Mining Conflicts Around the World - September 2012
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Mining conflicts around the world - September 2012 ejolt report no. 7 September, 2012 Mining conflicts around the world Common grounds from an Environmental Justice perspective Begüm Özkaynak and Beatriz Rodríguez-Labajos (coord.) with contributions by Gloria Chicaiza, Marta Conde, Bertchen Kohrs, Dragomira Raeva, Ivonne Yánez, Mariana Walter EJOLT Report No. 07 Mining conflicts around the world - September 2012 September - 2012 EJOLT Report No.: 07 Report coordinated by: Begüm Özkaynak (BU), Beatriz Rodríguez-Labajos (UAB) with chapter contributions by: Gloria Chicaiza (Acción Ecológica), Marta Conde (UAB), Mining Bertchen Kohrs (Earth Life Namibia), Dragomira Raeva (Za Zemiata), Ivonne Yánez (Acción Ecologica), Mariana Walter (UAB) and factsheets by: conflicts Murat Arsel (ISS), Duygu Avcı (ISS), María Helena Carbonell (OCMAL), Bruno Chareyron (CRIIRAD), Federico Demaria (UAB), Renan Finamore (FIOCRUZ), Venni V. Krishna (JNU), Mirinchonme Mahongnao (JNU), Akoijam Amitkumar Singh (JNU), Todor Slavov (ZZ), around Tomislav Tkalec (FOCUS), Lidija Živčič (FOCUS) Design: Jacques bureau for graphic design, NL Layout: the world Cem İskender Aydın Series editor: Beatriz Rodríguez-Labajos The contents of this report may be reproduced in whole or in part for educational or non-profit services without special Common grounds permission from the authors, provided acknowledgement of the source is made. This publication was developed as a part of the project from an Environmental Justice Organisations, Liabilities and Trade (EJOLT) (FP7-Science in Society-2010-1). EJOLT aims to improve policy responses to and support collaborative research and action on environmental Environmental conflicts through capacity building of environmental justice groups around the world. Visit our free resource library and database at Justice perspective www.ejolt.org or follow tweets (@EnvJustice) to stay current on latest news and events. This document should be cited as: Özkaynak, B., Rodriguez-Labajos, B., Arsel, M., Avcı, D., Carbonell, M.H., Chareyron, B., Chicaiza, G., Conde, M., Demaria, F., Finamore, R., Kohrs, B., Krishna, V.V., Mahongnao, M., Raeva, D., Singh, A.A., Slavov, T., Tkalec, T., Yánez, I., Walter, M., Živčič, L., 2012. Mining Conflicts around the World: Common Grounds from Environmental Justice Perspective, EJOLT Report No. 7, 198 p. EJOLT Report No. 07 Mining Conflicts around the World Abstract This report aims at exploring contemporary mining conflicts in the context of the sustainable development and environmental justice movement. This is done based on 24 real case studies from 18 different countries which are described by local activists and scholars. While 17 of the reported cases focus on conflicts related to metal mining (e.g. gold, silver, copper, zinc, and lead), four address uranium mining and one refers to coal mining. As an example of a new frontier in the industry, a sand mining conflict from India is also reported. All of these cases are directly chosen and reported, either in factsheet or in-depth study format, by EJOs, as part of a knowledge sharing activity well-established in EJOLT between EJOs and the academic community. Although the cases covered here are all quite unique and diverse in terms of type of conflict and geographical setting, they all share a common frame of analysis. First, the project and type of conflict are characterized in a nutshell, with some basic factual background that describe the companies involved, and the communities and locations affected. The roots of the conflicts are explored next, as well as relevant socioeconomic, cultural, health, and ecological impacts and related community claims. Where relevant, means of resistance are also specified with their influence on the project and/or the outcome of the conflict. The report then offers a synthesis of the described mining cases, review their commonalities, link gained insights with research needs and discuss some policy recommendations that might follow from this analysis. Despite its limitations, compiling such a diverse set of mining conflicts that builds on EJO knowledge promotes mutual learning and collaboration among stakeholders, EJOs and academia, which is one of the key objectives of EJOLT. Keywords Activism Liabilities Case-studies Mining conflicts Commodity frontiers Participation Development Recognition Environmental justice Resource extraction Externalities Sustainability EJOLT Report No. 07 Mining Conflicts around the World Contents Foreword .......................................................................................................................... 5 1 Introduction – Towards a collaborative understanding of mining conflicts ................................... 