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By Carlos Zorrilla, April 29, 2012

CODELCO OUT OF PARAISO; JUNIN NEXT?

THE CONSTITUTION AND THE CHINESE FACTOR

The latest news is that Codelco, on Thursday, met with the Paraiso community and said they were abandoning the exploration plans in the area. This is the official news.  The unofficial, from a reliable source, but not official by any means, is that very soon, perhaps as early as this coming week, Codelco will start visiting the communities in the Junin project area.  If this is true, the visits will probably be to gauge the level of opposition, identify key people to buy and or neutralize, and find out what the communities need so their offers can be more effective.  Seeing that this is an election year, it would surprise me if Codelco and the government go into the Junin area aggressively.  It is more likely they’ll take it easy, and try to win support by offering and delivering on basic promises. In other words, attempt to divide and conquer.

We suspected all along that Paraiso was not really of interest to Codelco, who only work on very large projects.  We know that the government has its site set on Junin, a fact corroborated by the government’s own public information.  The key is seeing what strategy they, and the government, use to try to achieve their objective: by militarizing the area, buy, spend and conquer, or outright flagrant human rights abuses (disappearing, presenting false criminal charges, and so forth).  Either way, if either of the scenarios happen, we can look to large-scale social trauma in Intag again.

The Constitution and the Chinese Factor

There is absolutely no way that open-pit mining can take place in Ecuador without flagrantly violating the nation’s Constitution and a number of laws.  The document grants nature rights, the people right to Sumak Kawsay, or a harmonious life, and the right to live in a environment free of contamination, to mention just three of several other fundamental rights that will be openly violated if the Correa regime pursues large-scale mining here or anywhere else in Ecuador.  Why?

As I’ve mentioned before, Correa is heavily dependent on Chinese funding to cover budget deficits so his government can keep spending lavishly on the social programs that has bolstered his popularity, especially compared to other governments (the money also goes to fund populist programs, and  also to finance  the government’s very expensive publicity campaigns to promote his government’s policies and works).

Chinese funding comes without any safeguards to guarantee the projects it funds don’t violate human  or labor rights, affect Indigenous People’s rights, or cause significant environmental impacts; safeguards that, with its imperfections and all,  are part of the policies of some of the other international lending institutions (like the World Bank).   The new funding comes, basically without any strings attached other than the expectation to freely access  Ecuador’s natural resources, and specifically, copper and petroleum. The Chinese banks who lend money to Ecuador and the rest of the world’s countries rich in resources are mostly state-owned, and are some of the largest lending institutions on the planet.  Some of these banks have the open  mandate to, in effect, keep natural resources flowing uninterruptedly to China.

Need more be said?  The Constitution will be trampled, human rights will be violated, and the environment despoiled in order to keep Ecuador’s natural resources flowing East, and funding to Ecuador secure.  The question of the day is how the communities and local government will respond.  More on this later.

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By Carlos Zorrilla, April 21, 2012

A reason to celebrate.

A (very) quick summary of our work

New publications
Letter to Earth

The reason to celebrate is not because the government has wised up and abandoned it’s greedy plans to exploit the copper lying under some of the world’s most biodiverse place here in Intag. That truly would be a reason to celebrate. The celebration has more to do with the fact that after seventeen and a half years of being threatened by mining development, Intag is still free of the nightmare- thanks to all of you that have supported out work. However, we are not yet clear of this threat. The “Barbarians” are still at the gate and ready to resume the destruction of our ecosystem and communities. This time it’s Chilean owned Codelco, the world’s largest copper producer. And, just because they come wearing suit and ties and hard hats doesn’t make them any less Barbarians. Just the opposite in fact.

DECOIN’S WORK
I was going to summarize our seventeen and a half years of work, but it was a bit overwhelming. One of these days. However, I think some of the most important elements are contained in the Dear Earth letter below. There are many more. Briefly they include: helping declare our County an Ecological County (the first in Latin America); creating the AACRI Coffee Association; opening a Fair Trade Store in Otavalo (going very well thank you); helping found and support the Junin Ecological Tourism; producing a wealth of printed, radio environmental material for schools and communities, distributing thousands of films on mining and the environment, and promoting environmentally sustainable farming……..

