Protecting the people and environment and reducing mining conflicts by providing affected communities with self sustaining scientific support and facilitating dialogues between them and the mining industries

Flaviano Bianchini

Flaviano developed a strong connection to the outdoor as he grew up in a rural Italian town but his curiosity about environmental problems, particularly those that are negatively impacting human rights, was global. While attending a conference in 2005, Flaviano was deeply moved by a story of a woman from Guatemala about the impact of mining activities in her country. At the same time, he realized she lacked scientific data to support her statements about the terrible conditions. Flaviano raised his own funds to go complete a scientific study on her behalf which led to a reform of the extraction process in favor of the local communities. Since then Flaviano has dedicated his work to defend the human and environmental rights of similarly affected communities.

 

Flaviano took part in SE Forum’s SE Outreach Accelerator in 2015.

 

Source International

Source International

Source International was founded as Flaviano saw the need for the communities to do their own monitoring, in order to have constructive dialogues with the industries to make changes rather than conflicts. The work focuses on providing grassroots organizations with tools and knowledge to evaluate health and environmental impact of natural resources extraction in their communities, particularly in areas of water pollution. It is also facilitating dialogues and discussion between the communities and mining companies to encourage responsible behaviors. His work earned him the Ashoka Fellowship in 2012. Source International is now ready to replicate their work in more communities and expand to other industries (e.g. textile in Asia).