Alaska Gold Mine Draws Fire from Large Jewelry Retailers – No Dirty Gold Campaign succeeding with US Gold & Jewelry Consumers

As shoppers rush to buy last-minute Valentine's gifts, five of the nation's leading jewelry retailers - Tiffany & Co., Ben Bridge Jeweler, Helzberg Diamonds, Fortunoff, and Leber Jeweler, Inc. - today pledged their support to permanently protect Alaska's Bristol Bay watershed from large-scale metal mining, including the massive proposed Pebble gold mine.

The retailers, who had $2.2 billion in sales in 2006, took this step at the invitation of local Alaskans, who seek to protect wild salmon, clean water, and traditional Alaskan ways of life from the damaging effects of industrial metal mines.

"I am pleased to stand with others in the jewelry industry today in announcing our support for protecting Alaska's Bristol Bay watershed from large-scale mining," said Jon Bridge, Co-CEO/General Counsel of Seattle-based Ben Bridge Jeweler.

"As retail jewelers, we want to be able to tell our customers that the precious metals we use are mined responsibly -- that the materials used in the jewelry they purchase have been mined in environmentally friendly ways, respectful of the Bristol Bay salmon fishery and the communities that depend on it."

The controversial Pebble mine is highlighted in a new report released today by the No Dirty Gold consumer campaign led by EARTHWORKS and Oxfam America. The report, "Golden Rules: Making the Case for Responsible Mining," documents the toll of irresponsible mining on people, water, and wildlife at a time when soaring metals prices are driving new mining development globally. The report describes human rights violations and environmental concerns at metals mines in the United States and around the world. (To download a copy of the report, visit No Dirty Gold

The retailers are among a group of 28 jewelry retailers, representing 23 percent of U.S. jewelry sales, who have endorsed the No Dirty Gold campaign's "Golden Rules" - human rights and environmental criteria for mining. Today's announcement takes those commitments a step further.

"Some of the world's leading jewelers have recognized that the Bristol Bay watershed is a treasure worth protecting. We applaud their principled position and commitment to not source metals from areas of high conservation value," said Payal Sampat of EARTHWORKS.

The proposed Pebble mine is backed by the UK-based Anglo American, one of the world's largest metals mining companies, and Canadian firm Northern Dynasty Minerals. The Bristol Bay watershed, where the proposed mine would be located, supports the world's most productive wild salmon fishery -- which is critical to the state's economy and to the livelihood of many Alaska Native communities.

"We want to express a sincere thank you to these jewelry companies," said Bobby Andrew, a spokesperson for Nunamta Aulukestai (Caretakers of the Land), an association of eight Alaska Native corporations. "The proposed Pebble mine threatens the wild salmon fishery that has sustained the region's economy and our people for generations."

Last year, Nunamta Aulukestai and a diverse group of Alaska Native communities, commercial fishermen, businesses, and sportsmen publicly invited jewelry retailers to express support for the protection of Alaska's Bristol Bay watershed from large-scale mining. The invitation ran as a full-page ad in National Jeweler magazine. (For a copy of the ad and jeweler pledge, see Protect Bristol Bay.

Consumers today are more aware of the human and environmental costs of the goods and services they purchase than ever before. While other business sectors have responded to demand for cleaner, ethically produced goods and services - such as sustainably harvested wood products and fair trade coffee - the mining sector lags behind in terms of embracing an independent system for standards and verification. Some 100,000 consumers in more than 100 countries have signed on to the No Dirty Gold pledge, urging mining companies to provide alternatives to "dirty" gold.

"Consumers and jewelry retailers across the country have clearly signaled their desire for certified, more ethically produced metals," noted Raymond C. Offenheiser of Oxfam America. "The question is: when will mining companies step up to meet this obvious demand?"

The No Dirty Gold campaign urges mining companies to find solutions and implement best practices that can be independently verified -- at both existing and new operations. According to the campaign's new report, mining practices in places like Ghana, Indonesia, Nevada, and other parts of the world continue to pollute air and water, damage farmland and forests, and, in some parts of the world, fuel violent conflict. The report describes damaging practices at 17 metals mines around the world.

These mines include:

-- Grasberg mine in West Papua, owned by U.S.-based Freeport McMoRan, which has been linked to human rights abuses and extensive water pollution.

-- Jerritt Canyon mine in Nevada, owned by Yukon-Nevada Gold Corporation, which is a leading source of airborne mercury pollution in the U.S.

-- Bogoso/Prestea Mine in Ghana, owned by Canadian firm Golden Star Resources, which has contaminated drinking water and local fisheries with cyanide spills in violation of the industry's voluntary "Cyanide Code."

There are promising signs within the industry that some operations are responding to community concerns and consumer demands for more responsibly mined gold. For example, a number of firms have adopted a policy against dumping mine wastes in rivers, while others have publicly committed to disclosing payments made to foreign governments.

Fact sheets, report, and press-ready photos available at: http://www.nodirtygold.org/. Photos of Bristol Bay at: http://media.earthworksaction.org/objects/view.acs?object_id=11088.

U.S. Jewelry Sales, 2006

Company Sales (millions U.S. $)

Wal-Mart *-----------2,800
Sterling *-----------2,652
Zale Corp. *---------2,202
QVC * ---------------1,500
Tiffany * -----------1,326
JCPenney * ----------1,300
Sears ---------------1,100
Finlay Fine Jewelry--920
Helzberg Diamonds *--525
Fred Meyer Jewelers *495

Note: * indicates signatory to the No Dirty Gold campaign's
"Golden Rules."

2006 U.S. Jewelry Sales of Retailers Supporting Bristol Bay Protection

Retailer Sales in million $ Rank in U.S. sales

Tiffany-------1,326 5
Helzberg------525 9
Ben Bridge----250 24
Fortunoff---- 160 30
Leber ------- n/a

Note: These retailers represent $2.26 billion in U.S. jewelry sales.
Total U.S. sales in 2006 were $62 billion.

Here is the full article.

Gabriel Resources faces another set-back as Romanian court deals new blow to Canadian gold miner's plans

BUCHAREST, Jan 24 (Reuters) - Plans for Europe's largest open-cast gold mine -- a multimillion-dollar project by Canada's Gabriel -- suffered a setback on Thursday when a Romanian court ruled a local authority had improperly approved an urban plan attached to the project.

The Alba Iulia Court of Appeals ruled that decisions by a municipal body in Transylvania were procedurally flawed.

The court is expected to expand upon its reasoning in a month's time.

In the meantime, Gabriel Resources faces another hurdle to opening the Rosia Montana gold mine in central Romania in which it has invested more than $300 million. The company has faced other health and environmental concerns over the project.

A key environmental review required for the project was suspended by the environment ministry in September following a court challenge by non-governmental organisations. "The ... court ... admitted the exception of illegality for the decisions number 45 and 46 regarding urban plans issued by the local council of Rosia Montana in 2002," said court representative Cosmin Muntean.

(NGOs are becoming a real problem for the mining industry: Barrick Gold Chairman, Peter Munk complains rogue Environmental NGOs are Destroying the Mining Industry )

He said the court is expected to publish the decision together with its reasons, in the next 30 days.

"From our point of view the (court's) decision does not affect either the validity of the mining licence nor the ongoing authorization proceedings for the project," a statement from Rosia Montana Gold Corp, an arm of Gabriel, said.

"While waiting for the court of appeals decision, our company reserves the right to refrain from comment or decide a step."

Marius Liviu Harosa, a lawyer for the environmental group which challenged the validity of the urban certificate, told Reuters the court's decision may invalidate the urban certificate, therefore, scuppering the process.

Officials have said a parliamentary bill to ban the use of cyanide in mining could succeed, thus blocking the project.

Gabriel has defended the use of cyanide in mining, saying it is not cost-effective to develop Rosia Montana without it.

However, opponents of the project, including members of the ruling centrist cabinet, say cyanide is hazardous and its use could lead to a repeat of a 2000 disaster in which a Romanian mine polluted rivers that flowed into Hungary.