NEW PUBLICATIONS

I did want to mention that soon DECOIN will be publishing the Water-quality study done on Intag’s rivers and streams, many of them belonging to communities that were purchased, reforested and/or protected as part of one of DECOIN’s conservation projects. The slender book, authored by Karen Knee, will be published in May. In short, it found that Intag’s water- especially its drinking water- is very good quality and similar in quality to water originating in protected forests. Most of the reason, undoubtedly, is due to DECOIN’s community watershed reserves initiative, which, along the Parish government conservation action plan, I consider to be the most successful conservation project in Intag. Because of it, thousands of Inteños are drinking safe water, and biodiversity is actively being protected by communities. As soon as I can figure out how to upload the study to the page, Ill do so- in both English and Spanish. Until then, try to download it here (Spanish version for now):

https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B9kKrl6DxURrNF9aZTU5X0JKaEU

English:

Earth Economic Study.
In May we should be getting the copies of Earth Economics groundbreaking Intag Ecosystems Evaluation Study to distribute to decision makers, such as Assembly members, academics, local governments and key NGO’s. The report proves, with a wealth of economic data, that Intag’s ecosystem services are worth far more than mining development. We knew that of course, but it’s great to have a prestigious economic organization based in the U.S. confirm it.. You can download the English version here:

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B9kKrl6DxURrQ2lGUEo1XzNiY1k/edit

A Letter to Earth

Dear Earth,
First of all my most sincere and deepest apologies. After decades of knowing how much damage we’ve done to You and all Your ecosystems, we are still happily carrying along as if nothing is wrong. More and more of our species are being born every day and will be inculcated with the same premises and values that has brought so much ecological havoc to You, and so much grief to so many of Your human and non-human inhabitants. The premises include: more is better, newer is cool, humans are the crown of creation, forests are just cubic meters of lumber, Your oceans are for dumping garbage and the fish are there for mankind to eat.

The dysfunctional paradigm dictates that economic growth trumps human and environmental health, places profit above everything else, and the only way to measure poverty and wealth is by measuring the growth in Gross National Product. One of the more dangerous premises of this paradigm that refuses to die is that Your elements are nothing more than resources to be turned into goods for the exclusive benefit of one single species: Homo sapiens. Who, by the way, still believes his species is blessed by unique, special privileges conferred onto it by a supposedly supra natural entity who put all of Your living and non-living elements at its disposal. Yes, I know the term Homo sapiens is laughably absurd. I often wish I wasn’t associated with it or the species; but the misnomer has stuck and changing species is pretty damn difficult as far as I can tell.

In the land of forests and clouds where I live, and which politicians and geographers call Ecuador, the situation is no better than anywhere else on Your surface. For example, here a current head of State is ardently pushing large-scale mining development in this land; one of the most culturally and biologically diverse in the world, and exceptionally rich in water. You may not believe this, but this Homo supposedly-sapien wants to mine in the middle of primary cloud forests, lowland rainforests, and paramos!! And he would even mine on the sea floor if he had the techology!! This individual, who is supposed to be smart by human standards, is actually- and are you ready for this- pushing mining in areas so rich in rivers and streams that the mining companies don’t know what to do with all the water! The streams and rivers as well as underground aquifers will be contaminated by this activity with such acidity and toxic metals, that it will render the rivers dead in perpetuity. Yes, in perpetuity! And, if that wasn’t bad enough, many of these rivers and streams are used by thousands of his own kind for drinking, irrigation, fishing and for recreation. These are all facts. I promise I’m not making any of it up!!

Do they know what they are doing? Yes; no doubt. Why, You wonder? The answer is not so complex; it’s called greed-induced Stupidity. Wrong Life Premises. They like the quick, easy money mining can bring to the government coffers. They are drunk, still, and after centuries, with the belief that development is the same as material well-being; nice roads, exuberant consumption, car ownership, building of clinics, high-paying jobs, and computers in every home. And bigger homes to fill them with more and newer stuff. This individual, called president here in Ecuador, actually believes he can eradicate poverty by allowing dozens and perhaps hundreds of large-scale mines up and down the water and biologically rich Andes Mountains- one of the more majestic places on Your surface. What poverty is he talking about you might ask? Exclusively economic! Never mind that mining in these countries actually increase overall poverty.

In this scheme of things, in order to grow the economy You lose. And lose big time. Humans like this individual see no problem with destroying whole Cordilleras to process a few pounds of gold, or so many tons of copper or coal that feed industries- in other parts of Your sphere, I should mention- for a few days or weeks. Unique, biodiverse cloud forests are thus easily turned into open-pit nightmares, hemorrhaging heavy metals for thousands of years. The people whose points of view he represents- and tragically they still are legion- would call the health impacts and cultural, social and environmental devastation accompanying mining and other kind of extractive development, ‘the inevitable price of progress’. People and species who live on the ground have another name for it: utter devastation.

