Mining – India 1
1. Kondh representative in London to urge Vedanta shareholders to stop mining 4
2. India iron ore spot prices nearing USD 100 CNF China 5
3. Cong ups bid for mining scam probe 5
4. Diamond mining at Panna likely to resume before Aug 15 6
5. Orissa to strengthen vigilance in mineral transportation 7
6. Govt admits leakage in mines revenue, opp seeks CBI probe 8
7. Orissa tribals block UK’s Vedanta Group’s mining plans 8
Mining – International 10
8. Bauxite mines under scrutiny for social, environmental impact 10
9. Minister overrules green watchdog over mines 10
10. Mining Communities Need Attention Now-Minister 11
11. Abandoned mine in Alleghany County will become data security center 12
12. Indonesians flock to illegal gold mines 13
13. Bosnia region merges coal mines with power utility 13
14. Harmony Gets Liquidators’ Permission to Acquire Mines 14
Other News 15
15. Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bills face opposition 15
16. Noise pollution affects birds' nesting habits 16
17. In three years, govt gets 1.75 lakh applications for claims on forest land 17
18. Despite slowdown, consumer goods sector grew 15 percent 17
19. Adivasi Mahasabha to hold statewide protest rallies, dharnas on Aug 3 18
20. Now, a wildlife intelligence unit to fight poachers 19
21. A Wild Idea: Privatise the Jungles 19
Mining – India
The Planet’s Price Tag
The global obsession with robust GDPs is giving way to a novel and controversial concept — the Green GDP. PRERNA SINGH BINDRA on the new way to save the earth
IF YOU KNEW it costs the earth Rs 15 lakh a year to pay your car’s EMI, would you still buy new wheels? Would you rather have electricity for 10 years or oxygen for 100? Choose: fresh drinking water until 2099 or aerated drinks until 2050?
These aren’t inane questions but real choices and challenges that will soon influence global growth, as colossal environmental costs overshadow economic progress in the era of climate change. Battling these questions and the difficult face-off between environmental concerns and development goals, some countries are now considering supplementing Gross Domestic Product (GDP) calculations — the conventional index of national wealth — with ‘Green GDP’, an exciting and controversial new concept.
Green GDP seeks to evaluate and place a monetary figure for a country’s environmental resources. Simply put: if you know the cost of something, you will value it. If you don’t have a cost for something, you are happy to throw it away. Says Pavan Sukhdev, founder of the Green Indian States Trust (GIST) and pioneer of the Green GDP concept in India, “The traditional GDP simply does not measure the value of forests in national economy. In that sense, it is not a true reflection of wealth at all. The GDP must be made to to take into account the value of natural capital that is being destroyed — forest losses, degradation, declining water quality, etc. — and the creation of human capital in terms of education.”
But how is one to put a price tag on Corbett National Park or Ranthambhore National Park or the impenetrable forests of Arunachal Pradesh? The parameters of the Green GDP are still debatable, and the practicality of using it received its first setback in 2005 when China, reportedly the only country to have officially computed it, abandoned the exercise two years after it began. In India too, while the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation is now readying a national database to calculate the cost of natural resource depletion, a highly placed source in the government says that this will be, at best, an academic exercise.
However, none of this negates the fact that the traditional GDP ignores vital indices of national wealth and well-being and falls short of being a real indicator of growth. The men who designed the conventional GDP in the World War II era themselves recognise its limitations. Upon winning the Nobel Prize for Economics in 1984, Richard Stone, one of the creators of the GDP measure, stated that societal analysis ought to rest not only on economic studies, but also on socio-demographics and environmental phenomena. Says Sameer Sanyal, who co-authored GIST, “The message was that the GDP was a work in progress.”
To illustrate the fallacy of the current GDP measure, Sanyal talks about the worth of a pristine rainforest. “If we cut it down we will be destroying huge value in terms of biodiversity, watersheds, carbon sequestration, flood control, nontimber forest produce and so on. Yet in the current system, the destruction of all that value will show up as positive GDP growth from logging!”
The GDP, therefore, can only be a true reflection of national wealth and value generated if we assign monetary values to intangibles such as air and water pollution, deforestation and land degradation, as well as changes in human capital such as improvements in health and education.
LOSSES AND GAINS
If eco-damage were considered as lost capital, India’s GDP would be reduced by nearly 6 percent
Including natural resources as part of GDP would cut global wealth predictions for 2050 by 7 percent, or $2.5 - $4.5 trillion
The natural ‘services’ of India’s rivers and forests account for 57 percent of annual income for the rural poor
According to NatureFirst, the value of India’s forests, in terms of stored carbon, is $336 billion
Corbett Tiger Reserve is valued at $573 million and Bandhavgarh National Park at $201 million
Such computations, environment economists feel, are vital for making informed choices and deciding on development tradeoffs. For example, would it be worth building a dam if it submerged a forest with a value of, say, Rs 5,000 crores? What is the cost of building a mall over city green space? Citizens of Delhi might identify with this question. If the Green Brigade, as it battled against swanky malls trampling the Delhi Ridge, could have quantified in monetary terms the oxygen released, carbon sequestered and water retained, perhaps the projects would not have gone forward. As a result, we would have had clearer air and more groundwater, if a little less of Bulgari and Nina Ricci.
The idea of attaching economic values to green assets gains even more urgency in the context of climate change. For instance, the European Union–commissioned Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) study, led by Pavan Sukhdev, concluded that the cost of natural decline dwarfs losses on the financial markets. As Lord Nicholas Stern, who authored the path-breaking Stern Review, told TEHELKA, “A business-as-usual scenario would shrink the world economy by at least five and perhaps even 20 percent of the global GDP.” This is bad news for India, which is especially vulnerable to climate change with its long coastline and rivers fed by Himalayan glaciers. The impacts are being felt in the form of receding glaciers, increasingly dry or overflowing rivers and extreme weather unpredictability, including droughts, cyclones and floods. Climate change, with its horrifying human and economic costs, is beating down our door.