(See: Cyanide Leak Heads Towards Danube Killing Every Living Thing In Its Path)

Here is the full article.

Green Campaigner Uses Shame Tactics - Growing Environmental NGO Power in China Starting to Make a Difference

For a company, a brand matters the most.

Environmentalist Ma Jun, who is well aware of the dictum, has used it to pressure polluters to mend their ways.

He created a website to name and shame companies, and even local governments, that pollute the environment.

"Companies which may ignore fines or other punishments cannot afford their brands being blacklisted," Ma said Thursday.

"The pressure exerted can help stop pollution at its origin, because the public will penalize polluters by shunning their products."
On Saturday, the 39-year-old was selected as one of 50 people - including four Chinese - who could save the planet by The Guardian, a leading British newspaper, because of his green efforts in the past decade.

"The award was a surprise to me, and the honor belongs to our team," said Ma, who in 2006 set up the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs, a Beijing-based non-governmental organization with five staff members.

The awards to the four Chinese send out a message, Ma said.

"It shows that the world cares about the environment in China, and how this developing country can play a role in solving environmental problems."

The other Chinese on the list are Pan Yue, 47, vice-minister of the State Environmental Protection Administration; Jia Zhangke, 37, actor/director credited with raising public awareness of the environment; and Shi Zhengrong, 44, a scientist who owns Suntech Power, one of the world's 10 biggest solar panel producers.

Ma said: "The new interaction between the government, public, enterprises and NGOs will benefit environment protection in China."

As one of the leaders of environmental NGOs, which are estimated at about 3,000 in the country, Ma said the NGOs have made up for what the government may not be doing very well, such as keeping the public better informed about polluters.

On its part, the government has set in place a series of laws or regulations regarding the environment since 2003, which have enhanced public awareness of the environment.

These efforts have contributed significantly to climate change mitigation, he said.

Ma's website features a list of polluters based on government data - placed on two web pages widely reported by the media.

On the blacklist are more than 10,000 water-polluting enterprises and over 4,000 that pollute air.

Up to now, about 50 enterprises have approached Ma, explaining their situation and promising to clean up their act.

Eight enterprises have asked independent environmental groups to audit their environmental management system and pollution control facilities. Of them, two have been removed from the blacklist after they passed the audits.
Ma is no stranger to lobbyists from blacklisted enterprises.

"Some come and say they want to support our project. I tell them to check their pollution first."
But given the fact that 15,000 enterprises remain on the blacklist, "domestic and foreign-funded enterprises in China still have a long way to go to come clean," he said.

His goal for this year: First, to create a database that categorizes products by type and industry.

"Consumers can check online the products they want to buy and select products from clean companies."

Second, he wants to set up a new list of polluting suppliers as a reference for big companies.

"I hope big names such as Wal-Mart could one day stand up and say: 'We don't buy from polluting suppliers'."

Ma, a former researcher with Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post, published a book, China's Water Crisis, in 1999. He shifted from journalism to water protection during his field trips to polluted rivers and lakes in the 1990s.

"China has been facing rising challenges in terms of water shortages and pollution," he said.

About 400 of 600 cities lack water, and water in about 30 percent of waterways is neither drinkable nor suitable for irrigation.

About 300 million farmers do not have accesses to safe drinking water, according to government figures.

Here is the full article.

Ombudsman hails NGO scrutiny of European Union institutions

Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have a key role to play in uncovering maladministration in the EU institutions, the European Ombudsman has underlined.

"The Ombudsman relies on complaints from NGOs to help him uncover possible instances of maladministration in the EU institutions," said European Ombudsman P. Nikiforos Diamandouros.

Diamandouros was commenting following his December decisions on two complaints lodged by Polish environmental NGOs and Greenpeace.

"The institutions, in turn, profit from the active involvement of NGOs to help them rectify problems in the system," he added.

Polish NGOs Towarzystwo na rzecz Ziemi (TNZ) and Polska Zielona Siec (Polish Green Network) claimed that the European Investment Bank (EIB) failed to comply with an EU directive on environmental impact assessment during flood reconstruction and repair work in the country in 2001 and accused the EIB of failing to provide them with access to all the documents related to these projects.

In his decision on the case, the Ombudsman highlighted the "valuable role" played by the NGOs in bringing previously unnoticed issues to the EIB's attention, and urged the institution to "engage constructively with NGOs" within and outside the EU in future.

(Here is a counterpoint: Barrick Gold Chairman, Peter Munk complains rogue Environmental NGOs are Destroying the Mining Industry )

Meanwhile, Greenpeace highlighted four cases of "revolving doors" between European Commission officials working on the REACH regulation and lobby groups representing the chemical industry and accused the EU executive of impropriety. Following a Commission spokesperson's comment that the accusations were "unfounded and unfair", Greenpeace accused the EU executive of making "misleading, inaccurate and slanderous" remarks.

Diamandouros did not believe the spokesperson's remarks amounted to maladministration, but underlined that the case highlighted the "importance of transparency in relation to lobbying activities during EU legislative procedures".

NGOs have made around one thousand complaints to the Ombudsman over the last decade. These complaints of alleged maladministration by the EU institutions mainly concern environmental projects, late payment for contracts granted by the EU, and a perceived lack on transparency in the institutions.

Here is the full article.

Ecuador Government Revokes Hundreds of Mine Concessions - Insists on Royalties and Windfall Tax - Mining Industry Blames Environmental NGOs

QUITO, Jan 25 (Reuters) - Ecuador's leftist government revoked hundreds of mining concessions on Friday, highlighting its determination to boost control over the Andean nation's natural resources.

Shares of Canada's junior mining company Ascendant Copper plunged 28 percent in Toronto after it lost a high-profile project. But the measure had little effect on some of the biggest players in the sector.

Mining and Petroleum Minister Galo Chiriboga told reporters the state was revoking 587 mining contracts because companies failed to pay fees on concessions for reserves of copper, gold and other metals.

"Based on legal norms, (the government) decided to revoke these contracts," he said.
Ascendant, which lost its Junin project, accused the government of President Rafael Correa of bowing to pressure from environmental groups.

"None of this is true ... the government was rushed into this," John Haigh, Ascendant's investor relations chief, said in a telephone interview.

Ecuador has little precious metal output, but dozens of foreign companies are exploring in the sector where nearly 4,000 concessions have been awarded.

By scrapping concessions, Correa sent a signal to the private sector that he wanted to overhaul rules for the industry. But the ally of Venezuelan's leftist President Hugo Chavez also avoided a battle with the most important foreign investors who generate revenue for the impoverished nation.

Last year, Correa moved more aggressively against foreign oil companies, ordering them to hand over almost all of their windfall profits from high prices. Since then, Correa has shown signs of moderating his radical policies as his popularity ratings have fallen mainly due to perceptions he is too confrontational.

CORREA RULES

Ecuador's Deputy Mining Minister Jose Serrano later told Reuters that Friday's move was "not an action against mining but a move to put the sector in order."

He warned that the government could revoke more concessions later this year as part of an ongoing probe. Those concessions will be later auctioned, but he denied speculation that revoked concessions will be later awarded to a planned state mining company.

Serrano said the move would not affect the country's biggest companies, which include Canadian miners Aurelian Resources, Corriente Resources and Iamgold Corp.

In the case of Ascendant, the government had already limited the company's work. Last year, it ordered the company to halt the Junin project's operations on charges it had violated mining regulations.

Serrano said Ascendant can appeal the order.

Friday's announcement should help appease environmentalists and residents across southern Ecuador, where most of the mining concessions are located. They have lobbied Correa to increase control over mining concessions following complaints the state was indiscriminately handing out contracts in previous years.

The government has already started negotiations with Aurelian and Corriente on their terms for doing business in Ecuador and boost state participation in current deals.

In general, it wants to rewrite rules for the industry by introducing royalties, making it more difficult to grant concessions and setting a windfall tax that should ensure more state revenue.

