Cultural heritage management and local participation in the development of the Sepon mine

Communities near the Sepon gold and copper operation in central Laos are entering into a new dialogue with government and corporation about the value of the forests they farm and cultivate. Within this discourse the corporate drive for secure long-term resource access sits alongside the scientific discovery of a 2,300 year-old copper mining industry, local concerns about the disturbance of Animist ancestor and forest spirits, and government efforts to extend a weak administrative apparatus and create a national citizenry. In this paper we investigate cultural heritage mitigation projects, including archaeological survey and excavation and ethnographic survey and recording of contemporary cultural practice. We explain how heritage as both a value system and a professional practice can promote new configurations of 'public' engagement within the complex cultural context of the mining industry. We contend that with an industry-backed heritage program affected communities have more opportunities to make sense of rapid social change and participate in a dialogue about mining and development on their own terms. We promote this as a strategy for the mining industry to move beyond a process of 'permission seeking' and develop sustainable participatory relationships.

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SRMining 2013: 2nd International Conference on Social Responsibility in Mining

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978-956-9393-01-3

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