A Struggle for Clean Canadian Mining in Costa Rica

BY ANA ISLA

"Sayyes~. to life, no to mining'?was- the farms and placed it in the hands of slogan of a protest against the Cana- the government in order to promote O pe n-p m g dian firm Vanessa Ventures Ltd in biological corridors in the conserva- Costa Rica uses the Costa Rica on March 22, 2002. tionareas. extremely toxic Thousands of Costa Ricans took to In 1991, theworld Wildlife Fund- the streets in Ciudad Quesada to Canada (WF-C) and MINAE drafted cyanide Iixiviation battle the decision of their national the first step of a management plan, technique, which government to grant a permit for El Plan General de Uso de La Tierra open-pit gold mining to another (The General Land Use Plan) for the has led to severe Canadian mining corporation. Arenal-Tilaran Conservation Area pollution and Why are Costa Ricans fighting (ACA).This plan regulated land ac- Canadian mining firms?The answer cess and use. According to the WF- consequently to - involves forests, pollution, debt, wa- c's Canadian director, Claude organized resistance ter, local livelihoods, and globaliza- Tremblay, the LandPlan in ACA was among local tion-related national policy changes. based on the characteristics of the Women are central in the mining territory and its biophysical potenti- communities. protests, both as leaders and as those alities, and it identified the limits of whose lives are most affected. acceptable human intervention for Two periods built the Costa Rican the sustainability of the area. The Depuis I99I, lorsqu 'on a instaurk la resistance: the globalization of the area is called "Costa Rica's gold belt" politique du diveloppement durable debt crisis, in the 1980s, that brought due to fairly large deposits of buried au Costa Rica, dans le parr de conser- International Monetary Fund (IMF) alluvial gold that are found there. vation de llArinal et de ses environs, and World Bank (WB) policies The gold belt includes the towns of une avalanche de compagnies minieres (stabilization and structural adjust- Montes del Aguacate and Cordillera canadiennes intiresskes ri l'exploitation ment) to Costa Rica's doorstep to de Tilaran, in the mining district of des mines d'or Li ciel ouvert ont alarmi facilitate entry of foreign investment; Abangares. The towns of Libano, les $mmes et les hommes des com- and the globalization ofthe environ- Miramar and Montes del Aguacate munautks locales parce qtre ces rigions mental crisis, in the early 1990s, that also belong to this district. n hvaient jamais connu dbpkrations brought corporate environmental The Arenal-Tilaran Conservation minitres. Nous lisons ici au sujet de la NGOS to Costa Rica's forest to expe- Area extends over 250,561.5 hec- bataille desfemmespour de l'eaupure dite enclosure. tares (ha) of land. Out of this total, et de leur rksistance It l'exploitation de Costa Rica-which has one of the the Land Plan document recom- lbrpar les Canadiens, un iliment du highest per-capita debts in Latin mended protecting 1 16,690.2 ha for programme de diveloppement / America-has been experimenting sustainable development, including mondialisation durable. with sustainable development in the a research program, ecotourism and form of conservation areas as part of global air market (selling CO,). But I want you to tell Canadians its overall strategy of retiring foreign by 1993, a large part of these territo- that here [Costa Rica] there is a debt through debt-for-nature swaps ries had been designated for mineral town (Miramar) that struggles (Isla). The Sistema Nacionalde Areas exploration (Plan General de Uso de

against the big powers, that we de Conservacion (SINAC)has divided la Tierra, Vol. 11, 1993). A .pamphlet . are fighting desperately to eradi- the country into eleven Conserva- entitled, "Description of the Arenal- cate Canadian powers from our tion Areas under the supervision of Tilaran Conservation Area" (made lands. the Ministry of Environment and available by ~c~-Tilaran'scentral -Alexander FloresAguero Energy (MINAE). MINAE has taken the offices), clearly underlines this con- (1999, Traditional Popular right to land ownership away from tradiction: the pamphlet decries the Culture National Award) owners of small- and medium-sized destruction ofthe rain forest but also

148 CANADIAN WOMAN STUDIESILES CAHIERS DE LA FEMME Water and Livelihood in the Era of Globalization