Here is the full article.

German Bank Pulls the Plug on British-Australian Gold Mining Scheme in Indonesia – NGO Pressure on the Financial Backers Crucial

[17th January 2008] The Indonesian province of North Sulawesi is a biodiversity hotspot and harbors some of the world's most spectacular nature areas. Northern Sulawesi is also home to a series of gold deposits, the largest of which is known by the name of Toka Tindung. Plans to establish gold mining operations here have met with widespread resistance both from local inhabitants and the Provincial government, who fear that the mines would disrupt the ecology and the economy of the region, which is based on fishing, agriculture and tourism.

The British-based mining company Archipelago Resources, which is attempting to force the development of the Toka Tindung mine, recently received a serious blow, when the German bank WestLB did not renew its credit arrangements with the company. WestLB is one of four banks, which had originally agreed to provide project financing for Toka Tindung. The other banks involved are Australia's ANZ and Investec and the French bank Société Générale. NGOs are now calling upon these banks to follow suit and to pull out of the controversial project.

"We are amazed that WestLB held on to this project as long as they did," says Heffa Schücking from the German NGO Urgewald. "Since 2005 the people of Northern Sulawesi Province have consistently demonstrated and spoken out against the project and both the provincial parliament and the Governor have given a clear "No" to Toka Tindung. This and the fact, that the company pushed forward construction without obtaining valid permits is a clear indication, that Archipelago Resources is not a company that banks should invest in," says Schücking.

Activists believe that their threat to launch a public campaign against WestLB in Germany played a role in the bank's decision to finally withdraw from the project. "Supporting a project, which local people don't want and which will harm unique ecosystems, would have created a lot of damage to WestLB's reputation," says Marianne Klute from Watch Indonesia.

From the start, the gold mining project has been contentious. In July 2006, the Indonesian Federal Environment Ministry forbid Archipelago Resources' plan to dump tailings from the mine in the ocean and the company thus put forward a plan to store tailings on land. However, this solution is far from safe as the area is prone to earthquakes and floods. The Governor of the Province, S.H. Sarundajang, thus refused to grant a permit for the mine, which is located near the Lembeh Strait, the Bunaken National Park and the the Tangkoko Conservation Area. At a press conference in February 2007, Sarundajung said that short-term extractive industries like gold mining don't fit into the long-term sustainable development plans of this province and stated, "I prefer to be a green governor rather than allowing the destruction of our environment."

Archipelago Resources and its Indonesian subsidiary have nonetheless moved forward with construction, thereby enraging the local population and showing utter disregard for the law. The company's security forces have time and again attacked peaceful demonstrations by locals and there are many accusations of corruption and unlawful intimidation against the firm.

Villagers claim that Archipelago Resources' illegal construction activities have already resulted in unprecedented damage to the environment. On March 11th 2007, 400 villagers of Rinondoran and vicinity had to flee as their houses were buried under a 1.5 Meter thick layer of mud. The avalanche turned the crystal clear water of Rinondoran Bay into a stinky mud pool with hundreds of dead fish. The villagers suspect that this was a man made environmental catastrophe, caused by the construction activities of Archipelago Resources in the hills above Rinondoran. The contract to construct the dumping ponds and dams for the mine was granted to Bakrie constructions, which belongs to the Indonesian minister Aburizal Bakrie. This is the same company that is responsible for the mud volcano that has been flooding the region Sidoarjo in East Java over the past months. Archipelago Resources, however, denies any responsibility and speaks of a natural catastrophe.

"Archipelago Resources does not care about the law nor about the people in our region," says Revoldi Koleangan of AMMALTA, the local alliance of farming and fishing communities opposed to the project. "We are therefore glad to see that the company is losing support from its financial backers and hope that it will soon be forced to leave the province entirely," he adds.

Here is the full article.

Citizen Self Education Key to Countering Corporate Environmental Exploitation

The big dogs should fear the growing force of American activism

The governments of republican Rome, and Republican America, have been described as being not democracies but oligarchies — small cliques of wealthy and aristocratic power, modified by elections.

Oligarchies strive to stifle opposition and thwart any change to their patterns of wealth accumulation. Hence, citizen activism is frowned upon by the powers-that-be and is always described derisively by the oligarchic, mainstream media.

When citizen power made itself felt this week, in a standing-room-only crowd at the board meeting of the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District, a new kind of American democracy made itself felt.

At issue was the proposed transfer of 54,000 acre-feet of water per year from a ranch on the Plains of San Augustin to the Middle Rio Grande Valley.

Water planners and stake holders all over central New Mexico opposed a New York company's plan to pump the water from the ranch they bought, wrecking the lives and water rights of stake holders not only in Catron County but also in Bernalillo, Torrance and Sandoval counties.

The proposed transfer, before the State Engineer, might have gone unprotested 20 years ago, but the minute it surfaced this year, a network of thousands of water-educated citizens heard about it immediately and began opposing it. They also learned that the conservancy district itself might not protest the transfer, because the district's consulting attorney was conflicted — working for the company that wanted to sell the water — and had not filed a protest in a timely manner.

The conservancy district this week voted to protest the transfer and to find a new attorney to represent it in the matter.

The arguments citizens raised were the kind that come from clearheaded, self-educated, school-of-hard-knocks water planners and stakeholders.

Taking such a huge amount of water is unsustainable, and to come to depend on it could be a disaster. Remember that 54,000 acre-feet is 6,000 more than the city of Albuquerque will divert from the San Juan Chama Project as drinking water this year. And the water's withdrawal from the San Augustin basin would disrupt the natural flow that already exists from that basin into the Rio Grande.

If it weren't for citizens who thought this this through voluntarily, with no vested financial interests at stake, this very bad idea would have slipped past us all, to the great enrichment of a few at the expense of many.

If anything is cause for optimism about the future, it is this citizen power, locally and nationally, activated some 50 years ago with the rise of environmental, civil rights and feminist movements. In that half-century, an ever-growing population of citizen activists has appeared to counterbalance oligarchic powers.

It has become self-evident now that millions of Americans have voluntarily educated themselves in the major issues of the day and have done such a sterling job of it that they can counter "experts" hired by the wielders of power.

Here is the full article.

For a balanced appraisal of this issue listen to Barrick Gold Corporation Chairman, Peter Munk, who feels that citizen action and NGOs are a bad idea:

Barrick Gold Chairman, Peter Munk complains rogue Environmental NGOs are Destroying the Mining Industry

Seventy Five Percent of Reporters Use Blogs for Story Ideas

Brodeur Journalists Survey Identifies Blogs’ Influence on Traditional News Coverage

Blogs help journalists set the tone with story ideas, angles and insights.

A survey of U.S. journalists by Brodeur, a unit of Omnicom Group (NYSE: OMC), suggests that blogs are not only having an impact on the speed and availability of news, but also influence the tone and editorial direction of reporting.

The survey is part of an ongoing research project by Brodeur in conjunction with Marketwire to dissect and understand the impact that social media and blogs are having on traditional news delivery. The online survey was conducted among a random sample of North American reporters and editors, and was focused on understanding how social media and blogs influence their work.

Jerry Johnson, head of strategic planning at Brodeur, shared the results during the “Taking the Blogosphere Seriously” seminar at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Johnson’s study uncovered a very balanced view of the blogosphere by reporters.

“While only a small percentage of journalists feel that blogs are helpful in generating sources or exclusives, they do see blogs as particularly useful in helping them better understand the context of a story, a new story angle, or a new story idea. It appears that reporters are using blogs more for ethnographic research than they are for investigative research,” Johnson commented.

Johnson went on to explain that the survey confirmed something many have suspected – that new media (social media and blogs) is having an impact on many different aspects of reporting, particularly the speed and availability of news. Less than half of journalists thought that new media was having an impact – either good or bad – on the quality of news reporting.



