This lesson looks at how the geography, in particular waterways or the relative lack of them, has affected the respective histories of Eastern and Western Europe.
This is a self-contained PowerPoint that develops slide by slide while other notes for the students scroll down the side. It can be run as a timed presentation on its own, presented slide by slide for discussion, or integrated into your other lectures. This packet also contains a student reading and flowchart.
NOTE: If this Powerpoint doesn’t come in the new color scheme, it comes with one slide that has the whole flowchart in the newer color scheme, if you want to convert the other slides. I’m in the process of converting all the Powerpoints to the new color scheme over the next year. Check the free preview to see if this particular lesson has been converted yet.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 License.


South Side Traverse
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BETA PHOTO: The south stairs and the right side start of the S...
The South Side Traverse is the longest traverse of its grade in the area. With a length of over 150 feet, it is a great warm up for a day's session. Although some of the rock is sharp, the moves are great, and like much of the beach climbing, it provides variety as the sand levels change during the year. This traverse pretty much always has sand landings when others in the area don't. Becuase of the southern aspect, it can be warm and wind free on a sunny winter day. Try it both directions for different moves.
This traverse is located just west of the southern trail variation, on the south face of Houda Point.
The Southside Traverse in prime conditions on th...


Mount etna history and overview
History of eruptions mount etna has a longer written record of eruptions than any other volcano the first recorded observation of a mount etna eruption was written . The mt etna quarry an overview of the mt etna campaign ridge and all the cavernous area of mount etna campaign history brown, al (1975): mt etna . Mount etna is the highest volcano in europe, and one of most active of the world it’s impressive size ( more than 3327 meters high with an average basal diameter of 40 km) overlooks the whole region.
Historical eruptions of mount etna overview the record of etna's eruptions goes back to about 1500 bp, and its list of documented eruptions is the longest of any volcano in the world. Ride overview - mount etna ride inn to inn mountains you will circle the highest european volcano, mount etna, by way of natural park paths and abandoned narrow . It is on the east coast of sicily quite near messina and catania mount etna has the most amount of eruptions in the world it is the biggest active volcano in. Mount etna is an extraordinary volcano in sicily that has a huge impact on the surrounding area and community find out more about its history.
Mount etna, or etna, is an active stratovolcano on the east coast of sicily, italy, in the metropolitan city of catania, between the cities of messina and ca. Helpful monthly overview: mount etna weather april, may (spring): the season starts, yet april temperatures are not pleasant enough for most visitors and there is a chance of new snow during both months the chance of a cloudy day is still high compared to the summer months. Book the best tours of mount etna and discover great things to do visit one of the best attractions of sicily and enjoy a tour with us. Mount etna, or etna (italian: due to its history of recent activity and nearby population, mount etna has been designated a decade volcano by the united nations. Mount etna: history and interesting facts mount etna is located on the east coast of sicily, an island of italy in the mediterranean sea the movement of the african plate below the eurasian plate has given rise to this active volcano.
Mount etna facts: brief overview of mount etna mount etna information : learn about the history, eruptions, and flora and fauna of mount etna understanding mount etna : article that describes the geological features and history of mount etna. 7 days in sicily: mount etna, the ionian coast, and cefalú history, and culture highlights explore the bustling metropolis of catania overview this tour . Italy's mount etna glows as lava pours down its flanks credit: boris behncke mount etna is the largest active volcano in europe and one of the world's most frequently erupting volcanoes it is . Learn about the history, geology and plate tectonics of mount etna, a volcano in italy.
The most violent eruption in the history of mount etna occurred in march of 1669 on the first day, lava flows cut a smoldering gash out of two mountain villages. Mount etna' is a large active volcano, situated on the isle of sicily it is near here that joxer and meg created a tavern in honour of xena's and gabrielle's memories. The geologic history of mount etna demonstrates that it has been periodically spewing ash and lava for thousands of years the first recorded eruption of the volcano was in 475 bce it is the most .
Mount etna history and overview
Mount etna is an iconic site encompassing 19,237 uninhabited hectares on the highest part of mount etna, on the eastern coast of sicily mount etna is the highest mediterranean island mountain and the most active stratovolcano in the world the eruptive history of the volcano can be traced back . Mount etna: mount etna, active volcano on sicily’s east coast and the highest active volcano in europe in 1865 the volcanic summit was about 170 feet (52 meters) higher than it was in the early 21st century. In the lush hills surrounding mount etna, immerse yourself in the colorful history and culture of sicily as you sample its cuisine and savor its flavorful wines.
- Due to its history of recent activity and nearby population, mount etna has been designated a decade volcano by the united nations in june 2013, it was added to the list of unesco world heritage sites .
- Mount etna is widely regarded as one of the most spectacular sites to witness while traveling through europe constantly putting on an exhilarating show of life with its many erruptions, it is known for attracting thrill-seekers of all kinds avid hikers and climbers, volcano enthusiasts, and .
- Mount etna is explosive tonight mount etna is a volcanic mountain found near sicily’s coast, in italy, europe, that actively erupts in a stratovolcanic way mount etna reaches approximately 3,330 metres (10,925 feet) in height, taking the position of being europe’s most elevated active volcano.
Mount etna is one of the world's most active volcanoes, and one of its most iconic, towering over the island of sicily and frequently lighting up the sky with its fiery eruptions. Dictionary entry overview: what does mount etna mean • mount etna (noun) the noun mount etna has 1 sense: 1 an inactive volcano in sicily last erupted in 1961 the highest volcano in europe (10,500 feet). Dictionary entry overview: what does mt etna mean mt mt etna mt orizaba mt ararat mt everest » what does history mean.


Rockton is a village in Winnebago County, Illinois, USA. It is located in the Rock River Valley ... The racial makeup of the village was 91.80% White, 1.40% African American, 0.1% Native American, 1.10% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.45% ...
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If it’s not one fucking natural disaster, it’s another. First I live through an earthquake (which they hadn’t seen in Virginia since…1897??) and now the remnants of Hurricane Irene will show up here in the Shenandoah Valley sometime tomorrow (Saturday) night.
First, the earthquake…
So here I was Tuesday afternoon, watching TV, when all of a sudden the floor starts vibrating…and my computer desk starts swaying from side to side. (Thankfully I wasn’t online.) After about 20 seconds or so, it stops. A minute after that, I finally decide to go outside.
After my next door neighbor and me exchange looks over just what the fuck just happened, I go back in and find out (on the TV) an earthquake struck in Mineral, VA–40 miles ENE of Charlottesville, and 50 miles NNW of Richmond. Lucky for us, the Blue Ridge Mountains served as a sort of buffer to lessen the severity westward.
Still, they felt rumblings in Chicago…and Halifax, Nova Scotia. Must’ve been quite a shock (no pun intended…LMAO) to them Canadians, I reckon.
We can laugh now (3 days after the fact), but it goes to show you we here on the East Coast shouldn’t take things for granted. Which brings us to…the hurricane.
It ain’t Katrina, but it might be pretty damn close. At any rate, I’m glad I don’t hit the ‘puter on Saturdays.
(Oh, the title of this piece? From a text message my brother sent me this morning…and as his 2nd text message says, “Now where are the horde of locusts??” Me, I’m looking around for a fucking volcano…LMMFAO)


There is not a more stirring story in the history of travel than that of Colonel A. H. MacMAhon, who was recently completed the survey of the boundaries between Afghanistan and Persia. A great part of the way lay through absolutely waterless and unknown desert, and the work cost us the lives of no fewer than 50 men out of the 1,500 who devoted two and a haff years to the arduous work. During the last winter but one all the jackals and wolves with which the country abounds went mad and attacked men and animals'. [Pour members of the mission were bitten, and one died raving. Then one terrible night a mad wolf ran amok in the camp. A frightful blizzard with wind blowing at 120 miles an hour was raging, and daring its progress the demented animal raged about the camp. Before it could be despatched it bit seventy-eight camels and one horse. The horse and forty-eight camels died of hydrophobia.
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COLONEL MACMAHON., Southern Cross, Volume 15, Issue 21, 7 September 1907
COLONEL MACMAHON. Southern Cross, Volume 15, Issue 21, 7 September 1907
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Selections from Chapter 8
Sitting on JOY’s cap, up front, was the best place to enjoy the adventure. With sails down, legs dangling over each side, I would paddle slowly, moving the oar back and forth from side to side. I was too afraid of getting stung by a stingray to walk beside JOY. I had heard too many stories of Islanders getting a stingray’s barb jabbed into their feet while clamming in the shallow waters off Shackleford. Alone, an hour’s distance from our landing, the thought of getting stung was too frightening. I stayed inside JOY except to retrieve an empty scallop shell or two.
other token...such as a string of conch eggs. The hundreds of miniture conchs inside were totally facinating and had to be seen to be believed. In retrospect, I am amazed that Miss Lillian was so generous with the freedom she awarded me on those days. I would leave the Island in early morning and be gone all day. Anything could have happened during those hours alone. JOY and I were too small to be seen from the Island shore. And there was seldom any other Islander to be seen near my wilderness.
The Island was distantly serene and quiet. The only sign of life was an occasional boat that might be seen leaving one of the Island’s fish houses after emptying its catch and refueling...or perhaps one might be seen coming around Rush Point on its return from Beaufort. But they too were quiet in the distance.