This is just here in this place called Ecuador, but It’s pretty much the same all over. So, for what little it’s worth, I apologize. At the same time, I want You to know that not all is doom and gloom. There are many, many humans working hard to overturn this way of relating to You. Today, for example, perhaps as much as a billion humans will be celebrating Your Day: Earth Day. There will be celebrations, tree plantings, clean-up of rivers, music, puppets, film festivals, and many other ways in which people will be celebrating Your Birthday. To express their gratitude; to manifest their angst for the way things are, and the way things ought to be. To clamor for change.

And, there’s no doubt things are changing, even if the pace appears to be much too slow. Specifically, in our corner of You, the small, very small, organization I work for has helped plant tens of thousands of trees; most of them native species. We are working with communities and local governments to protect as many rivers, streams and forests as possible, along with the thousands of species that make these systems of life their home. I can’t recall exactly how many thousands of hectares of forests we’ve helped protect, but it’s not less than 12,000. I realize it’s not much in comparison to what is lost every day; but it’s what we can do with what we have. We are also working hard against mining projects that would destroy many more thousands of hectares of primary forests, rivers and communities in a beautiful and biodiverse Cordillera known as Toisan. DECOIN is working very hard to expose the lies that governments and industries, like Chile’s Codelo, tell communities and local governments about the impacts and costs of mining in such water-rich and biodiverse environments. And, since there are so many lies, the work is very hard and time consuming.

We’ve also recently taken up again the work with schools, so we can educate the young people about their true place in Nature, and what they can do to be part of the solution to the environmental nightmare afflicting You, and a part of the problem.

More than anything, our work is oriented at changing people’s attitude towards You. To make it a reality what a very important piece of paper here in this place called Ecuador, in theory, values: the Right to Sumak Kawsay, which translates into Living in Harmony. In harmony with oneself, with one’s neighbors and social and biological community and, most importantly, in harmony with You. Incredibly, the same legal document also gives You rights; the first country in the world to recognize that Nature has rights! If it wasn’t for the fact that very few, and least of all government officials, takes this right seriously, it would be reason for major celebrations.

As You might have guessed, it’s hard work to go against the raging river that is the dominant model of development and confront the interests behind it. It’s difficult work because the economic system is very, very powerful, and the politicians submissive to economic interests, and extremely short-sighted. Plus, companies spend millions to make sure people consume their goods, and green-wash their image. But, in spite of the overwhelming odds, more and more people are getting the message and changing their lives. And, like us, there are many groups and individuals really trying to make a difference; and succeeding.

As little as these actions are, I sincerely hope they are a source of encouraging news to You.

Oh, I almost forgot! I thought you might like to know that my partner and I named our recently born and beautiful daughter after you: Mares Gaia!!

Happy Birthday!!!

Carlos Zorrilla
Intag, Ecuador
Earth Day 2012

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By Carlos Zorrilla, April 14, 2012

APRIL 14 UPDATE

The Calm Before the Storm?
CODELCO can’t possibly be serious
Manduriacos communities unite 

A plea for high-school transportation funds 

The Calm Before the Storm?

It got real quiet after CODELCO took its drills out of the Paraiso area. First rumors that circulated were that the drill results were disappointing and that was that. Then, more recently, Codelco workers have been saying that the results are quite positive and that they’ll be coming back soon to continue the drilling program,, this time drilling deeper and more bore holes with much bigger equipment. It’s possible that they’ll wait till the start of the dry season, which should start in about a month and a half in the Magdalena area, but my guess is that they’ll return this month.

Manduriacos Communities Unite.
In response to the ongoing CODELCO threat that is supported by irresponsible functionaries that approve ludicrous environmental impact studies with made up facts about the communtieis and the environment, in March the communities in the Manduriacos area formed an organization to represent them. The organization includes all the communities within the immediate area of influence of the Codelco illegal mining project, plus Cielo Verde and Rio Verde. The position of the community leaders on mining is clear: CODELCO is illegally in their area and must go. The name of the organizations is UNION DE COMUNIDADES DE MANDURIACOS. If you are interested in supporting them, let us know.

CODELCO can’t possibly be serious.
It developed that Codelco was officially asked for information about its shennanigans here in Intag by a Chilean NGO, and they responded with a hilarious letter that went on and on about how they weren’t obligated to be transparent because Chilena law number so and so exempted them from full transparency. But the funniest part was when THE COMPANY, and keep in mind that this is the world’s largest copper producer and has quite the envious reputation- on being challenged that its operation in the Intag-Manduriacos area was in violation of the Cotacachi Ecological Ordinance- claimed that the Ordinance was annulled by the Ministry of Non-Renewable Resources. Needless to say the claim is ridiculous because, even if it was true that the Ministry told them so, Codelco lawyers should have known that the Ministry has no such mandate, something they would have found out on reading the first couple of pages of Ecuador’s Mining Law. Cotacachi’s Ecological Ordinance is valid until it is declared null and void by the Constitutional Court. And that hasn’t happened.

