Mario Huapaya

Mining is a catalyst for the development of investments, but it also has impacts on the social fabric and on governance. Mario Huapaya likens the mining issues in Peru to the dutch disease, which is that in places that have a lot of resources, most probably they end up worse than before they exploited them.

“At the Bank, what we want to do is to cure that disease and turn the natural wealth into the real wealth of development,” says Mario who work as a Senior Consultant with the Special Group for Mining, Geothermal, and Hydrocarbons at the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). 

Mario spoke on the issues and perspectives that need to be worked on in the mining regions of Cajamarca and Cusco, two of the poorest mining regions in Peru.

In Cajamarca for instance, despite having some successful projects that have contributed to its economic growth. One of the reasons for this is the large number of halted projects due to conflicts and lack of leadership. 

“I am very excited about the work I do at the Bank because it allows me to create neutral spaces where we generate trust between public and private actors and we provide them with tools so that they can do the planning, but also that this planning becomes effective and that they take care of its social and environmental sustainability, so not only of the current process but also take care of how all this is going to feed the following generations.”

The Governance Action Hub in collaboration with the IDB and other partners are working together towards the establishment of a Center for Good Governance in Mining for Cajamarca. The Hub is also supporting the design and participatory components of the National Multisectoral Mining Plan in Peru in collaboration with the International Council of the Swedish Industry (NIR) and the IDB. The first participatory workshops will start in December 2024. 

“There is still a long way to go, but we believe that we are making the right bets here,” he says.

Watch Mario’s interview in Español.