The survey also uncovered several additional attitudes and behaviors:
Blogs are a regular source for journalists. Over three quarters of reporters see blogs as helpful in giving them story ideas, story angles and insight into the tone of an issue.
Nearly 70% of all reporters check a blog list on a regular basis. Over one in five (20.9%) reporters said they spend over an hour per day reading blogs. And a total of nearly three in five (57.1%) reporters said they read blogs at least two to three times a week.

Journalists are increasingly active participants in the blogosphere. One in four reporters (27.7%) have their own blogs and nearly one in five (16.3%) have their own social networking page. About half of reporters (47.5%) say they are “lurkers” – reading blogs but rarely commenting.

The majority of journalists thought blogs were having a significant impact on news reporting in all areas tested EXCEPT in the area of news quality. The biggest impact has been in speed and availability of news. Over half said that blogs were having a significant impact on the “tone” (61.8%) and “editorial direction” (51.1%) of news reporting.

“Like any new social phenomenon, the blogosphere has become a resource for reporters,” said Johnson, “but reporters are still creating their stories by going out and developing their own ideas and talking to their sources.”

Here is the full article.

Al Gore Dumps Barrick Gold Sponsorship for Chile Visit - Mining sponsorship risked "contaminating" and making a mockery of Gore's campaign.

"You can't be sincerely worried about environmental phenomena affecting the planet and at the same time be 'mates' with a company like Barrick Gold." Senator, Alejandro Navarro.

[12th April 2007] Al Gore has dumped financial backing from controversial Canadian mining company Barrick Gold for his upcoming Santiago event "Global Warming and Climate Change: The Time Has Come to Act." The Academy Award-winning environmentalist distanced himself from any association with the mining company, which owns the controversial Pascua Lama gold mine.

"Unfortunately, we were never asked to approve Barrick Gold as a cosponsor and as soon as we became aware that they were co sponsors, we asked that they be removed," Gore's press spokesperson Kalee Kreider told The Santiago Times. "I was informed that they were removed yesterday."

A Barrick Gold spokesperson confirmed to The Santiago Times that they had withdrawn their funding for the event. The US$50,000 that they contributed will be directed towards "other environmental projects." It is still not known how event organizers will cover the cash shortfall presumed to exist now that Barrick has been banned from the event.

Other sponsor's for Gore's visit include the Chilevision television station, the El Mercurio newspaper and the Banco Del Estado.

National political leaders and Chile's environmental community warned earlier this week that the mining sponsorship risked "contaminating" and making a mockery of Gore's campaign.

Barrick Gold has come under fire for dubious environmental and human rights practices on four continents.

(See: Corporate rights trump human rights - alleged that Canadian Barrick Gold security forces intentionally buried alive 52 artisanal miners in Tanzania. )

Its most controversial recent project in South America, the Pascua Lama gold mine, straddles the border between Chile and Argentina in the Andes Mountains in Chile's Region III. The project been harshly criticized by environmentalists worldwide who oppose the company's determination to destroy the glaciers sitting above the metal deposits.

(In its first Environmental Impact Statement Barrick Gold did not mention the glaciers. See: Pascua Lama Gold Mine, a Threat to Sustainability )

"When it comes to the environment, you have to take sides," Sen. Alejandro Navarro told The Santiago Times. "In this case, it means that Gore has to choose whether he wants his message to retain its credibility, or whether he's happy to go along with whomever facilitates the event. You can't be sincerely worried about environmental phenomena affecting the planet and at the same time be 'mates' with a company like Barrick Gold."

Obviously, Gore has chosen.

Glaciers are one of the world's precious fresh water reserves – as Gore pointed out in his documentary film, "An Inconvenient Truth," – and are one of the ecosystems most at risk from climate change.

With 1,751 glaciers within its borders, Chile is home to 3 percent of the world's small glaciers. Global warming, however, is taking its toll. Chile's melting glaciers contribute to over 8 percent of the world's rising sea levels. In the last two years Chile's Marinelli glacier appears to have shrunk by more than four kilometers, despite the area receiving substantial rain.

Barrick's quest for gold in Chile may prove similarly devastating. The company initially drafted a plan to build an open-pit mine and to remove or "relocate" three glaciers impeding Pascua Lama's development. The company eventually received the environmental go-ahead from Chile's National Environment Commission (Conama) in early 2006, but on the condition that the ice mass not be touched. A tunnelled mine, rather than an open pit mine, would have to be used, said Chile's Conama.

Environmental watchdog, the Latin American Observatory of Environmental Conflicts (OLCA) has already reported partial destruction of three glaciers: Toro 1, Toro 2 and Esperanza, which all sit astride Barrick Gold's Pascua Lama mine.

Still, Chile's lax environmental controls and dismally poor environmental track record suggest Barrick will be allowed to continue developing the mine without any significant penalty or oversight.

(See: Chile's Government fines itself for polluting the environment , Revisiting the Valdivia CELCO industrial spill of 2005 , Chile Intelligence Agency Monitors Environmental NGOs )

Residents in the Huasco Valley below the Pascua Lama mine site – many of whom are from the Diaguita Huasco Altina indigenous community - fear residue from the mining process will contaminate the Estrecho River which flows out of the valley. The community also claims it has lost 50,000 hectares of land which Barrick Gold acquired illegally.

(See, Washington Post: In Chile, Precious Lands Often Go for a Pittance - Barrick Gold Corporation Pays $19 Dollars for 20,000 Acres )

"It does not make sense that one of the principal leaders of world public opinion on the threat global warming presents to our planet would come to Chile financed by the same mining company responsible for the destruction of glaciers and water contamination in so many parts of the world," read a statement from OLCA. The organization referred to the sponsorship as an "image-laundering operation" on the part of Barrick Gold.

Here is the full article.

Ethical Jewellery as Good as Gold

"Customers don't realise that one wedding ring weighs 10 grams and causes three tonnes of toxic waste," says Greg Valerio, whose company aims to follow fair trade coffee with ethical gold jewellery.

A silver-haired anti-poverty and human rights campaigner, he is at the forefront of a fast-growing global market for gold and platinum jewellery which seeks to soothe consumers' consciences and protect miners from danger and exploitation.

His jewellery shop in the southern English city of Chichester has formed a partnership with miners in a cooperative in Choco, an underdeveloped region in northeast Colombia, called the Green Gold ("Oro Verde") project.

Together they are working with the Fairtrade Foundation – which backs farmers and workers from poor countries to develop their communities through fairer terms of trade. They aim to extend Fairtrade's successful labelling to gold.

"Green gold" jewellery is a niche in a fast-growing wider market for ethical goods, ranging from day-to-day foodstuffs like tea, coffee and chocolate to designer fashions and travel.

Analysts say global sales of ethical gold jewellery are probably less than one per cent of the total $56 billion gold jewellery market based on figures from London-based consultancy GFMS – and the Fairtrade label is a year or so away.

Although the ethical product is priced at a premium and gold is at record highs, the market has been ballooning. Among a plethora of online offers are companies including one called greenKarat that argues industrial mining methods damage the land and endanger ecosystems, so recycled gold would be better for society.

British fashion designer Katharine Hamnett includes a link to Valerio's outlet, called Cred, on her Web site. He said ethics were a strong selling point in the jewellery trade: a woman would not want to receive a gift that was tarnished by exploitation.

Nor do some men want to give them. A customer of Valerio's store, Stephen McIlhenny, 27-year-old deputy manager of an outdoor activities centre in Devon, said he ordered a bespoke white gold engagement ring with a round diamond in November for 800 pounds ($1,600).

"I wanted my engagement ring to have put labor and materials to good use rather than wrecking things," he said by telephone. "I wanted my fiancee to know that the gift was very special and did not put people through hardship."

PAY PREMIUM

The "Oro Verde" miners receive an income premium of roughly 10 per cent over their peers in Colombia for their work, said Valerio, who has dual British and Canadian nationality and also helped found the independent, global Association for Responsible Mining (ARM).

With donors including the charity Oxfam, the ARM aims to expand the Green Gold initiative to develop a framework for responsible artisanal and small-scale mining and meet growing consumer demand for sustainable jewellery and minerals.