In the meantime, DECOIN will keep working with local governments, organizations and communities leaders and will use the courts to try to stop this gross abuse of power, and outrageous injustice. It’s not very comforting to know that the judicial branch is completely dependent on an executive Branch that is dead set on allowing mining, legalities be damned.

A Request for High-School Transportation Funds
Every year we get petitions from parents groups of high-school kids that ask for financial support to make it a little bit easier on their pocketbook to pay for transportation costs to send their kids to the different High-Schools in the area.

The Ecuadorian government- self-proclaimed revolutionary- chooses not to fund public school transportation,  and for the hundreds of kids and parents just in Intag that don’t live in one of three populated centers with high schools, their only option is to hire trucks to get their kids to school. One of those requesting support is the parents of four communities in the JUNIN area: Chalguyacu Alto and Bajo, Junin, and Magnolia. In all 40 kids travel over an hour to attend the Garcia Moreno High School. The estimated cost this year is $5000.00 (five thousand) for the school year- which starts this Monday April 16th. There are other groups in similar situations that have also requested assistance; some expected to pay $3000.00 per year; some $2000. The parents are looking for donations to cover 50% of the costs. Please let us know if you can help.

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By Carlos Zorrilla, March 21, 2012

Quito in Flood- March 22nd. Mining leading issue for marchers.

(petición de 19 puntos de la marcha más adelante)

In spite of the childish claim by government officials (including President Correa) that the march was a total failure;  in spite of countless obstacles the marchers had to overcome to reach Quito, including police checks and constant rains since the start of the March two weeks ago,  as well as ridiculous accusations of intent to destabilize the government,  tens of thousands of marchers opposed to the Correa regime’s policies arrived safely in Quito, and were joined by countless thousands of Quito residents who enthusiastically supported the marchers.

At this moment, the marchers are walking to the National Assembly to present their legislative representatives a 19-point petition for the government to act to resolve the issues that sparked the march (see below).  Mining, as you can see, continues to be a main factor in the march. However, it is not at all likely that Correa will change course  regarding mining.  A little while ago he again- and vociferously- defended mining in front of his supporters. What a guy!

The strength of the march took Ecuador by surprise.  Correa on the 8th of March said that if the marchers came with 500, he and his followers would be 50,000.   Seems he got the numbers backwards, though he claimed today that it was just a few hundred!!   Thousands did come to cheer Correa, but many were paid bureaucrats who were pressured into showing their spontaneous support for the president.  Luckily, as of the time of writing, the two groups have not confronted each other.

These 19 points that will be presented to legislators today are (Spanish follow)

1. We demand full respect for the Constitution and the repeal of unconstitutional laws and regulations.
2. No to large-scale mining. Repeal of the mining law as unconstitutional, and the signing of the contract with the mining company ECSA, on March 5.
3. Not to the extension of the petroleum fronteir. Respect the right to self-determination of indigenous peoples.
4. Suspension of operations in blocque 31.**
5. No mega hydroelectric works that generate social and environmental impacts.
6. Approval of the Water Act for the “good life” (Sumak Kawsay) that includes respect for, and guarantee the right to water.
7. Approval of the Lands and Territories Act providing for an agricultural model that ensures food security.
8. No to the signing of the free trade agreement with the European Union.
9. Effective protection against taxes of popular and campesino economies.
10. Recognition of community transport, reform of the Land Transport Traffic and Road Safety law. Strengthening of the IESS and require the State to pay back the debt that it has with this entity, as well as equip hospitals.
11. Respect for labor rights; respect the guarantee of job security and union rights.
12. Respect and guarantee of the right to education.
13. Repeal of the Unified General Baccalaureate and the National System of Equalization and Admission.
14. Respect for sexual and reproductive rights. Equality between women and men.
15. Real democratization of information and respect for the professional practice of journalism.
16. No criminalization of the social protest, elimination of the court cases against leaders.
17. Fulfill the right to prior consultation of Ecuador’s communities.
18. Respect for the judicial functions of the administration of indigenous justice, and respect for community governments. Respect for the autonomy of (indigenous) nations and nationalities.
19. No verbal aggression against (indigenous) nations, nationalities and social organizations

I felt the need to address all Ecuadoreans in a fraternal dialogue, not onlyto explain our reasons for taking part in the “Plurinational March for Water,Life and Dignity of the Peoples of Ecuador” but also to encourage social dialogue between everyone in the country, especially among all those who are fighting for  a different world, a better world, a more humane world, respectful of the Life of our Pacha Mama (Mother Earth), a world without borders, because if we destroy it with the capitalist extractivism, we destroy ourselves, and condemn our children to live in a world torn apart by the greed for power and wealth of politicians, insensitive to planetary life.

