Setting Priorities for Environmental Management. An Application to the Mining Sector in Bolivia

Mining and industrial activities, if poorly managed, can damage the environment and leave behind contaminated materials which release pollutants for many years after the mines or enterprises have shut down. Cleaning up old mine and industrial sites is often extremely costly. Furthermore, cleaning up the sites may not result in appreciable improvements in human health or the environment. Given resource constraints, what decision rules should guide activities for remediation? Which sites should be addressed first?