Dominic Frisby talks to Martín Von Hildebrand, General Director of Gaia Amazonas, about mining in the Colombian Amazon. They discuss illegal mining and its consequences, the lack of clarity from the Colombian government on mining and the dilemma of modernisation and its effects on the cultural integrity of indigenous people.

Martin Von Hildebrand is the director of Fundación Gaia Amazonas, which he set up in 1990 to work with the indigenous people of the Amazon areas in Colombia, to help them secure their territorial rights and protect the forest. He first visited the Amazonian Indians in the 1970s and has ever since been an activist for indigenous rights, cultural and ecological diversity , working in both government and non-government organizations. In 1986 he became Head of Indigenous Affairs under the government of Virgilio Barco. He has doctorate in ethnology from the Sorbonne in Paris and has won many awards including the Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship.

This podcast was recorded on 12 March 2013. It can also be heard at Goldmoney - the best way to buy gold and silver.

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Mining In The Colombian Amazon