This is very evident, for instance, in Himachal Pradesh, where apples are the main produce of an agrarian economy. Sanjay Chauhan, joint secretary of the Himachal Kisan Sabha estimates that nearly 90 percent of this year’s apple crop failed. “A good crop of apples requires about 1,200 chilling hours, adequate snowfalls and rains”, says he, but a truant snowfall and higher temperatures have led to recurring crop failures. Apple yield has halved in the past decade. For 80 percent of Himachal’s marginal farmers, such climatic changes have already become a question of survival. Reacting to this, in June this year, the state started a pilot insurance scheme covering risks arising out of changing climate parameters.
Such crises abound elsewhere in the country. Given these increasing alarm signals, India has been galvanised into computing the value of its forest cover, a vital exercise given that deforestation accounts for nearly 25 percent of greenhouse gases. Jairam Ramesh confirms that the government is “engaged in a technical exercise to assess the contribution of India’s forest cover in capturing carbon dioxide”. But this too has its downside and is being hotly debated in environmental circles. As Ramesh says, the economic value of forests is indisputable, but they also have an intrinsic value that should not and cannot be monetised. “The purpose of computing these values is academic and to have a knowledge base”, says he. “The idea is to quantify the carbon capacity of our forests to serve as a basis for our climate change negotiations. We want to be in a position to say, this is the contribution of India’s forest cover to the absorption of carbon, this is the magnitude of carbon sinks India has, and we need to get credit for that. Our position is that we need to get credit not just for stopping deforestation but for promoting reforestation.”
SEVERAL NGOS are now engaged with computing economic values for our natural resources. Ranjit Barthakur, founder of NatureFirst, has proposed a ‘carbon sink reserve’ encompassing about 3,500 square kilometres of forests across Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. He is also campaigning for a new overall way to place value on ecological assets and define new frameworks for development — a framework he calls ‘naturenomics’. Under this, highly forested states would be monetarily compensated by the Centre for promoting carbon storage and conserving ecosystems instead of destroying forests. This sort of revaluation of natural resources would redefine ‘poorly developed states’ as rich in natural assets and hence economically wealthy. Arunachal Pradesh, for instance, constitutes about 15 percent of the total forest carbon reserve of the country and would command many crores of rupees for this sequestration.
This practice of ‘payment for ecosystem services’ to states has already found a place in Indian government policy. In 2004, the 12th Finance Commission recognised for the first time the need to invest in natural resources in this manner and earmarked Rs 1,000 crore over five years to be given to states for preserving forests. Currently, the 13th Finance Commission has commissioned a study into the forest wealth of states so that they can be allocated resources accordingly.
The revaluation of natural assets would redefine poor states as economically wealthy
The argument that nature should be economically valued is succinctly laid out in a recent Nature editorial: “As long as the marketplace treats [nature’s] services as free goods, the value of what nature does for humanity will effectively be set to zero and nature will continue to be trashed. But if the market could somehow be made to price the services appropriately, all those forests, streams, lakes, prairies and seashores would suddenly acquire real economic value, and people would have incentives to preserve them.”
This reasoning is sound, but how accurately can one compute the services rendered by biodiversity? If we do not understand their intrinsic value, how can we put a “fair price” on them as GDP – itself an imperfect, inequitable valuation? Besides, we must ensure that compensation for ecosystem services is equitably distributed and does not fall into the pockets of the rich and powerful. Sunita Narain, director of the Centre for Science and Environment, echoes this concern. In the Niyamgiri hills of Orissa, for instance, where rampant mining has been allowed, the forests are compensated at ‘net present value’ — a paltry amount considering the area’s natural value and the livelihoods of people dependent on the forest. With this, conservation has become a mere money game, she says. “If you can pay, you can cut the forest, destroy the wildlife. No forest is so priceless it cannot be cut, no land so inviolate it cannot be had.”
There are many like Narain who argue that nature should not be further commodified. Water already comes in plastic bottles and tigers are put on show for paying audiences. One might therefore question the ethical value of putting a price tag on each tiger and tree, making nature justify its existence in monetary terms for the selfish purposes of man. But, equally, if we are to save our natural resources, perhaps this is what we must finally do.
WRITER’S EMAIL
bindra.prerna@gmail.com
http://www.tehelka.com/story_main42.asp?filename=Ne010809the_planet.asp
Kondh representative in London to urge Vedanta shareholders to stop mining
25 Jul 2009 06:27:00 GMT
Source: ActionAid International- India
ActionAid
Reuters and AlertNet are not responsible for the content of this article or for any external internet sites. The views expressed are the author's alone.
ACTIONAID PRESS RELEASE
New Delhi: Threatened by proposed mining of the Orissa's Niyamgiri Mountain by a global mining giant, the Kondh community living on the ecologically sensitive mountain has sent a representative to U.K. to appeal to the shareholders to stop the mining plan.
"We cannot live without our God Mountain and the forest and we will continue our peaceful struggle. It is a life and death battle and Kondh people are united on this," said Sitaram before take a flight to London supported by ActionAid.
Vedanta Resources plc, a British-listed mining company, is about to start building an open-pit mine for bauxite (a raw form of aluminum) in the pristine Niyamgiri Hills in the state of Orissa in India. The bauxite will be transported by conveyor belt to a refinery at the foot of the hills.
The Niyamgiri hills are the ancestral home of thousands of tribal people whose distinctive way of life and culture makes them one of India's most vulnerable indigenous groups.