Mine owners in many parts of the world regularly flout safety regulations to meet demand that seems insatiable – gold has been in a bull market for seven years and on Tuesday prices were probing fresh all-time highs above $880 an ounce.

In South Africa, the world's top platinum producer, more than 200 workers were killed in 2007, prompting a nationwide strike over safety that hit output. The National Union of Mineworkers has threatened more action as it urges the government to prosecute mining companies for the deaths.

The Fairtrade Foundation, which coordinates Fairtrade labelling in 20 countries including Britain, is working with the ARM to explore how to develop the concept of ethical gold.


"If we get a positive board decision to proceed with Fairtrade labeled gold, then depending on the outcome of the pilot studies to date, it would be likely that the first certified gold will be available during 2009," said Fairtrade Foundation policy and producer relations officer Chris Davis.

"It is a partnership that seeks to bring our knowledge of Fairtrade standards and practice together with ARM's knowledge of artisanal small-scale mining," said Davis, who has visited the Choco cooperative, as well as mines in Bolivia and Peru.

"BLOOD DIAMOND" BOOST

Valerio started his store in 2004 and says it is one of the first jewelers in the world to sell ethical gold and platinum jewellery.

"We were helped by 'Blood Diamond'," he said, referring both to the Leonardo DiCaprio movie and to international efforts to stem the flow of conflict diamonds – rough diamonds used by rebel groups to finance wars, featured in that film.

The Kimberley Process, a joint government, industry and civil society initiative introduced in 2003, sought to help curb decades of devastating conflicts in countries such as Angola, Ivory Coast, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Sierra Leone.

Since Cred started marketing ethical gold and platinum jewellery, its sales have grown fast, with online orders flowing in from around the world, notably the United States, Valerio said.

"Bearing in mind that our certified gold sales at the end of 2004 were zero pounds, we have just posted over 200,000 ($400,000) (in sales) at the end of 2007," he added.

Cred's wedding or engagement rings typically cost about 10 per cent more than average prices but are about 15 per cent below the top luxury brands such as Tiffany.

A bespoke Cred 18-carat gold wedding ring might cost from 195 to 800 pounds ($390 to $1,600) depending on its size and design – the cheapest engagement ring one could expect to buy in a standard British store would cost about 80 pounds ($160).

"I think the idea of 'fair trade' jewellery will spread," said Cred customer McIlhenny. "Whenever I talk to my friends about my fiancee's 'fair trade' ring, they all really like the idea."

Here is the full article.

Anti-Corruption, Anti-Poverty & Environmental NGO Ban Lifted by Gabon Government – NGOs Accused of Interfering in the Country’s Politics

LIBREVILLE, Jan 16 (Reuters) - Gabon has lifted a ban on 22 non-government organisations a week after it suspended them for criticising the way in which state resources were being spent in the oil-producing central African country.

Publish What You Pay (PWYP), a global campaigner for transparent use of petroleum and mining revenues, said the government ended the suspension late on Tuesday, which had affected the members of its coalition in Gabon and other groups.

"This is a major victory for civil society in Gabon and affirms our ability to operate freely and speak out on public interest issues," said Marc Ona, president of Brainforest, one of the suspended NGOs, and coordinator of PWYP Gabon.

Gabonese Interior Minister Andre Mba Obame said on Jan. 9 that four coalitions made up of anti-corruption, anti-poverty and environmental campaign groups had been temporarily banned for interfering in the country's politics.

The coalitions had issued a lengthy statement criticising the government on a wide range of issues from oil spending to unemployment.

The communique said Gabon had an excessive number of ministers, had funded election campaigns with huge sums of public money at the expense of roads, hospitals and schools, and that mining deals were awarded with no regard for the environment or local people.

PWYP said the suspension contravened Gabon's membership of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, a global scheme to eliminate corruption in the minerals sector which envisages the active participation of civil society groups.

The discovery of oil in the 1960s made Gabon one of Africa's first oil exporters and, on paper, gave its small population of around 1.5 million one of the highest incomes per head on the world's poorest continent.

But despite outward signs of prosperity along the slick oceanfront of the capital Libreville, a third of the population live below the poverty line, according to the United Nations.

Here is the full article.

China's push for hydropower dams sparking grassroots backlash

Jan. 7, 2008 -- The Chinese government's recent decision to scrap controversial plans for a huge dam at Tiger Leaping Gorge on the upper reaches of the Yangtze River represents a milestone for growing grassroots political movements in China, suggests the author of a new book on the politics behind China's epic dam-building campaign.

Mertha, an assistant professor of political science in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, bases his book on extensive field research in some of the most remote parts of Southwest China. Filled with first-hand accounts of widespread opposition to dams in Pubugou and Dujiangyan in Sichuan province and the Nu River Project in Yunnan province, the book documents dramatic changes in critical policies surrounding China's insatiable quest for energy.

"As China has become increasingly market driven, decentralized and politically heterogeneous," he argues, "the control and management of water has transformed from an unquestioned economic imperative to a lightning rod of bureaucratic infighting, societal opposition and open protest."

Although bargaining has always been present in Chinese politics, Mertha shows how actors once denied a seat at the table — media, nongovernmental organizations and grassroots activists — are emerging to become serious players in the policy-making process.

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In the final days of 2007, the Chinese government made a surprise announcement abandoning plans for a controversial dam that would have submerged Tiger Leaping Gorge on the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, one of China's most renowned tourist areas. While the decision represents an obvious victory for the burgeoning Chinese environmental movement, Mertha considers the impact and occasional success of such grassroots movements and policy activism to be signals of an important and much broader shift in China's domestic politics.

Here is the full article.

ANI or DINA? Environmental organizations protest espionage and infiltration by Chilean Intelligence Agency

ENVIROS DETECT HYPOCRISY IN CONAMA’S SUPPORT OF ANI INVESTIGATION

(Dec. 13, 2007) Leaders of the Chilean environmental movement spoke out Wednesday against the National Environmental Commission’s (CONAMA) support of the government’s monitoring of environmental NGO campaigns. This comes after the Chilean daily La Tercera disclosed last Friday that Chile’s National Intelligence Agency (ANI) has increased oversight of environmental campaigns against three of the country’s most controversial environmental undertakings – the Aysén dam, the Pascua Lama gold mine, and Celulosa Arauco’s (CELCO) proposed waste duct into the sea.

(MICHELE BACHELET & PETER MUNK: Until we hear otherwise, we can infer that Michele Bachelet holds the same opinion of Environmental NGOs as Peter Munk, Chairman of the Barrick Gold Corporation. They both attended the Davos Conference in Switzerland where Chairman Munk had this to say: Barrick Gold Chairman, Peter Munk complains rogue Environmental NGOs are Destroying the Mining Industry Apparently Bachelet was listening and took action?)

Various environmental activists have claimed that ANI’s methods include unnecessary measures like espionage and infiltration (ST, Dec. 10, 11). They are particularly upset by CONAMA’s support of the ANI investigation.

Director of Greenpeace Chile, Rodrigo Hererra, commented on CONAMA’s position Wednesday. “ANI’s report has very grave implications for freedom of expression in the environmentalist movement,” he told the Santiago Times. “I absolutely reject CONAMA’s support of their investigation. It is clear that CONAMA has no idea what methods the ANI is using.”

Lucio Cuenca, director of the Latin American Observatory on Environmental Conflicts (Olca), said that his organization – which campaigns against the Pascua Lama gold mine among other things – has been monitored by ANI since 2005 and has had negative experience with ANI’s questionable investigation tactics.

“It is legitimate within a democracy for the government to gather information on organizations,” he said. “It is not legitimate to deny people their liberty, intimidate them, and intervene in their civic participation as ANI has done.”

Cuenca said he was dissatisfied, though not entirely surprised, that CONAMA supports ANI’s investigation. He called on CONAMA to better fulfill its role as a facilitator of public opinion in projects affecting the environment.