encourages transnational corporation ready in operation: been created in the area: (TNCS)investments in farming, wood 1) Las Lilas Mining Project in and forest activities, environmental Quebrada Grande de Liberia, owner *The displacement from tradi- services, and the extraction of earth of the subsidiary Tierra Colorada tional ways of life and liveli- minerals in ACA. By 1998, at least S.A. of Barrick Gold; hood to give space to mining. eight Canadian mining firms were 2) Mining Rio Chiquito de "We were expelled from Rio operating more than 12 gold mines Tilaran, owned by Corporation Min- Chiquito in Tilaran to make in the Arenal area. erals Mallon S.A, a subsidiary of the room for mining, because they Canadian Mallon Minerals. claimed that we were causing Costa Rica's Gold Belt Newmont Mining was also involved damage to flora and fauna, wa- in exploring the property (Mining ter and soil"; Open-pit mining in Costa Rica now Magazine 179) ; *The suffering of women, men uses the extremely toxic cyanide 3) Mining La Union, in La Union and children when water con- lixiviation technique, which has led of Montes de Oro, owned by tamination forces them to emi- to severe pollution and consequently Minerales La Union S. A., a Cana- grate; to organized resistance among local dian subsidiary; *The grief and hardship due to communities. Women and men are 4) Mining Beta Vargas in La Pita the openings of hollows in the concerned that an increase in strip de Chomes, Puntareanas and San soil where their cattle fall and mining can further destroy local riv- Juan of Abangares-Guanacaste, die; ers and lakes. The resistance to min- owned by the subsidary Novontar *The disruption to their culture ingis therefore astruggle not only for S.A of Lyon Lake Mines of Canada; and relationship with nature by clean water but also for the preserva- 5)Ariel Resources Ltd, in La Junta the elimination of recreation tion of livelihoods. The government de Abangares, the oldest Canadian spaces; consequently, drug ad- has tried to sell sustainable develop- mine in Costa Rica, extracts gold diction, alcoholism and prosti- ment as "environmental preserva- through three subsidiaries: tution become more significant. tion" in the name of ecological con- a) Mining Tres Hermanos, oper- servation. However, communities in ated by el Valiente Ascari; The Position Paper concludes the "gold belt" understand that the b) Mining San Martin, operated "national" government cannot pro- by Mining of Sierra Alta S. A., and, tect their interests and their liveli- C) Mining El Recio, operated by Women and men hoods, because it cannot protect their Minera Silencio S. A.. are concerned environment. For instance, on the Ariel Resources Ltd has been oper- Pacific coast, MINAE granted 20 con- ating in the area since 1986. In No- that an increase cessions to transnational miningcor- vember 2000, it disappeared from in strip mining porations that exploit 1 1,697 ha. of Costa Rica, leaving debts with the can further land, while a further eleven conces- Costa Rican Hydro Institute (ICE) sions are still under negotiation. The and with its workers, who presented destroy local rivers indebted Costa Ricangovernmentls comp~aintsat ~aiias~ribunalagainst and lakes. The abandonment ofland to mining cor- one of Ariel Resources subsidiaries porations has led to the expropria- (Torres). resistance to mining. - tion of 16,097 hectares of land from Women and men in the areawrote is a a struqqle for local communities. In many cases, a Position Paper (1999), in which clean water and communities have been forcibly they highlighted their concern with evicted (Isla). the inadequacies of MINAE. The pa- the preservation On the Pacific coast, the following per describes their distress with min- of livelihoods. Canadian mining companies are al- ing and with the problems that have