7 2 Adatepe gold mine, Krumovgrad (Bulgaria) – Are legal procedures effective? ............................................................................... 15 3 Responding to exclusion – Esquel referendum against gold mining (Argentina) ............................................. 35 4 El Mirador in the Cordillera del Cóndor (Ecuador) – Boundary line to large-scale mining ........................................................................ 45 5 Uranium mining in Namibia – Is this a latent conflict?........................................... 66 6 Synthesis .................................................................................................................... 89 7 Key lessons and conclusions ................................................................................ 112 Acknowledgments ....................................................................................................... 114 References ................................................................................................................... 115 Appendix - Factsheets ................................................................................................. 123 EJOLT Report No. 07 Mining Conflicts around the World Acronyms AGA: AngloGold Ashanti FIOCRUZ: Fundação Oswaldo Cruz ARD: Acid Rock Drainage IACHR: Inter-American Court of Human Rights AREDS: Association for Rural Education and ICSID: International Centre for Settlement of Development Investment Disputes AVA: Autonomous People’s Assembly ILO: International Labor Organization BMM: Balkan Mineral & Mining INB: Indústrias Nucleares do Brasil BRIC: Brazil, Russia, India, China IPS: Indian Police Service CAFTA: Central American Free Trade Agreement ISM: Illegal Sand Mining CANUC: The Campaign against the Namibian LaRRI: Labour Resource & Research Institute Uranium Contract MAE: Ministry of Environment CC Cordillera del Cóndor MEP: Member of European Parliament CCS: Carbon Capture and Storage MET: Ministry of Environment & Tourism CEE: Central and Eastern European MINAET: Ministerio del Ambiente, Energía y CENSAT: Centro Nacional Salud Ambiente y Trabajo Telecomunicaciones CEPAL: The Economic Commission for Latin MoEE: Bulgarian Ministry of the Economy and America and the Caribbean Energy CGE: Contraloría General del Estado MoEF: Ministry of Forests and the Environment CNEN: Comissão Nacional de Energia Nuclear MP: Member of Parliament CoM: Council of Ministers MRNNR: Ministry of Non-Renewable Resources COMINAK: Compagnie Minière d'Akouta NATO: North Atlantic Treaty Organization CONAIE: Confederacion de Nacionalidades Indígenas NGO: Non-governmental organization del Ecuador OCMAL: Observatorio de Conflictos Mineros de COREMA: Comisión Regional del Medio Ambiente América Latina CRCC: China Railway Construction Corporation OECD: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development CRIIRAD: Commission for Independent Research and Information about Radiation PARTiZANS: People against Rio Tinto Zinc and Subsidiaries DPM: Dundee Precious Metals RBPC: Biosphere Reserve Podocarpus – El Cóndor EBRD: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development RTZ: Rio Tinto Zinc EC: European Commission SEA: Strategic Environmental Assessment ECSA: EcuaCorriente S.A. SEEC: Supreme Expert Environmental Council EIA: Environmental Impact Assessment Se-F: Slovenski E-Forum EIB: European Investment Bank SOMAIR: Société des Mines de l'Aïr EJO: Environmental Justice Organization TES: Termoelektrarna Sostanj EP: European Parliament UNESCO: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization EPA: Environmental Protection Act US: United States EPL: Exclusive Prospective Licenses WB: World Bank ESIA: Environmental & Social Impact Assessment WHO: World Health Organisation EU: European Union EJOLT Report No. 07 Mining Conflicts around the World Foreword Conflicts over resource extraction or waste disposal increase in number as the world economy uses more materials and energy. Civil society organizations (CSOs) active in Environmental Justice issues focus on the link between the need for environmental security and the defence of basic human rights. The EJOLT project (Environmental Justice Organizations, Liabilities and Trade, www.ejolt.org) is an FP7 Science in Society project that runs from 2011 to 2015. EJOLT brings together a consortium of 23 academic and civil society organizations across a range of fields to promote collaboration and mutual learning among stakeholders who research or use Sustainability Sciences, particularly on aspects of Ecological Distribution. One main goal is to empower environmental justice organizations (EJOs), and the communities that receive an unfair share of environmental burdens to defend or reclaim their rights. This will be done through a process of two-way knowledge transfer, encouraging