INTERNATIONAL PRESS DOSSIER

A campaign by the Front for the Sustainable Development of the Northern Border

of Peru, Muqui – Proposal and Action Network (CooperAcción and FEDEPAZ) and

the Technical Academic Committee for Assistance in Environmental Issues -

Comité Académico Técnico de Asesoramiento a Problemas Ambientales (CATAPA,

Belgium)

www.mininginparadise.org

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Mining in paradise? No-go zones for mining

The future is being decided upon. The future of several generations to come. If a

conflict-thermometer would describe a country, Peru would be portrayed with currently

25 open conflicts around the development of mining (source: el Observatorio de

conflictos mineros de América Latina). Their experiences are numerous and many are

dyed with ecological disaster, economic disappointment of the inhabitants and

violations of the rights of the local communities.

The inhabitants of Ayabaca,

Huancabamba, San Ignacio and Jaén

are calling out their choice: keep their

land free of mining activities. Their

lands are currently threatened by the

copper and molybdenum mining

project ‘Rio Blanco’. This project

represents the first large scale mining

project in northern border area of Peru,

an area which still has the possibility to

choose the type of development it wants. About 25% of these four provinces is

currently concessioned, but the exploitation has not yet started. The Rio Blanco project

would represent the first stone of the construction of a larger mining district in the area.

Therefore, the decision is not trivial, and the northerners have already voted: no to

mining.

But, who decides where and how to exploit? For now, the only voice is the one of the

Peruvian government, who has always defended the interests of the company Rio

Blanco Copper SA (Ex ‘Minera Majaz’ SA). Rio Blanco Copper SA is now in the hands

of the Chinese Zijin consortium, but until 2007 it was a subsidiary of the British

Monterrico Metals. From the start of operations in 2003, the project has been considered

as illegal –stated by the report of the Peruvian Ombudsman's 2006– because the local

population was not previously consulted as the Peruvian Constitution requests. Only the

local referendum of 16 September 2007, held in the municipalities of Pacaipampa,

Paisaje de Huancabamba

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Ayabaca and Carmen de la Frontera, gives an official –but not binding– reference of the

will of the local population: about 95% of the population voted against mining activities.

Previously, the discontent of the people led to a peaceful march to the mining camp of

the company that ended with the kidnapping and torture of 28 farmers, leaving one

death. The company is being judged in London for these crimes of which there are clear

pictures of the abuse of the community members.

Beyond the trampling of human rights, also economic data are important. The Peruvian

population has made its own count: in the long run, an area free of mines is more

beneficial. This means the preservation of an area of unique ecosystems, such as the

cloud forest and the páramo, which ensures the quality and quantity of water needed for

agriculture in the area –where organic coffee, cocoa, mangoes, lemons and rice are

grown– and to respect the choice for a proper development model, respecting a

sustainable environment.

There is no doubt that the conflict in Rio Blanco decides the future of this land and its

people. At stake is a development option for an entire community. And the population

has decided against mines. Now they need to be heard.

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Economic dimension of the conflict

Mining for development. This has been the propaganda of the Peruvian government

over the past years. Exploitation of mineral resources to stimulate economic growth.

But who benefits from the mining? "They bring development, but only for them, those

of the company, but not for us. For us they leave only the destruction and pollution,"

claims Pascual Rosales, former president of the Provincial Executive Committee of

Ayabaca Farmer Rounds. There are several reasons that support their complaints.

Several experiences throughout the country question the premises of the government.

The Peruvian economy has focused in recent years on mining activities. Nowadays,

with 15.38% of the land concessioned, the country is experiencing the largest expansion

of the mining sector. But this increased wealth has not contributed to the development

of local populations, those who provide their lands for extraction. On the contrary,

usually the territories witness how the activity is conducted without any benefit, leaving

only uncultivable lands and scarcity of drinking water, which destroys its development

for decades.

Yanacocha, for example, houses the largest

gold mine in Latin America, but the

Cajamarca region remains the second

poorest region in the country. This little

local benefit that is generated in countries

like Peru led the International Finance

Corporation (World Bank arm) to create the

program "Strengthening local benefits," to

counterbalance the apparent lack of benefits

to the area where the mining activity

develops.

One of the main problems of mining

development in Peru is derived from the fact that the Ministry of Energy and Mines

(MINEM) has a dual responsibility: to promote mining investment, but also to regulate

and ensure the ‘correct’ development. Why do foreign companies in Peru find so many

Farmer in the province of Huancabamba

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benefits? The royalties paid on the mining activity are low compared to the ones of

other countries and one of the lowest in Latin America. Further, many of the royalties

are lowered exaggeratedly, or in many cases, simply eliminated. It converts mining in a

good deal for businesses.

The population observes that, on the long-term, alternative economic development is

more beneficial than a mine. In the project area a series of environmental cooperatives

and productive, agricultural and livestock associations have been formed, promoting a

sustainable alternative development. A development that enables them to maintain the

ecosystems that communities have taken care and of which their survival depends.

