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Why Must Palawan be a
NO-GO Zone for Mining
Presented by:
Atty. Grizelda “Gerthie” Mayo-AndaFounding Executive Director, Environmental Legal Assistance Center (ELAC)
Trustee Member, Palawan NGO Network, Inc. (PNNI)
Convenor, Bantay Mina-PNNI
The MAJOR MAJOR WHYs
• Palawan’s Biogeographic Character (it’s
rich biodiversity value vis-à-vis its thin
topsoil, vulnerability to climate change,
etc.)
• Existing Laws and Policies governing
Palawan
• Experience on Mining shows that Costs
outweigh Economic Benefits
Other Considerations
• Drivers of economic development are
agriculture (farming and fisheries) and
tourism
• Weak environmental governance (weak
enforcement, corruption)
Palawan’s Biogeographic
Character
• Rich biodiversity: high endemism, habitat
of wildlife, host to 40% of country’s
remaining mangrove areas, 30% of
country’s coral reefs, identified 17 key
biodiversity areas (KBAs), 2 world heritage
sites, 8 declared protected areas
• Steep topography, narrow island with
small islands, thin topsoil
Palawan as an Island Ecosystem
• “Palawan is composed of a long main island lying in a northeast to southwest axis and surrounding it are clusters of lesser islands…..The main island has a tall steep mountain spine running down its length fringed by narrow coastal plans protected from storm waves by fringing coral reefs and mangrove swamps. Although seemingly lush and bountiful, the environment of Palawan is fragile and its topsoils are relatively thin, poor and prone to erosion.”
(Source: Strategic Environmental Plan for Palawan, Towards Sustainable Development, Prepared by the Palawan Integrated Area Development Project Office with the assistance of Hunting Technical Services Limited England in association with the Orient Integrated Development Consultants, Inc., Philippines and Sir Mac Donald and Partners, England)
Island Ecosystem• Physiography and Soils
– Landscape is dominated by mountain and foothills which cover about 940,450 gectares or 82% of the total area.
– Foothill and mountain landscapes are characterized by soils of variable depth, more often quite deep, and with excessive external drainage and high erodibility.
– Its steep topography will render wide areas prone to erosion should their forest cover be removed.
– The narrow shape of the mainland and the smallness of surrounding islands, will mean that erosion on the upper slopes will immediately and directly silt the coastal areas.
(Source: Strategic Environmental Plan for Palawan, Towards Sustainable Development, Prepared by the Palawan Integrated Area Development Project Office with the assistance of Hunting Technical Services Limited England in association with the Orient Integrated Development Consultants, Inc., Philippines and Sir Mac Donald and Partners, England)
Island Ecosystem• “Palawan’s forests support a unique and highly
diverse flora and fauna…Many of Palawan’s fauna are unique and are considered rare, threatened or endangered.”– With few botanical expeditions in the past, many
botanists feel that there are more undiscovered species of plants.
– Such diversity serve as basis for declaring Palawan as a “Game Refuge and Bird Sanctuary” in 1967, as Mangrove Reserve in 1981 and as part of UNESCO’s “Man and Biosphere Reserve”.
• “Last Frontier” description signifies abundant and untapped resources, relatively unravaged by resource overexploitation. (Source: SEP document)
PALAWAN’S BIODIVERSITY…
• 13 species of seagrass recorded in Palawan (81% of the known seagrass species in the country)
• 31 species of mangroves in Palawan (90% of the known mangrove species in the country)
• 44,500 hectares of mangrove forests in Palawan (40% of the remaining mangroves in the country)
• 379 species of corals (82% of the total coral species recorded in the entire country)
• 89% of total reef fish recorded in the country is found in the corridor
• 4 of the 5 marine turtles are found in Palawan
• 15 of the 25 recorded marine mammals are reported from Palawan (Credit: Conservation International)
• 18 species of freshwater fish is found in Palawan (50% endemic to the province)
• 26 species of amphibians (25% endemic to the country, majority are confined to the corridor
• 69 species of reptiles found in the corridor (29% are endemic to the country)
• 279 species of birds (10% are endemic to the country)
• 34% of bird species are migratory, making the region a vital flyway for migratory birds
• 58 species of terrestrial mammals are recorded, 19 or 33% are endemic to the country, 16 are restricted to the corridor
(Credit: Conservation International)
PALAWAN’S BIODIVERSITY…
128 Key Biodiversity Areas in the Philippines
E.O. 578Establishing the National Policy on Biological Diversity throughout the country…
Sec. 3 …establishment of critical habitats within Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs)…
(Credit: Conservation International)
• KBAs are “sites of global significance for biodiversity conservation, identified using globally standard criteria and thresholds, based on the needs of biodiversity requiring safeguard at the site scale. “
• Identified for threatened amphibians, mammals, birds, reptiles, and freshwater fish, as well as for restricted-range and congregatory birds, using confirmed locality data for each target species.