VOLUMES 21/22, NUMBERS 411 149 with incredulity about the promise Wewelcome investments, ifthey land, biodiversity, scenery, water, air of job creation and mistrust that respect our identity as agricul- quality, and human health, and in- MINAE and its partners can confront tural people and our wish to live cluded evidence rhat underground the ecological crisis while simulta- in peace and harmony with na- water was also being contaminated. neously supporting the mining in- ture. But we won't accept Despite the analysis, the Health Min- dustries. Community members' ex- projects we have not asked for; ister declared there was no contami- perience has shown that the only we do not want them. If foreign nation. Torres stated that the local outcomes are destruction and illu- investors want to invest here, river also contains 800 times more sory benefits that disappear imme- they must accept people's par- iron than normal. ticipatory processes, because we As we stood outside ofthe "Cuatro won't accept projects that con- Vientos" mine, whichwas abandoned "We won't accept spire against our well-being even by a Canadian company, we viewed if they were accepted by the the one main street of the town of projects we have "national" government. We al- Las Juntas de Abangares. It is still not asked for; ready have our own develop- covered with rocks and yellow water ment based on land, clean water that leaked from a chemical dump we do not want and air, community, and soli- site. Torres stated that in addition to them .... We already darity." the destruction created while the have our own company was in operation, neither Sonia Torres was the coordinator the government nor the company development based of the National Front Against Gold was held responsible once the con- on land, clean Mining between 1999 and 2000. tract ended. Torres and the National Front de- The destruction of the natural re- water and air, scribed the struggle against gold min- sources of local communities has community, and ing, using two examples to illustrate impoverished community members the disaster brought by mining to at every level. They have lost fertile solidarity." their water and their lives. Both ex- land to erosion and their water sup- amples involve Canadian-owned plies are contaminated. Campesinas/ mines. OS have been forced to abandon their diately once the mine closes, leaving The Canadian firm Ariel Resources jncas (farms) and emigrate to shanty only devastation. Ltd. operated for 12 years and its towns or to the capital city of San Mining corporations raise signifi- subsidhies extracted in La Junta Jose and into destructive ways of life cant funds in the stock markets to de Abangares. The subsidiaries are (Torres).While walking through this begin production. These are for the located on a hillside where gravity land of desolation, Torres pointed most part mutual funds, which col- helps to draw the mining contami- out many dried-up mountain streams lect money deposited by individuals nants toward the rivers and the areas surrounding the mine. Water pollu- and invest it in an array of financial modest homes. In this case, the gold tion and mines treated with cyanide assets; and pension funds, which are mining is underground, and the have also been deadly for fauna and huge pots of retirement savings un- material is extracted mechanically flora, and for mangrove swamps, es- der professional investors' manage- through tunnels developed along the sential to maintaining biological di- ment. Thus, a significant number of gold and silver bearing quartz vein. versity. The worst effects can be seen middle-class Canadians with invest- The extraction is done by a process in the water of the Apa Caliente ments in these types of funds are called cyanide lixiviation, which in- river, which is now yellow and fetid implicated in the exploitation of volves dissolving the metals using with the odours of the chemicals Costa Ricans and other Latin Arneri- sodium cyanide. The process implies used in mining (Gamboa). TheApa cans where mining has been un- health risks for the workers in many Caliente is a hot river due to geologic leashed. ways, and it is deadly for the environ- activity and in the past it was used for ment and local communities. recreation, therapeutic treatment, Organizing Against Gold Despite the concern of local com- and as a source of food. It is now Mining: The Cases of hie1 munities, the mines continue to leach terribly polluted. Local community Resources Ltd and Mina Macona cyanide into the river, streams, and members continue to use the waters soil. At the urging of women, men, because they do not know about the Costa Ricans are organizing and re- and children, in 2000, the National mine discharges. As a result of the sisting in'the face of these threats. In Front organized asocio-environmen- poisoning of the river, aquatic life 2001, 1 interviewed forestry engi- tal impact study that documented has been exterminated and commu- neer Sonia Torres, who states: the alteration and destruction of the nity health has been undermined.