So begins Conaie’s very eloquent letter to the people of Ecuador (link below), that aims at motivating massive participation in tomorrow’s national protest against Correa’s extractive, and other policies.

CONAIE will not be alone in the protest. In fact, unlike other indigenous people’s marches, this time CONAIE is heavily backed by a wide-spectrum of organizations and groups (overwhelmingly from the left), ranging from environmentalists and women’s groups, to teachers, students, and campesino organizations. Hundreds of organizations have joined CONAIE, and are taking the opportunity to express their dismay and outright rejection of many of the current regime’s policies, as well as denouncing what they see as his racists attitude. I cannot recall a anti-government protest having a more broad-based support in Ecuador in the 34 years I’ve been living here.

The concern about mining’s impacts in Ecuador’s biodiverse Condor Range might have sparked the the March, but it has grown much bigger than anyone expected, picking up support from most of the country’s leftist circles, and incorporating the concerns of people from all walks of life.
As a consequence of the march, Correa’s mining agenda will never be the same after the 22nd.

Unfortunately, and reflecting the government’s dismal confrontational style- which is one of the reasons people are on the streets- President Correa called for pro-government marches on the same day, alerting his loyal followers that the marchers are trying to destabilize his government. This, in spite of the fact that CONAIE has repeated over and over again that there is no intent whatsoever at destabilizing the government.

In order to secure “enough bodies”, government officials have resorted to very sleazy tactics of forcing bureaucrats from all over the country to be in Quito on the 22nd. There will be police checkpoints to stop buses carrying protesters, but will let pass government supporters. At the same time, government loyalist have already occupied key gathering places in Quito to prevent marchers from occupying them, in what is seen as a clear provocation. . Over 100,000 people are expected to take part in the different marches, and classes have been suspended in Quito.

And, yes, Intag will be participating in the march!  In fact, Intag folks have accompanied the marchers since it started, on March 8th.

KEEP TUNED, this is going to be interesting

The link to the CONAIE letter (in Spanish only for now) Keep tuned

http://www.conaie.org/component/content/article/1-ultimas-noticias/498–carta-al-pueblo-ecuatoriano

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By Carlos Zorrilla, March 15, 2012

UPDATE Friday 16th :  The Correa regime is running TV and huge billboard ads trying to dissuade people from taking part in the anti-mining march. The TV ads discredit the march and the leaders by implying that they are liars, and are taking advantage of the people.  One billboard has the message:  Those who destabilize are COWARDS.  This, knowing full well that the official propaganda has distorted the goals of the march, falsely claiming it’s to destabilize his government (by, supposedly the “invisible empire”, but visible to them somehow).

The anti-mining sentiment has grown exponentially in the past couple of weeks, in part due to the March 5 signing of the accord with Chinese-owned Ecuacorriente that gives them the green light to begin opening the Mirador massive open-pit copper mine in Ecuador’s mountainous Amazon region. The project is riddled with irregularities and illegalities, poorly-made environmental studies, and represents a great danger to the environment and people’s lives, according to a recently released study by E-tech International (http://www.etechinternational.org/2011ecuador/Miradorkuipers3912esp.pdf)

Every day since the start of the protest on the 8th of March, the march grows. It’s really thousands of protesters, nut hundreds as reported below, and definitely not only indigenous and political opponents, but teachers, university students, agricultural groups; campesinos, women’s groups,…  there are dozens if not hundreds  of organizations supporting the protest.  Just in Cuenca the other day, according to the press, 15,000 people were out in the streets supporting the marchers and their cause.  Correa’s government, in a clear show of concern, has called for anti-marches by his loyal followers (some of which, apparently, are forced to demostrate or risk losing their jobs)to confront the marchers coming up from the south . Government media has accused the protesters of being part of a plot to destabilize the government, and of being financed by bankers, the CIA, and even Nato!! (no, Im not making this up).  Correa, meanwhile, has publicly ridiculed the protest and discredited  the main organizers.

On the 22nd of this month, thousands more from all over Ecuador will join the protesters  in Quito to support their causes, which is not limited to the mining issue and . Maybe then, the Correa government will see that the anti-mining sentiment runs deep in Ecuador and,  who knows, it might make the gov. reflect on the monumental crime that entail destroying these biological jewels and polluting rivers and streams for centuries in order to feed the industries of the north (mainly China, who now consumes 40% of the world’s copper)

If only Correa hadn’t become so indebted to the Chinese….