• 51 sites have been identified as Candidate KBAs, or research priorities; if additional data or surveys confirm the presence of target species within these sites, they too will become priorities for conservation action (KBAs). (Credit: Conservation International)
KBAs on Mainland Palawan
KBA NameTrigger Species
CR EN VU RR
El Nido-Taytay Managed Resource Protected Area 1 2 11 16
Malampaya Sound Protected Landscape and Seascape 2 2 10 18
Lake Manguao 1 1 13 20
San Vicente-Taytay-Roxas Forest 2 1 11 10
Puerto Princessa Subterranean River Natural Park 2 2 12 19
Cleopatra's Needle 1 1 3 1
Victoria and Anepahan Ranges 1 4 15 22
Mt Mantalingahan 2 3 13 20
(Credit: Conservation International)
ADJACENT ISLANDS
KBA NameTrigger Species
CR EN VU RR
Calauit Island 1 2 10 22
Busuanga Island 1 1 9 37
Culion Island 1 1 8 33
Coron Island 1 0 6 4
Dumaran-Araceli 2 2 5 5
Rasa Island Wildlife Sanctuary 1 2 3 0
Ursula Island 0 0 3 0
Balabac Island 1 2 10 39
Tubbataha Reef NaturalPark 1 1 1 0
(Credit: Conservation International)
Governing Laws and Policies
• Proclamation No. 219 (1967) establishing Palawan as a Game Refuge and Wildlife Sanctuary
• Proclamation No. 2152 (1981) establishing Palawan as a Mangrove Reserve
• UNESCO Man and Biosphere Reserve
• National Integrated Protected Areas System (NIPAS, January 1992)
• Republic Act No. 7611 (or the Strategic Environmental Plan for Palawan, or SEP law, June 1992)
The Strategic Environmental Plan for
Palawan (SEP) or Republic Act No. 7611
• Goal (“Development supportive of environmental
protection”): improvement in the living conditions
of the people of Palawan; increase Palawan’s
economic contribution to the Philippines by
developing its resources in ways that are
environmentally sustainable, socially equitable
and economically practicable.
• Nature
– a guide for deliberate action
– provides the guidelines and strategies to accomplish
the twin purposes of development and environmental
protection (Source: SEP document)
SEP as overarching framework• Basis for development planning
– SEP is the general strategy for all development planning in Palawan.
– Development plans of municipalities should conform with the SEP.
– Line agencies should allocate the needed resources to implement their parts of the plan.
