Opposition to Experimental Seabed Mining continues in Papua New Guinea.
I am sharing the views against experimental seabed mining by my fellow country men and women including two parliamentarians.
Opposition to Experimental Seabed Mining from various groups and communities in Papua New Guinea continue unabated. Recently (The National 13th June 2014. p.33) groups of people from Oro and Sumkar put out an advertisement rejecting Experimental Seabed Mining in Papua New Guinea. This was endorsed by their members of parliament Ken Fairweather (Member for Sumkar-Karkar) and Gary Juffa (Governor for Oro). The text of their opposition is reproduced hereon.
People of Oro and Sumkar reject Experimental Seabed Mining
Experimental seabed mining is environmentally and socially irresponsible, economically unjustified and probably illegal.
Experimental seabed mining cannot be allowed in Papua New Guinea.
The people of Oro Province and the Sumkar electorate support the people of Papua New Guinea and the Pacific in rejecting plans for experimental seabed mining in the Bismark Sea.
20,000 signatures were affixed to a petition to Mining Minister Byron Chan in October 2012 representing communities around PNG's coastal areas! They have been ignored! WHY!?? We promised to listen to our people, why are we ignoring them!??
In fact, the majority of elected leaders oppose seabed mining but remain silent. We urge them to speak up.We did not enter parliament to IGNORE our people, we are there to LISTEN to them and take on board their concerns! We are there to be the GUARDIANS of the gate! To protect and promote PNG interests! This is not in the interest of PNG! We cannot endanger the livelihoods of our coastal communities for greed.!
Environmentally irresponsible
The potential environmental impacts of experimental seabed mining are simply unknown. Huge robotic vehicles will chew up the sea floor, destroying unexplored habitats and endemic and rare species. While the open-cut strip mining will produce huge plumes of dust and rock. The hydrothermal vents that will be mined are one of the rarest and most unique ecosystems known to science and are only just beginning to be explored and understood. Each vent site and its ecosystem is unique.
Other environmental concerns include:
I am sharing the views against experimental seabed mining by my fellow country men and women including two parliamentarians.
Opposition to Experimental Seabed Mining from various groups and communities in Papua New Guinea continue unabated. Recently (The National 13th June 2014. p.33) groups of people from Oro and Sumkar put out an advertisement rejecting Experimental Seabed Mining in Papua New Guinea. This was endorsed by their members of parliament Ken Fairweather (Member for Sumkar-Karkar) and Gary Juffa (Governor for Oro). The text of their opposition is reproduced hereon.
People of Oro and Sumkar reject Experimental Seabed Mining
Experimental seabed mining is environmentally and socially irresponsible, economically unjustified and probably illegal.
Experimental seabed mining cannot be allowed in Papua New Guinea.
The people of Oro Province and the Sumkar electorate support the people of Papua New Guinea and the Pacific in rejecting plans for experimental seabed mining in the Bismark Sea.
20,000 signatures were affixed to a petition to Mining Minister Byron Chan in October 2012 representing communities around PNG's coastal areas! They have been ignored! WHY!?? We promised to listen to our people, why are we ignoring them!??
In fact, the majority of elected leaders oppose seabed mining but remain silent. We urge them to speak up.We did not enter parliament to IGNORE our people, we are there to LISTEN to them and take on board their concerns! We are there to be the GUARDIANS of the gate! To protect and promote PNG interests! This is not in the interest of PNG! We cannot endanger the livelihoods of our coastal communities for greed.!
Environmentally irresponsible
The potential environmental impacts of experimental seabed mining are simply unknown. Huge robotic vehicles will chew up the sea floor, destroying unexplored habitats and endemic and rare species. While the open-cut strip mining will produce huge plumes of dust and rock. The hydrothermal vents that will be mined are one of the rarest and most unique ecosystems known to science and are only just beginning to be explored and understood. Each vent site and its ecosystem is unique.
