By Angelica Pago
She lauded the efforts of the
small-scale miners in Kalinga in pushing for mercury-free mining practise in
the province. The use of mercury was banned in the province since 2012.
(63)
915-9260371/angelica@bantoxics.org
QUEZON CITY - The co-coordinator
of the United Nations’ Environment Programme’s (UNEP) artisanal and small-scale
mining partnership lead expressed her admiration to the small scale miners in
Kalinga for their efforts in doing away with mercury use in small scale mining in
the province.
Susan Egan Keane, a senior
environmental analyst from the New York-based Natural Resources Defence Council,
one of the leading environmental groups in the United States, even called the
Kalinga small-scale miners ‘pioneers’ as she addressed the participants of the
Kalinga Provincial Summit on Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining held in Tabuk
City.
“It will be difficult and you will
face many challenges because you are pioneers. You lead and pave the way for
the better future of your children and your province,” Keane said.
But apart from this, she also
called on the national government to help the small scale miners in their
transition to mercury-free mining techniques.
Keane discussed the Mercury Treaty
and its impacts on the lives and livelihood of small scale miners around the
globe. The Mercury Treaty – also called the Minamata Convention on Mercury –
provides controls and
reductions across a range of products, processes and industries where mercury
is used, released or emitted.
“Miners need
help in making transition to mercury-free mining techniques, and the government
who signed the treaty are compelled to do so,” Keane said.
The treaty
will be open to ratification this coming October in Minamata, Japan. Minamata
is the place where the first major outbreak of mercury poisoning was
documented. The disease is now known as Minamata Poisoning.
Mercury use
was expressly prohibited in the Executive Order 79, which was signed last year by President Benigno Aquino III aiming to
rationalize and strengthen the mining sector in the country.
Kalinga is
one of the seven most important provinces in the country involved in artisanal
and small scale gold mining. There is a large
number of small-scale mining operations in the province, particularly in Pasil
and Balbalan. Small scale mining is a source of living for approximately 5000
miners in the area, and was a major contributor to mercury pollution of the
Chico River.
Mercury use
in ASGM was known to be one of the highest contributors in mercury pollution in
the atmosphere. It was also known to have significant negative effects in the
environment and people’s health.
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).
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