A day after miners declared that they had no confidence in Minister of Natural Resources and the Environment, Robert Persaud, the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) said that a moratorium on processing of river claims will last for one month.
The government has halted the processing of applications for mining in rivers due to the GGMC being overwhelmed by reports from stakeholders of damage caused by “increasingly irresponsible mining in Guyana’s rivers and tributaries” and said that a review will be done to decide on the way forward. Persaud when questioned by Stabroek News previously on the time the review will take did not give a definite period but said that the ministry wants the review to be done in the shortest possible time but does not want a “rush job.”
Yesterday, in a statement issued through the Ministry, the GGMC said that the moratorium will last for one month and reiterated the Commission’s commitment to working with stakeholders. “The one-month hold placed on the processing of new applications for river mining claims is designed to send a strong signal of the commitment by the Guyana Geology & Mines Commission (GGMC), its Board and the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment, to ensure that river mining operations are conducted in accordance with the applicable Mining Regulations,” the statement said. The moratorium was made public via a newspaper ad on July 1 and it said that effective June 1, 2012 no application for river claims will be processed by the GGMC. It said nothing about a one-month moratorium.
“The review of environmental concerns resulting from river mining is a necessary regulatory function and in keeping with sectoral obligations, respect for people, and for the responsible use and management of the country’s resources, including its biodiversity and ecosystems,” the GGMC said yesterday. Persaud was scheduled to meet with miners yesterday but the meeting was cancelled.
While the miners oppose the measure and at a special meeting on Tuesday declared no confidence in Persaud, the Guyana Human Rights Association (GHRA) has come out in support of the cessation of applications. In a statement on Tuesday, the GHRA commended the Ministry and the GGMC “for their courage in facing the hostilities such a decision would predictably generate from factions within the industry.”
“The response to this decision reveals the scale of the odds facing even the most basic initiatives to enhance environmental protection in an industry which according to press reports loses a minimum of USD240 million per annum in illegal gold exports,” the GHRA said. “Far from the irresponsible decision that some in the sector are portraying, suspension of new applications is, in fact, the mildest step to bringing the issues generated by the gold rush currently occurring in the interior under sensible control. No existing operators have been suspended and the practices which prompted the ban will presumably continue to destroy rivers and associated wildlife until the GGMC develops the capacity to effectively police the industry,” it added.
According to the GHRA, the position of the miners is “mystifying” and the association noted that on one hand, the miners “denounce the relatively mild decision to suspend new applications, while extensively criticizing GGMC’s lack of effective capacity to monitor and regulate the industry.”
The GHRA said that environmental advocates looking for an outright ban on river mining will be disappointed that the authorities did not move more aggressively against the irrevocable destruction of fresh water resources on which interior communities depend for the foreseeable future. “To this end, the GHRA reiterates its call for a complete ban on river mining, and for long term policies on fresh water resources to be developed and effectively implemented,” the association said.
It said that while mining interests project the idea of individuals having a ‘basic right to mining’, this concept is trumped “resoundingly” by “the immediate communal claims of indigenous communities and the longer-term interests of the larger society.” According to the human rights body, within a matter of a few decades, fresh water will be as “valuable as oil.” It said that the Guiana Shield is currently one of the world’s largest reservoirs of fresh water and even on limited cost/benefit economic calculations the uncontrolled destruction of our rivers is short-sighted.
“The decision of the Ministry to suspend river mining applications is in fact a step in the right direction of changing the terms in the battle over the use of environmental resources. The underlying message is that there are limits to the reach of markets into spheres of life where they don’t belong. The price mechanism is not an appropriate or effective way of determining the value communities and society places on its rivers, forests, coasts and sub-soil minerals,” the GHRA said. It added that this challenge is not peculiar to Guyana and REDD+ discussions in forestry and river mining applications are the local terms of a debate which is badly needed at a global level.
Meantime, the Commission said that as part of the ongoing engagement with stakeholders within the mining sector, on Tuesday, another quarterly meeting was held between the Ministry, the GGMC and the GGDMA. The meeting which included Persaud, GGMC Commissioner, Karen Livan, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the GGMC, Major General (rtd) Joseph Singh, among other relevant stakeholders reviewed the ongoing joint intervention as well as the process of regulating the mining sector towards greater investments and monitoring for sustainable and environmentally friendly mining practices.
The meeting agreed on the composition of a technical joint working group that included the GGDMA, EPA and the GGMC to carry out a review in one month of environmental issues and concerns pertaining to river and tributary mining. Among the other issues discussed were environmental concerns relating to river mining, waste management at camp sites, security in mining districts, availability of mining lands and miners being displaced by extending village boundaries.
The statement said that there was agreement on the issue of river mining where the Ministry and the GGMC made it “absolutely clear” that there has been no decision to stop river and tributary mining, but rather a temporary hold on accepting new river and tributary claims, until all stakeholders would have met and reviewed acceptable guidelines.
Further, the minster urged that there be an open mind to the required internationally acceptable mining practices as contained in the Mining Act and Regulations.
The GGMC statement yesterday said that it is challenged to visit the numerous river dredging operations and it has to take strong action if its warnings are treated in a dismissive manner by recalcitrants in the mining community. The statement said that on several occasions, the concerns with regard to river mining were highlighted and the GGMC had cause to issue a number of Cease Work Orders placed on river dredge operators who were directly responsible for significantly high levels of turbidity in specific rivers and tributaries. “Miners therefore need to adopt a disciplined approach and adhere to the regulations,” the statement said.