JOY and I were alone. JOY and I decided where to go and when to go there. No adults defined any rules. My constraints were the tides and weather. I knew when it would be high and low tide and slack water. I knew where the deep and shallow shoals were...or could tell where they were by looking at the water surface and color.
And I kept an eye out for summer thunderheads.
Figure 6: Path taken by deadrise sail skiffs to go mulleting up North River. Nautical Chart 421 (1940). Note the absence of the cut from “Fl ev 3 sec” to “Fl R ev 3 sec ‘50’”; the cut was made after this version of the chart was surveyed. Note also the absence of the bridge
from Harker’s Point to the Mainland on this 1940 chart.


Methane is a key greenhouse gas; the Arctic is a key region for natural emissions of methane; high summer and autumn are key periods when emissions can peak and change rapidly. Understanding the relevant processes is a key to climate prediction. As will be explained in the next blog post, the MAMM project aims to unlock some of the mysteries.
Our second intensive aircraft campaign, a complement to a longer ground-based measurement effort, kicks off on August 15, 2013. It’s an exciting – and slightly scary – period for the scientists involved. Will instruments work? Will the atmosphere cooperate? Will we be in the right place at the right time? We can’t guarantee success but we’ll work our socks off to give ourselves the best possible chance.
Intensive fieldwork is hugely rewarding – the camaraderie provides a real high. And the Arctic is a beautiful place to go. Twenty years ago, I was involved in a series of pan-European campaigns, based in Kiruna in northern Sweden, to understand Arctic stratospheric ozone loss. We were there in the winter, in a snowy landscape where temperatures fall well below zero and there is little daylight. Lakes and bogs are frozen for many months. Now, we hope to measure the methane emissions which emanate from the wetlands when the temperatures rise. Last year, we saw emission hot spots over the Finnish wetlands. This time we hope to characterise their temperature dependence. Last year we also flew to Svalbard; we’ll probably revisit and make new measurements there in September when the Arctic ocean ice coverage will be at a minimum.
We don’t know exactly what we’ll find. That’s the nature of science. But we expect that unravelling whatever we do find will be challenging – and lots of fun.
–Professor John Pyle, Principal Investigator of the MAMM project, University of Cambridge.
For more of the MAMM blog click here.


Late May Bank Holiday weekend and I have another trip planned. I am heading West and I have two places in mind.
The first is Stourhead. To get to Stourhead, it is approximately a 2 hour drive from Hertfordshire via the M3 passing Stonehenge along the way which is the pagans favourite for the solstices.
Stourhead is a National Trust site with stunning gardens and a historical house. Set deep in the Wiltshire landscape is a 300 year old mansion surrounded by beautifully landscaped gardens covering 2,650 acres and with a rich history. The history begins with a family who were goldsmiths turned bankers. The Hoare family.
As turned bankers they founded Hoare & Co in 1672 which is the UK’s oldest privately owned bank whom of which are still in operation.
When you read up on the history, you will note the National Trust states the family were ‘blessed and cursed in equal measure.’ They were blessed in business but it seems there was a lot of personal tragedy along the way.
As you enter the grounds, you will find yourself walking over a bridge and into a small orchard garden, follow the path, you come out onto a road and will note it as a small village. Bearing left up the road onto a long driveway and the Hoare family’s former residence comes into focus. This is a house of which is not just pure grandeur from the outside but it is filled with rich history and renaissance decor. Due to Covid there were restrictions but from the guide book you can purchase, you get a feel for the finery within. This is not limited to just the house.
As you continue on and follow the one way system set up by the National Trust, you are soon in awe of the magnificent gardens concealed behind. It’s nothing short of spectacular.
You have the obvious manicured lawns and then you are hit with colourful rhododendrons, trees and a small meadow, that overlooks a view you are presented with from a view point downwards into the small village. You continue on the pathway through the magnificently colourful Rhododendrons (depending on the time of year you visit), you see a smattering of bluebells through the woodlands. The colour scheme of the planting certainly keeps your attention ever diverting.
Following the path further down you start a descent into what can only be described as a secret garden…
The first view you get on this descent into a larger sea of vibrantly colourful rhododendrons which in turn frames a romantic view of the famous Temple of Apollo sat on top of the sweeping landscaped gardens and for those of you who loved the film adaptations of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, most notably the 2005 production by Working Titles, you will instantly recognise this as the place where Elizabeth Bennet played by Keira Knightley, first rejects Mr Darcy’s proposal of marriage.
However, aside from the famous film links, this structure was designed and erected by Henry Flitcroft. Reading about this remarkable gentleman, clearly shows that creativity in a bad situation can take you on a journey to prominence. It could be said that Flitcroft was a pioneer of his time in the 17th century and that his vision which would have seemed unrealistic or overly ambitious for his time, but this ambition remains erected to this day and is what took him from being a humble carpenter, who suffered an injury whilst working, to a renowned architect.
As you continue to follow the path, it winds to the left and you can see the famous lake. At the bottom of this winding path your attention is immediately drawn to the Palladian bridge and quoted in Henry Flitcroft’s own words “I took it from Palladio’s bridge at Vicenza 5 arches; and when you stand at the Pantheon the water will be seen thro the arches and it will look as if the river came down through the village and that was the village bridge for publick use.’ (Referenced in the National Trust guide).
Walk a little further down the path or onto the grass towards the lake and you will see The Pantheon across the lake with both the bridge and Patheon reflecting in the calm waters, you can see from my photography. The public are not permitted onto the bridge but you can get close enough to admire the structure and romance of the immediate landscape setting.
This area is also popular with visitors for picnics, especially on a day like this where temperatures were soaring with only a very gentle breeze to mildly cool the air.
I had bizarrely decided to use a purple filter on the day and whilst I present to you my RAW images, these have had editing to remove the tint of the filter as it was incredibly intense. It had rendered my photography on this day as not suitable or to my taste for display, but by the power of Photoshop I have brought to you the images in colour correction glory and can confirm the colours are as true to the day as technically possible. I had also taken some shots with my iPhone that have enabled me to get as best a match for the colouring shown.
I continued to walk on in my purple haze blissfully unaware the images weren’t as they should be and it wasn’t because I was clueless to what I was doing, Stourhead is incredibly distracting in its glory and the light so bright, I was really able to see that clearly off the tiny LCD screen on the rear of my camera. You can imagine my horror when I uploaded the next day. However, I have digressed here, so let’s get back to the walk, history and photography.
I continued to walk further round the edge of the lake before taking a path up and round, before taking a stroll down to the edge of the lake. There I see an array of ducks, geese and a pair of mute swans with their single signet. A lone carp skims the surface of the lake, basking in the warmth of the early summer sun. I take a few shots of the mallard couple and the view before me and after taking a brief break on the bench, I head up back towards the main path.
I next come to another structure, known as the ice house and take in the view at this angle, as I then move on round the path, I come across another stunning view. It’s a cut off pathway towards the lake, with the stunning blue sky enhancing the framing from the acer trees before me, it reminds me of scenes out of the old Agatha Christie murder mysteries set back in 20’s or 30’s, a time long forgotten.
The path continues to wind around the vast lake and as you continue on, the views catch your breath over and over. You are soon winding around a bend heading into a lakeside woodland. You move ever further on and pass through a stone arch which seemingly transports you into another dimension.
The Grotto is a wonderous man made cavern with water features feeding from the lake internally with sculptures. You see ferns and then a cavernous window that looks out to the Palladian bridge framing a wondrous view with colour pops from the intense pinks and purples of the rhododendrons. as you walk through, you move up hill via some stone steps, surrounded by various fern varieties and another spectacular view meets you as you look back to where you have just walked from.
A small thatched cottage comes into view. This is known as the Gothic Cottage. You’d be forgiven for thinking it may have been a small rectory in the grounds, given the church style windows and stone seating furnishing the exterior, adding to it’s unintentional charm. It is said this was a fashionable design for men of taste towards the end of the eighteenth century.
As you pass this quaint cottage, you come to the Pantheon which is referenced as the home of Hercules. However, we are talking about the sculpture of Hercules which sits within. The sculpture itself is said to have been modelled on a London prize-fighter named Jack Broughton who was a fine physic of a man. As you press onwards along the pathway, you take another glimpse back across the lake and you have a view of a tall imposing tree on and island reflecting in the lake.
You soon come to another bridge and as you cross over, you are hit with another wave of colour which trails down a descending pathway. To your left you see a river leading to another lake, the sound of running water brings your attention to a mill and waterfall, functioning in the near distance. If you look keep your attention focused as you amble round the lake, you will see the Ice House opposite and a sunken jetty in the waters.
You then come to a crossroads as such and you can choose to go onwards along the path or follow another stone cavern arch with steps within, which takes you up a steep incline. I chose the latter and found myself walking along the upper landscape of woodlands, before coming out to the Temple of Apollo. There I had this stunning view across the vast acres of the gardens and lake.
From here you get a real feel for the immense beauty of Stourhead and in the May sunshine and clear blue skies, you really do just stop and admire in all it’s awe and take in the tranquility. It really is a place that brings peace to your soul.