• Strategy: Environmentally Critical Areas Network (ECAN)– Seeks to prevent further environmental degradation
– “Serve as the integrative framework within which other recommendations in the plan will be implemented”
(Source: SEP document)
SEP as overarching framework• ECAN
– Graded system of protective management which will help ensure that no developments take place that will cause irreversible harm or loss of productive capacity to the natural resources of the island
– General strategy for the protection of Palawan as a biological and cultural heritage area
• Operational strategies(a) those which will conserve the relatively intact areas
ecologically;
(b) those which will restore the damaged areas into relatively stable areas ecologically
(Source: SEP document)
ECAN as SEP’s central element
• Rationale:
“The destruction of Palawan’s forests would trigger a
chain reaction that would bring destruction to the
entire environmental and ecological fabric of the
province. The resulting soil erosion and loss of top
soil would dry up underground and surface water
resources, nullifying the efficiency of irrigation
systems and waterworks……..There is an urgent
necessity to stop this deterioration. It is not enough to
rely on a network of Parks in the conventional sense,
for this would be too limited in area and arouse
distrust in local communities…..”(Source: SEP document)
ECAN as SEP’s central element“SEC. 9 Terrestrial Component: Management Scheme and
Zonation. – The terrestrial component may be further subdivided into smaller management components for a more efficient supervision. These management components, in turn, shall each be further subdivided into the following zones;
(1) Area of maximum protection or core zone -This zone shall be fully and strictly protected and maintained free of human disruption. Included here are all types of natural forest which include first growth forest, residual forest and edges of intact forest, areas above one thousand (1,000) meters elevation, peaks of mountains or other areas with very steep gradients, and endangered habitats and habitats of endangered and rare species. Exceptions, however, may be granted to traditional uses of tribal communities of these areas for minimal and soft impact gathering of forest species for ceremonial and medicinal purposes.” (underscoring made by presentor)
What has been the experience of
Palawan on Mining?
COSTS OUTWEIGH BENEFITS
Destruction of Forests and Wildlife
Land Use Changes in a Nickel Mining Area (Credit: Conservation International and ELAC)
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Mined area of Rio Tuba Nickel Mining Corporation
Water Pollution
(Photo by Professor Patrick Regoniel)
Affected coastal
area of
Colandorang Bay,
Balabac due to
abandoned and
unrehabilitated
copper mine
Water Pollution
(Photo by Professor Patrick Regoniel)
Affected coastal area of Colandorang Bay, Balabac
due to abandoned and unrehabilitated copper mine
Pollution and Non-Rehabilitation
of Mined out areas
Abandoned mercury mine site of Palawan Quicksilver Mines, Inc.. (PQMI) in Barangay Sta. Lourdes, Puerto Princesa City
Pollution and Non-Rehabilitation of
Mined out areas
Mini-lake created by PQMI mining operations
Other Impacts• Soil Erosion
– Case of Infanta Mining in Brooke’s
Point
• Non-Rehabilitation of Mined out areas
– Silica Mining in Roxas
– Mining of Nickel and Chromite by
Trident Mining Corporation and Olympic
Mines in Narra
Mining Company Area of operation Mineral
Palawan Quicksilver Mining Inc.(PQMI)
Sta. Lourdes, PuertoPrincesa City
Mercury
Atlas Consolidated Mining & Dev. Corp.
Sta. Lourdes, PuertoPrincesa City
Gold
Palawan Venture or PalawanConsolidated Mining Co.
Irawan, Puerto PrincesaCity
Chromite
Soriano Mining Corporation Aborlan, Puerto PrincesaCity
Nickel
Trident Mining Corporation Narra, Palawan Nickel
Infanta Mining Corporation Brgy. Ipilan, Brooke’sPoint
Nickel
Celestial Mining Corporation Brgy. Ipilan, Brooke’sPoint
Nickel
Long Point MiningCorporation/Soriano Mining
Berong, Quezon Nickel
Benguet Company Inc. Balabac Gold ore
Nin Bay Mining Corporation Roxas, Palawan Silica
Republic Glass Mining Corporation Roxas, Palawan Silica
Abandoned Mine Sites in Palawan
Insufficient SOCIO-ECONOMIC BENEFITS
to the Local Community• Bataraza, Palawan: After almost 30 years of mining operations of Rio
Tuba Nickel Mining Corporation (RTNMC), the municipality of Bataraza
lags behind other municipalities in the delivery of basic services, such as
electricity, water, transportation and education and remains to be among
the poorest municipalities of the province. Data from the mining company
contained in their 2001 Environmental Impact Statement for their
Hydrometallurgical Processing Plant (HPP) Project indicate such poverty
incidence.
Rizal- 1124,833.45 has
Nickel
Aborlan – 7969,502.92 has.
