature review on pastoralism and transhumance, focusing on CAR and its neighbors.
  • Organized master classes in Berberati, Nola, and Bangui to identify key issues, knowledge gaps, and lessons learned on addressing violent conflicts related to pastoralism in the southwest of CAR.
  • Trained 21 livelihoods groups on agricultural production, working effectively as associations, village savings and loans, and basic literacy.
  • Assisted 21 women’s and mixed-gender groups in setting up nursery beds and demonstration sites for the agricultural activities.

Objective 3: Increase Awareness and Understanding of the Opportunities and Challenges of Establishing Responsible Gold Supply Chains in the Central African Republic:

  • Organized two national workshops for government, civil society, and private sector on: a) restitution of IPIS’ gold mining diagnostic and b) training in RESOLVE’s Code of Risk Mitigation for Artisanal and Small-Scale Miners Engaging in Formal Trade (CRAFT).
  • Produced a gold sector Market Readiness Report, drawing on the gold diagnostic study’s findings.
  • IPIS finalized the interactive digital map based on data gathered from 322 mine site visits and presented the map to relevant CAR authorities during a restitution workshop in Bangui in January 2020.

Objective 4: Improve USAID Programming through Increased Understanding of Linkages Between Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining and Key Development Issues:

  • Prepared an ASM Issue Brief on best practices from USAID-supported projects worldwide.
  • Responded to a request for technical assistance from the USAID Colombia Mission related to their artisanal gold sector.

This quarterly report presents descriptions and results of each activity in AMPR’s approved Annual Work Plan for the period of January–March 2020. It should be noted that on March 14, 2020 AMPR field activities began to be restricted due to the arrival of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in CAR.