You can see from my photography, I was able to capture the tiniest of details, like the bellis daisies smattering the greens of the grass with their delicate white petals and the different tree planting and general planting colour scheme. When I visit certain places, I generally aim to document my view to take the reader on a journey of discovery. Stourhead is one of those places where you cannot really fail to achieve this.
As I take a steep cobbled path down from the Temple, I enter another rocky tunnel and come out on the pathway below. I take a shot of the Temple from below before continuing on and this is where you need to have all your senses active and always remember to look up…
I say look up as trees aren’t always just leaves, they are so much more! There is the details of the bark depending on the age of the tree. Some have leaves that resemble flowers like this one and under its canopy of green and white, it makes you feel like you are anywhere but in the UK.
As I come to the end of my walk around Stourhead, I head out and I pass the Bristol Cross which had visitors resting on it below, enjoying their picnic in the heat. I then come out to a small village and head up pass the church into a courtyard with a pub. I am in need of a spot of lunch myself and I am then to head to my next destination. Westbury or known to some is the neighbouring Bratton Camp.
After lunch and a brief rest, it is a 30 minute drive north and this will be my final Wiltshire destination of the day. I arrive in Westbury after a minor misdirection by my sat nav which initially took me to the army barracks of Bratton Camp and not to the Westbury side where I am to walk the rolling hills home to the Westbury White Horse.
The White Horse on the Hill at Westbury is an old familiar for me, from my childhood. Dating back to the iron age, the horse was carved into the landscape approximately 400 years ago. English Heritage have said that records dating back to 1742, suggest the horse was carved into the landscape to commemorate the supposed Battle of Ethandun, which is thought to have taken place at Bratton Camp in AD 878.
The hillside is chalk ground and this is obvious from the narrow pathways, however, this is not the only white horse carved into the Wiltshire landscape. There is in fact a total if eight in a 90 mile radius. However, the Westbury one is the most imposing one of the eight.
I take a stroll down to what looks like a cliff edge on this steep landscape and whilst snapping the view, a bumble bee makes its way onto my hand. I sit there just letting it have a buzz and a wonder, enjoying the rest and the gentle breeze cooling the sticky air.
I place my hand back down and encourage it to climb onto some small blue flowers which are trailing through the grass. I have a really strong connection with nature and can often be found doing things, many wouldn’t dare to. Bees are actually very gentle and will only sting in defence. Often, when they are like this one, it is from exhaustion and a little help, is always met with gratitude from these tiny furries.
I decide to go for a walk along the chalk ridge and during this walk I spot a butterfly. I initially assume it is a species of fritillary. This butterfly is pretty aggressive and I follow it, watching it pick fights with a pair of tortoiseshells and a painted lady. I am keen to get a shot. Blues whizz past and in the heat, there is no way I am following after the amount of walking I have already done. I come across a queen bee mating in the grass and as I usually see many people on social media baffled as to what is going on when they see these activities, I took another small video. My iPhone is most certainly not thankful for this effort and my battery is getting very low.
The views of the landscape are stunning and you can see the shadows of the clouds moving in shading areas below.
As my battery begins to die, I take one last attempt to capture this butterfly that has been eluding me over the chalk landscape and as I head back towards my car, it lands on the steps in front of me. At this point there is no one else near me, or so I thought and as always a usually simple photography shot gets made a little more difficult.
A booming voice comes from behind just as I am lining up my shot and it takes every little bit of strength in me not to swear at this man. ” Hey, I want to see what the lady is doing!” I think she is taking a photo. my thoughts are which part of huge camera is not obvious? I mutter back, “Erm, could you keep the noise down please? Butterflies and particularly this one are very sensitive to air vibration and noise.” He looks a little puzzled. I have this challenge every time when trying to explain basics of nature to members of the public. ” Ok ok he says, but can I also get your instagram details?”.
I am huffing by this point not that he can see this, but I have now had three attempts in this short period and just as the butterfly stops and I am lining up, he starts talking again. Is he for real?
Finally, it settles back on the steps and I grab two super fast bursts, killing the last of my iPhone battery in a pot luck attempt as he begins talking again. Oh my god, which part of be quiet does he not get?
He then says, “Did you get it?” I hope you got it, I want to see”. With a concealed eye roll, I say yes I think I have but I won’t know now, how good it is until I upload. Unfortunately this is becoming a regular habit where people like you see me with a camera and then creep up behind me and start talking which makes it very difficult for me to get shots.” He looks puzzled. “Oh”, he finally says. He then asks again for my instagram and then retorts, that’s too long for me to remember. I am at this point face planting and walk off. Another lady who had been watching this hilarious exchange from a distance, stops me and says, “Did, you get it?”. I confirm and she replies, she was feeling my frustration watching me trying to keep the man and his family quiet as I tried to capture, what I can now confirm is a Wall Brown.
Allelujah, it is now time for a cold bottle of water, a Mr. Whippy and then the long drive home.
My next adventure takes me to Sussex and without the faux pas use of purple filter, keep your eyes peeled for the next release. I hope so far you are all enjoying my works and my write ups.


The Area of the Great Allied Offensive North and South of the Somme
A full page map showing railways, roads, canals etc. It shows the main towns and villages. From Bapaume in the North down through Albert Combles Peronne, Bray to Rosieres, Chaulnes, Pertain and Epenancourt in the south.
On the reverse there are two photograph images within text showing French soldiers drinking from a fountain in the vicinity of the Somme - - Colonial Warriors in the Service of France: Senegalese soldiers going up to the first line on the Somme.
Provenance: The Great War - Amalgamated Press. Published circa 1916-17
The page measures 310 x 225 mm (12.25 x 8.75 inches) approx. and is printed on both sides. There is a little age yellowing with handling marks to the edges. This item will be packaged in a board backed envelope. The watermark on the map is for the listing image only and is not on the actual map. Please Feel free to ask any questions, we will try to answer promptly. (4)
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A taxonomic revision of the liverwort family Aneuraceae in eastern Africa is presented based on the results of an integrative approach. Molecular and morphological data lead to the recognition of fourteen species in eastern Africa, in three genera: eleven species in Riccardia Gray, two in Aneura Dumort. and one in Afroriccardia Reeb & Gradst. One further species, R. multifida, may be expected in eastern Africa and is included in this treatment. Keys, descriptions and illustrations are provided for the accepted species together with data on types, synonymy, geographical distribution, habitat and differentiating characters. A knowledge database was built using Xper3 and an interactive key was generated using the Xper3 platform tools. Riccardia gasparii sp. nov., R. martinii sp. nov. and R. vohimanensis sp. nov. are described as new to science. A comparison with other regions of the world shows that Africa has relatively few Aneuraceae taxa; only the Holarctic region, with the exception of East Asia, has fewer species. Moreover, dendroid taxa and species with cuticular ornamentation are lacking in Africa. On the other hand, Africa stands out by the presence of the endemic genus Afroriccardia. More collecting is needed in future to clarify the species ranges, the status of questionable taxa and the knowledge of local floras.
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Vol. 41 • No. 2


2020 US Census effort in Eagle County gets $34,000 boost from the state
With hard-to-count populations identified, census outreach will launch in January
EAGLE — The state is giving Eagle County a $34,000 boost to complete its 2020 U.S. Census work.
Last week the Eagle River Complete County Committee learned the state Department of Local Affairs had approved a $34,040 grant for the local census effort. The group had requested $40,040.
“We were really fortunate. All told, $18 million was requested and it was a $6 million statewide pot,” said Abby Dallmann, Eagle County special projects manager. “To get just under $6,000 of our request, when some entities didn’t get anything, was a very pleasant surprise.”
Dallmann noted the money is earmarked for education and outreach and the Eagle Valley Complete Count Committee has worked to identify the populations that need extra attention.
Hard to count
The most recent meeting of the Eagle River Valley Complete Count Committee took place Nov. 6. The group has specified five hard-to-count local populations for the Eagle Valley:
Latinx residents: A non-gender specific term coined for the census effort represents an estimated 29% of Eagle County’s population. Eagle County Schools reports that 51.7% of its student population is Hispanic and 32% of that population are English-language learners. In Avon alone, an estimated 14% of households have no one who speaks English “very well,” Dallmann noted.
Low-income residents: Dallmann said this group — residents who live at or below the poverty line — encompasses an estimated 8% of the Eagle County residents.
Youth: Dallman noted that children are disproportionately under-counted in the census. “This is an interesting one to think about,” Dallman said. “It’s usually a simple thing like mom and dad are divorced and mom thought dad counted the kids and dad thought mom counted them.” An estimated 6.3% of Eagle County residents are younger than 5, and the Colorado Children’s Campaign has cited research showing that the 2010 Census missed as many as 18,000 kids in Colorado.
Seasonal/nontraditional housing residents: Dallmann noted an estimated 31.7% of households in Eagle River Valley are non-family and 42% of the valley’s housing units are seasonal, and the census takes place at the height of the valley’s seasonal employment influx. “The seasonal group is folks who may be working here for the season, but they may need to be counted locally, depending on how long they are here,” Dallmann said. Additionally, accessory dwelling units (often referred to as mother-in-law units) are a potential under-count issue. People who live in ADUs and share the same address should be counted along with the residents of the primary dwelling.
