Charlotte Christiaens Charlotte Christiaens is the coordinator of CATAPA, a non-governmental volunteer organization in Belgium, doing research and lobbying on globalization and sustainable development in Latin America, with a focus on mining. Charlotte Christiaens has a master degree in social and cultural anthropology and international relations. Together with local partner organizations, CATAPA supports farmer communities that are threatened by multinational mining companies.
CATAPA has a large experience in gold mining related issues in Latin America. CATAPA observed ed many similarities between the cases in Latin America and other global resource related cases such as irresponsible mining activities, criminalization of protest, militarisation, not-consulted local people, abuse of water and soil of local people, serious contamination by heavy metals, deforestation, unrepairable damage to the homeland, degeneration of the fish and mamal population, weak government that gives concessions to mining multinationals to earn money.