According to a report by Centrally Empowered Committee of the Supreme Court, the mine will lead to massive deforestation, threaten key water sources and destroy local ecosystems, home to endangered animals such as tigers, leopards and elephants.
In the past appeal to shareholders of the company an international scrutiny of Vedanta's activities in Lanjigarh and elsewhere led the Norway Pension Fund to withdraw its investment of $15.6m from the company.
The Ethics Committee had stated: "Allegations levelled at Vedanta regarding environmental damage and complicity in human rights violations, including abuse and forced eviction of tribal people, are well founded."
Another delegation of Kondh people will be hosting a candlelight vigil in Indian capital to draw attention of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and seek support from city citizens to stop mining and destruction of their very way of life.
Media Contact:
In Delhi: Susan +91 9968261974, Parvinder Singh +91 9811224816
In London: Bratindi Jena +91 9437001219
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/fromthefield/aaindia/12485037053.htm
NEWS BACK
India iron ore spot prices nearing USD 100 CNF China
- 25 Jul, 2009
Exporters and miners said that India's iron ore prices moved closer to USD 100 a tonne on Thursday on strong inquiries from China and smaller than usual supplies owing to the monsoon.
A Shanghai based iron ore trader said that "Indian ore prices have risen very quickly in China now. Demand is always there as you know the output of steel mills is rising, while prices have been boosted due to some problems of Australian ore deliveries."
Mr Raja Dhupar vice president of Yazdani International Pvt Ltd an iron ore trader operating from eastern India said that "A lot of people want to buy, but not everybody can provide supplies.”
Mr Dhupar said that ships at Paradip port in the east had a waiting time of 15 to 20 days owing to slow loading of goods in the rains and the after effect of a strike this month at the nearby port of Haldia.
India, which exports about 100 million tonnes of iron ore mainly to China, is in its leanest season for the material as the rains slow mining and west coast ports stop shipping iron ore fines that tend to absorb moisture.
Deadlocked talks between China and its biggest supplier, Australia, are helping Indian exporters push prices higher.
(Sourced from Reuters)
http://www.steelprices-china.com/news/index/2009/07/25/OTk1MA%3D%3D/India_iron_ore_spot_prices_nearing_USD_100_CNF_China.html
Cong ups bid for mining scam probe
;Statesman News Service
BHUBANESWAR, 24 JULY: The leader of the BJP legislature party Mr KV Singh Deo unveiled yet another alleged instance of a mining scam in the Assembly today as the Opposition pressed for a CBI probe.
The alleged multi-crore mining scam had rocked the House last week when Mr Singh Deo, armed with documents, had leveled a series of charges prompting the government to order a vigilance inquiry.
Today, the Opposition moved a notice for adjournment on the transit permit and pass and movement of illegal minerals from the Joda belt in Keonjhar district.
This provided scope for the members to focus on the mining scam again as they attempted to show how illegal mining was rampant in the district. Even reserve forest land has been dug up and minerals transported without valid transit permits and transit passes, they alleged.
Mr KV Singh Deo quoted from documents to drive home his point that a certain private player had been allowed to carry out iron ore mining without renewing his lease. Rules say that if a mining lease or license remains un-operational for two years, the government should terminate it, but in this case the person was allowed to carry on mining activity for two years without any validation, he alleged.
Citing the operations of the Arjun Ladha company, the activities of one Mr SR Das and how the initials of one Mr Sharma had differed in various documents, Mr Singh Deo said the state was losing crores due to illegal mining and transport.
The government is shielding the culprits, he charged. He alleged that there was enough evidence that reserved forest areas were being mined and that, of a stretch of 326ha in the district, 322ha happen to be reserve forest area.
Earlier, initiating the discussions, Congress member Mr Prasad Harichandan said the revenue loss over the last five years would run to several thousand crores. Of the 15 weighbridges in the Joda area, eight are defunct and ironically, mine owners hold charge of the weighing machines. Most of the weighing machines belong to private hands, even the printing of permits and passes are done privately, Mr Harichandan said, suggesting that this system was part of the well entrenched scam which facilitates the illegal transport and sale of iron ore. "The mafia operating in the region collects Rs 150 per truck," he charged.
The Congress member went on to wonder why the state had not formulated its mineral policy for the last eight years and pointed out that the task force and enforcement meetings stipulated to be held at district level on a monthly basis and every quarter at the state level do not meet.
His party colleagues Mr Santosh Singh Saluja and Mr NK Das spoke on the same lines, demanding a thorough probe. Ruling party members Mr Kalpataru Das, Mr Ananta Das, Mr Prabhat Tripathy and NCP member Mr Amar Satpathy countered some of the points raised by the Opposition.
Speaker Mr Pradip Amat, at one point of time, observed that members had digressed from the subject on which the notice for adjournment had been moved. He urged upon the minister to confine his reply to the subject.
Steel and mines minister Mr Raghunath Mohanty asserted that the transit permit and transit pass system was a well established practice. He conceded that there may be some leakages but quickly claimed that the government was plugging all such possible revenue leakage points.
Mr Mohanty denied any violation of rules as far as renewal or allowing a lease or license holder to continue mining operations as alleged by Mr Singh Deo. He said the state mineral policy would be formulated soon and steps like computerization at check points etc would be taken up. The minister was dismissive as far as the figures of the alleged scam cited by the Opposition. "The amount that they are citing is far more than the royalty collected on iron ore by all mineral bearing states," he quipped.
http://www.thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=9&theme=&usrsess=1&id=262071
Diamond mining at Panna likely to resume before Aug 15
New Delhi (PTI): The country's largest iron ore producer, NMDC, is likely to restart mining operations at the Panna diamond reserves in Madhya Pradesh by August 15 and is currently undertaking trial runs at the site.