CONAMA Director Ana Lya Uriarte has defended the ANI investigation. Her spokesperson, Jaime Ugalde, said, “It is necessary that in the democratic system that there exist investigation into the operations of organizations. But that does not necessarily imply infiltration or unnecessary persecution of said organizations.”

When asked about ANI’s supposed intimidation tactics, Ugalde said, “CONAMA does not have information that infiltration is one of the methods that ANI is employing. But if it is, then that is an issue that has to do with security, and should be left to the Ministry of the Interior. CONAMA does not have an opinion (on these allegations).”

CONAMA’s support of the investigation comes as the organization aims encourage more civic participation in its Environmental Impact Evaluation System (SEIA).

Urirate has launched a series of workshops set to last four months with the intention of surveying Chileans’ perception of the SEIA. Preliminary findings show that the general public believes there is not enough consideration of public opinion in CONAMA’s evaluation processes.

Uriarte says the survey of public opinion of the SEIA is part of a larger effort to restructure CONAMA to incorporate more avenues for the public to influence new projects.

But environmentalists are still dubious of CONAMA’s commitment to public participation. As Cuenca said, “CONAMA’s role should be to support free expression and ensure that people have all the information necessary to take part in the environmental impact evaluation process. But they do not do that. Instead, CONAMA misinforms the public by withholding necessary information on a given project.”

(This type of duplicity and corruption is characteristic of Chile and goes back a least a decade or more: Endesa Strategy & Tactics I – Revisiting the Ralco & Pangue Hydroelectric Projects on the Rio Bio Bio )

Here is the full article.

Legislators angered by Chile Intelligence Agency monitoring of environmental organizations - investigation demanded

CHILE LEGISLATORS ANGERED BY INTELLIGENCE MONITORING OF GREEN NGOs

“Actions Like This Cannot Be Allowed To Happen Here”

(Dec. 14, 2007) Party for Democracy (PPD) Dep. Guido Girardi said Thursday that the Chamber of Deputies’ Natural Resources Commission will meet next Tuesday to discuss reports that Chile’s National Intelligence Agency (ANI) has increased its monitoring of environmental NGOs. This news comes as Chilean environmentalists and politicians continue to express their concern over the Agency’s increasingly draconian tactics.

According to a report published last week by La Tercera, the ANI is gathering information on how environmental NGOs function, who their principal members are, who provides them with funding, and how they respond to environmental issues nationwide. At least three ANI employees, including a former official from Chile’s National Environmental Commission (CONAMA), are known to be working full time on these issues. (ST, Dec 10.)

The La Tercera report specified that campaigns against the controversial Aysen dam project, the transnational Pascua Lama mining project, and Celulosa Arauco’s (CELCO) waste duct are receiving the greatest attention by the state’s intelligence officers.

“On one hand, this news surprises me. On the other hand, it really does not. There are economic powers that clearly do not want pro-environmental organizations to thrive,” Girardi told the Santiago Times. “For those economic organizations, the environmental movement does represent a threat to national security.”

(NGO's were at the top of Barrick Gold Corporation's agenda at the 2007 Davos Conference in Switzerland, a conference frequented by Michele Bachelet: Barrick Gold Chairman, Peter Munk complains rogue Environmental NGOs are Destroying the Mining Industry )

“In next Tuesday’s meeting of the Chamber of Deputies’ Natural Resources Commission, I am going to introduce a motion to respond to this news. It is very probable that we demand that the Interior Ministry respond to these report. We need answers from them,” he said.

“In the Commission, we usually share the same thinking, although we come from different political parties. We are all concerned about the environment. In a situation like this, when there is something as extreme as espionage, I do not think that anyone in the Commission is going to vote against taking action…we recognize that actions like this (espionage) cannot be allowed to happen in Chile.”

Independent Democratic Union (UDI) Dep. Alejandro García-Huidobro, another member of the Natural Resources Commission, echoed Girardi’s comments.

“Countries definitely need to have their intelligence services. But, this does not mean that they can interfere in the work of NGOs which clearly have the right to defend the environment,” he said. “This is a very shameful situation. We have made such progress in our democracy and freedom of expression, and I think that it is a shame that this is happening. Intelligence should be more so focused on combating problems like delinquency.”

Environmental activists reported this week that ANI’s methods include espionage and infiltration (ST, Dec. 10, 11). Activists are particularly upset by CONAMA’s support of the ANI investigations.

(Not unexpected, as the Chilean government's lack of concern for the environment and ardent support of the foreign owned extraction industry is notorious: Chile's Government fines itself for polluting the environment )

Greenpeace Chile director Rodrigo Hererra commented on CONAMA’s position Wednesday. “The report about ANI has very serious implications for freedom of expression in the environmentalist movement,” he told the Santiago Times. “I absolutely reject CONAMA’s support of their investigation. It is clear that CONAMA has no idea what methods the ANI is using.”

Lucio Cuenca, director of the Latin American Observatory on Environmental Conflicts (Olca), said his organization – which campaigns against the Pascua Lama gold mine among other things – has been monitored by ANI since 2005 and has had negative experience with ANI’s questionable investigation tactics.

“It is legitimate within a democracy for the government to gather information on organizations,” he said. “It is not legitimate to deny people their liberty, intimidate them, and intervene in their civic participation as ANI has done.”

Cuenca said he was dissatisfied, though not entirely surprised, that CONAMA supports ANI’s investigation. He called on CONAMA to better fulfill its role as a facilitator of public opinion in projects affecting the environment. (ST, Dec. 13)

In spite of repeated phone calls and e-mails from the Santiago Times, the ANI declined to comment on these allegations and delayed a requested interview with ANI director Gustavo Villalobos until sometime next year.

Here is the full article.

New NGO tactics deployed in fight against Brazilian dams & industrial waterway planned by the extraction industry

Brazilian hydropower – Dammed if they do

Brazil depends on hydroelectricity for the majority of its power, but a new mega-dam project is sparking the concern – and imagination – of campaigners

Even by Brazilian standards, the Madeira River is impressive. From source to mouth it stretches more than 1,000 miles, the distance from London to Belgrade. The largest of all the Amazon’s tributaries, it is also responsible for half of all the sediment transported by the river system to the Atlantic Ocean.

Now Brazil’s authorities want to dam it. The Rio Madeira Dam Complex is earmarked as an Initiative for the Integration of Regional Infrastructure in South America, a high-profile scheme promoted by the Inter-American Development Bank. The project will include the construction of three hydroelectric dams, with the possibility of a fourth across the border in Bolivia.

Brazil derives four-fifths of its power from its extensive dam system, making it the world’s third largest hydroelectricity producer. As well as adding to the national grid, the Rio Madeira project is being pitched as a 4,200 kilometre industrial waterway. Once operational, barges carrying soya, timber and minerals from the Amazon region will have quicker access to the Atlantic and Pacific coasts.

Opponents of the $10.5 billion project have become more vocal in recent months as public tenders for the dam’s construction and management near. Environment groups such as the California-based International Rivers Network stress the damage the dams could do to the river’s unique biodiversity. The proposed flooding of 529 square kilometres will also require the forced relocation of about 3,000 riverbank dwellers and indigenous people. The usual string of email appeals and press denouncements has followed.

Now campaigners are shifting strategy. Two not-for-profit organisations – Friends of the Earth in Brazil and the Netherlands-based Bank Track – are focusing on the project’s potential partners. In October, they issued a joint report entitled “Complex Project, Mega Risk”. Written with financial risk analysts in mind, it makes for an unorthodox protest document. The language has the ring of a credit agency or investment consultancy rather than a campaign group.

The extensive list of identified risks includes dissonant budgets, judicial queries about the environmental licence, technical concerns, tender disputes and potential construction problems. Financial structure risks for insurers and reinsurers could also be prevalent should Brazil’s state-run National Bank for Economic and Social Development finance the majority of the project (as is expected) and thereby render all other debt deals subordinate.