Article follows

Hundreds March in Ecuador for Water Safeguards and Mining Protest

Hundreds of demonstrators – both indigenous people and members of the political opposition – began a two-week march from Ecuador’s southern Amazonian region to Quito on March 8 to protest large-scale mining projects and urge the government to safeguard water sources.

The march, organized by the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (Confederación de Nacionalidades Indígenas de Ecuador, CONAIE), started in El Panguí, in the Amazonian province of Zamora Chinchipe, where the Chinese-owned company Ecuacorriente plans to open the $1.7 billion Mirador copper mine.

About 800 people set out from El Pangui toward Zamora, the provincial capital, and about 400 more joined them along the way, according to Paúl Palacios, director of the province’s environmental office. They expect to arrive in Quito on March 22.

Meanwhile, allies of President Rafael Correa organized a demonstration in support of the government in Quito on March 8. Protest organizers complained that national government officials also refused to grant local buses permission to travel outside their normal routes, making it difficult for the protesters to travel beyond Zamora.

The protesters and local government officials in Zamora worry about possible social, cultural and environmental impacts from the mine, which is located in a mountainous area known as the Cordillera del Cóndor on the Peruvian border. Indigenous groups on the Peruvian side of the Ecuadorian border, not far from Ecuacorriente’s planned Mirador mine, have also been protesting mining companies exploring for gold in the Cordillera del Condor.

That area may have even greater biological diversity than the better-known Yasuní National Park, which has been the focus of an international campaign to stop an oil-drilling project that would affect both biodiversity and several groups of semi-nomadic indigenous people, Palacios said.

One community that included both Shuar people and non-indigenous settlers has been displaced by Ecuacorriente’s Mirador mining project, he said, and provincial government officials worry that the mine will be accompanied by sharp increase in the local population, with a rise in problems such as crime, drug use and prostitution that have accompanied large mining projects in other parts of the region.

The Mirador mine – which will measure more than a mile across and more than half a mile deep – would be Ecuador’s first foray into large-scale mining. President Rafael Correa signed a contract with Ecuacorriente on March 5.

“There has always been very small-scale mining here, but there has never been large-scale mining anywhere in Ecuador,” Palacios said. With the Ecuacorriente contract, the government of President Rafael Correa “plans to usher in large-scale mining, but without a plan for using the resources. We are only a country of raw materials. That does not allow us to overcome our underdevelopment.”

Mining and water issues have been the focus of increasing protest in Latin America in recent years. The march in Ecuador comes a month after small farmers and local government officials from communities in Cajamarca, in northern Peru, marched to Lima, the capital, to protest a large-scale gold mine that was to begin construction in an area of high-mountain lakes and wetlands.

Ecuador’s indigenous movement was a strong political force in the 1990s. Nationwide protests by indigenous organizations led to the fall of the governments of presidents Abdala Bucarám in 1997 and Jamil Mahuad in 2000. The movement was weakened after the collapse of an alliance with former President Lucio Gutiérrez, who was involved in the Mahuad’s ouster and was later elected president 2002.
Indigenous organizations initially supported Correa, who took office in 2007, but political differences also caused that alliance to break down.

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By Carlos Zorrilla, March 9, 2012

Yesterday, El Comercio newspaper published a map with the current concessions being developed, and future concessions to be offered to private mining companies. Magdalena, which is the same as Los Mandariyacus concession and the same one Codelco is trying to developed, was one of the 10 concessions the government wants companies to explore. Magdalena and Junin are inseperable in the sense that mining just Magdalena makes no sense; it’s just too small, and the government knows the copper is in Junin area and the rest of the Toisan Range. Thus, it is very likely Codelco will resume exploration after the protests this month against Correa’s extractive policies.

17 Reasons mining will be a disaster in Ecuador
The day before yesterday (March 7th), a few news organizations published a preliminary report by the equivalent of Ecuador’s Comptroller General’s office which had been studying possible illegalities and irregularities surrounding two mining concessions in the Cordillera del Condor, including Chinese-owned Mirador (copper mining). The Comptroller General found 17 significant illegalities and irregularities, some of which clearly should have stopped the mining project dead in its tract. This included, finding the concession was partly in a legally protected forests, that there were hundreds of rivers and streams within the mining areas studied- something that violated the 2008 Mining Mandate and should have led to the annulment of the concession, and 15 other gross violations of the Constitution, the mining law. Three days before the study was made public, and being fully informed of the study’s findings and its implications, Correa´s government signed the contract with ECUACORRIENTE to authorize it to start the construction of the open-pit copper mine.
Meanwhile, functionaries like the Minister of the Environment, publicly stated that the only problem with this open- pit mining is that it will permanently remove primary vegetation, and that will be controlled like any other project. She also claims that there were no “fuentes de agua”, or water sources (such as rivers and streams), within the 9000 hectares of concessioned land! Not so incredibly, the Minister of the Environment gave Ecuacorriente the environmental license a few says before the signing of the contract…..