NMDC Chairman Rana Som has left for the Panna reserves to assess the production and commercial operations of the mine and understand the commercial viability of the project to come out with a definite date for resuming mining in the area.
"Right now the trial run is going on. I am going only for that (finalise a date to resume full mining operations).
It will take a maximum a month, I wish the mining operations can be resumed before August 15," Som told PTI in an interview on Friday.
Last month, the steel ministry had said the reopening of the mine will be a top priority for the government.
Unable to obtain environment clearance and a nod from the adjoining wildlife sanctuary, the Panna diamond mines was shut in 2005.
However, with a recent conditional nod from the Supreme Court which asked the miner to pay Rs 10.69 crore as net present value (NPV) to the state government, the ministry said it was working to reopen the mines within the 100 days of the current government's coming to power in June.
Som said he wanted to take a view of the mining work at Panna before Steel Minister Virbhadra Singh visits the place and inaugurates the resumption of activities.
http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/006200907241551.htm
Orissa to strengthen vigilance in mineral transportation
BS Reporter / Kolkata/ Bhubaneswar July 25, 2009, 0:30 IST
The Orissa government intends to scale up vigilance to check illegal mining and transportation of minerals and improve collection of revenue from this sector.
The measures being taken to achieve this objective include strengthening the state level enforcement squad to check illegal trade in minerals.
The state government has decided to depute additional police force to the squad. Besides, it proposes to print all required transit passbooks at the government press and set up more weigh bridges in important mines area to check illegal transport of minerals.
These measures will plug the leakages in collection of revenue from mining and mineral trade and raise the collections, said steel and mines minister, Raghunath Mohanty.
Responding to an adjournment motion on loss of revenue due to the fake transit permit and tax evasion in Joda-Bamberi express highway, Mohanty said, the mining lease (ML) holders obtain transit permit from the concerned mining circle office. They also use transit pass to send the minerals to destinations. The mining circle provides authenticated transit passes for transportation of minerals by the lessees.
The minister however, admitted that due to non-availablity of required volume of transit passbooks from the Orissa government press, authenticated transit books have been used in certain areas. So it is not correct to say that transit books printed outside will cause loss of revenue.
He said, the state will not loose revenue as despatch of minerals is controlled by transit permit and transit pass. On the other hand, royalty is also collected on the despatch of minerals.
Referring to the alleged evasion of toll taxes on 18 km long Joda-Bamebari express highway, Mohanty said, toll tax at the rate of (Rs 0.40) per tonne is collected from all the vehicles passing through the road. The deputy director of mines has been entrusted with the task of collecting the toll tax.
The owners seek permission from the joint director, mines, about the quantity of minerals to be transported and route of transportation. Earlier, the opposition chief whip Prasad Harichandan alleged that the state government is loosing thousands of crores of rupees due to the use of fake transit permit by some vested interests.
Though the state government is talking about value addition of minerals, it is yet to frame a mineral policy of the state. He demanded constitution of a separate directorate of enforcement comprising of a reputed IAS officer, a police officer and a senior official of the forest department. To start with, the state government can set up regional enforcement directorate in locations like Raygada, Keonjhar, Jharsuguda, Angul and Talcher.
http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/orissa-to-strengthen-vigilance-in-mineral-transportation/364845/
Govt admits leakage in mines revenue, opp seeks CBI probe
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Agencies
Posted: Friday , Jul 24, 2009 at 1935 hrs
Bhubaneswar:
Orissa government on Friday admitted leakage in revenue collection from mining activities as the Opposition demanded a probe either by CBI or an assembly committee into “illegal” mine trading in the state.
The issue relating to loss of revenue due to illegal transportation and mining activities was raised by Opposition in the assembly through an adjournment motion.
“While the state loses Rs 2,000 crore per annum due to duplicate transit permits/passes (TP), iron ore worth Rs 40,000 crore was being smuggled out of the state every year,” claimed Congress Chief Whip Prasad Harichandan while initiating the debate.
Harichandan charged that officials engaged in checking fraud in transportation of minerals were not using official TPs which could fetch revenue for the state.
“Original TPs were deliberately not used for last five years. Rules framed for transportation of minerals were also deliberately violated to benefit mines owners,” he said.
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/Govt-admits-leakage-in-mines-revenue--opp-seeks-CBI-probe/493676/
Orissa tribals block UK’s Vedanta Group’s mining plans
Ani
July 24th, 2009
LONDON - Repeated protests by tribal people in Orissa, India, have blocked the mining plans of one of Britain’s biggest companies, leading to a costly delay.
Anil Agarwal, billionaire chairman (and majority owner) of Vedanta Resources, announced in January that its massive bauxite mine in the Niyamgiri Hills would start ‘in a month or two’, but men and women of the Dongria Kondh tribe, furious at the planned destruction of their mountain top, have blocked roads and refused to allow the company’s diggers to pass.
Besides repeated protests by hundreds of Dongria Kondh and other Kondh tribespeople, Survival, Amnesty International, Action Aid, War on Want and numerous Indian activists have all condemned Vedanta’s planned mine. Survival has submitted an urgent appeal to the UN, and prompted an investigation by the British government.
Next week, for the first time, a Dongria Kondh representative will come to London to demand that Vedanta Resources leaves his homeland. He will join demonstrators outside Vedanta’s AGM in London on Monday.
The Dongria Kondh’s demonstrations are the latest in a wave of tribal protests against large-scale industrial projects which are destroying their homelands.
In Peru, tribal people have blockaded rivers with canoes to stop oil companies entering their territories. In Malaysia, Penan nomads are defying arrest to block logging roads and halt the destruction of their rainforest for oil palm plantations.