The Brazilian government is set to announce the project sponsors after an auction at the end of November. If using the logic and the language of the market is shown to work, a more mature form of dialogue between campaign groups and private sector could be in the offing. If not, the report’s appendix contains a long list of old-school activist groups that are more than ready to kick and scream.

Here is the full article.

Canadian gold mining corporation, Gabriel Resources Ltd. halts Romanian project as support sours - NGO's influence cited

For Gabriel Resources Ltd., things were looking up until last spring.

After years of turmoil, the company's Rosia Montana gold project in Romania was proceeding well, with support at the local and government levels. There was ongoing opposition from non-governmental organizations (NGOs), but work at the project continued despite their interference.

Then, around the start of June, the government abruptly changed its tune and grew hostile toward Gabriel, eventually suspending the permit-approval process at Rosia Montana altogether. That led to yesterday's announcement from the company that it is laying off most of its workers and cancelling a land-acquisition program.

Gabriel says it does not know exactly what caused the about-face by the Romanian government, which is led by a coalition of two parties: the National Liberal party and the Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania.

"We've been told that we've been traded, that the ethnic Hungarian party wanted to stop our project, and the Liberal party wanted something else, and they traded us," Richard Young, chief financial officer, said in an interview. "We're not sure. But we've seen a clear sea change in the actions of this government."

He is not certain how much of an impact the NGOs had, but said there is "no question" that they influenced some stakeholders. Gabriel's situation highlighted the growing issue of political risk, which is affecting mining projects around the world.

Toronto-based Gabriel is trying to redevelop a deposit that has been mined on and off for nearly 2,000 years. The company has poured more than $300-million into Rosia Montana and has proved and probable reserves of 10.1 million ounces of gold.

Here is the full article.

Chile Intelligence Agency Monitors Environmental NGOs

OLD FRIENDS: Endesa SA, Barrick Gold Corporation, Celulosa Arauco receive support from Chile's Intelligence Agency.

Environmental Activists Alarmed, But Not Surprised About The News

(Dec. 10, 2007) The Chilean daily La Tercera on Friday revealed that Chile’s National Intelligence Agency (ANI) has increased its monitoring of environmental NGO campaigns since the start of this year. The report specified that campaigns against the controversial Aysen dam project, the transnational Pascua Lama mining project, and Celulosa Arauco’s (CELCO) waste duct are receiving the most attention.

According to La Tercera, the ANI has been gathering information on how environmental NGOs function, who their principal members are, who provides them with funding, and how they respond to environmental issues nationwide. At least three ANI employees, including a former official from Chile’s National Environmental Commission (CONAMA), are known to be working full time on these issues.

Prominent environmentalists expressed no surprise, saying the news confirmed their belief that they had been placed under increased surveillance.

The Director of the Latin American Observatory on Environmental Conflicts Lucio Cuenca said he received several phone calls from ANI employees in 2005, looking for information about campaigns against Pasca Lama. Cuenca said he did not provide any information, but warned that officials continue to be very interested in the anti-Pasca Lama movement.

“They are keeping a close eye on our activities. But, we refuse to cooperate with them,” he said. “It is extremely worrying that, even though we are in a democracy, environmental movements are considered as a threat to the State.”

(NGO's were at the top of Barrick Gold Corporation's agenda at the 2007 Davos Conference in Switzerland: Barrick Gold Chairman, Peter Munk complains rogue Environmental NGOs are Destroying the Mining Industry )

Juan Pablo Orrego, coordinator of the NGO Ecosistemas and one of the leaders of the campaign against the Aysen dam project, had a similar response.

“There are people who are not comfortable with our work,” he said. “I suppose that this has to do with the fact that we could be creating problems for the government or obstacles for big businesses.”

“Several of our computers have been stolen, but these crimes appear to be totally selective,” said Orrego. “Additionally, we have received phone calls saying that we should be careful about what we do. We are being investigated, but I have no idea why.”

Meanwhile, current CONAMA Director Ana Lya Uriarte defended ANI’s work.

“All of our country’s institutions—including environmental organizations—form part of the analysis for national security. I think that it is natural — and also quite obvious — that there exist intelligence reports about organizations in this area,” she said.

(Not unexpected, as the Chilean government's lack of concern for the environment and support of the foreign owned extraction industry is notorious: Chile's Government fines itself for polluting the environment )

The on-going citizen education campaigns against the Aysen dam project, Pascua Lama mining project, and CELCO’s waste duct are arguably the three best known environmental initiatives in Chile.

The dam proposal, known as HidroAysén, calls for five massive hydroelectric dams to be built in far southern Chile’s Region XI, an area also known as Aysén. The dams are slated for the region’s two most powerful rivers: the Baker and the Pascua. Together the five generating facilities would produce an estimated 2,750 MW of electricity – roughly equivalent to 20 percent of the country’s current overall generating capacity.

The dam project has attracted significant opposition from local residents and environmental groups who say the dams will be socially and ecologically devastating for the pristine region. A planned transmission line from Region XI to central Chile has been a particular lighting rod for criticism, with opponents insisting it will be a major blight on the country’s landscape (ST, Dec. 6).

The Pascua Lama gold mine is set to be built in the Andes Mountains in an area straddling the border between northern Chile's Region III and Argentina. This bi-national location has led to several disputes between the two countries, including prolonged discussions on how to divide tax revenues earned from the project (ST, Sept. 12).

Environmental activists have lambasted the construction since it was first proposed, claiming the mine will destroy nearby glaciers and pollute downstream water supplies with waste runoff (VT, June 10). Barrick’s deplorable track record for environmental abuse is well-known: U.S. Vice-President Al Gore insisted upon removing Barrick Gold as a sponsor of his May visit to Chile (ST, May 11).

(Here is another classic Barrick Gold Corporation missive: Barrick Gold Corporation Chairman asserts that gold mines create jobs and feed people. (so would dismantling the Pyramids of Egypt) and here is the truth: Mining Misery: Guatemala is one of many countries that has attracted the investment of Canadian Mining Companies – but at what cost to its people? )

Finally, CELCO has been at the center of environmental controversy since 1996 when it first proposed to build a waste disposal duct from its Valdivia plant through the tiny Region XIV fishing community of Mehuín. Resistance in the town was initially strong enough to make CELCO back out of the sea duct project, opting instead to dump its waste water into the nearby Cruces River. But in 2004 the newly inaugurated Valdivia plant leaked untreated waste water into the river, killing off the black-necked swan population and setting off a firestorm of local and international protests. (ST, Dec. 3)

CELCO announced in October it had reached an agreement with Mehuín’s fishermen’s unions - paying members US$8.9 million in exchange for their acquiescence in the company’s waste duct plan. Initial reports indicated that 99 of Mehuín’s nearly 250 unionized fishermen had signed the agreement.

But, community leader Eliab Viguera recently told the Santiago Times that the opposition to the Mehuín duct is stronger and more widespread than ever before.

“It is no longer an issue of just Mehuín,” he said. “The movement has gained strength in communities throughout the Valdivia area (ST, Dec. 6).

Here is the full article.

Environmental & Human rights NGOs put the World Bank on Trial

Attacking the World Bank’s monopoly on knowledge

In September 2007, over 600 people assembled in Indian capital New Delhi to put the World Bank on trial. In four days of parallel sessions in front of more than a dozen judges, people from all walks of life aired their grievances against one of the world's most powerful institutions.

In convening an Independent People's Tribunal on the World Bank (WB) in India, they did more than simply chalk up another protest against injustice. The people's tribunal is a shrewd political strategy aimed at renewing a silenced debate over neoliberalism and economic policy. But most profoundly, it is a direct assault on one of the Bank's most powerful tools: the monopoly on knowledge.

In fact, based on the success of the tribunal in India, the idea is spreading. In Europe, citizens of donor nations have convened a people's tribunal on the WB with witnesses from Africa, Asia, and Latin America; and in Bangladesh, a tribunal on the WB, Asian Development Bank (ADB), and International Monetary Fund (IMF) has just been announced.