Other environmental concerns include:
- The impacts of light and noise from the undersea vehicles on sea creatures including whales, dolphins and our valuable tuna stocks
- Disposal on the seafloor of estimated 250,000 tones of rock and sediment
- Disposal of waste from surface vessels
- The integrity of pipelines and possible leakage
- Cumulative impacts of mining and many sites over a relatively short period of time
- Pollution from surface ships and the risks of collision or spillage
- The storage of the ore on land, transshipment and transportation to a processing facility, processing, and processing waste waste disposal.
An independent scientific assessment of the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for Solwara 1 concluded:
"It is clear that the EIS does not present sufficient information with which the PNG Government can effectively judge the project's expected impacts. Thus the EIS is judged as not fit-to-purpose. Many risks contingencies are poorly analyzed, some are not analyzed at all, and many of the baseline studies necessary to understand potential impacts have yet to be completed".
In other countries including Namibia and Vanuatu and the Northern Territory of Australia, the environmental uncertainty has led the governments to impose a moratorium on any seabed mining activity. In New Zealand the Environment Protection Agency says it is unable to approve any seabed mining as it is impossible to know what the impacts might be.
Socially irresponsible
No social impact study has been done on the possible effects of the mine on coastal communities in East New Britain and New Ireland. It is completely irresponsible for the government to licence a new mine it has no understanding of the potential social impacts.
Economically unjustifiable
The Solwara 1 mine site is expected to be exhausted in just 30 months. It is expected to provide only minimal taxes and royalties to the government and just a few dozen jobs at most to PNG nationals.
The potential economic returns do not justify the environmental risks.
Legally flawed
The proposed mining does not have the free informed prior consent of landowner communities around the proposed mining site and is in breach of their human rights.
In Papua New Guinea the ocean is just as much part of our 'mama graon' (mother land) as our mountains and our rivers. People have rights to use the sea and to harvest food from it. The government has not identified the relevant people with rights over the proposed mining site or who stand to be affected and it has not obtained their free, prior, informed consent.
In addition, the proposed experimental seabed mining will breach the well-established international law concept known as the Precautionary Principle. The Precautionary Principle dictates taking cautious approach in matters that affect the environment when there is scientific uncertainty about the negative impacts.
The Precautionary Principle is cited in the Rio Declaration and has been applied in international courts. An application of the Principle supports a moratorium on seabed mining until the risks of harm to the marine environment and coastal people are better known and understood.
The Government spent K375 million plus interests on this nonsense, money we could have used to build roads, schools and hospitals.
Finally,the people of Papua New Guinea have not been given access to the documents and information on which the government has based its decision making, nor to the contracts and agreements the government has signed. This is in breach of fundamental human rights and democratic principles.
Papua New Guinea needs leaders to stand up and protect its future, not sell PNG for a measly return engaging in any activity that has never been tested anywhere in the world, where PNG does not have the laws nor the means to verify, review and monitor the effects and consequences of such an irresponsible effort! We urge our fellow parliamentarians to listen to their people,stand up for what is right and stop this irresponsible project.
The Precautionary Principle is cited in the Rio Declaration and has been applied in international courts. An application of the Principle supports a moratorium on seabed mining until the risks of harm to the marine environment and coastal people are better known and understood.
The Government spent K375 million plus interests on this nonsense, money we could have used to build roads, schools and hospitals.
Finally,the people of Papua New Guinea have not been given access to the documents and information on which the government has based its decision making, nor to the contracts and agreements the government has signed. This is in breach of fundamental human rights and democratic principles.
Papua New Guinea needs leaders to stand up and protect its future, not sell PNG for a measly return engaging in any activity that has never been tested anywhere in the world, where PNG does not have the laws nor the means to verify, review and monitor the effects and consequences of such an irresponsible effort! We urge our fellow parliamentarians to listen to their people,stand up for what is right and stop this irresponsible project.
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