150 CANADIAN WOMAN STUDIESILES CAHIERS DE LA FEMME According to Elizabeth Pizarro, from killed fish, wildlife, cattle, and even the Arenal Conservation Area, two the Ministry ofHealth ofAbangares, people. Franklin Casares Villalobos kilometres north of Miramar de the local population has been experi- drank water in Turbina and died Montes de Oro, Canton 4 in the encing rising illnesses, such as asthma, instantly (Fundacion Co~oche). province of Puntarenas. They have allergies, skin irritation, gastritis, and Land sediments still contain cyanide signed a contract for exploration, neurological- disorders. But the most and the destruction continues when granted by MINAE,and they have also affected have been women who suf- the rain washes down the poison and received the approval of SETENA,the fer a high rate of miscarriages. The the wind disseminates it throughout Costa Rican agency that approves contamination of the water and air the surrounding areas. However, no environmental impact assessments in the area has created much grief for one has been held responsible. and establishes the monetary guar- rural women who also have to cope People have never received com- antees. The corporation has special with high levels of birth defects and pensation for the destruction oftheir Free Zone status and is thus exempt child mortality. The child mortality health, loss oflife, or for the degrada- from taxes for imports (machinery, rate in Abangares is higher (15.2 per tion of the environment on which etc.) and exports including profit cent) than in other parts ofthe coun- their livelihood depends. No amount remittance. Consequently, local com- try (12.5 per cent) and the number ofrnoney could recompense the losses munities both subsidize and pay the of childrenwith Downs Syndrome is to these communities. Sonia Torres full price ofthe mining corporation's double that in other areas. states: destruction. A second example of the effect of In 1996, the Miramar Natural mining in Costa Rica involves the The lies are the same-that we Resources Defence Group initiated Macacona mine in Esparza, should sacrifice our quality of a campaign against Bellavista Min- Puntarenas (Fundacion Co~oche), life for job creation. That was ing, which was then owned by the known also as the Mondongo mine. never the case, because mining Canadian mining company, Rayrock Owned by the Canadian Barranca produces few jobs for the locals. Corporation. Fuelled by opposition Mining subsidiary of Hearne Ltd., it One characteristic of mining is to the use of cyanide in lixiviation was the first open-pit or strip mine in that the operation is short-lived tanks, the campaign made public the Costa Rica. It controlled 200 hec- (a period of ten years on aver- following information: tares ofland and the mine covered 20 age), but its environmental and hectares. Open-pit mining has had a social implications are perma- We are opposed to mining in significant impact on the environ- nent. Local communities are Bellavista, because it could: ment and the social and cultural contaminated, during the op- *damage 12 water springs that aspects of local communities. The eration and long after a mine are used for human consump- first clear threat is that it eliminates company leaves, since the aban- tion; the forest and any vegetation in the doned infrastructure continues *destroy 117 manzanas of sec- area, creating conditions for the contamination because of ondary forest; mudslides, while removing enormous tanks and deposits of acid left *spoil La Plata and Agua Buena quantities of soil in a short period of behind. mountain streams: time. At Macacona, strip miningwas done for seven years until the com- These catastrophic experiences munity closed the mine down at the have led to resistance against mining end of 1989. However, 12years later, among local communities. At the The contamination the hectares operated by the mining same time, however, the Costa Rican company are still lifeless. The forest government wants to impose a new of the water and and the wildlife that had existed on round of strip gold mining projects air in the area has the higher ground were removed in in Miramar, Abangares, Puntarenas order for the company to make a San Carlos, and Liberia created much vertical cut, 150 meters deep, break- grief for rural ing the underground aquifer stra- Resistance in the Arenal women who also tum for 925 metres (Fundacion Conservation Area: The Case of Coyoche). The cyanide and other the Bellavista Mining Project have to cope with toxins used in the process of mining high levels the gold killed the forest and con- Costa Rican mining company Rio taminated the mountain streams of Minerales S.A. and Metales Pro- of birth defects Turbina, Rio Paires, Rio Jesus Maria, cesados M.R.w.s.A.,subsidiaries ofthe and child mortality. the mangrove swamps ofTivives and Toronto-based Wheaton River Min- the Gulf of Nicoya. The pollution erals, operate the Bellavista mine in

