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WORLDWIDE
FOREST/BIODIVERSITY CAMPAIGN NEWS
Columbian
Gold Mining Threatens Rich Pacific Coast Rainforest
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Forest
Networking a Project of Ecological Enterprises
May 9,
1995
OVERVIEW
& SOURCE
Following
is an item posted in econet's biodiversity conference
which
provides details of the rapid gold mining increase on the
Pacific
Coast of South America, particularly Columbia.
The
Network
of Organization of Black Communities of the Pacific
estimates
that up to 80,000 hectares of Columbian rainforest are
being
destroyed per year by industrial gold mining.
Black
communities
are asking the government to put a stop to all illegal
mining activities.
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/*
Written 10:38 AM May 9, 1995 by aescobar in igc:biodiversity
*/
/*
---------- "Columbian Gold Mining" ---------- */
May 1, 1995
To whom
it may concern:
Enclosed
you will find information regarding a situation that
calls
for your immediate attention and concerted action. This
situation
concerns the threat posed by industrial gold mining on
the
local communities and the biological diversity of the Pacific
Coast
rainforest of Colombia. As you may
know, there has been
increasing
attention given to this region because it constitutes
one of
the richest repositories of genetic, species, and
ecosystems
diversity in the world. In addition,
the Pacific
Coast
is home to several hundred thousand people of indigenous
and
African descent, and has witnessed growing cultural and
political
activity on the part of organized indigenous and Afro-
Colombian
groups in defense of their territories and cultures in
recent
years. It is, in fact, the organization of black
communities
that are attempting to reach out to environmental,
human
rights, and indigenous rights organizations throughout the
world
in order to make this situation visible and elicit support
for
their struggles. We hope you will be
able to respond to this
call in
a timely fashion.
Sincerely,
Arturo
Escobar
Department
of Anthropology
Machmer
Hall
University
of Massachusetts
Amherst,
MA 0l003, USA.
fax:
(413) 545-9494
e-mail:
aescobar@anthro.umass.edu
Destruction
of the Colombian Pacific Coast rainforest by
industrial
gold mining on the rise. Rights of
local indigenous
and
black communities violated.
The Pacific
Coast region of Colombia --situated between the
westernmost
chain of the Andes and the Pacific Ocean, stretching
between
Panama and Ecuador-- is one of most important
repositories
of biological diversity in the world.
Destruction
of this
valuable rainforest ecosystem --inhabited mostly by black
and
indigenous communities-- has increased rapidly in recent
years,
particularly by the influx of capital in activities such
as gold
mining, african palm oil plantations, and shrimp
cultivation. The government has also launched an
ambitious
"sustainable
development" plan for the region, with international
funding,
which is opposed by local activists and organizations.
A much
smaller Biodiversity Conservation project has also been
initiated
under the sponsorship of the World Bank's Global
Environment
Facility (GEF).
One
reason for concern is the increase during the last few months
in the
number of industrial gold mining operations.
In the
southern
part of the region, these operations are funded by
capitalist
groups from Cali; there is strong indication that Cali
Cartel
money is involved as well. A recent report produced by the
Department
of National Planning of Colombia, the highest planning
body in
the country (Departamento Nacional de Planeaci"n, Plan de
Acci"n
para la Poblaci"n Afrocolombiana y Raizal, Bogot , 1995,
p. 5),
estimates that there are about 360 operations of this sort
in the
entire region, 90% of which do not have the required
governmental
permit, and are thus illegal.
Based
on various studies (see, for instance, the study prepared by
the
Biodiversity Conservation Project, La Miner!a de Oro en el
Pac!fico
Colombiano, Bogot , Proyecto Biopac!fico, 1995), the
Network
of Organization of Black Communities of the Pacific
(Proceso
de Comunidades Negras, PCN), estimates that up to 80,000
hectares
(1 hectare = 2.5 acres) are being destroyed per year by
industrial
gold mining (the heavy equipment being used removes
about
600.000 cubic meters of soil in each site, destroying about
226
hectares each year). This contributes
to the loss of
biological
diversity and the destruction of rainforest habitats,
the
state of which is already compromised by timber extraction;
it adds
significantly to the devastation of rivers through
sedimentation
and mercury contamination, affecting aquatic life
and
even the course of the rivers; and it violates the rights of
the
black and indigenous communities to control their own
territories,
leading to violence, increased economic hardship,
displacement,
and human rights abuses.
In
1993, the Colombian government approved a law (Ley 70) granting
collective
ownership rights to the black communities over the
territories
they have customarily occupied for the last two to
three-hundred
years. It is expected that about
600,000 hectares
will be
adjudicated to the local communities over the next four
years. While Ley 70 considers the suspension of all
other land
concessions
and the granting of licenses for mining operations,
the
fact is that these activities continue to take place
throughout
the region often times with the tacit approval of the
authorities
in charge of monitoring the use of natural resources.
Since 1993,
the organizations of black communities have asked the
government
to put a stop to all of these illegal mining
activities. Despite the recent creation of the Ministry
of
Environment,
industrial mining is on the increase.
This situation
is not
only impairing the rich biodiversity of the region, but
endangering
the rights and lives of the local communities, as
repression
and force are being used to dissuade local peoples from
protesting
the situation.
The
Network of Organization of Black Communities (PCN) is
launching
an international campaign to address this situation as
one of
the primary means to pressure the government to intervene.
The PCN
asks of all of those interested in environmental,
indigenous,
and human rights issues to write to the following
institutions
expressing their concern about this serious
situation,
in particular the destruction caused by gold mining,
and to
voice their support for the demands being made by the
local
communities:
Cecilia
L"pez Jorge E.
Cock
Ministerio
del Medio Ambiente Ministerio de
Minas y Energ!a
Edificio
Avianca Avda. El
Dorado
Calle
16 No. 6-66 CAN
Bogot Bogot
Fax:
(57-1) 336-3984 Fax:
(57-1) 222-3651
Sr.
Ernesto Samper
Presidente
de la Rep#blica
Carrera
8 No. 7-26
Bogot
Fax:
(57-1) 286-7434
286-6842
If
possible, send copies and messages of solidarity to:
Organizaci"n
de Comunidades Negras de Buenaventura (OCN)
c/o
Fundaci"n Habla/Scribe
Calle
9B No. 20-28
Cali,
Colombia
Fax:
(57-2) 558-3976.
The
English version of this communique has been prepared by
Arturo
Escobar, Dept. of Anthropology, University of
Massachusetts,
Amherst, MA 0l003, in conjunction with the OCN of
Buenaventura.
E-mail: aescobar@anthro.umass.edu. Fax:
(413) 545-
9494.
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You are
encouraged to utilize this information for personal
campaign
use; including writing letters, organizing campaigns and
forwarding. All efforts are made to provide accurate,
timely
pieces;
though ultimate responsibility for verifying all
information
rests with the reader. Check out our
Gaia Forest
Conservation
Archives at URL=
http://forests.lic.wisc.edu/forests/gaia.html
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(best way to contact)-> gbarry@forests.org
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