Not all that glitters is desirable
By Wasant Techawongtham : Deputy News Editor for Environment and Urban Affairs, Bangkok Post. 26oct2001
Thailand has struck gold. For a people that take the lottery very, very seriously, this is nothing short of a national dream come true.
The news of the gold find reminds us of the Japanese treasure in a Kanchanaburi cave. That had the whole nation excited. And just like he did with the mythical Japanese treasure, PM Thaksin Shinawatra has let himself get so carried away that he practically gave unconditional support to the mining of the gold.
And why not? The news could not have come at a more opportune time. The economy has been in the doldrums for some time, and, with the world with the war jitters, there is no prospect of a recovery any time soon.
Mining of the gold will create jobs for the locals, reduce gold imports and generally help boost the nation's treasury. Thousands of villagers are already digging in a forest reserve in Phichit province. The gold rush there so far has resulted in more than a hundred deaths and has degraded the forest almost beyond redemption.
Here he goes again, you might think. He's going to rain on the parade with his claptrap about environmental damage from mining.
By way of a response, I'd like to show you around Saraburi where rock quarries have all but destroyed the air and peace over wide areas. I'd like to introduce you to the Karens living by Klity Creek next to Thung Yai Naresuan wildlife sanctuary, its water laced heavily with lead by a mining company, and the people facing uncertain death.
I also would like you to meet the families of villagers who were murdered for opposing mining activities because they knew their communities would no longer know peace. Pitak Tonwuth was shot dead in Phitsanulok on May 17. He played a key role in fighting against rock quarry operations by Anumat Kan Sila and Rockstone companies. Laud Duangphoota, Nan Sukwan, Som Homphrom and kamnan Thongmuan Khamjaem were gunned down in Nong Bua Lamphu between 1993 and 1999. They were among protesters opposed to a rock quarry in Suwan Khuha district.
None of the murders have been solved.
All this and more is damning evidence that the Mineral Resources Department, which is responsible for granting mining concessions, is incapable _ perhaps unwilling _ of keeping the environment and communities safe from harm.
Gold is much more precious than rock, and its extraction is potentially much more harmful to the earth; cyanide is an essential chemical in the extraction process. Its threat to the environment is made even more acute as few people are likely to oppose it.
Gold deposits are believed to be scattered throughout the country, many on forest land. Concessionaires will need approval from the Forest Department if they want to mine there. But with the prime minister showing such great enthusiasm, the department will be pressed hard to grant its approval even if it has reason to fear consequences for the forest ecology.
Gold mining might be desirable in helping the economy if we could be confident that, one, it would cause minimum environmental damage; two, the forests would be restored once the mining is finished; and three, violators would be severely punished.
The problem is that the bureaucrats in charge have done nothing to build this confidence. Even if we allow ourselves to be convinced otherwise, not every forest area should be open to mining concessions; they are simply too ecologically sensitive and precious.
State authorities may beg to differ. But in the end, we will have to decide what we as a nation value more _ a mineral that one day will be depleted, or the forests that one day may give us invaluable, and renewable, discoveries in terms of food, wildlife and rare drugs.
| |