Why? It’s pretty straight forward really: Correa’s government needs money to cover budget deficit and to continue his populist caudilloist form of government. Correa burned a few bridges with International Financial Institutions a few years back, so there’s few places to borrow nearly 9 billion bucks so far. The Chinese need copper (they consume 40% of the world’s supply) and could give the slightest hoot about human rights, mining without permission in native indigenous lands, razing primary forests or contaminating rivers for centuries. End of story.
One particularly interesting aspect of the contract is that the Chinese will give Correa 100 million dollars in advance of royalty obligations, well before the project begins. The money will be used to coopt local governments and communities by bringing roads, clinics, internet and all the normal trappings of a failed model of development. This, as far as I know, is the first mining contract with this modality; and if it catches on, it will probably become the modus operandi for mining companies to neutralize opposition to their projects. Needless to say, it’ll make mining a lot more attractive to corrupt and even non-corrupt governments, as it means a whole lot of cash early in the extractive show.

So, why does this make mining disastrous in places like Ecuador? Well, this is an old tale really, but it’s all about corruption, and of putting gross short-term interest ahead of people’s and nature rights, ahead of cultural and biological diversity, ahead of clean rivers and endangered species, and ahead of the health of citizens and peaceful communities. And, if things like the Constitution and the law get in the way, well…….

The preceding has been a intro into MINING 101!!!

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By Carlos Zorrilla, March 6, 2012

Codelco- a very quick update

Mining, Minerals and Repression in Ecuador

CODELCO UPDATE.  

Reports from the communities have it that CODELCO is withdrawing their drilling equipment.  For now.  There was talk of communities taking action against the company’s presence, which might have inspired the company to stop the drilling.  However, it is more likely that they completed their first phase of drilling and are waiting to start their second phase with more sophisticated and larger equipment, which implies 5-10 times more drilling.

MINING, MINERALS AND REPRESSION.

Español, hasta que alguien me de una mano, favor visiten: http://www.diagonalperiodico.net/Correa-reprime-una-movilizacion.html

As Canada’s famous Prospectors, Developers Association of Canada’s convention got underway today in Toronto, a different kind of mining event was unfolding in Ecuador’s capital. Eight anti-mining women activists were violently arrested when they tried to deliver a letter to the Chinese Ambassador in Ecuador in which they expressed their rejection of the signing of the contract between Ecuador and the Chinese-owned Ecuacorriente mining company, which will give the go-ahead for the open-pit copper Mirador Project.

The contract was signed today and, in theory, should pave the way for the first open-pit metal mining project in Ecuador, and large-scale mining in general. To date, Ecuador is the only Andean nation free of large-scale metal mines.

The mining site is situated in the Amazon’s biodiverse Cordillera del Condor, southeast of the country, and would impact the Shuar people, pristine rivers and streams, as well as primary cloud forests. The women, belonging to Acción Ecológica, were violently removed from the Chinese premises, even though the Chinese Embassy did not ask for the police action, according to reports. There was more violence outside the building when police confronted supporters of the protesters.(SEE THE ARTICLE BELOW FOR MORE DETAILS). Violence and mining; and not an ounce of copper has been mined yet by the transnationals. Kinross’s gold mine is next in line for the exploitation contract, if they can navigate through all the hurdles facing the mining companies in Ecuador.

The AFP article below reporting on the violent removal of the activists mentions a national march that is to from all corners of the country starting on the 8th of March. Rejection of large-scale mining is a central galvanizer of the marchers. On the 22nd, the different protesters will meet in Quito for the International Water Day, where they will be joined by their urban counterparts. For more details on the march see: http://upsidedownworld.org/main/ecuador-archives-49/3498-1-conaie-and-social-movements-mobilize-in-ecuador

Ecuador to sign mining contract with Chinese firm
(AFP) – 3 hours ago
QUITO — Ecuador was set to sign a contract Monday with a Chinese company for a massive copper mine in the Amazon, prompting protests by environmental activists.

Police forcefully removed a dozen female environmental activists who had occupied China’s embassy in Quito to reject the pact with Chinese-financed mining company EcuaCorriente (ECSA), saying it would damage the Amazon’s fragile ecosystem.

The officers boarded the protesters in a police bus surrounded by soldiers.
Yvonne Yanez, leader of the group Ecologist Action, said the activists entered the embassy without incident, and that the women had been waiting inside to deliver a letter to the ambassador, who never received them. About 50 other activists were outside the diplomatic mission.
The mining company’s work “will affect for all time the territory of indigenous people and nature,” the letter said.