The World Bank in India

Since 1949, India has been one of the WB's favourite clients. Historically, it has borrowed more money from the Bank than any other country. Currently, it ranks among its top four borrowers, along with China, Russia, and Indonesia.

Unlike many borrowing countries, India has also been faithful in paying off its loans. Thus, providing it with an assured, steady return of funds. Without a few reliable clients such as India, the WB would be hard pressed to continue its operations.

In its early decades, the WB emphasised on infrastructure projects. It lent money for dams, canals, railways, highways and other large construction projects. These endeavours generally required foreign expertise, and the funding was largely used to hire foreign multinational firms to build infrastructure.

In India, the most infamous of these projects are the Sardar Sarovar dams on the Narmada river. These structures eventually became such a political liability that the World Bank jettisoned them. However, it continues to finance infrastructure. It has recently recommitted itself to "high risk, high reward" projects in the same vein as the Narmada project.

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In recent years, the World Bank has attempted to formalise this dominance of the debate by enthroning itself as "the Knowledge Bank" – the single source for all information, knowledge, and theory on developing countries' economies.

What this means in practice is that alternatives to the Bank's neoliberal agenda are not merely rejected, they are never even considered.

When New Delhi took a WB loan to design improvements in its municipal water supply system, there was no debate about what the priorities should be or which of the various models should be employed. The entire design of the project was handed over to PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PWC), an international consulting firm and one of the Bank's pet contractors.

PWC, unsurprisingly, returned a blueprint for privatisation, without any mention of alternatives. The people's voices, those who would drink the water and pay for it, were never heard.

The people's knowledge

Not surprisingly, the voices of India's poor and marginalised are conspicuously absent from the Knowledge Bank. Though, the WB fetishises them with lush, National Geographic-style photographs and heartwarming anecdotes, they are excluded from its decision-making processes.

Over 60 groups, including social movements, communities, NGOs and unions, began planning the tribunal last year. It was an incremental process of refining the concept while broadening the base of supporters. The idea of a people's tribunal caught everyone's imagination.

The tribunal attracted a 15-member jury from a wide range of fields, including historian Romila Thapar, writer Arundhati Roy, activist Aruna Roy, former Supreme Court Justice P.B. Sawant, former finance secretary S.P. Shukla, former water secretary Ramaswamy Iyer, scientist Meher Engineer, economist Amit Bhaduri, Thai spiritual leader Sulak Sivaraksa and Mexican economist Alejandro Nadal.

In their preliminary findings, they found "increased and needless human suffering since 1991 among hundreds of millions of India's poorest and most disadvantaged" and that "World Bank’s economic restructuring, structural adjustment, and sector loans have directly promoted and helped to finance these economic policy changes, which are a disaster for much of India's more than 700 million rural inhabitants, and most disastrous of all for poor farmers."

The tribunal concluded: "[T]he net effect of many Bank prescribed policy 'reforms' appears to be the reorientation of the Indian state priorities from striving to secure a safety net for the poor and vulnerable to providing a safety net for large domestic and international corporations and investors."

The jury also took note of the propaganda that the Bank employs to disguise this reality. "One of the disturbing impressions we gathered from the presentations is that the Bank seems to have developed the art of making policies whose safeguards are only on paper.

It has developed a language game in which words like empowerment actually mean disempowerment, sustainable means unsustainable, public-private partnership means using the public to promote the interests of the private."

One thing that the jury was unable to hear was the defence of the World Bank itself. The Bank initially had accepted the tribunal's invitation to appear and defend itself against the charges, reneging at the last moment saying that it would not be held accountable to such a forum.

Here is the full article.

Argentine Supreme court upholds Chubut Province ban of cyanide leach mining - local protest crucial to the verdict

BUENOS AIRES, Apr 20 (IPS) - Environmental activists in Argentina applauded an Argentine Supreme Court ruling against a projected open cast gold mine using cyanide, pointing out that it set an important legal precedent.

The Supreme Court did not rule on whether or not the gold mine project planned by the Minera El Desquite SA mining company in the southern province of Chubut would cause environmental damages, nor does the verdict prohibit the company from operating.

But the lawyer for the residents who mobilised against the mine, Gustavo Macayo, told IPS that with this ruling, "all legal recourse has been exhausted," and "the stoppage of the mineworks was upheld."

Besides, the decision will also have other repercussions, because it "recognises the power of provinces to regulate the protection of the environment locally, and to regulate or restrict activities, even when they are permitted under national laws," said the lawyer, who lives in Chubut.

The Supreme Court rejected a suit brought by Minera El Desquite, a subsidiary of the Canadian mining company Meridian Gold, after it had lost cases at every local and appeals court in Chubut province, where its Cordón Esquel mining works have been at a standstill since 2003.

The court threw out the company's argument that its project, blocked by provincial laws, was permitted under national laws. In their Apr. 17 ruling, the magistrates held that there was "no conflict," because the state sets "minimum protection standards" which the provinces have the right to extend as they see fit.

A law passed in Chubut in 2003 "absolutely prohibits" open cast metal mining, as well as the use of cyanide for gold and silver mining in the province, and the company had not fulfilled the environmental requirements established by local law.

Argentina is experiencing a mining boom, driven by high international metals prices and legislation that encourages investment in the sector. The number of mining projects, which are concentrated in the west of the country, along the border with Chile, has grown by 400 percent in just over two years.

The El Desquite mining project concession was awarded by the provincial government of Chubut in 2002. Gold was to be extracted from an open pit mine and leached from the ore with cyanide.

But the ski resort town of Esquel, population 40,000, is only six kilometres away from the projected site, and residents organised against the mine because of potential air and water pollution.

They formed a citizens' assembly, whose biggest achievement was getting the municipal government to hold a non-binding plebiscite in 2003, in which 81 percent of residents said "No" to the mine.

One month before the plebiscite, a provincial court accepted an appeal for legal protection and suspended work on the mining project until an environmental impact study was carried out and was submitted to a public hearing for approval. The company, however, did not take those steps, and instead appealed to other courts.

Although El Desquite's project in Esquel remains blocked, the company's concession from the provincial government is still valid. Residents protested against this on Mar. 23, when they celebrated the fourth anniversary of the plebiscite.

The Supreme Court ruling was a victory for organisations that are against mining projects involving the use of cyanide.

"Residents' demonstrations, the plebiscite and the rulings of provincial courts had already demonstrated the legitimacy of these demands, but the Supreme Court decision sets an important precedent," Javier Rodríguez of the Chubut Antinuclear Movement told IPS.

Rodríguez, an anti-mining activist who works with movements in several provinces, said that in any event, court decisions were not enough. "Social mobilisation is essential. As a judge in San Juan once told us, 'the people have to come out on the streets'," he said.

The Supreme Court decision was "a blow to open cast mining. It sets a very important precedent, as it imposes complete cessation of work until the province's legal requirements are met," said the head of the Centre for Human Rights and the Environment (CEDHA), Daniel Taillant.

In an interview with IPS, Taillant said there was a rising trend in social protests over environmental problems in Argentina in the last five years. He said that the justice system "reflects" that trend in its verdicts, and cited the case of the Riachuelo in Buenos Aires, Argentina's most polluted river.

In that case, the Supreme Court ordered the national, provincial and municipal governments as well as the factories polluting the river to present a drainage and sanitation plan to clean up the river and curb pollution, as well as a policy to deal with the environmental impact on the health of people living in neighbourhoods along its banks.

CEDHA pointed out that further small victories had been won in other provinces, through local legal decisions and laws. In the northwestern La Rioja province, Canadian mining giant Barrick Gold was forced to halt its plans for a mine in the Famatina range after the province passed a law against using cyanide.

A similar ban was approved in the neighbouring province of Tucumán. In both cases, CEDHA noted, the decisions by the provincial legislatures were prompted by pressure from citizens' assemblies opposed to projects because of potential pollution of the air, soil and water.

"Public opinion is playing an increasingly important role in setting public policies on the environment," Taillant said. (END/2007)