Further, there is also a possibility of ecotourism in an area so rich as the tropical

Peruvian Andes are; an economical option that would be lost, no doubt, with the start of

exploitation of the Rio Blanco mine.

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Cloud forest in Jaén

Ecological dimension of the conflict "We in Ayabaca are living in paradise, in a healthy environment where pure and clean

waters spring high in the mountains. We, the farmer rounds, have agreed that mining

will not be accepted." says Vicente Natividad Gonzales, former vice president of the

Provincial Federation of Farmer Rounds Patrols in the Ayabaca province. And he does

not exaggerate while stating the area as a paradise. The tropical Andes are extremely

rich biological environments, and include the fragile ecosystems of the páramos and

cloud forests which regulate water flow throughout the entire region and which are part

of the headwaters of the Amazon River, a common good of all humanity.

The representatives of the four provinces that declared themselves "no-go area for

mining" are very clear: no to a mining

activity that destroys a natural environment

like theirs. There are dramatic cases within

the borders of Peru to justify the choice of

wanting to avoid this type of development.

La Oroya, for example, is currently among

the ten most polluted towns of the world;

what development has achieved its

population? Silvia Passuni, geographer of

the organization CooperAcción, regrets that in this case "environmental and social

excesses committed by the company have resulted in the State and National Mining

Society reject them publicly, but the rejection is always directed towards the company,

while the problems of environmental pollution and social disorder are considered in

second place. " But the mining company does not always win. The population of

Tambogrande defended its choice till the end: no the mining company Manhattan. And

it had to leave the area. Now is the turn of Rio

Blanco.

The mayor environmental threats from a open

pit mine are: untreated or unmanageable

tailings, acid mine drainage (AMD) and

damage to water resources. The latter are those Gold mine of Yanacocha (Cajamarca)

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who acquire a more global scale, as the water pollution can affect other regions –beyond

Piura- and even other countries. According to Passuni, Ecuador could be affected,

"especially when you consider that on the other side of the border there is another

mining project with a similar name, which makes us think that we could be dealing with

another subsidiary of the same mother-company."

With mining activity, surface water and groundwater that runs downhill are

contaminated. According to a study of Peru Support Group, the current project is

located on the eastern slope, limiting the negative impact on the Amazon River and the

Atlantic. But the development of a broader mining district in the region, threatens the

western side, which goes to the Pacific. As we speak, already 25% of the four provinces

has already been concessioned.

All effects are reducible pollutants, although that always depends on the company. The

Chinese Zijin-consortium, currently the owner of the project (after buying the assets of

Monterrico Metals in 2007) has made headlines by polluting the Ting River in China:

2000 tons of contaminated fish make it one of the most serious disasters in recent years

in the country. Last August the vice president of the company was arrested for technical

irregularities. "If they are able to pollute that way in their own country, it is likely they

have no qualms to do so in a country that is not theirs, like the case of Peru and the Rio

Blanco mining project,” comments David Velazco, director of the Ecumenical

Foundation for Development and Peace (FEDEPAZ).

The debate is summarized in what should be a proper synergy between mining,

development and environment. Passuni adds that "Peru is a country of such diversity in

ecosystems as in cultural groups; therefore the same recommendation or the same

model cannot be applied in all cases." Thus, each area must seek their own development,

and the northern border area of Peru has found it: areas free of mines.

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Social dimension of the conflict

What would happen if one day a mining company arrives and sets up a site in front of

your house? In 2003, the life in the provinces of Ayabaca and Huancabamba – situated

in the Peruvian Andes – changed. The mining company Majaz S.A. – nowadays known

as Rio Blanco Copper S.A., sister company of the Chinese multinational Zijin – arrived

and set up in the agricultural communities of Yanta, Segunda and Cajas. The mining

threat, which in the northern zone they only knew as something occuring outside of

their region until then, suddenly appeared. Without any previous notice or without

consultation. Without public acceptance, only with a concession of the Peruvian

government in Lima. Far away from these lands.

Soon the debate started: Which kind of development do we want for our region? Is this

similar to the kind of development that Lima needs?, How will we live from now on?

Manuel Guerrero, responsible for environmental affairs in Central Nacional de Rondas

Campesinas, explains: “with the mine, they are trying to insert a way of life that goes

against our society”.

The government claims that a mine generates employment opportunities, but it ignores

the fact that the majority of the vacancies requires qualified employees which the

locality cannot provide. So, work for whom? And, what will the women do? According

to the English organization Peru Support Group, previous experience indicates that a

mine does not generate work for women, which can lead to the impoverishment of

women, since they can lose their fields because of contamination.

The project resulted in conflict. Río

Blanco is one of the 25 conflicts caused

by mining, according to the Observatorio

de Conflictos Mineros de América Latina

(OCMAL). Thus, it seems that Peruvian

mining has not generated the expected

benefits. The extractive activities have not

made the locals rich nor have they

Woman in front of a protest sign in Ayabaca

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resulted in social peace. Actually, the opposite has occurred.