Brooke’s Pt. 37121,969.35 has
Nickel
Espanola -1245,824.51 has
Nickel and limestone
Roxas- 317,473.50 has
Silica
Puerto Princesa City-42112,154.67 has
Quezon-4193,181.83 has
Nickel and limestone
San Vicente- 54,993.13 has.
Silica
Dumaran -5812.67 has.
Silica
El Nido -4150 has.
Silica/Nat Gas
Bataraza- 2260,642.30 has.
Limestone, Nickel,HPP
Narra- 4461,443.31 has
Applications for Mineral Exploration, Mineral Production Sharing Agreement (MPSA) and Small Scale Mining Permit (SSMP) in Palawan(as of February 2008)
Coron- 6573 has.
Prepared by the Palawan NGO Network, Inc. (PNNI)
Balabac - 517,093.63 has
Nickel, Gold, Copper, Chromite
Taytay-1230,820.50 has.
Increase in Mining Applications
–Seven (7) Mineral Production
Sharing Agreements (MPSAs) and
Nine (9) Small Scale Mining Permits
were issued (as of December 2007).
–Some 212 MPSA and Exploration
Permit Applications, 144 Small Scale
Mining Permit (SSMP) applications
covering some 651,000 hectares of
forest are pending.
Trends in mineral use and
development
1) Continuing increase in the number of
mining applications
• Mines and Geo-Sciences Bureau (MGB)
lists 215 tenement claims/applications for
exploration permit and MPSA
• Provincial Environment and Natural
Resources Office (ENRO) lists 134 small-
scale applications (as of October 1, 2007)
Trends in mineral use and
development
2) Mining activities in areas identified as core
zones (old-growth and residual forests,
endangered habitats and habitats of endangered
and rare species), protected areas, watersheds,
key biodiversity areas (KBAs)
Relevant Laws: SEP law, RA 7586 (National
Integrated Protected Areas System), RA 9147
(Philippine Wildlife Act) and Executive Order No.
578 (Establishing the National Policy on
Biodiversity throughout the Philippines)
Trends in mineral use and
development
3) Non-compliance with pertinent
environmental laws, with the terms and
conditions of permits, and Environmental
Compliance Certificates (ECCs)
Abandoned pit during exploration
Limestone quarry in Gotok, Sandoval,
Bataraza
Road construction by Narra Nickel Mining Corporation
(photo by PNNI)
Small scale mining area of Platinum Group Metals, Inc.
(PGMC); photo by Lorenzo Tan
Photo taken by
Conservation
International (May
2006)
Photo by Conservation International; Distant view of PGMC mine site
Distant view of PGMC mine site; Photo by Conservation International
Closer view of PGMC mine site; Photo by Bandillo ng Palawan (August
2007)
Portion of the RTNMC mining area and HPP complex showing the
adjacent Mt. Bulanjao Range (Photo by Conservation International)
Expansion of mining activities are being pursued in the Bulanjao range which is
still covered with old growth and second growth forests. (Photo by CI)
Continuing Issues
• Policy Issues– Implementation of Small-Scale Mining policies (RA
7076 and PD 1899)
– SEP ECAN provisions
• Enforcement/Implementation Issues
• Institutional Issues
• Disruption of social norms and indigenous values
• Transparency and Accountability
• Governance (corruption and “double talk” in oversight of mining activities)
Rhetoric vs. Reality1) PCSD’s failure to implement the ECAN
provision of the SEP law concerning natural forests (Section 9, RA 7611)
• SEP clearances issued to mining applications covering the municipalities of Aborlan, Narra, Quezon, Brooke’s Point, Bataraza and Taytay
• Approval of ECAN amendments despite non-compliance of SEP law
2) Irrelevance and ineffectiveness of the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP’s) in the conduct of Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) process
3) Irregular procedures in complying with Social Acceptability requirements (eg. Brooke’s Point SB endorsement of Macro Asia; barangay endorsements)
Continuing Issues4) Involvement of mining companies in partisan political
activities (eg. local elections)
5) Large-scale mining corporations masquerading themselves as small-scale mining entities (eg. Narra experience)
6) Lack of transparency and accountability
- PCSD’s refusal to provide copies of evaluation reports of proposed mining applications