Survival’s Director Stephen Corry said today, “Tribal people find themselves in the frontline of a global battle against the wholesale destruction of the planet. While world leaders talk about stopping climate change, tribal people around the world are literally sitting in front of bulldozers - not just for them, but for all our sakes.” (ANI)
http://blog.taragana.com/n/orissa-tribals-block-uks-vedanta-groups-mining-plans-119847/
Mining – International
Bauxite mines under scrutiny for social, environmental impact
The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment officials check bauxite samples at Nhan Co in Dak Nong Province in May 2009
Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has asked the environment ministry to investigate the impact of two bauxite mines operated by Vietnam National Coal-Mineral Industries Group in the Central Highlands.
The state-owned coal producer, known as Vinacomin, needs to speed up site clearance and resettlement of local people, according to a statement on the government’s website Friday.
Vinacomin is developing one mine at Nhan Co in Dak Nong Province with Aluminum Corp. of China Ltd., and another in Tan Rai in neighboring Lam Dong Province. The projects have come under criticism because of potential damage to the environment and use of Chinese unskilled laborers.
Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung asked Vinacomin to organize an auction for the bauxite screening plant, finish the licensing of the Tan Rai quarry, and make sure contractors complete design contracts, according to Friday’s statement.
Aluminum Corp., China’s biggest producer of the metal, signed a US$1.5 billion agreement with Vinacomin in November 2006.
Alcoa Inc., the world’s third-largest aluminum maker, agreed in June 2008 to work with Vinacomin to develop the aluminum industry, according to a statement from Alcoa. Bauxite is used to make aluminum, the lightweight metal.
Source: Bloomberg
http://www.thanhniennews.com/business/?catid=2&newsid=51108
Minister overrules green watchdog over mines
25th July 2009, 6:00 WST
The State Government has rejected the advice of its own environmental watchdog by giving the green light to iron ore mining at a biodiversity hotspot in the Mid-West, sparking accusations it is putting Chinese mining interests ahead of the environment.
Environment Minister Donna Faragher approved yesterday two iron ore mining proposals by Karara Mining, a $1.8 billion joint venture between WA’s Gindalbie Metals and China’s Ansteel group.
The move overrode an Environmental Protection Authority recommendation that mining not be permitted in the area surrounding Mungada Ridge, part of the Blue Hills Range 225km east of Geraldton, because of its unique and vulnerable ecosystem.
The EPA assessment said mining posed a risk of species extinctions on the Mungada Ridge and the neighbouring Terapod iron formation, and recommended that the site be a class-A conservation reserve.
But Mrs Faragher overturned the advice after Karara pledged to conserve 995ha at the ridge’s eastern end. She granted permission to mine the Terapod deposit, accepting Karara’s appeal that it was geologically distinct from Mungada Ridge.
Conservation Council of WA director Piers Verstegen said the decision was “a clear indication the Barnett Government was willing to override our own environmental watchdog in the interests of foreign investors”. Shadow environment minister Sally Talbot accused Premier Colin Barnett of applying Cabinet pressure to fasttrack mining approvals for Chinese firms, after his comments this week that Chinese investment should be encouraged. Mrs Faragher said the eastern portion of Mungada Ridge would become the region’s first conservation reserve and she was confident it was big enough to protect endemic species.
Conservation Council mining spokesman Tim Nicol said the 995ha was “inadequate”, and many species on the ridge had not been studied.
Greens MLC Robin Chapple said the EPA’s advice was ignored routinely by both the Barnett Government and the previous Labor administration. “I’m appalled but not surprised — whenever the EPA comes up with a recommendation it’s knocked on the head,” he said.
MICHAEL HOPKIN
http://www.thewest.com.au/default.aspx?MenuID=77&ContentID=157935
Mining Communities Need Attention Now-Minister
By ISD (Joe Addo)
Business/Finance | 15 hours ago
The Minister for Environment, Science and Technology, Ms Sherry Ayittey has urged mining companies in the country to fulfill their social responsibilities towards mining communities in consonance with provisions in social agreement.
She admitted it is high time government resourced the Department of Town and Country Planning, so as to curb the surge in conflicts between mining companies and the host communities.
'Poor practices in development control, lack of enforcement of basic planning regulations and lack of pro-active town planning principles, will most likely make mining towns less productive and livable,' she stressed.
Ms Ayittey was speaking at this year's Seminar and Annual General Meeting of the Ghana Institute of Planners (GIP) in Accra.
The sector minister implored the Institute to play an advocacy role, in building a new image for town planning in Ghana, and emphasised her Ministry's readiness to collaborate with all relevant agencies in reviewing practices and procedures that affect mining communities.
'We will also liaise with the land valuation board to review the rate of compensation paid to land owners and the procedures for obtaining small scale mining licenses as well as the registration of small scale mining operators,' she added.
On her part, the Chief Executive Officer of Ghana Chamber of Mines, Ms Joyce Aryee, remarked that, lots of slums have been created in mining communities as a result of people engaging in peripheral activities other than mining, hence the need for immediate urban renewals, in order for the country to attain optimum benefit from mining.
In reaction to questions from the Media, Ms Aryee opined that, the ECOWAS directive on mining for West African States may not be adopted by Ghana since it is no different from the country's regulatory framework.
A mining consultant, Steve Yirenkyi, debunked all claims and concerns expressed by the Wasa Association of Communities Affected by Mining (WACAM) against mining companies in Ghana.
http://www.modernghana.com/news/229344/1/mining-communities-need-attention-now-minister.html
July 24, 2009
Abandoned mine in Alleghany County will become data security center
When you visit the Alleghany Highlands, mountain tops cover the landscape. Underneath one of those mountains in Low Moor lies an economic opportunity.