Little/poor internet and outer areas of the county: Dallmann noted that the initial push for the 2020 U.S. Census will be online, but an estimated 13.2% of valley residents meet the definition for poor internet infrastructure. “We don’t want those folks to get disenfranchised and just not fill out the census because it’s just not possible,” she said. Hard copy census forms will be provided for these residents.
With the challenges identified, Dallman said the county committee is reaching out to nonprofit groups that work with the various hard-to-count populations for assistance.
“Starting in January, we will be getting the ground messaging going,” Dallmann said. “The majority of the grant money will be spent in direct outreach to those groups that, for various reasons, we know don’t traditionally respond to the census.”
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While we try and stick to the tried and tested itinerary below, the mountain, the accommodation availability and the weather sometimes has other ideas. We will always remain as flexible as possible to make sure we can change any plans if required.
This is a proposed itinerary and where you stay is subject to change based on how far in advance you book your trip. There is limited availability on this trek so we highly recommend booking in advance.
Arrival day Les Contamines – Refuge Nant Borrant
Today is an arrival day with only one, maybe two hours of hiking depending on the age of your children. If you’re flying into Geneva Airport get an airport transfer to Les Contamines (1-1.5hrs). Explore the French town of Les Contamines and soak up la vie francais. Visit the boulangerie, stock up on local dried saucisson and heavenly Beaufort cheese before heading to the first mountain hut on the trail, an hour away, Refuge Nant Borrant. From the tourist office in Les Contamines catch the free shuttle bus (navette) towards Notre Dame de la Gorge, the trail start point. Take a moment to visit the beautiful Notre Dame de la Gorge chapel next to the gushing water before setting out on the well marked path. Warning – the trail is VERY steep here along an ancient slabbed Roman road to Refuge Nant Borrant but pleasantly flanks the bubbling racing gorge for much of the ascent. Be sure to look out for the pont naturel sign leading to a natural arch on the river, just a minute from the trail. Cross the roman bridge to take in the rushing gorge below. Expect to hike for around an hour to reach the refuge.
2km / 310m up / 10m down / 1 – 2 hours trekking
Refuge Nant Borrant – Refuge de la Croix du Bonhomme
Today you’ll make the climb over two mountain passes, Col du Bonhomme (2329m) and Col de la Croix du Bonhomme (2483m) where early in the season (late June – end of July) you can expect to cross snow patches. You’ll stay in the cavernous Refuge de la Croix du Bonhomme, a high mountain refuge with epic views. Refuge de la Croix du Bonhomme is perfectly situated to carve this itinerary into manageable chunks. The dorms and private rooms have been renovated to a good standard but unfortunately the food is not the best on the Tour. If you soak up the exceptional location, breathe in the grandeur of the mountains, and realise that the break here is to rest little legs, it’s a great experience.
7.8km / 990m up / 50 down / 7 hours trekking
Refuge de la Croix du Bonhomme – Refuge Les Mottets
From Refuge de la Croix du Bonhomme it’s pretty much all down hill today. If the weather is fine, and your kids are in good shape after the previous day, consider taking the alternative route from the refuge via the Col des Fours. Experience lunar landscape & rushing waterfalls on this variant route as well as the option of detouring to the Tête Nord des Fours summit – only a further 20 minutes (follow the cairns) which gives one of the best views of the Tour du Mont Blanc – highly recommended. Note: Never attempt this variant route if the weather is nothing short of perfect. The Col des Fours variant bypasses the hamlet of Les Chapieux completely and does take a little longer – you cannot catch the Les Chapieux shuttle bus to ease tired legs if needed. If you’re continuing along the normal TMB route the well marked trail will descend all the way to the valley of to Les Chapieux, where you can stop for a welcome refreshment at the friendly Auberge de la Nova and carry on a further hour up the trail to Refuge Les Mottets. This would be the full 11.8km. Or as we would suggest catch the navette (shuttle bus) from Les Chapieux which ferries you in 30 minutes to the parking area of Refuge Les Mottets (you’ll then have to walk down the hillside to the refuge in the valley bottom).
7km / 340m up / 950m down / 5 – 7 hours trekking
Refuge Les Mottets – Refuge Elisabetta / Cabane Combal
Today you’ll say ‘au revoir’ to France and trek over the Col de la Seigne into Italy. Ciao! From Refuge Les Mottets roll out of bed fresh to tackle the immediate 646m steady climb up the Col de la Seigne up to the French – Italian frontiére. From here Mont Blanc comes fabulously back into view with her surrounding peaks dropping off dramatically into an astonishing deep trough like valley. So spectacular are these jagged peaks that over the next two days you will find it hard to tear your eyes away from the incredible vistas to your left. Passing Refugio Elisabetta (where you might stay), tucked in on a spur between Glacier d’Estellette and Glacier de la Lée Blanche, you’ll continue a further hour along the arrow straight roman road to the incredibly comfortable, highly instagrammable A frame refuge Cabane Combal. For those keen for an evening stroll, take the trail behind the refuge to scramble up to Lac Miage, nestled in the moraine of the Miage Glacier.
12km / 650m up / 540m down / 5 – 7 hours trekking
Refuge Elisabeta / Cabane Combal – Courmayeur
Your final day trekking takes you up out of the valley floor climbing steadily up to the highest point of the day, a spur from Mont Favre. Looking back you can see the monstrous moraine of Glacier Miage dwarfing Cabane Combal and on a clear day all the way back to Col de la Seigne. From here you’ll trace the contours of the south flank of the Val Veni, following the rise and fall of the mountain side with jaw dropping views of sawtooth peaks and Monte Bianco opposite. It’s a challenging day and so we highly recommend you to take the chair lift and connecting cable car from Refuge Maison Vielle down to Dolonne, Courmayeur. Our timing has reflected this welcome short cut plus know that the descent is painfully jarring. We would not recommend finishing your day by attempting this with tired children.
8km 490m up, 250m down / 5 – 6 hours trekking


It's hard to believe that I have been all the way to Sydney Town...and back again. Mr Flowergarden and I have had a night in the Big City Bright Lights. We went to see Billy Elliot where my brother in law is dancing in the chorus. It was an amazing show. I've only been to Sydney a couple of times, so seeing these sights still is quite exciting for me.


Departments with the largest number of collective territories titled in Colombia.
The ethnic diversity of Colombia is one of the most attractive characteristics of the country, which includes the Afro-descendants, Raizal and Palenquero populations, who have lead an ancestral lifestyle that is an essential component of the culture and heritage of the nation. Thus, the well-being of these communities is translated into a primary need to guarantee their quality of life, in addition to generate a contribution to their struggle for the recognition, inclusion and guarantee of their fundamental rights. In this chapter, a bibliographic analysis was performed in order to evaluate both the conditions in which the Afro collective territories are found, and the different forms of organization of the populations entitled as community councils, with a particular focus on vulnerable populations located in the department of Cauca. In addition, a conceptual diagnosis of the multiple socioeconomic, environmental and health impacts derived from gold mining in Colombia was developed, with special interest in the studies that have been carried out in populations located in areas of great biodiversity, including the Colombian Amazon, biogeographic Chocó and Bolívar, departments in which Afro-descendant communities also live. Finally, a detailed analysis of the different aspects of mining that affect the quality of life and the welfare state of the communities is provided, and some aspects are proposed to be taken into account by the actors involved to achieve the least negative impacts of these activities, emphasizing the current state of the Colombian case.
- ethnic diversity
Afro-descendant ethnic identity is the set of customs, values and feelings integrated into the individual and collective daily life of the Colombian population. This term can then be considered as one of the most valuable historical assets for each of the Colombians, regardless of their skin color. Afro-descendant communities since colonial times have established themselves throughout the national territory, making them part of the heritage and culture that identifies the country. The
The territories in which these communities have been located throughout history correspond to areas of great biodiversity, whose environmental dynamics and survival have been highly deteriorated as a result of extractive activities, mainly those related to gold mining because of the use of mercury (Hg). The execution of these projects not only brings with it the destruction of the ecosystem, it also leads these communities to face a problem that violates their rights to well-being and protection of their health. The situation is even more serious, considering that there is a great lack of knowledge of the adverse effects that such activities may generate.
Other consequences derived from illegal mining activities are those concerning the lack of food and nutritional security of vulnerable populations, effects that are also widely related to the planting of crops for illegal use, forestry megaprojects, and the internal armed conflict. This entire cycle of alarming situations is described in the 2011 National Human Development Report, as well as in the 2018–2022 Black Communities Development Plan, which are focused on the living conditions and territories of these populations [5, 6].
In accordance with the above, this chapter was developed in order to describe the fundamental concepts that define the Afro-descendant communities that inhabit Colombia, from a geographic, legal, cultural, environmental and historical point of view. Throughout this chapter, the recognition of the fundamental rights of these populations will be taken into account, as well as the different forms of organization of the communities titled as
The importance of this study is based on the right to health and well-being that Colombian Afro-descendant populations have by law, with a view to develop policies that improve conditions of inequality, as established in the 2019 report on human development . The methodological development of this chapter was carried out through a documentary revision that included the search, collection and analysis of information obtained in multiple databases, as well as from other studies, documentation and research carried out on community councils and Afro-descendant communities, in the legal, economic, demographic, geographic and historical framework. Likewise, the databases of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the Black Communities Development Plan (BCDP), the Ministry of National Education, Victims Unit, the Constitutional Court, and the Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Culture, Ministry of Mines, as well as statistics from National Administrative Department of Statistics (DANE, by its acronym in Spanish) and the Colombian Mining Information System (SIMCO, by its acronym in Spanish), were revised. A diagnosis of the information obtained was carried out with special emphasis on activities related to gold mining, and on the potential socio-economic and environmental risks for the Afro communities.