The government has decided to militarize the Río Blanco region. While the

communities are looking for ways to make their voices be heard and to start a dialogue

with the company and the government, the latter prefer to ensure the development of the

activities through militarization. Guerrero explains: “we defend life and they call us

terrorists, while they defend those that bring death and destruction”. Who does this

government represent? David Velazco, director of Fedepaz, explains: “The government

is taking advantage of the belief that there are supposedly serious risks to security by

declaring this an emergency zone. This ended up as another attempt to impose the

development of the mining activities”.

Human rights have been violated. Up until today, seven persons have died in this

conflict. In addition, Monterrico Metals has been sued for the torture of 28 local people

after a protest march in August 2005. Where is social peace? Guerrero has no doubts:

“this is still a paradise and we have to defend it”.

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Legal dimension of the conflict

A pending trial in London gives the first clue. The company Monterrico Metals,

responsible for starting up the exploitation of Río Blanco, which was taken over in

2007 by the Chinese giant Zijing, is accused of violation human rights. It is also accused

of illegal settlement in the northern Peruvian region by the Ombudsman (2006) and by

the Commission of Andean, Amazonean and Afroperuvian Peoples and of Environment

and Ecology of the Congres of the Republic (2008). This introduction shows that the

mining project in Piura has little legal support.

Five million pounds (about 8 million U.S. dollars) in assets of Monterrico Metals was

frozen pending the ruling of the trial - scheduled for 2011 - in which the company is

accused of kidnapping and torturing 28 people who protested against its activities in the

north in August 2005. Photos of the torture came to light a few months after the conflict,

leaving little doubt about what exactly happened.

Furthermore, in 2006, the Ombudsman found as many as three violations of rights

which involve mining: violation of the property of the villagers, violation of the right to

determine how to exploit a property and violation of the right to information about the

development of activities. The "land law" and the "law of peasant communities" state

that any company requires approval of at least two thirds of the Communal Assembly of

the Peasant Communities to start up, no matter if they have a license or not. Emma

Gomez, lawyer of CooperAcción says: "No authority has been responsible for allowing

the company to be in the region since 2003 without the corresponding authorization.

Both the Congress and the Defense have confirmed the illegality. " And that illegal

presence has already been denounced by the communities of Yanta and Segunda y

Cajas as a crime of usurpation of land.

Therefore, the only real evidence of consultation of the wishes of the communities are

the results of the referendum of September 16, 2007, conducted in the municipalities of

Pacaipampa, Ayabaca and Carmen de la Frontera. Although results are not binding, the

no-to-mining won with an overwhelming 97% of the vote.

Gomez laments: "The government gives priority to the interests of foreign companies at

the expense of protecting and defending the rights of communities of our country. Thus,

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they have tried to implement the policy

called ‘the dog in the manger’, which is

based on the idea that the existence of

communities does not allow the country's

development."

But a development that violates human

rights? If the trial in London rules against

the company, this will be "further

evidence of the infeasibility of the

project because of all the problems it has generated" Gomez argued. It is remarkable

that despite the importance of the case, the Peruvian government remains silent on the

matter. While in London there is a court case about the violation of human rights in

northern Peru, the government remains silent. Meanwhile, the protest in Piura grows

steadily.

Maps of the affected zones

Announcement of the 2007 Referendum

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Map of Peru Support Group

Text declaration

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Campaign Program

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September

- Self-Declaration of Ayabaca, Huancabamba, San Ignacio and Jaén as “Mining-

Free Zones”.

- Launching of the campaign in Piura (local), Lima (national) and Belgium

(international).

October

- Delivery of the statement ‘mining-free zones’ in Lima.

- Public forum on land use and ecological-economic zoning in Lima.

November

- 23/11. International conference in Brussels: academics, Europarlementarians,

witnesses and representatives of the Peruvian institutions participate in the

debate on the proposed free-mining zones. The research dossier, the scientific

and legal base of the campaign will be presented and there will be a photography

exposition about the devastating effects of mining in Peru and the threatened

paradises.

- Weeks of action: Conferences aimed at raising awareness of the European

population over mining disputes and the proposed mining-free zones.

- European tour: Conferences of Peruvian speakers will be held in Britain,

Belgium, Holland, Germany, France, Spain and Italy. The speakers will explain

why they support the creation of a mining-free zone. The lectures will be

followed by joint meetings and press interviews.

December

- Weeks of action

- Closing Day: We present the results to the Peruvian and European institutions,

as well as the United Nations.

Contact for International Press

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Laura de la Quintana

laura.delaquintana@catapa.be

media@mininginparadise.com

0032.477042869

Aretha Francis

aretha.francis@catapa.be

media@mininginparadise.com

0032.477042887

CATAPA (Comité Académico Técnico de Asesoramiento a Problemas Ambientales).

K. Maria-Hendrikaplein 5,6 9000 Gent, Belgium.

www.mininginparadise.com

International campaign organized by:

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