Deep inside the Alleghany Highlands, a mine has been sitting abandoned for decades.
The Low Moor Iron Company used it to mine limestone from the late 1800s to the 1920s. It is currently owned by a local family, but the Alleghany Highlands Economic Development Corporation has entered into an option to purchase it. That means Alleghany County currently has control of the land, and it plans to sell the mine to a developer who will use it to build a data security center.
That's a place where companies or government organizations can safely store information.
"In the event that their primary storage centers are sabotaged or infected by viruses or are hit by terrorist attacks, they know they have a place they can store data safely," says David Kleppinger with the development corporation.
Once a developer is chosen, everything will be kept top secret.
"There'll be high security clearances and special codes," says Kleppinger. "You just couldn't walk in here off the street."
"They're very secretive type people that very interested in it," says Steve Bennett, chairman of the Alleghany County Board of Supervisors. "They don't make a lot of noise when they come, but yes there have been some people here to look at this."
Right now, the area is getting ready to market the mine. An engineer recently declared it safe for this kind of facility. Next, a geological survey will be made so developers can determine how much space they can use.
Kleppinger says there are more developers than there are mines, so finding someone who is interested in buying the property shouldn't be a problem. There are only three mines in Virginia that are suitable spaces for a data security center, and this one is the closest to Washington D.C.
Even though several developers have shown interest, not just anyone can buy it.
"Obviously we're going to be looking to find a data security center developer who will provide us with the most jobs," says Kleppinger.
A data security operation could bring anywhere from 20 to 200 jobs to the area. The average starting salary for this type work is about $50,000.
"What you really need to do to be successful is to think out of the box, and this is definitely out of the box for Alleghany County," says Bennett. "High-tech data under a mountain... that's about as out of the box as we can get."
Once a developer is named there's still a lot of work to do, and it could take years before the facility is complete.
http://www.wdbj7.com/Global/story.asp?S=10787381
Indonesians flock to illegal gold mines
Poor people in Indonesia have been flocking to the island of Lombok, where they are finding gold, and it is transforming their lives.
They are breaking the law but some have been able to earn more money in a day than they had in a year as farmers or labourers.
Al Jazeera's Step Vaessen discovers that there are serious risks to the Lombok gold rush.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia-pacific/2009/07/200972561453583134.html
Bosnia region merges coal mines with power utility
Fri Jul 24, 2009 6:11pm IST
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SARAJEVO, July 24 (Reuters) - Bosnia's Muslim-Croat federation government on Friday merged seven coal mines with the largest power utility Elektroprivreda BiH (EPBiH), to supply its thermal power plants with coal.
The deal sees the formation of a new company, the Elektroprivreda Group, and paves the way for EPBIH's 300 million euro ($425.9 million) investment into the overhaul of mines over the next five years and the creation of better working conditions for its future 17,000 employees.
"The signing of the contract is setting a milestone in the creation of a new concern that aims to become the main economic generator in Bosnia," EPBiH General Manager Amer Jerlagic told a news conference.
Jerlagic said the concern would start operating after the region's security commission assessed the value of the mines and EPBiH, expected by the end of 2009.
The federation government, which holds a 90 percent stake in EPBiH, agreed last year to swap its 320 million Bosnian marka ($232.9 million) debt to coal miners with stakes in the utility. The debt relates to unpaid social benefits accumulated over a number of years.
EPBiH, which makes nearly half of its revenue from power exports, was the only power supplier when Bosnia was part of the former Yugoslavia, but after the country split along ethnic lines during the 1992-95 war, separate Serb and Croat utilites were formed.
Bosnia's coal reserves are estimated at 3.9 billion tonnes, and make up about 90 percent of the country's energy potential, but are still not fully explored.
Bosnia is one of the few countries in the Balkans seen as capable of exporting electricity. The others rely on imports to cover between 30 and 50 percent of electricity consumption.
EPBiH increased its revenue by nearly 16 percent and tripled net profit in the first half of 2009 thanks to electricity export deals agreed last year. ($1=.7043 Euro) ($1=1.374 Bosnian marka) (Reporting by Maja Zuvela; Editing by Daria Sito-Sucic and Rupert Winchester)
http://in.reuters.com/article/oilRpt/idINLO12461220090724
Harmony Gets Liquidators’ Permission to Acquire Mines
By Carli Lourens
July 24 (Bloomberg) -- Harmony Gold Mining Co., the preferred bidder forPamodzi Gold Ltd.’s mines in South Africa’s Free State province, received provisional liquidators’ approval to acquire the properties.
“We’re busy with the agreements” and may sign them “some time next week,”Enver Motala, a liquidator for the Pamodzi assets, said today by phone. State-owned financing agency Industrial Development Corp. and the National Union of Mineworkers approved Harmony’s takeover of the assets, he added.
Harmony said last month the mines might add between 10 million and 15 million ounces of gold resources to its portfolio. The properties were placed under provisional liquidation after Pamodzi ran short of funds and its shares were suspended from trading in Johannesburg.
“Final terms still need to be agreed upon,” Marian van der Walt, spokeswoman for Johannesburg-based Harmony, said today by phone. The acquisition also is subject to the transfer of mining rights to Harmony by the government, she added.
Harmony fell 76 cents, or 1 percent, to close at 72.74 rand in Johannesburg trading, reducing its market value to 31 billion rand ($4 billion).
To contact the reporter on this story: Carli Lourens in Johannesburg atclourens@bloomberg.net.