Finally, it is important to mention that the bibliographic analysis carried out in this section was developed in order to have an integrated vision of the conditions in which the Afro-descendant collective territories are found, as well as the multiple impacts derived from the gold mining activities and extraction processes. Thus, this chapter arises from the desire to create a significant contribution to the struggle of these groups for their human security and social well-being.
2. Afro-descendant communities in Colombia
Colombia is a country with a wide ethnic and cultural diversity, in which the rights of all its inhabitants are recognized. In this sense, the 1991 constitution, in addition to the equality of human rights without any discrimination, also guarantees the participation, protection, recognition, decision-making and equality of the entire Afro-descendant population . Since then, many Afro-descendant communities that live in vulnerable conditions have been recognized in the country, and are a priority for the competent authorities [8, 9, 10, 11, 12].
Law 70 of 1993 defines the
Colombia is the third country in America with the largest number of Afro-descendant population. Thus, according to data from the DANE, between 18 and 22% of the country’s total population is Afro-descendant, a percentage in which about 8.500.000 Colombians participate . Similarly, the DANE has established in the National Population and Housing Census with an ethnic differential approach in 2018, that there is an estimated total of 4.671.160 people belonging to the Afro-descendants, Raizal and Palenquero populations, which is equivalent to 9.34% of the total national, approximately .
The guidelines for the development plan for Afro-descendant communities 2018–2020 have established that currently, this population in the country is mainly concentrated in twelve regions: Pacific Nariñense, Pacific Buenaventura-Valle, Pacific Chocoana, Pacific Caucano and Patía, San Andrés and Providencia, Urabá, Chocó, Antioquia-Córdoba, Caribbean, North of Cauca-South of Valle, Bajo Cauca Antioquia-Córdoba-Sucre, Caldas and North of Valle. These sites concentrate approximately the 91.6% of the total Afro-descendant population in the country, the rest are distributed within 876 municipalities [6, 18, 19, 20]. The distribution of the Afro-descendant, Raizal and Palenquera population in the Colombian territory is shown in Figure 1.
2.1 Afro-descendant communities in the biogeographic Chocó
Biogeographic Chocó is the Colombian territory with the largest number of Afro-descendant communities since colonial times. This region includes the Colombian Pacific, humid forests, hydrographic basins, estuaries, mangroves and coastlines. Some statistics indicate that 82.7% of the population that inhabits this department is Afro-descendant, which is comprised of 60 community councils in charge of overseeing the rights of the territories and their inhabitants [6, 23, 24].
According to Rolland  in the department of Chocó, and specifically in the Bajo Atrato region, the introduction of the Community Council figure produced great changes in the local organizational system: the figure of the Community Action Board (JAC, by its acronym in Spanish) that had worked for a long period of time almost disappeared from the political landscape of the region. Today, in the area, some communities - mainly mestizo - are still organized in the form of the Community Action Board, but are in a minority situation. Local Community Councils are constituted as intermediate political forms between a classic form of community organization, and a new form of authority in the process of construction, founded on identity ethnicity and the collective appropriation of a titled territory.
The promotion of the ethnic rights of Afro-descendant and mestizo communities drives an innovative political context that is more participatory, and that allows the construction of a new collective political subject, the Association of Community Councils and Organizations of bajo Atrato, (ASCOBA, by its acronym in Spanish). Such political subject includes the identification, social representation and territorialities of the biogeographic Chocó population. Being an
Article Fifth of Law 70 defines the entire range of functions provided for the Community Councils of the Pacific communities. This political figure plays an important role as environmental and traditional authority, and as justice organ of the Afro-descendant culture. In this sense, this article stands that the Community Council must watch over the use and conservation of natural resources, act as mediatory organ to solve and conciliate internal conflicts, and watch over the preservation of cultural identity . In general terms, the common activities of the Board of Directors of the Community Council include three main factors: the administration of the territory and the issue of boundaries with other communities, management of timber resources, and the role of dialog with the Colombian government, with Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and with municipal administrations. The Afro-descendant riparian communities from the biogeographic Chocó were titled by the Colombian State between 2000 and 2001. Notions of cultural identity and Afro-descendant ethnicity, recognized by Law 70, become essential tools that allow sustaining the territorial claims of community members .
2.2 Communities of the Archipiélago de San Andrés, Providencia and Santa Catalina
In the region of the Archipelago of San Andrés and Providencia live Raizal communities, whose descendants are Afro-Anglo-Antilleans. It is a department made up of three islands that are equivalent to a territorial extension of 52.5 km2, with an approximate population of 73925 inhabitants . This population shares two linguistic forms,
Currently, the inhabitants of the Archipelago proclaim a movement for the Self-determination of its inhabitants, AMEN-SD, which takes into account a series of historical demands of the Raizal People, under the banner of the Right to Self-Determination of Peoples with the support of the national and international regulatory authorizations. Thus, the reparation to the possible damages caused by the national state policies and the defense of the model of sustainable development, the culture and the territoriality of the Raizal people, are the great proposals of AMEN-SD. The group is made up of various local organizations, among which are: SAISOL –San Andrés Isla Solution-, Barrack New Face, SOS –Sons of the Soil- INFAUNAS –Independent Farmers United National Association-, KETNA – The Ketlena National Association, Just Cause Foundation, and Cove Alliance .
2.3 The community of San Basilio de Palenque
The community of San Basilio de Palenque is located in the municipality of Mahates, in the department of Bolívar. This population is located approximately 70 km from Cartagena. It achieved its freedom in 1603 and became the first free people in America. The inhabitants of this community speak the Afro-descendant Creole language called
In the community of San Basilio de Palenque there are multiple organizations that watch over the well-being of its inhabitants. One of these social movements is the Black Communities Process (PCN, by its acronym in Spanish), which has the greatest strength both in this area and in Cartagena, represented by the Regional Palenque and a group of organizations of diverse character, such as the “Jorge Artel” Corporation, the “Gavilaneo” Afro-Caribbean Social Integration Council, the Festival of Drums and Cultural Expressions of Palenque Corporation, the Network of Community Councils, among other groups . In addition to these mixed organizations, there are also other feminist movements, such as the Association of Afro-descendant Women of the Caribbean “Graciela Cha Inés”, which also integrates the Local Committee of the Network of Afro-descendant Women, an entity that in turn, coordinates in this region of the country to women’s organizations belonging to the National Network of Afro-descendant Women “Kambirí” .
This region was declared “Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity” by UNESCO in 2005, and in addition, the Colombian Ministry of Culture approved by resolution 2245 of 2009, the Special Plan for the Safeguarding of San Basilio de Palenque, declared as an asset of Cultural Interest in the National Environment and included in the representative list of Intangible Cultural Heritage  achievements after which there was a dedicated and intense work in order to preserve its historical value . Due to the efforts of the organizations, the institutionalization of the government agencies that deal with policies for the Afro population, together with the perseverance of organized groups in the communities; it has been allowed the maintenance of their cultural and historical heritage . In addition, there has been a phenomenon of identity reaffirmation, and valuation of being
2.4 Communities of the big cities
Afro-descendant communities are distributed in practically the entire national territory, mainly in the Valle del Cauca, Cali, Buenaventura, Antioquia, Bolívar, Chocó, Cauca, Atlantico, and Sucre regions .
Despite being distributed over a wide territory, the communities largely share their traditions and culture. In general, for Afro-descendant men and women, natural resources are essential for the sustainability of the planet and for biodiversity. The knowledge related to the care and use of territories largely corresponds to the main tool for preserving the environment in which they live. Likewise, the gender roles for these communities are well defined, and these are based on activities and the use of resources. For instance, tasks that require greater physical strength are reserved for men, and the rest of the spaces are activities carried out by women and children, or by the general community. For the Afro-descendant population, the territory expresses organizational forms around fishing, mining, hunting, searching for wood, planting and harvesting. In addition, the territory is made up of knowledge of the healing properties of medicinal plants .
Another of the key aspects for the Afro communities located in the big cities corresponds to their rites and traditions. For these groups, ancestral resistance is vital to preserve their culture and knowledge. The festivities are the representation of the collective sentiment, the reflection of the adaptive process and various forms of reinterpretation of cultural symbols and meanings. In Colombia, Afro-members mobilize from different areas of the country to participate in events such as the Barranquilla Carnival, the Kings’ Party - in the Andean Festival of Blacks and Whites -, the Devil’s Festivals, and the Balsadas de los Santos in the Pacific, in which the inheritances of the African culture are expressed with enough color and iconographic content [38, 39].
The organization of these communities in cultural and social movements has contributed to the establishment of actions in favor of equal opportunities for the Afro-descendant population. For this, it is necessary the proper interaction between the decisions of the governments and the reality of the people. Thus, the generation of scientific evidence of the environmental and social problems that these communities are facing is highly encouraged.
