23.07.2006
.
FOOL’S GOLD: Consequences of Mining in Burma
_ by Edith Mirante
Kachin State, like the rest of Burma, is both blessed and cursed by its natural resources. Rampant deforestation is affecting the watersheds and wildlife of the north, with little benefit for the indigenous people. Likewise, the search for gold in Kachin rivers, streams and riverbanks has wreaked environmental havoc. Gold miners from Chinese firms in partnership with ceasefire groups and the SPDC have entered Kachin State in recent years. The Chinese miners have been working in gold concession areas of Kachin State that include the Irrawaddy watershed and Hukawng Valley -- environmentally sensitive areas that need protection, not exploitation.
The gold miners often use mercury to obtain gold, with few precautions against its toxic effects. Mercury not only can pollute water that it touches; it also forms an invisible vapor in the air, especially in stream side marshes. Breathing or touching or ingesting Mercury can cause severe health effects, including brain damage, skin disease and horrific birth defects. Mercury can build up in large fish that eat smaller fish, making large river fish dangerous to eat, especially for pregnant women. Residents of Myitkyina have been worried about the mercury content in their fish and river water.
Gold mining operations often stir up the river bed and erode the river banks, causing rivers to silt up and even change course. The Irrawaddy and tributaries have been badly affected by this, reportedly causing problems for the river port at Bhamo. Recent flooding may be connected to this increased siltation from mining operations, as well as the disastrous effects of logging.
Unfortunately, the SPDC’s 1994 mining law contains no environmental protection. It does not require mining companies from inside or outside of Burma to clean up their damages. In early 2005, when the effects of gold mining on the northern rivers were undeniable, the SPDC/Tatmadaw Northern Commander announced a gold mining ban on the Irrawaddy and Chindwin Rivers, but it was not strictly enforced. Then, in August 2005 the new Northern Commander Gen. Ohn Myint made more of a real effort to stop the gold mining in Kachin State. Like the more recent logging restrictions, these efforts involved shifts in the balance of Burma/China relations. The Chinese authorities instructed loggers and miners to leave Burma due to risk of arrest and even killings of Chinese loggers there.
If the gold mining in Kachin rivers, streams and riverbanks can be halted, that is a positive development, but it still leaves the damage done, with no hope for a cleanup attempt. Mercury pollution lingers for many years -- streams in California are still affected by the mercury used during the famous Gold Rush of the mid 19th Century.
Another mining problem area is the massive Monywa copper mine, which Ivanhoe company from Canada is turning over to South Korean companies including Daewoo. This makes Daewoo a major force in Burma's economy as the conglomerate is already involved in the Shwe Gas pipeline scheme aimed from Arakan’s waters towards India or China. There have been reported pollution problems, including water contamination around the Monywa mine in the past. Severe pollution has also been reported at an antimony mine near Three Pagodas Pass on the Thai border. Burma under present conditions is a venue in which miners from the smallest river dredge operators to multinational corporations can extract minerals without considering or paying for the environmental and health consequences.
Edith Mirante
[Edith Mirante is author of “Down the Rat Hole: Adventures Underground on Burma’s Frontiers” (Orchid Press, 2005) and founder of Project Maje, an information project on Burma's human rights and environmental issues: www.projectmaje.org .
The most detailed background source on gold mining in Kachin State is "At What Price" a 2004 Images Asia & Pan Kachin Development Society report available in the Online Burma Library.]
......................................................
Comments
Conla Fru said _
Thank you for highlighting one of many problems under the closed society of military regime
Your Comments here_
Request: If you can kindly volunteer to translate BURMA DIGEST English articles into Burmese, please let us know BDeditors@tayzathuria.org.uk .
Please download from http://www.tayzathuria.org.uk/BD.pdf a simple, portable and printable version of BURMA DIGEST and send it to all your Burmese friends.
.
Click here for This week’s articles
Last week’s English articles
Assassinations in Burmese Political Culture
Interview with Colonel Khun Okkar
An International Liability: Is There a Win-Win Solution?
A Visit to Moscow Museum in Mae Sot