Last Updated: July 24, 2009 11:23 EDT
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601116&sid=aWVPH2xOasLY
Other News
Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bills face opposition
Mihir Srivastava
New Delhi, July 24, 2009
India TodayLATEST NEWSStory
Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee is not the only one understood to have raised serious objection in the Union Cabinet meeting on Thursday night to the provisions of the Land Acquisition (Amendment) Bill 2007 and the Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill in the Cabinet agenda.
It is acquiring the character of popular protest and rallying point between MGOS. More than a thousand people representing people's movements from over 15 states gathered at Jantar Mantar on Thursday to protest against the two bills.
The gathering, representing several organisations that recognise local people's right to land, forest and water, was lead by senior journalists and activists like Kuldip Nayyar, Surendra Mohan, Amit Bhaduri, Sandeep Pandey, Manoranjan Mohanty, K.B. Saxena, Ramaswami Iyer amongst others.
While Kuldip Nayyar stressed that no land will be given in the present scenario of forced land acquisition, representatives from peoples movements like Medha Patkar, Gautam Bandhopadhyay (Chattisgarh), Dr. Sunilam (M.P.), were of the view that the act should principally consider the rights of the people owning the land.
The bill allegedly endorses the view that 'private' purpose, implying corporate and private commercial interests, is synonymous with 'public' purpose which is being opposed.
The demonstration began with a lighting of a symbolic torch by Surendra Mohan, a veteran socialist leader, who insisted that "without people's consultation, no rehabilitation and resettlement policy will be entertained."
The Land Acquisition (Amendment) Bill was introduced by the UPA government in the last session of their previous tenure. While it was passed in the Lok Sabha, it could not go through a vote in the Rajya Sabha. The bill in its current form negates the process of consultation that began with the National Advisory Council (NAC) and people's movements, where a comprehensive development policy was drafted, keeping in mind concerns of the people.
Peoples' movements have following demands:
Abolish the Land Acquisition Act of British legacy
Issue a white paper on Land Acquisition, Displacement and Rehabilitation for the last 60 years
Shelve the two bills and hold a national consultation on the NAC approved draft along with the displaced people and the people's organisations.
Institute a joint parliamentary standing committee for the discussion on the two Acts.
http://indiatoday.intoday.in/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=53329§ionid=4&secid=&Itemid=1&issueid=116
Noise pollution affects birds' nesting habits
IANS 24 July 2009, 02:41pm IST
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WASHINGTON: A new study has come up with the strongest evidence yet that noise pollution negatively influences the nesting habits of birds.
The study also indicates that at least a few species opt for noisy areas over quiet ones, perhaps because of their vocalisation pitches, a reduction in nest predators and less competition from other song birds that prefer quietenvironments.
The researchers found that 32 bird species nested in quiet areas undisturbed by noise pollution, while 21 species were nesting in noisy areas.
The team also found only three bird species nested exclusively at the noisy sites, while 14 species nested only in the quiet sites.
The three-year study compared nesting birds inhabiting pinyon-juniper woodland sites
surrounding natural gas extraction sites and their noise-producing compressors with birds nesting in adjacent, quieter woodland sites.
While bird species richness declined at noisy sites, bird nesting success was higher there than in the nearby quiet sites, said Clinton Francis, University of Colorado at Boulder (CU-B) who led the study.
"This is the first study to show that noise pollution causes changes in species interactions within bird communities," said Francis.
"Since noise pollution can be a major cause of declining bird diversity in and around urban areas, better noise control using quieter road surfaces and sound-reducing walls should be considered to help preserve such communities."
While other studies have shown noise pollution can have a negative impact on bird species, most have been conducted near heavily used roads, said Francis.
These findings were published online in Current Biology.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/NEWS/Environment/Pollution/Noise-pollution-affects-birds-nesting-habits/articleshow/4815603.cms
In three years, govt gets 1.75 lakh applications for claims on forest land
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Express News Service
Tags : gujarat, forest land
Posted: Saturday , Jul 25, 2009 at 0459 hrs
Gandhinagar:
Gujarat Forest Minister Mangubhai Patel on Friday indicated that the progress on clearing the applications of tribals for their claims on forest land was very slow across the state.
Replying to a debate on the budgetary demands of his department in the Assembly, Patel said the government has till now received a total of 1.75 lakh applications from the claimants after the Scheduled Tribes and other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 came into being.
Of these total applications, the department has scrutinised over 98,000, out of which as many as 2,754 land title deeds have been sanctioned. He, however, informed the House that
as many as 34,248 tribal
farmers cultivating the forest land before 1980 had been handed over the land title deeds, and another 11,104 tilling the land before 1967 had been provided with the land documents.
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/In-three-years--govt-gets-1-75-lakh-applications-for-claims-on-forest-land/493959
Despite slowdown, consumer goods sector grew 15 percent
Posted: 4:54p.m IST, July 23, 2009
New Delhi, July 23 (IANS) Despite the economic slowdown, the country's fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector grew by almost 15 percent in 2008-09, thanks to high demand for such goods in rural India, says a report released Thursday.
'At times of economic slowdown, for instance, consumers may be cutting down on durable and other capital expenditure but cannot avoid spends on daily necessities,' said the report jointly prepared by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and industry tracker Technopak Consultants.
The FMCG industry, currently estimated to be at Rs.120,000 crore ($25 billion), is expected to touch revenues of Rs.3.55 trillion ($74 billion) by 2018, the report added.
A major portion of the demand came from rural India, which saw higher consumption due to growing incomes from government programmes like National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS).
'The rural market is growing in leaps and bounds. These people (rural population) are more brand conscious than their urban counterparts,' said Shantanu Khosla, managing director of consumer goods major Procter and Gamble.
http://news.smashits.com/409474/Despite-slowdown-consumer-goods-sector-grew-15-percent.htm
Adivasi Mahasabha to hold statewide protest rallies, dharnas on Aug 3
The Adivasi Mahasabha has called a statewide agitation on August 3 to protest against the non-implementation of the Forest Rights Act 2006 and the alleged harassments of tribals at the hands of district authorities.
