Mining contracts should include ecological clause
By Ati Nurbaiti
VANCOUVER, Canada (JP): Participants in a one-day talk on the environment here Thursday have demanded that contracts of work in mining include clauses guaranteeing minimum exploitation of the environment and surrounding residents.
The participants from various countries were part of a "sustainability forum" which also included talks on fisheries, agriculture and forestry. The discussion was one of several under the so-called People's Summit on the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum.
The summit began Nov. 17 with talks on the "Critical aspects of APEC" and "Canadian arms trade to the Asia-Pacific," and will run until Nov. 24. It was first held in Kyoto during the third APEC forum in Osaka, Japan.
Participants of the annual event, aimed at exposing what they say are "missing agendas on APEC", represent many non- governmental organizations and various groups.
A facilitator at the mining talks, Nedjo Rogers, said despite sustainable development already being on the APEC agenda, "so far there has been little attention to the effects of mining".
Rogers, a founder of the Canada-based Environmental Mining Council of British Columbia, said the proposals listed in a statement would be forwarded to the Group of Experts on Mineral and Energy Exploration and Development. The group, founded in March 1996, is convened by the APEC regional energy cooperation working group.
Halid Mohammad of the Indonesian Forum for Environment, Walhi, said with 400 companies which have been awarded new contracts of work in Indonesia, "the effect on the environment and people would be devastating".
He said the government should turn to smaller scale mining, at the cost of shared revenue, to avoid more damage.
Halid cited the case of a company involving British and Australian investment, which he said would pull out in 2003 as gold deposits at East Kalimantan's mining site would soon be depleted.
"When they leave, who will be responsible for the environmental damage?" he said, referring to tailings and other effects of mining activities. Locals have frequently protested by building road blocks, he said.
The statement included the demand that "governments enact sanctions to stop companies from practicing ... double standards".
Rogers said Canada's association of mining companies have a code of ethics to ensure all Canadian companies live up to a set of standards at all sites in which they operate.
But at the same time, they have sent the message that if they are not allowed what they want to do (in Canada), they will go elsewhere to invest in countries where labor is cheaper and environment rules are less strict, Rogers said.