Impacto socioambiental de la minería ilegal en la calidad de vida de los habitantes de Bellamaría, cantón Santa Rosa

Abstract

This present thesis project, Socio-environmental impact of illegal mining on the quality of life of the inhabitants located in Bellamaría, Santa Rosa is a matter of the utmost relevance since it proves the damage to the environment caused by mining occupations since it does not comply with environmental and legal regulations, in the same way, the little participation on the part of local, provincial, national authorities, and competent organizations in providing control and regulation is notorious. These occupations in the exploitation and subtraction of resources use natural toxic chemical resources; thus, in this process of gold parting, other metals are released into the air, water sources and soil. The economic activities of the inhabitants of the town are based on the primary sector, i.e., agriculture has been affected due to soil erosion that has caused infertile soils and deterioration of plant and animal life, as well as the use of water sources that are used for irrigation of plantations and sustenance for human consumption, causing cases of diseases, which have a negative impact on the population's quality of life. In this way, the overall purpose is to "Determine the socio-environmental impact generated by illegal mining on the quality of life of the inhabitants from Bellamaría town". The sociological foundation is Marxism since it examines the critical case of unethical, immoral, and unfair mining practices that are close to the natural and social environment and fail to comply with environmental and legal rules; in the same way, the environmental theory that intends to use natural resources from the defense of the ecosystem through strong government regulation. The methodology used in the investigation is mixed, its approach is hypothetical deductive since hypotheses about the reality of the environment were established during the process, in the same way, techniques such as observation, survey, and interviews will be used that will allow them to be verified. According to the results, the environmental issues in the village are the contamination of the rivers, soil, air, and deforestation, considering that the levels are high, in this sense, it harms the health of the inhabitants and nature causing irreversible ills and ills. On the other hand, a lack of community organization and weakening did not allow the production of elementary conditions for the inhabitants to acquire a sense of belonging related to the socio-environmental drawbacks caused by illegal mining that is having a negative impact on the quality of life. Finally, one of the issues has been chosen according to the results in order to develop the following intervention proposal: Training processes with the topics of organizational strengthening and leadership aimed at the residents from Bellamaría to promote relevant actions to mitigate the factors that cause environmental pollution, in order to encourage collaboration, develop leadership skills that contribute to minimizing the environmental impacts of illegal mining, through population awareness.