As part of its agitation, the tribal body will hold rallies, dharnas and public meetings all over the state.
According to a statement issued by the Mahasabha, rallies and public meetings will be held at Rajpipla, Dharampur, Ahwa, Modasa, Khedbrahma and Vadgam.
Also, cultural programmes will be organised at Chhotaudepur and Vyara to create awareness among adivasis about their rights over the forest land and the state government dilly-dallying the allotment of land to them.
Criticising the state chief secretary who recently said that only 10 per cent of the adivasi claims over the forest land were valid, Mahasabha leaders said on Thursday that how could the chief secretary conclude about the veracity of the claims when the application forms claiming the land rights were still being submitted and many claim papers were yet to be verified.
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/Adivasi-Mahasabha-to-hold-statewide-protest-rallies--dharnas-on-Aug-3/493974
Now, a wildlife intelligence unit to fight poachers
Gyan Varma / DNA
Saturday, July 25, 2009 3:53 IST
New Delhi: After many years of having supervised anti-poaching operations from plush offices and failed to make a difference, the environment ministry has decided to adopt a 'grassroots' approach. It will set up a dedicated intelligence unit, members of which will live inside jungles and work with villagers to track down poachers.
For starters, the intelligence unit will have 45 members, mainly inspectors and deputy superintendents of police, said an official from the environment ministry. Several officials are excited about the move, because for the first time they would be able to see and feel for themselves whatever is happening on the ground.
"We have a small unit and this step will let our officers actually stay and work onsite," said the official. "We usually make flying visits to wildlife reserves but with this, our men will be able to keep in touch with people living in forests, forest officials and gather information from them," said a senior official of the ministry.
Members of this intelligence team will be chosen on their ability to speak the local language, as this will help them strike up a rapport with the local people. The ministry will also show preference to local state cadre members. "We have asked the states to choose and send those officers who can speak their local language well. The final selection will depend on how comfortable these men are in their mother tongue and how much knowledge they have on the people living in jungles," said the ministry official.
"It is very important to be on good terms with villagers living near the reserves because they are the sources of information, and they are the ones who can lead us to the poachers."
In the past four years, poachers have used villagers for information on routes and sightings in Sariska, Ranthambore and Kaziranga reserves. The intel team has been specially tasked with protecting tigers, elephants and rhinos because these animals are most susceptible to poachers.
In 2007, there were 1,411 tigers in the 37 reserves of the country, but the ministry believes that the present figure could be around 1,300 because of poaching and tigers deaths.
http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_now-a-wildlife-intelligence-unit-to-fight-poachers_1276963
A Wild Idea: Privatise the Jungles
Privatising India’s jungles may help in saving wildlife
by S. Srinivasan | Jul 24, 2009
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Image: Vikas Khot
News reports said 45 tigers have been killed in the country in 2009 alone, taking the toll beyond 100 in the last three years
Aspotted deer somewhere in Panna National Park in Madhya Pradesh senses a movement behind the bushes. Instinct suggests it could be a tiger. The deer sprints away in alarm.
Its fear was unfounded. For the past several months, there has been no tiger in Panna. Years of incessant poaching has ensured that. News reports said 45 tigers have been killed in the country in 2009 alone, taking the toll beyond 100 in the last three years. With fewer than 1,500 tigers left in the wild and no letup in poaching, the species is dangerously close to extinction. Lions, rhinoceros and a number of other animals are doing no better.
The jokers in the pack, of course, are the wildlife authorities. Forestry and wildlife conservation in India are run like a sick public sector unit. The problems are the same. Lack of resources or leadership, inadequate and inefficient staffing, bureaucracy, corruption and official apathy. “The official agencies that are meant to protect our wild habitats are ill-equipped and not trained with latest techniques of anti-poaching as well as habitat management,” says Nirmal Kulkarni, an ecologist based in Goa.
So, what if India’s wild is privatised just like the government would do in the case of a badly run, loss-making PSU? To many, this might evoke the image of greedy, manipulative businessmen who butcher animals and plunder the forests. But plundering and poaching already thrive under the government’s watch. Privatisation can be more responsible and regulated.
Actually, privatisation of forests is nothing new. A host of countries including South Africa, Australia, Canada and Bulgaria have done so. Their objective was to exploit resources such as timber, fish and even animals in some case. India’s objective should be conservation.
The starting point for the government must be to corporatise the jungles. That is, each national reserve should be brought under the structure of a government-owned company, which will lease the forests to private firms for fixed periods.
The government must create environmentally sustainable revenue streams from the jungles to make the enterprise profitable. Obviously, jungle tourism will play a big part here. The fringes could also be used to produce cash crops. In addition, the forests could be used for producing renewable energy through wind and solar sources.
The private companies will have to protect the flora and fauna. The government enterprise holding the forests would rake in all the revenue and give a share to the private parties based on an “animal bank” or “biodiversity bank”. The same forest could be privatised to different parties, by parcelling rights such as tourism, cultivation and energy separately.
In fact, privatisation of the wild is supported the world over by Libertarian politicians. They even support farming of tigers. The US Libertarian Party Web site asserts that in Zimbabwe, where private ownership of elephants is allowed, their number increased from 30,000 to 43,000 between 1979 and 1989.
Private companies will bring in the capital required to fence forests, replace old, weak-legged guards with a proper wildlife security force, do reliable audits of animals, tackle spread of diseases and boost tourism revenue for the country.
http://business.in.com/article/what-if/a-wild-idea-privatise-the-jungles/2462/1
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