COMMUNITIES OCCUPY BISHIMETALS MINING INSTALLATIONS - DEMAND AN
END TO MINING PROJECT
On Monday the 12th of May, fifty people from seven local communities,
representing 225 local families, peacefully occupied the installations of
the Japanese Mining Company Bishimetals and the state mining institution
CODIGEM. The installations, which are part of a proposed mine, are located
in the forest of Junin, in the South-West of the Province of Imbabura; the
area forms part of the buffer zone for the Cotocachi-Cayapas reserve, and
the internationally recognised Choco' region.
The reason for the occupation was the lack of consultation between
Mitsubishi and CODIGEM, and the communities. The previous Saturday the
President of CODIGEM (Corporacion de Desarrollo e investigacion
Metalurgico-Minera) had been invited to talk about the proposed mine with
community members in the village of Junin, but failed to show up. Up to
the present time, neither CODIGEM nor Bishimetals has carried on any type
of conversation or consultation with the local people, about the social or
environmental desireability of mining in the area.
The Junin organisations are complaining that the Bishimetals project does
not have their prior approval and is therefore being developed "outside
the national mining law". The communities are demanding an immediate and
definitive end to any exploration and possible exploitation of copper in
the Junin region. They cite the impacts indicated in the project's
Environmental Impact Statement such as:
* The displacement of 100 families from 4 communities.
* Deforestation and consequent desertification. More than 4,500 hectares
of mainly virgin forest will be impacted.
* Soil erosion in over 1,300 hectares.
* Threats to more than 15 endangered species
* Increases in crime.
Accion Ecologica, with whom the communities are working, also opposes the
project, not only because of its local impacts, but because of the impacts
mining has at the national level. It is expected that the present drive to
expand mining in Ecuador, initiated by the Ecuadorian Government, with the
help, and prompting, of the World Bank, will:
* reduce capacity for food self sufficiency.
* severely affect the conservation of bio-diversity and protected areas.
* pollute important watersheds due to the geographical position of Ecuador
at the headwaters of major river systsems such as the Amazon.
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LETTERS OF SUPPORT TO SAVE THE COMMUNITIES AND FOREST OF JUNIN.
We are asking you to please send a letter of support for the position of
the communities, asking for an end to the Junin project, to:
Dr. Raul Baca Carbo,
Ministro de Energia y Minas,
Santa Prisca 223/225,
Quito Ecuador.
Fax 593-2-502092
with a copy to:
The General Manager
Mitsubishi Materials Corp.
5-1 Ohtemachi 1 - Chome,
Chiyoda-ku, (box 184, Central PO),
Tokyo 100, Japan.
Fax: 3-5252-5270/1
Tel: 3-5252-5200/1
Sr. Marcos Lima Aravena
Presidente Ejecutivo
CODELCO Fx.en Chile,
Huerfanos 1270, Santiago de Chile
Fax: 56-2-690 3288
Ivonne Ramos,
Presidenta, Accion Ecologica,
118 Paez y Patria
Edificio Flacso 3er Piso,
Quito Ecuador.
Fax 593-2-543-344
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BACKGROUND
In December of last year, the press announced the discovery of
large deposits of copper and other minerals in Junin, situated in
the Province of Imbabura, on the western flanks of the Ecuadorian
Andes. The area has been under exploration for the past five
years by the Japanese mining company Mitsubishi, together with
the state mining company, CODIGEM (part of the Ministry of Energy
and Mines). Apart from Bishimetals, the Chilean Trans-national
mining company CODELCO has also recently expressed interest in
investing in the proposed mine.
The Junin mining project is located in one of the world's most
biologically diverse areas, the forests belonging to the zone
known as the Choco', which Ecuador shares with Colombia. The area
is also one of those most threatened by deforestation, Ecuador
having only 12% of these unique forests remaining. According to
local calculations, the Cordillera de Toisan, in which Junin is
located, is home to dozens of threatened species, which will have
their habitats severely affected if the roads for the extraction
of the minerals are built.
The Environmental Impact Study (EIS) whose goal is to study the
exisiting social and environmental conditions in the area, and to
predict the probable impacts of the project has identified the
following problems:
* Major deforestation. Forest loss which will lead to
desertification, climate changes, and alterations in the
vegatation of the area (p.130)
* Soil erosion.
- Area of the open pit mine 200 hactares
- Mine road 225 hectares
- Tailings dam area 221 hectares
- Waste dam area 664 hectares
- Mining plant 41 hectares
TOTAL = 1,351 Hectares directly affected by erosion
* Impacts in the Cotocachi Cayapas reserve due to the fact that
part of the mining area is located in the park's buffer zone.
* Relocation of 100 families. The operation of an open pit mine
forsees the relocation of families from 4 communities (Junin, La
Libertad, Cerro Pelado, y Barcelona).
* Impacts in primary forests. The EIS forsees impacts in more
than 4,500 hectares, the major part of which are primary forests
and areas of great geographical variation, which protect
thousands more hectares of watershed.
* Flora and Fauna. Apart from the impacts to the primary forests
themselves, the project will affect endangered species such as:
the Oso Anteojos and the Gallo de Pea Andino, the Piquilaminado
Tucan, the Yumbo, the Jaguar, the Ocelote, the Jaguarundi, the
Spider Monkey, the Howler Monkey, and the Pacarana, amongst
others.
* Pollution due to the metals found together with Copper such as:
Lead, arsenic, and zinc. It is forseen that these metals will
pollute the land, air and water of the area, and will enter the
food chain, with impacts on both animals and humans.
* Increase in crime. This impact (p.132), will be caused by the
increase in population as a direct consequence of the creation of
a town, to be named Limon, which will have around 5,000
inhabitats. The vast majority of these new inhabitants will come
from other areas of the country, and will create both social
impacts and exert further pressure on the local ecosystems (i.e.
deforestation, hunting, and use of other natural resources).
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South and Meso American Indian Rights Center (SAIIC)
P.O. Box 28703
Oakland CA, 94604
Phone: (510)834-4263 Fax: (510)834-4264
Email: saiic@igc.apc.org
Office: 1714 Franklin Street, 3rd Floor, Oakland
Home Page: http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/nativeweb/abyayala/orgs/saiic/
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