3. Afro-descendant community councils
Afro-descendants are a group of families that have proclaimed their own culture and traditions. Transitory article 55 of the 1991 political constitution and the subsequent issuance of Law 70 of 1993 allowed the recognition of these communities in the national territory. This meant the possibility of forming community councils for Afro-descendant populations, in order to collectively title the lands where they traditionally have lived .
The establishment of Afro-descendant community councils is one of the main tools to safeguard the rights of these populations. Thus, a number of political and social acts are favored for the well-being of each of the individuals who are part of the community, thus backing free and independent decisions in the realization of their projects, their own political organization, and collective titling of their territories. For these communities, the right to territory is inalienable [8, 41].
In the context of environmental management, participation of community councils in decision-making is not only essential, it is also mandatory on the part of entities and/or companies that seek to develop economic projects that involve territories in which these communities inhabit. Thus, Colombian legislation has established that those responsible for the project to be carried out must prepare environmental studies with the participation of these ethnic groups .
In Colombia, the vast majority of community councils and collective territories are located in the departments of Chocó, Nariño and Valle del Cauca (Table 1). These organizations are in charge of titling such areas, implying to date, an approximate of 162 . Some of the most recognized councils in the country are: Bajo Mira, Los Cardonales, Playa Renaciente, Santianga, Santo Domingo de Tanando, la Toma, Cajambre River, Naya River, Salahonda, Caribbean Community Councils network and the Cauca Community Council network [43, 44].
|Department||Number of collective titles||% Based on total titles|
4. Gold mining in Colombia and laws related to this activity
In Colombia, mining activities, and in particular those related to gold extraction, imply great economic interest by large public and private entities within the legal framework of their projection, as well as by small communities who carry out these processes in an artisanal way. In the country, Antioquia, Chocó, Bolívar, Nariño, Caldas and Cauca, are consolidated as the departments with the highest gold production, with a total of 1.32 million ounces, between 2015 and 2017 .
Although it is true that in Colombia there are a number of gold mining activities that do not have a mining title, the country has developed some strategies in order to regulate these processes. Thus, Law 685 of 2001 was designed with the purpose of controlling the technical aspects of these activities and promoting the exploitation of mining resources within the framework of legality. In addition, the code states that such activities must be met through multiple stages, which include prospecting, exploration, construction and assembly, exploitation, processing, transformation, and transportation and promotion of minerals found in the soil or subsoil, since they are of national or private property .
On the other hand, article 79 of the constitution establishes that all people have the right to enjoy a healthy environment. The law also guarantees the participation of communities in decisions that may affect them. It is the duty of the State to protect the diversity and integrity of the environment, as well as to conserve areas of special ecological importance, through the promotion of education . Another of the efforts that the government has made to regulate mining activities in the country consists in the issuance of the General Environmental Law of Colombia (99–1993), by which the Ministry of the Environment was created, whose main function is the protection of resources and due process for the execution of environmental projects .
Given that one of the main problems of gold mining activities carried out on the territories in which afro communities live is the release into the environment of Hg used for gold extraction, with the consequent appearance of toxic effects on ecosystems and human beings , on October 10, 2013, the Government of Colombia, along with 91 other countries, signed the Minamata Convention on Hg . This treaty seeks to protect human health and the environment from anthropogenic emissions of this toxic element. Thus, the country deposited the Instrument of Ratification of the Convention on August 26, 2019, thereby becoming an active member of this organization .
Additionally, the commitment to the Minamata Convention led the Congress of the Republic to approve Law 1658 of July 15, 2013, through which a series of provisions are established for the commercialization and use of this toxic element in different industrial activities, setting requirements and incentives for its reduction and elimination . The Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development joined these initiatives in 2015, formulating, together with several government entities, the Single National Hg Plan, with the aim of developing strategies that lead to an early application of the Minamata Convention. This Plan was, at the time, considered the first route to be followed by the National Government for the implementation of mechanisms that contribute to the gradual and definitive elimination of Hg in the mining, industrial and commercial processes throughout the national territory, and that affect the environmental health of ecosystems .
Despite the aforementioned actions, mining from its foundations in pre-Colombian times to the present day is governed under illegality policies, using ancient techniques that are very difficult to change, and that contaminate the environment and, in turn, harm the health of the populations that inhabit these sectors . Given that these sectors or collective territories correspond to areas of great biodiversity, the exploitation of resources by private companies have increased, and although they generate an economic contribution to the communities, they also constitute a potential hazard for both Afro-descendant and indigenous peoples .
4.1 Socio-economic impacts of mining activities
In many countries, gold mining is an activity of great economic impact. Thus, its defenders allege that its development allows the use of resources of territories, which is reflected in financial and trade benefits. In Colombia, mining projects, in addition to generate income to the affected areas, occupy an important place in the general economy of the country. Additionally, without taking into account the conditions in which they are developed, they involve local labor, a situation that positions this activity as one of the main livelihoods for low-income families [55, 56].
Small-scale gold mining is an important livelihood opportunity in Colombia. Since most of the mining is done in informal spheres, it is not easy to get exact numbers. For instance, in Latin America it is estimated that there are currently more than 500.000 active small-scale gold miners. This number does not yet include the number of people who indirectly depend on this sector by providing services to miners, which would be many hundreds of thousands more .
Despite the possible benefits of resource extraction as an economic activity, there are many other adverse effects for the populations that live in the territories where the exploitation processes take place. In the particular case of Colombia, gold mining brings with it a set of complex situations, including violence, illegality, and armed conflict [58, 59]. According to Andrade et al. , in the case of large-scale mining, it is important to recognize that it is a powerful political and economic actor, which usually generates imbalances between companies and governments, with detrimental effects on sovereignty and governance. As such activities demand a lot of capital; they could have effects on the local and national economy, especially because their development and employment implies the distribution of income and rents. The fact that localities impacted by small-scale gold mining generally have a weak institutional development, favors the prevalence of income extraction models over the generation of economic and social value. In the case of mining activities that are carried out in a legal form, there could also be participation of environmental NGOs, which are co-opted by private interests, with may indicate potential damage to environmental public goods.
In Colombia, gold mining is considered one of the greatest generators of foreign exchange, but as a large percentage of this activity is illegal, these resources cannot be used. According to the National Development Plan 2018–2022, the importance of the mining-energy sector is reflected in the main macroeconomic variables. For 2017, the GDP of the sector amounted to $ 44.2 billion, equivalent to a 5.35% of the total; contributed royalties of $ 6.9 billion; exports for USD 20.9 billion FOB, equivalent to 55% of the country’s total exports, and represented USD 4.1 billion in direct foreign investment (6.65% of the total). The current development plan has established as a priority, to carry out these activities with environmental and social responsibility, since these activities are considered as one of the engines of economic growth in Colombia, at the same time that the sector attracts investment, generates royalties, taxes and compensation, resources that the Government considers necessary for the reduction of poverty and territorial development .
According to this Plan, the mining-energy industry must establish new productive chains in the territories, which seek the generation of goods and services with greater added value, increasing national and territorial income, strengthening local employment and increasing national productivity. On the other hand, to guarantee the security of energy supply, the development of different forms of generation is required, consolidating current sources and promoting the country’s participation in the international energy market. Energy security represents for Colombia an unrepeatable opportunity to strengthen national competitiveness and promote regional development and other sectors. To achieve this objective, it is necessary to consolidate the sector as a catalyst for the development of sustainable territories and to carry out actions that ensure agility, timeliness and coordination in decision-making by national and territorial government entities, to ensure their orderly and responsible use.
For its part, the 2010–2014 Development Plan classified mining as one of the five development locomotives in the country and prohibited dredgers, mini-dredges, backhoes and other mechanical equipment in mining activities without a title or license. However, the use of this machinery, instead of decreasing, has multiplied to date. Only in Chocó, according to the report of the United Nations Office for Drugs and Crime in mid-2016, the presence of dredgers grew between 2012 and 2013 by 184 percent, and that department, along with Antioquia, has 79 percent of the 78.939 hectares devastated by illegal mining in recent years. The figure may be higher, as excavations multiply every day.
According to national reports, the Comptroller General of the republic has established that part of the responsibility for this uncontrolled increase in the phenomenon lies in the lack of preventive actions, imposition of sanctions and also in the absence of technical support to Police operations by the Regional Autonomous Corporations. Likewise, the control body reports that the processes carried out by the CARs hardly end with a real sanction and actions that repair the damage caused. The same happens in the criminal part. Thus, of 75 cases prosecuted between 2011 and 2015 in Antioquia, only six ended with an accusation against the offenders; in Cauca, out of 51 processes, only 4 were indicted. The Comptroller’s Office recognizes that the presence of illegal armed groups around illegal mining generates pressure and threats that make it difficult for the State to act. Meanwhile, the predation continues. One of the most serious cases is that of the Sambingo River. There, officials are constantly attacked and threatened both by the communities that carry out the exploitation and by the armed actors who control the business. In that area there are about 2.000 people who depend on the gold that they extract from that tributary of the Patia .
Despite the multiple efforts of the government to combat the negative effects of illegal mining, high levels of illegality are still perceived, it is for this reason that it is necessary to guarantee responsible mining by the actors involved, which will be translated into concrete and efficient actions. In this case, it would be necessary to legalize policies that allow the preservation of natural reserves, in order to counteract the negative effects left by this practice.
