On World Environment Day, Kalinga small-scale miners promise to protect the environment of Kalinga; pledge to uplift standards for the sector

By Angelica Pago
(63) 915-9260371/angelica@bantoxics.org

 

QUEZON CITY - In time with the celebration of the World Environment Day, small-scale miners promise to ‘regulate their own’ to protect the environment of Kalinga and to uplift the standards for small-scale mining in the province.

This was expressed in a declaration signed by all participating small-scale miners, tribal leaders, representatives of local government units and agencies on the last day of the Kalinga Provincial Summit on Artisanal and Small Scale Mining held in Tabuk City, Kalinga.

“Uphold the protection of our environment and the health of our people in the pursuit of development as defined by, and truly beneficial to, the people of Kalinga,” the declaration said.

While promising to protect the environment of Kalinga, and affirmed their commitment to eliminating the use of mercury in all mining activities in the province. The province of Kalinga has earlier banned the use of mercury in all small scale mining activities within its jurisdiction.

The miners all agreed to submit to ‘self-regulation’ in the area of small-scale mining to meet the best standards for the sector by taking steps in following certain provisions in Executive Order 79, particularly the provision that bans the use of mercury in small scale mining.

While the small scale miners promised to do their part in policing their own sector, they expressed their apprehension over some sections of the executive order.

EO 79 was signed last year by President Benigno Aquino III aiming to rationalize and strengthen the mining sector in the country.

“EO 79 undermines all existing and future opportunities for the artisanal and small scale gold miners and for local government units to move towards progress,” the declaration said.

“It makes it unreasonably difficult for the legitimization of artisanal and small scale mining and the establishment of minahang bayan in some areas and effectively removes this opportunity in other areas.”

The executive order states that while existing mining operations will be allowed to continue, the government will be suspending the granting of new mineral agreements until existing mining laws are amended. 

Except for two special permits, which expired on August 2012, no permits have been issued for small scale mining in Kalinga. There were pending applications for small-scale mining permits but processing was discontinued because of the moratorium on the issuance of ECCs and permits, as indicated in the executive order.

There is a large number of small-scale mining operations in the province of Kalinga particularly in Pasil and Balbalan. Small scale mining is a source of living for approximately 5000 miners in the area. Although considered illegal, small scale mining operations continue to thrive and there were no attempts by the authorities to stop small scale mining activities.

ASGM summits are one of the activities conducted by BAN Toxics to push for the eradication of the use of mercury in small-scale mining by capacitating small scale miners in the countryside. The summit also gathers representatives from the national government, concerned agencies, and small scale miners and workers to bring out issues and concerns on the small-scale mining sector.

The Kalinga ASGM Summit is made possible through the support of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), Dialogos, Global Environmental Fund, University of Copenhagen, Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS), and the International Center for Occupational, Environment, and Public Health (ICOEPH) in partnership with the provincial government of Kalinga, Department of Health (DOH), and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

BAN Toxics! is an independent non-government environmental organization focused on the advancement of environmental justice, children's health, and toxics elimination. Working closely with government agencies, partner communities and other NGOs in both the local and international levels, BAN Toxics endeavors to reduce and eliminate the use of harmful toxins through education campaigns, training and awareness-raising, and policy-building and advocacy programs. 

Declaration of
Kalinga Artisanal and Small-scale Miners, LGU representatives and Stakeholders conceived during the Kalinga Provincial Summit on Artisanal and Small-scale Gold Mining

3-4 June 2013, Golden Berries Hotel and Convention Center, Tabuk City, Kalinga

We the undersigned artisanal and small scale gold miners (ASGM), representatives of thelocal government units of Balbalan, Pasil, and the provincial government of Kalinga, ASGM community members, concerned individuals and stakeholders:

AFFIRM, the positive contributions of the ASGM sector in terms of livelihood and local community development especially in rural areas of the province;

AWARE, of the mounting pressures on the ASGM sector to improve our environmental and social performance, which includes the elimination of mercury use;

BELIEVE, the importance of development at the community level as the engine that will lead to genuine economic development for the country; and

AFFIRM, the need for active dialogue and cooperation among ASGM miners and communities with local government units as a critical cog in local development and peace.

As we conclude our two-day provincial summit, we collectively raise to the national government the following pressing issues that impact the LGUs of Kalinga, its communities and small-scale miners:

-          EO 79 undermines all existing and future opportunities for the artisanal and small scale gold miners and for local government units to move towards progress. It makes it unreasonably difficult for thelegitimization of artisanal and small scale mining and the establishmentof minahangbayan in some areas  and effectively removes this opportunity in other areas

-          We are also critical of the DENR’s policy of area status clearance as it favors large scale mining.

-          We question the legitimacy of the Philippine Mining Development Corporation’s claim over the defunct BatongBuhay Gold Mines, Inc. as it affects small scale minerscurrently operating in the area

-          We urge relevant authorities to resolve the false claim by PMDC over BatongBuhay and institute a fair, independent, unbiased, transparent, and participatory process that once and for all amicably resolve this lingering stalemate over Batong-Buhay.

-          We believe that any meaningful progress to rural development means the immediate amendment of EO 79 to one that follows a rationalframework that is democratically formulated with thegenuine and effective participation of the local government units, miners and stakeholders of Kalinga and other mining locales.

For our part, we,thesmall-scale miners,representatives of the LGUs and the stakeholders of Kalinga commit to:

-          Uphold the protection of our environment and the health of our people in the pursuit of development as defined by, and truly beneficial to, the people of Kalinga.

-          Continue our drive to eliminate the use of mercury in all mining activities in the province

-          Strengthen our efforts at self-regulation in the area of small-scale mining to meet the best standards for the sector;

-          Engage the national government to advance and elevate the small-scale mining profession and interests;

-          Build local economies, especially in poor and depressed areas, that will lead towards real and community-driven development in our province;

-          Encourage our small-scale miners to comply and honor their obligation under RA 7076 to sell their produce to the BangkoSentralngPilipinasor their authorized buyers.

Lastly, we recognize and express our profound gratitude to the effort of the BAN Toxics!.