VOLUMES 21/22, NUMBERS 411 151 *cause landslides that could de- poration as witnesses, accused Marta Antonio Rodriguez Rescia's direc- posit more than 35 million tons of falsely claiming that thousands of tion, declared Blanco responsible for of material; trees had been cut down for the defamation of Rios hlinerales S.A. *contaminate fish with heavy Wheaton River project at a special and ordered her to pay the equiva- metals, producing cerebral dam- municipal meeting on September 18, lent of Cdn. $ 3,250 in fines, dam- age and malformation; 2000. Blanco denied theaccusations. ages, and court costs. *cause an overflow of 1 million Blanco stated that for years, Blanco, with the support of the 17 thousand cubic litres of wa- municipality and the Front Com- ter contaminated with cyanide. the mining company has been mittee of Opposition to Mining in (written on T-shirts) sending lawyers and other con- Miramar (Miramar Front), appealed tracted individuals with tape this decision to a final constitutional Following this campaign, the recorders to every municipal court ofappeal, and won. On March Rayrock Corporation sold the meeting to intimidate the mem- 1, 2002, Judges Javier Llobet project. In 1999, the Canadiancom- bers. They pressure the munici- Rodrfguez, Fernando Cruz Castro, pany, Wheaton River Minerals Ltd., pality to keep silent about the and Rafael Sanabria Rojas, rejected obtained a licence to operate the problems they are creating. On the previous verdict, finding a lack of Bellavista mine. According to Sonia the day of our meeting where grounds for the corporation to ac- Torres, the government granted garbage collectionwas discussed, cuse Marta Blanco who, as a munici- Wheaton River an even bigger area a lawyer of the company was pal councillor, was only carrying out than before, so that the impact will there. her responsibilities and her rights to be massive. According to the Pacific defend the environment. Regional Front (2001b), despite the Blanco maintained that during the fact that the project covers an area of special meeting on mining, The Case of Vanessa Ventures 172 hectares, and 473 hectares of Ltd. surrounding land are directly af- ...I said that strip-mining fected, while an area of 6,172 hec- projects are synonymous with On March 16, 2002, the Northern tares, which includes the watershed the total destruction of nature, Front in Opposition to Mining of the Ciruelas River, is indirectly because they cut down thou- (Northern Front) called a press con- affected, the project has already be- sand of trees. For these words, I ference to announce a protest to be gun its destruction by cutting down was taken to court, despite the held in Ciudad Quesada on March treeswith the authorization O~MINAE. fact that I did not refer to the 22,2002. It demanded that the na- The community has to confront Wheaton River Minerals tional government "say yes to life, say powerful interests in its demands for project. The company claims no to mining." The reason for the the protection of local water and that I lied that it had cut down protest was another agreement be- subsistence. Since 1996, the Cana- thousands of trees and, further- tween MINAE,the Costa Rican gov- dian mining establishment, and its more, that it operateswith~~~~~ernment, and another Canadian cor- figureheads in Costa Rica, Rio and SETENA~~~~~~S;therefore, I poration. This time Infinito Indus- Minerales S.A. and Metales was making false statements, try s.A., a subsidiary of Vanessa Ven- Procesados M.R.w.s.A.,have useddif- since the project is operating tures Ltd. of Vancouver, received a ferent strategies to harass local com- legally. We went to a concilia- ten-year licence to mine in Las munity members who are opposed tion meeting at the Puntarenas Crucitas, obtaining approval for a to their project. One of these instru- Court. At the court, the lawyer 1000-hectare exploitation area. ments is the use of legal intimida- for the company told me that The Crucitas Project is located in tion. In 1997, SoniaTorreswas taken the conciliation consisted in my Alajuela Province, Canton San to court by Galaxie S.A. (POGGSA),a resignation from the municipal Carlos, District of Cutris, 95 km subsidiary of the Canadian firm post. The conciliation should north of Ciudad Quesada and 20 km Rayrock which then owned be seen as a warning to the mu- northeast of Coope Vega commu- Bellavista. The court declared there nicipal office to stop speaking nity. The San Carlos Municipality were no grounds for the corporation about their project. I made it had rejected the idea of mining in co accuse Sonia Torres. explicit that my position was Las Crucitas de Cutris de San Carlos, In 2001, Wheaton River, (through not going to change and that I on September 11, 1995. When it its figurehead Rio Minerales), ac- was not going to resign. became known in January, 2002 that cused Marta Blanco, a teacher and MINAE had approved the Crucitas municipal councillor, ofdefamation. Blanco was then taken to court by mine the previous December, stu- Wheaton River, in alliancewith three the corporation. In October 2001, dents from elementary schools, high MINAE officials who assisted the cor- the Puntarenas court, under Judge schools and universities; teachers,