Large mining that would be acceptable must generate economic and social opportunities for involved participants, adding value to the economic chains. In turn, companies could make an important effort to diversify local economies, reducing levels of dependency on a single source of value generation, and working hand in hand with local governments and communities to strengthen their institutions and human and technical resources.
4.2 Environmental and human health impacts
In the environmental context, mining activities (gold extraction) involve one of the biggest problems worldwide because of the Hg use, a highly toxic metal for human health and ecosystems in general. It is well known that these activities generate a negative impact that affects natural resources, which in turn, affects the well-being of people. Therefore, various studies have evidenced the presence of this metal in multiple environmental and human matrices, deteriorating the quality of aquatic ecosystems , soils , fish , and human health [48, 65, 66, 67]. Thus, the use of Hg in this type of activities has made it one of the most dangerous pollutants in the environment, in fact, for WHO, this metal is in the top ten of substances of special interest, and which pose major public health problems .
The identification of this toxic metal has been subject of investigative priority in Colombia. Several studies have shown high levels of contamination in Afro-descendant mining populations. For instance, in the Colombian Pacific (Quibdo and Paimado), Hg levels in human hair of up to 116.40 μg/g have been identified, exceeding the maximum allowed limit of this element for this matrix. Air total Hg (T-Hg) levels were also high, especially inside gold shops, being up to 200.9-fold greater than the background. Although the presence of this toxic in hair shows the exposure of people, its concentrations in fish, main source of protein for the inhabitants of the region, are also of high concern. Mercury concentrations in fish from Atrato River were above the WHO limit (0.5 μg/g,), with greatest concentrations in
In relation to the Hg concentrations found in hair of inhabitants from other Colombian departments with gold mining problems, the pollution pattern and general panorama are also of high concern. Olivero-Verbel et al.  reported elevated hair T-Hg levels from inhabitants of the Mining District of San Martin de Loba, located in Southern Bolívar (2.1 μg/g), in which these activities are extensively carried out, especially in the municipalities of San Martin de Loba, Barranco de Loba, and Hatillo de Loba. These Hg levels were similar to those reported by Olivero-Verbel et al.  for Achi (2.44 μg/g) and Montecristo (Bolívar) (2.20 μg/g), but above those corresponding to Morales (Middle Magdalena) (1.50 μg/g) , La Raya (Bolívar) (5.27 μg/g) , and Caimito (Sucre) (4.91 μg/g) .
The Colombian government has defined the
Although pollution problems are always thought of as a phenomenon that affects human health, in few cases their impact on organisms that share a habitat and that add value to the environment is evaluated. According to the 2018 Ministry of Health report, the extraction of gold that involves Hg amalgamation processes, results in the dumping of approximately 1.000 tons of Hg . Generally, once in the global atmosphere, the Hg0 released as a result of mining activities can circulate for months and continuously disperse; this species of Hg will undergo various chemical reactions of photochemical oxidation and will become inorganic Hg, which will be combined with the water vapor and travel back to the surface of the earth and aquatic bodies. This chemical form can be converted into other Hg compounds of different solubility, such as Hg sulfide, which has the capacity to accumulate in the sediment, or it could be transformed by microorganisms that process sulfate in methylmercury (MeHg). This conversion is critical because the organic form is much more toxic than the inorganic, and aquatic organisms require more time to eliminate it, leading to bioaccumulation and biomagnification processes throughout the food chain .
Organisms that are at a higher level of the trophic chain can consume the MeHg processing bacteria, which could also release it or be later ingested by plankton, which is consumed by higher organisms. This pattern continues as small fish/organisms are eaten by progressively larger fish, until they are processed and distributed, and finally acquired by humans .
Unfortunately, once in humans, this element affects different target organs, including the nervous system, kidneys, and liver, causing mental disorders and damage to the motor, reproductive, speech, vision, and hearing systems. Various studies have reported severe cases of poisoning and death due to contamination with this metal [75, 76]. When ingested by pregnant women, MeHg has the ability to cross the placental barrier, accumulating in the brain and central nervous system of the developing fetus .
In addition to the effects on ecosystems that mining activities produce thanks to the use of Hg, it is important to remember that small-scale gold mining requires a lot of labor, uses simple technology (including artisanal) and limited mechanization, it is mainly informal, outside the legal frameworks of nations and out of sight of national policies . The scope of activity fluctuates, responding to different factors, such as the international price of gold and the political measures taken by nations that can stimulate, but also hinder, small-scale miners in their search for gold. As the scope of activities increases, problems related to small-scale mining increase accordingly. Thus, mining is characterized by a disorderly occupation of territories, chaotically organized mining operations and dangerous working conditions. This activity causes deforestation and deterioration of soils and riverbeds. However, the full scale of these negative impacts is still unknown .
Probably, the health risks that are most often overlooked in small-scale gold mining are those associated with occupational safety. Every day, miners are exposed to long hours of work in hot and humid conditions, they work in uncomfortable physical positions, they are exposed to constant and loud noises, bathe in contaminated water, and live in houses with poor waste management, just to mention a few conditions . In addition to this, the danger of working in a mining raft can cause injuries to arms, legs and back, for this reason, fatal accidents are not uncommon . These dangerous working conditions should receive special attention from the authorities responsible for the formulation of environmental and labor policies and regulations. As long as gold mining remains a sector surrounded by spheres of informality, occupational health and safety is unlikely to become a solved problem for those who carry out these extractive processes.
5. Afro-descendant communities and mining in the Department of Cauca
The department of Cauca is located in southwestern Colombia, between the Pacific coast, the high Magdalena Valley and the Amazon region, with an area of approximately 29.308 km2. It limits to the north with the department of Valle del Cauca, to the northeast and east with the departments of Tolima and Huila, to the southeast with Caquetá and Putumayo, to the south with Nariño, and to the west with the Pacific Ocean. It currently has 42 municipalities .
The main rivers of this region are born in the Colombian massif (Cauca River, Magdalena River, Caquetá River) as well as the eastern mountain range that crosses the entire Cauca territory. The department of Cauca is recognized for its great biogeographic diversity, which is distributed among the Isla Gorgona, Munchique, Nevado of Huila, Puracé, and Serranía de los Churumbelos National Natural Parks, and the Doña Juana-Cascabel Volcanic Complex. These places increase their tourist interest and signify an important line in the country’s economy . In addition to tourism and the beautiful landscapes rich in flora and fauna, the economy of the population that inhabits the Cauca territory is linked to agricultural production, livestock, commerce, the exploitation of wood and gold mining. Particularly, agriculture has been developed in the north of the department. Its main crops are sugar cane, traditional corn, rice, banana, fique, yucca, potato, coconut, sorghum, cocoa, peanuts and African palm .
The Department of Cauca is also a strategic territory of the armed conflict. Its rich geography made up of inter-Andean valleys and jungles that extend from the Central Cordillera to the Pacific, is attractive to communities that have become responsible for the illegal exploitation of resources . Thus, in this region, informal gold mining is carried out mainly in the municipalities of Argelia, Cajibio, Caldono, Guapi, Lopez, Patia, Santa Rosa, Santander de Quilichao, Timbiqui, Timbo, and Totoro  (Figure 2).
Cauca is the fifth Colombian department with the highest number of population known as Afro-descendants. Thus, it has been constituted as one of the most inhabited regions by Afro-descendant populations, after the Pacific and the Colombian Caribbean . Given that the majority of this population recognize themselves as belonging to this ethnicity, the analysis of the life conditions of the Afro-descendant communities that live in vulnerable circumstances is of high importance, as indicated by the MPI (Multidimensional Poverty Index of Colombia), with a total percentage of 32.5 .
The Afro-descendant communities in the department are organized into community councils of which the following stand out: Campesino Palenque Monte Oscuro, El Samán, Vereda La Paila y Cabecera Municipal, Comzoplan, Corregimiento Centro de Caloto Pandao Caloto, Guachené y Santander de Quilichao, Aires de Garrapatero, Cauca River Basin, Micro Basin of the Teta and Mazamorrero Rivers, Timba River Basin, Páez-Quinamayo “CURPAQ” River Basin, and de Pilamo [87, 88].
The main mining areas of the department are located in the municipality of Buenos Aires, where there exists a cooperative of miners entitled
Special attention deserves the fact that collective properties of Afro-descendant communities, become part of the mining territory, due to the acute processes of cultural change and social impacts that they entail. The definition of the country’s mining areas should be made considering the vulnerability to climate change , and given the multiple problems that have been exposed in relation to gold mining and conditions of vulnerability and poverty of Afro-descendant communities in Colombia, governmental actions must be taken to protect such population and preserve its biodiversity.
6. Implications of gold mining on the well-being and quality of life of communities
Mining activity is as old as the history of the earth, it is extremely important for the income of countries that have mineral wealth, especially gold, which acquires an important purchasing power in the market, thus benefiting the individual and collective economy, as well as the state. This constitutes non-renewable natural resources that ideally should be exploited causing minimal or no impact on the ecosystem and human health. The paradigm of wealth accumulation and the power of the market induces deformed ways and styles of life that affect individual and collective health, which undoubtedly affects the well-being and quality of life of the communities involved. Such is the case of the present investigation, in which health problems and socioeconomic impacts related to mining activity have been identified from the moment of exploitation until the process to obtain gold .
