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Stuart Kirsch – Social Impact of the Ok Tedi Mine on the Yonggom Villages

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Stuart Kirsch – Social Impact of the Ok Tedi Mine on the Yonggom Villages SOCIAL IMPACT OF THE OK TEDI MINE ON THE YONGGOM VILLAGES OF THE NORTH FLY, 1992 OK-FLY SOCIAL MONITORING PROJECT REPORT No. 5 for Ok Tedi Mining Limited Original publication details: Reprint publication details: Stuart Kirsch Stuart Kirsch Department of Sociology and Anthropology Department of Anthropology Mount Holyoke College 207A West Hall South Hadley 550 East University Ave. Massachusetts University of Michigan USA 01075-1461 Ann Arbor, MI 48109 USA General editor: General editor: John Burton Pacific Social Mapping John Burton 49 Wentworth Avenue Resource Management in Asia-Pacific CANBERRA ACT 2604 Program Australia Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies Unisearch PNG Pty Ltd Australian National University Box 320 UNIVERSITY ACT 0200 Australia NCD Papua New Guinea July 1993 reprinted October 2004 Author’s Note This report was written for Unisearch, PNG Pty Ltd under contract to Ok Tedi Mining Limited. It was originally produced as Volume No. 5 of the Ok-Fly Social Monitoring Programme. So much has been written about the Ok Tedi Mine, located in the Star Mountains of Western Province, that only a brief introduction is necessary. Managed by Ok Tedi Mining Limited (OTML) on behalf of an international consortium of companies, this open-cut copper and gold mine was the largest mine in operation in Papua New Guinea when this research was carried out in 1992. Readers unfamiliar with the history of the mine may wish to consult Pintz (1984) and Jackson (1982, 1992). Anthropologist David Hyndman (e.g. 1991) has written extensively about the mine, particularly its impact on the Wopkaimin, one of a number of indigenous peoples affected by its operations. The great volume of work on the mine by economists reflects the importance of the Ok Tedi Mine in the national economy of Papua New Guinea, particularly since the closing of the Panguna copper mine in Bougainville. Interested persons may wish to consult Howard (1991), Thompson and MacWilliam (1992) and Connell and Howitt (1991) for a range of perspectives on the place of mining in the political economy of the region. The major shortcoming of existing research on the Ok Tedi Mine has been the lack of investigation of its impact on the people who live downstream along the Ok Tedi and Fly Rivers (although see Kirsch 1989). This report, along with the work of my colleague John Burton (1993a and 1993b), represents an attempt to rectify this omission. My knowledge of the region is based on two years of doctoral dissertation research from 1987- 199 among the Yonggom, one of the groups of people living downstream from the mine (see Kirsch 1991). I returned to the area in 1992 when Unisearch asked me to carry out social monitoring and mapping exercises among the Yonggom living along the Ok Tedi and Fly Rivers. This area has suffered the greatest adverse impact from the mine apart from the excavation site on Mt. Fubilan. Yet the people living here have largely been ignored and the compensation that they have received for the damage that the mine has caused to their environment and resources has been woefully inadequate. The Yonggom have their own representatives in provincial and national governments, write their own letters of protest and voice their own complaints, and have even established working relationships with international conservation organizations. There is no need for me to speak on their behalf. Nonetheless, I believe that anthropologists have something valuable to contribute to debates about the social and environmental costs of resource extraction projects like the Ok Tedi Mine. In this case, systematic collection of information about a range of social, cultural and ecological issues makes it possible to evaluate the consequences of the mine’s policies. I think that most readers will agree that the material assembled here supports the assertion that change is needed in the way that OTML handles disposal of its waste materials as well as the way that it manages its relations with the communities located downstream from the mine. In the time that has elapsed since the first draft of this document was distributed, OTML has begun to implement some of its recommendations. I hope that this report will have a positive influence on the policies affecting the people of the Ok Tedi and Fly Rivers. Stuart Kirsch South Hadley, Massachusetts (U.S.A.) March 25, 1994 - ii - FOREWORD Fieldwork for The Yonggom people of the Ok Tedi and Moian Census Divisions was undertaken for OTML’s Environment Department over a period of three weeks in July/August 1992. The consultant, Stuart Kirsch of Mount Holyoke College, is a fluent Yonggom speaker having spent nearly two years at Dome village, 1987-89, doing research for his doctoral thesis. This was his first return visit to his field area after an absence of three years. This volume is the fifth in a series of reports for the Ok-Fly Social Monitoring Project. Colin Filer’s Baseline documentation. OFSMP Report No. 1 and my own The Ningerum LGC area. OFSMP Report No. 2, appeared in 1991. Kirsch’s new work means that our the coverage of the project now extends south to the Binge River of the ‘border bulge’, a distance of some 145km from the starting point at the lower Ok Tedi bridge, Tabubil. My Advance report summary for Ningerum-Awin area study. OFSMP Report No. 3 and David King’s Statistical geography of the Fly River Development Trust. OFSMP Report No. 4 were completed earlier in 1993 and my Development in the North Fly and Ningerum-Awin Area Study. OFSMP Report No. 6 is timed to appear concurrently with the present volume. Kirsch’s survey includes all but two of the Yonggom villages on the Papua New Guinea side of the border (the exceptions are on Lake Murray). He preceded me into the field in 1992 by two weeks, so that in his third week I was able to accompany him on visits to Kungim, Kungembit and Ambaga villages. We also had the useful opportunity to compare observations in the field together. John Burton Editor - iii - TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter 1 Scope and methods ..........................................................................................1 Scope of inquiries ..................................................................................................................................... 1 The study area ........................................................................................................................................... 3 Chapter 2 Zone One: The Fly River between Kiunga and the Ok Tedi.......................8 Kawok village ........................................................................................................................................... 9 Moian village .......................................................................................................................................... 10 Ulawas village......................................................................................................................................... 13 Summary ................................................................................................................................................. 14 Chapter 3 Zone Two: The Fly River from the Ok Tedi to Binge River .....................16 Overview................................................................................................................................................. 16 Erekta village .......................................................................................................................................... 16 Membok village ...................................................................................................................................... 18 Karemgu village...................................................................................................................................... 20 Kukujaba village ..................................................................................................................................... 20 Summary ................................................................................................................................................. 21 Chapter 4 Zone Three: Villages west of the Ok Birim Junction.................................23 Overview................................................................................................................................................. 23 Kungim village........................................................................................................................................ 23 Kungembit village................................................................................................................................... 25 Ambaga village ....................................................................................................................................... 26 Summary ................................................................................................................................................. 27 Chapter 5 Zone Four: Ok Tedi River villages ..............................................................29 Komokpin village.................................................................................................................................... 30 Yogi village............................................................................................................................................. 31 Dome village..........................................................................................................................................
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