CANADIAN WOMAN STUDIESILES CAHIERS DE LA FEMME members of unions, ecologists, members of the National Front Bellavistaand other parts ofthe Can- campesinas/os, officials of the Catho- in Opposition to Strip Mining ton; lic church, women's groups, mem- to release media communiqut!~; *October 1, 1778, Abangares bers of parliament, and municipal *approvesthe initiative to trans- Municipality vetoed metallic strip governors took to the streets of late the decision into many lan- mining in its territory; Ciudad Quesada to say "No to min- guages and to distribute them *October 27, 1778, Montes de ing." Balbina Gonzales, a campesina nationally and internationally; Oro Municipality declared foreign from San Carlos, demanded that *promotes an Action Plan to and national mining corporations water be protected. She stated "I socio-economically transform persona non grata'; would rather live without electricity Abangares. *November 2, 1798, Liberia Mu- or roads in good condition, but I nicipality rejected Las Lilas Mining; cannot live with mining because it One by one, municipalities that *March 24, 1777, Tilaran Mu- will destroy the water, which is vital have experienced the devastating ac- nicipality, requested examination of for life and livelihood." She also de- tivities of mining have gained cour- Rio Chiquito Mining; manded the protection of her sub- age and rejected mining in their ter- *July 24, 1777, Montes de Oro sistence economy. In addition she ritories. Since 1776, local munici- Municipalityrepeated its disapproval denounced the blackmail by this cor- palities are fiercely fighting against of Bellavista Mining and warned and poration in her town and manifested the impoverishment of the people denounced the work of the corpora- her decision to fight hard to defend and ecological destruction in Costa tions; her and her family's livelihood Rica's gold belt. The following mu- *January 2000, Montes de Oro (Hernandez). nicipalities have rejected mining Municipality declared its solidarity projects: with the North Zone Municipalities Local Municipalities Versus opposing metal mining in Crucitas; National Government *September 11, 1775, San Carlos *February 22, 2000, Upala Mu- Municipality rejected the exploita- nicipality requested that the Central Since 1776, led by affected women tion of mining in Las Crucitas de government stop providing permits and men who have seen their health Cutris de San Carlos; and confront the pressure for mining and their lives damaged,- local mu- *September 16, 1775, Sarapiqui the area; nicipalities have increasingly rejected Municipality repudiated strip gold *September 4, 2000, San Carlos mining projects in open confronta- mining in the country, in particular Municipality rejected gold mining tion with MINAE and its environmen- in Arenal Huetar Norte; in Crucitas and Conchito. tal approvals branch SETENA. *August 1776, Montes de Oro Abangares Municipality, in a his- Municipality opposed the Bellavista Conclusion toricspecial session in October 1778, Mining Project; made the decision to oppose strip *June 26, 1777, Abangares Mu- Costa Ricans have been living with mining in open confrontation with nicipality requested Puntarenas the devastating consequences of an the national government (Frente del Municipality to nullify the permit to experiment in sustainable corporate Pacifico de Oposicion a la Miniera; Beta Vargas Mining; development, inwhich nature is con- La Voz de la Pampa). In that session, *September 10,1777, Puntarenas trolled and managed for profit in the municipal government lamented Municipality countered gold strip conservation areas and biodiversity the loss oflives of community mem- mining; preserves. The Costa Rican govern- bers caused by the greed of the .March 27, 1778, Abangares ment has allowed mining to be car- transnational companies operating Municipality declared itself against ried out everywhere in the Arenal in the area, supported by a few local all practices of mining exploitation, Conservation Area, despite the miners and greedy politicians. metallic stockpiling, and under- knowledge that mining destroys na- The Abangares Council stated it: ground and tunnels in Abangares ture and people. The government and any part of the country; further knows that women and men *is against every practice ofmin- *July 14, 1778, Puntarenas Mu- are fed up with its compromise with ing exploitation whether strip, nicipality ratified the opposition to capital, in which open pit mining in tunnel, or gallery mining in Beta Vargas Mining and solicited conservation areas is called 'sustain- Abangares and in the entire authorization from the Supreme able development.' Costa Rican state country; Court ofJustice to immediately stop officials receive international prizes *encourages similar statements the mine; recognizing them as top-rate 'con- by other municipalities in the *August 13,1778, Montes de Oro servationists.' At thesame time, min- country; Municipality rejected Bellavista Min- ing project approvals have been kept *authorizes communities and ing exploration and exploitation in secret from the local Costa Rican