As suggested by Scarlett and Bish , mining must be considered as one of the clearest indicators of the evolution that human beings have experienced since their first steps on earth, starting with the Stone Age, and passing through the Bronze and Iron Ages. Curiously, this nomenclature already perfectly reflects the enormous importance that mining activities have had in evolution. Without mining and the evolution that it entails, human development towards the desired welfare state would be very different from what is currently known.
Mining operations have evolved over the centuries, going from small artisanal activities to the large multinational mining companies that exist today . Although both methods of mining exploitation still coexist, informal mining is considered to be the main responsible for the uncontrolled impact on ecosystems and quality of life, especially in developing areas such as the Department of Cauca. Thus, it is possible to find today, small rafts or dredges where only one or two people can work, or mining companies in which the number of jobs can be hundreds or thousands.
As mentioned, mining is a strategic sector worldwide. A large number of products surrounding daily life comes from mining, either directly, or after having undergone some type of metallurgical transformation. Despite the global relevance of the sector, it is an activity that faces a series of difficulties for its development that make it difficult to guarantee the rights and safety of workers . Given that these mineral resources cannot be mobilized, their location affects certain protected areas, either environmentally or culturally, which makes it a socially controversial activity. For this reason, in recent decades the mining companies that have the respective titles have focused their efforts on obtaining globally sustainable results, combining improvements in production with the search for social and environmental sustainability, all reinforced by the laws that regulate the sector, aimed at combining the activity with the environment that surrounds it in the most appropriate way possible for all related actors .
Although gold extractive processes are being increasingly regulated worldwide, the Colombian case still has many aspects to address. The development of Afro-descendant communities that live in areas of great biodiversity, necessary for the exploitation of these resources, has been highly influenced by a series of social aspects. Thus, mining has also unleashed setbacks in the fight against organized crime. Within the framework of these activities, there are five types of conflicts determined by the way in which the illegal armed actors are linked to such activity: Direct exploitation, in which the armed actors are engaged in mining or exploiting miners; exploitation resulting from eviction, which occurs when armed groups displace artisanal, informal or illegal miners; mega-projects, characterized by being located in ethnic territories, threatening not only the environment, but also the way of life and the rights of the communities; the conflict derived from new oil or mining discoveries in areas recovered by the Government; and finally, the self-defense modality, which takes place when mining companies arrive in the territories accompanied by private security companies, co-opt local politics or pay illegal taxes to the armed groups .
Another aspect to highlight of the implications that mining activities have on the well-being of the communities is that related to tax avoidance and poverty. The multimillion dollar profits of this market are recorded daily. But this
As indicated, some illegal armed groups have used the mining industry to take advantage of gaps and inabilities to benefit economically. This critical social reality has brought negative effects such as displacement and social conflict. In this sense, since the Colombian Mining Code was approved in 2001, there have been overlapping titles in areas of national parks and
Given the implications of mining, it is proposed to generate interdisciplinary educational programs among the direct and indirect actors of the involved communities, who, in consensus, seek to implement a continuous education plan for protection, use of clean technologies and conservation of the ecosystem. This teaching-learning process will allow miners and people who live around the extraction areas to reflect on the dangers generated by informal or artisanal mining activity due to the use of Hg and other chemical substances on human health .
7. Conclusions and perspectives
Based on the information obtained from the bibliographic research, regarding the contextualization of organizational aspects of the Afro-descendant communities in Colombia, and the state of mining in these communities, it can be concluded that the Afro-descendant population has been recognized as important members of the Colombian population for many years, representing approximately 10% of the country’s total inhabitants.
The departments with the largest number of Afro-descendant communities are: Valle del Cauca, Chocó, Bolívar, Antioquia, Cauca, Nariño, Cesar, Atlántico, Magdalena, Sucre and Córdoba. The titling of the collective territories has been carried out thanks to the formation of Community Councils, which are in charge of ensuring their special territoriality and welfare rights. These communities are part of the culture and daily life of Colombians. For this reason, their inclusion in security and social protection projects is essential for decision-making. In addition, from the legal field at the national level, their rights are recognized, including consultation and integration in environmental management processes.
It is evident that mining is an activity that is carried out in Colombia, to a greater extent, in inadequate technical and technological conditions, which bring with them problems of environmental contamination for natural resources, and put the health of the communities at risk, especially for the Afro-descendant communities, main inhabitants of mining areas. These activities are mainly distributed in the departments of Antioquia, Chocó, Bolívar, Nariño, Caldas and Cauca.
In addition, it is important to highlight that gold mining activities have an economic-social impact with benefits and damages. Some studies argue that mining represents the only livelihood for the inhabitants of the regions in which it is carried out. However, its development does not offer any security or training for workers.
Due to the unlimited number of impacts that mining has, it faces several challenges that must be addressed as a priority, especially those related to tax avoidance and poverty.
The well-being of native populations that inhabit areas of ecological and cultural importance is undoubtedly affected by the development of these extractive activities. For this reason, the social implications of informal mining should be highlighted, conditions in which the majority of people who engage in artisanal mining find themselves. With these illegal processes, the possibility of guaranteeing the progress of the communities is evaded, and, on the contrary, such poverty conditions are promoted so that these areas are a source of inequality, exclusion and violence.
One of the main solutions to implement to make mining a business that benefits the country and is sustainable with the development of the communities, could consist in the creation of an institution that is responsible for repairing, as far as possible, the environmental damage that are derived from mining, that only use suitable areas for this activity and do not endanger natural parks,
It is important to promote the creation and development of government policies for the protection of these informal miners. In all their aspects, it is evident the risk of exposure to pollution and the need in the context of sustainable development. In addition, informal mining brings with it corruption, violence and armed conflict that delay peace processes.
Finally, in the environmental framework, gold mining activities also have a strong negative impact, especially as a result of the use and contamination of ecosystems with Hg. This environmental risk is supported by studies that show that pollution of water, soil, air, flora and fauna ends up affecting the health of vulnerable populations. Thus, the prevention of exposure of Afro-descendant communities should be considered a national priority, since the areas of greatest mining exploitation coincide precisely with the collective territories of those communities.
This project received funds from Minciencias-Minsalud-University of Cartagena (Grant: 943/2019), the Afro-descendants communities from Cauca and the National Program for Doctoral Formation, Minciencias, Grant: 727-2015 and 757-2016.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Appendices and nomenclature
mercury methylHg United Nations Development Program Black Communities Development Plan Colombian Mining Information System National Administrative Department of Statistics Community Action Board Association of Community Councils and Organizations of Bajo Atrato non-governmental organizations United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization San Andrés Isla Solution Sons of the Soil Independent Farmers United National Association The Ketlena National Association Black Communities Process percentage based Gross Domestic Product American Dollar Free on Board World Organization of the United Nations Micrograms/grams Total- mercury kilometers square kilometers. hectares Páez-Quinamayo River Basin
United Nations Development Program
Black Communities Development Plan
Colombian Mining Information System
National Administrative Department of Statistics
Community Action Board
Association of Community Councils and Organizations of Bajo Atrato
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
San Andrés Isla Solution
Sons of the Soil
Independent Farmers United National Association
The Ketlena National Association
Black Communities Process
Gross Domestic Product
Free on Board
World Organization of the United Nations
Páez-Quinamayo River Basin


Unluckily, however, she "broached to," and was struck by a heavy sea
, that hove her on her beam-ends.
A heavy sea
took him off the poop in the run between New Zealand and the Horn."
what DO you call this?' 'Rather a heavy sea
on, sir, and a head-wind.'
The night was a bright one, but there was a heavy sea
running, and even in the harbor the boat was rocking.
In fact, girt about as she was, breezy and exposed to the sun's hot rays, she seemed to offer to gardeners so many more guarantees of success than other places, with their heavy sea
air, and their scorching heat.
Latitude and longitude, noon every day; and how many miles we made last twenty-four hours; and all the domino games I beat and horse billiards; and whales and sharks and porpoises; and the text of the sermon Sundays (because that'll tell at home, you know); and the ships we saluted and what nation they were; and which way the wind was, and whether there was a heavy sea
, and what sail we carried, though we don't ever carry any, principally, going against a head wind always--wonder what is the reason of that?--and how many lies Moult has told--Oh, every thing!
When I had left the conning-tower little more than a half-hour since, the sea had been breaking over the port bow, and it seemed to me quite improbable that in so short a time an equally heavy sea
could be deluging us from the opposite side of the ship--winds may change quickly, but not a long, heavy sea
They had then continued to cruise up and down the coast for several weeks, and had about forgotten the incident of the recent chase, when, early one morning a few days before the lookout had described a vessel laboring in the trough of a heavy sea
and evidently entirely out of control.
Indeed, as I gazed at the heavy sea
through which we were running, I doubted that there was a boat afloat.
"Don't you think," I said, "that the heavy sea
which, you told me, came aboard just then might have killed the man?
"One night, in a calm, with a heavy sea
running, the main-boom-lift carried away, an' next the tackle.
But, as Matkah told Kotick, "So long as you don't lie in muddy water and get mange, or rub the hard sand into a cut or scratch, and so long as you never go swimming when there is a heavy sea
, nothing will hurt you here."


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