- Delays in release of pertinent documents by Provincial ENRO/PMRB
- Refusal of mining companies to broaden number of NGO participants in the multipartite monitoring teams (MMTs)
Continuing Issues7) “Responsible Mining” rhetoric
- current compliance of social development program requirements cannot deodorize or sanitize past failures (eg. case of RTNMC and CBNC)
8) Lack of capacity to monitor legal and illegal activities and resolve violations
- PENRO and PMRB’s inability to efficiently and expeditiously address violations of small-scale mining permits and illegal quarrying activities (eg. gold panning in Roxas)
(Note: PMRB’s plan to charge P5,000 as docket fees per complaint serves to deter would-be complainants, especially poor communities, from initiating complaints)
Continuing Issues
9) Division of IP communities and distortion
of their social norms/values
- Non-recognition of consensus process
and the role of indigenous elders
- Cash pay-offs to IP leaders and
members to secure consent (eg. Narra,
Quezon)
Continuing Issues10) Superficial economic benefits felt by
communities
- delays in the remittance of revenues allotted to
LGUs
- Incomes from various taxes are offset by
policies on investors’ incentives, such as tax
holidays and exemptions on anti-pollution
devices. (eg. RTNMC and CBNC enjoy tax
exemptions because the HPP complex was
classified as an Economic Zone)
Giving more benefits to foreign and national
mining corporations in the use of our natural
resources under the Philippine Mining Act
(RA 7942)(i) preference of “mining rights” over “surface rights”;
(ii) provision of “income tax holiday” under the
Omnibus Investment Code o EO 226 and other
“tax incentives” under the Special Economic Zone
Act o RA 7916;
(iii) Provision of ancillary rights like “timber rights,
water rights, easement rights”.
Other Adverse Environmental
Effects
• Allowing “open
pit mining”
(cheap, fast and
easy to do but
destructive to
environment) which
has been
prohibited in the
US and Canada
Continuing Issues
- The 2001 IMAPE (Impacts of Macroeconomic Adjustment Policies on the Environment Project) study shows that the average annual income among the affected households is lower than the average household income in Palawan.
- In the poverty mapping/study of Palawan undertaken in 2005 by the Peace and Equity Foundation based on provincial government monitoring statistics, the municipality of Bataraza was classified as one of the bottom poor municipalities in the province.
Superficial economic benefits felt by
communities
- Incomes from various taxes are offset by
policies on investors’ incentives, such as tax
holidays and exemptions on anti-pollution
devices. (eg. RTNMC and CBNC enjoy tax
exemptions because the HPP complex was
classified as an Economic Zone)
- delays in the remittance of revenues allotted
to LGUs in the case of RTNMC
- overextraction of mineral ores (in the case
of PGMC)
WHICH HAS MORE WEIGHT?
Jobs, scholarships,
day care centers,
infrastructure,
revenues/taxes
Clean air, clean and
adequate water
supply, productive
farmlands, healthy
coral reefs and
fishery resources,
watersheds,
biodiversity
“A 50-year old tree has a
value of $193,250” (approximately Php9M)
(Prof TM Das of Univ. of Calcutta)$62,000 - oxygen, air pollution
control and soil pollution
control (Php 3M)
$37,500 - water (P1.8M)
$31,250 - organic fertilizer (P1.5M)
$31,200 – recycles (P1.5M)
$31,250 - habitat (P1.5M)
(source: Conservation International)
Some thoughts to ponder on…
• These minerals took hundreds of years
and several generations to form. For this
generation to liquidate it in one fell swoop
is morally wrong.
• Mining is not an anti-poverty solution as
suggested by mining companies. It has
never been in the case of the Philippines.
• The corrupting influence of the mining
lobby must be addressed by good
governance.
Dumpsite within the mining site of RTN
Palawan must be a
MINING NO-GO ZONE
Mt. Mantalingahan Protected Landscape
(slide credit: Conservation International)
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