VOLUMES 21/22, NUMBERS 411 153 population as well as from the inter- cielo abierto y alegan que provoca afectadas y amenazadas por la national public. But the effects of desencanto y destruccion." 24 mineria del oro." Mimeo, 1999. mining cannot be kept secret from Anexion (AprilIMay 1998). Resumenes de Actas. "48 Sesiones de the communities who are expropri- AQYLASA. "Analisis del agua en la Municipalidad de Abangarees. ated and burdened with ill health Lagunas de Lamas, Matapalo, 26 de Febrero 1998 aa 25 de Enero and degraded environments. Abangares, 1997. de 1999." Frente del Pacifico de Costa Rican women and men, with Balbina, Gonzales . Email commu- Oposici6n a la Mineria del Oro, the support of local municipalities, nication, March 23, 2002. 1999. are no longer silent. They are on the Blanco, Marta. Personal interview Solano, Monserrat. "Minera streets, defending their rights to clean summer 200 1. abandona plan en San Carlos. Las water and a secure livelihood. In Fundacion Coyoche. "Mina Crucitas no lleno expectativas" La their battle against mining, women Macacona: Un Libro Abierto que Nacion May 7, 1998. have uncovered the colonial rela- Todos Debemos Leer" Septem- Torres, Sonia. Personal interview tions of sustainable development in ber, 1977. summer 200 1. the alliances between their "national" Hernandez, Carlos. "Sancarlenos government and international min- repudiaron la mineria." La Nacion, ingcapital. At the same time, women March 23,2002. have shown that politics is not sepa- Isla, Ana. "An Environmental Femi- rate from subsistence and everyday nistAnalysisofCanadaICosta Rica ABOUT THE ARTISTS life. By confronting corporations' Debt-for-Nature Investment: A harassment and court actions, women Case Study of Intensifying active against mining have empow- Commodification." Unpublished Brenda Cranney is a writer and ered and united local community Ph.D. dissertation, Ontario Insti- artist living and working in To- members as well as local municipali- tute for Studies in Education of ronto. She uses photography as an ties against the perpetrators of griev- the University of Toronto, 2000. integral part of her research. Her ous wrongdoing. Costa Rican wom- La Croix, Pattie. "Open to Negotia- book, Local Environment and en's courageous confrontation against tions. Mining Companies and Lived Experience: The Mountain Canadian mining corporations sug- Communities Come to the Ta- Women of Himachal Pradesh, gests to us that local and interna- ble." IDRC Reports. 2000-2001 The was published by Sage in 2001. tional communities can be united Year in Review. Ottawa: IDRC, against corporate globalization. In- 2000-200 1. Gail Geltner is an artist and illuc- i ternally, women are building resist- La Voz de la Pampa. "Municipalidad trator working in Toronto. ance. Internationally, they request se Opone a Mineria de Oro" Oc- solidarity from Canadian women, toberINovember, 1998. Jennifer Moreau has worked as a 1 especially middle-class women whose Mining Magazine March 1992. frontlineactivistat VancouverRape 1 stocks, mutual funds, and pension Pacific National Front (Frente del Reliefand Women j Shelterfor the I funds directly contribute to the ex- Pacifico de Oposicion a la Miniera pastjveyears. She is currently trav- i ploitation of nature in Costa Rica. de Oro). "Empresa Minera elling in Europe. By pressuring investors in Canada, Obtiene Estatus de Zona Franca by writing to the Canadian govern- en Costa Rica" Pamphlet, July 30, Rochelle Rubinstein is a Toronto ment and by exposing the fallacy of 200 1a. printmaker, painter, fabric and "sustainable development," Cana- Pacific National Front (Frente del book artist. Her work is exhibited dian women can join their Costa Pacifico de Oposicion a la Miniera internationally and can be found Rican sisters in their struggle for a de Oro). "Inicia Juicio de Empresa in the collections of the Museum of just and healthy world. Minera Contra Regidora Munici- Modern Art and the Irish Museum pal." Pamphlet,August 13,2001b. ofModern Art, among others. Her Ana Zsla is a member of Toronto Plan General de Uso de la Tierra, special interest is community art Womenfor a Just and Healthy Phnet. Vol. 11. Sintesis, Diagnosticos and andshe hasficilitated manyprojects This paper was written as part of her Pronosticos Sectoriales, prepared by with battered women and women post-doctoral research awarded by the Arenal Conservation Area, 1993. with eating disorders. She is the Social Sciences and Humanities Re- Pizarro Elizabeth. "Impactos de la mother of three. search Council (SSHRC), Canada. Mineria en la Salud. Ministerio de Salud,hea Rectora deAbangares." Shannon WaM is an artist and References Speech, 1998. activist workingandliving in Mon- ,1 Position Paper. "Posicion de las treal. ~ "Abangarenos se oponen a mineria a comunidades costarricenses

154 CANADIAN WOMAN STUDIESILES CAHIERS DE LA FEMME