“We reject the signing of the contract… without approval of an environmental impact study and without the knowledge of indigenous communities.”
The agreement, which falls under a law passed three years ago, comes just before the main aboriginal group CONAIE planned to initiate a two-week march to Quito on Thursday to protest such mining activities and other policies backed by President Rafael Correa.

ECSA plans to invest $1.4 billion during the first five years of the 25-year contract for the Mirador mine in the Condor range in southeastern Ecuador, in an area that the protesters say is one of the country’s most biodiverse.
The mine has an estimated reserves of 2.1 million tons (4.7 billion pounds) of copper.

Ecuador stands to receive $4.5 billion over the term of the agreement, while the company, which will begin production in late 2014, will invest $100 million from royalties to help develop neighboring communities.
The state’s share of mining income is 52 percent, higher than in countries like Chile (36 percent), Peru (32.9 percent) and Mexico (30 percent), but less than the 85 percent that applies to oil production.

“The state owns the resources and the company invests at a cost to get the resources. The highest percentage of profit will always go to the state,” Vice Minister of Mines Federico Auquilla told El Comercio newspaper.
He said Ecuador has a dozen projects in advanced stages of exploration — prior to signing a contract — for copper, gold and silver.

But most of the projects are located in regions of the Amazon home to indigenous communities staunchly opposed to large-scale mining.
“We will not accept large-scale mining in our territory because it will destroy nature, pollute rivers and displace people in areas with significant agricultural potential, farming and tourism,” CONAIE president Humberto Cholango

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jO9Ake7hFu-x-zc7vr1c8N4-0upQ?docId=CNG.7ce214ed2bf910d9d222c782a5fc5c3e.501

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By Carlos Zorrilla, February 12, 2012

The most recent news to report is that CODELCO and its partner  are still happily and illegally- drilling away in the Mandariyacos concession..  The government has paid no attention at all to a letter sent by the Parish government asking work be stopped until all the irregularities surrounding the concession be investigated. The letter was sent BEFORE, Codelco and his partner, moved equipment in to start exploration.  Also, they have prevented, on more than one occasion,  human rights and international observers from visiting the sites they exploring.

Not too long ago we got a hold of the amended Environmental Impact Study and were surprised, not by the fact that it had so many mistakes, but that the erroneous and made up information was so sloppily presented to the Ministry of the Environment, who quickly approved it.  The government loves to talk about Responsible Mining.  With officials like these…..

Examples?  The updated study, which was meant to address 28 points of contention brought up the the same Ministry of the Environment, said most homes in Magdalena Bajo (one of the communities within the area of influence) lacked private bathrooms and had no electricity.  In fact, over 90% of the homes have both services.  The authors of the study also got the ethnic composition, as well as migration patterns of the El Paraiso community completely wrong.

Needless to say, following the trajectory of arrogance so omnipresent in the  Correa government, the amended study was not socialized with the communities to validate the information. This is becoming the standard procedure:  Start off with a very bad environmental study.  Government asks for clarification and clarifications.  Approve without further socialization or on-the-ground validation. .

You might think these are small mistakes, but they point to a lack of concern about following the law, and carrying out worthwhile studies.  The Ministry of the Environment seems to be saying to the mining companies, it doesn’t matter what the studies contain or leave out, WE WILL APPROVE THEM.

That may be so, but the arrogance carries the risk of backlash from communities.  Wonder not then, when communities lose patience and faith with the legal channels of dissent available to them, and choose other methods of protecting their rights.

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By Carlos Zorrilla, February 5, 2012

THANK YOU

To
The authorities of the Canton Cotacachi and Intag
The communities and social organisations in the region
Organisations representing women, artisans, peasants
All residents of Intag
In Solidarity
February 6, 2012
Our organisation, Rainforest Rescue, has been observing the community
empowerment process in the Intag region since 1998. Over the years, people
organised and started projects which deserve our respect and admiration. The
region’s development now has a solid and economically viable base. Many
organisations have been set up to provide an alternative model, such as those which form part of the Consorcio Toisán (Association of Coffee Growers – AACRI, Environmental Defense and Conservation- DECOIN, Ecotourism Network, and others.
The people of Intag have choosen the path they want to follow, and the kind of
development they want.
In support of the communities’ interests in defending the vital cloud forest including the community forest reserve and its water sources and its biodiversity, members of Rainforest Rescue have visited the area several times. All of those have remained intact thanks to the effort of the people of Intag, who believe in protecting nature and life and who daily commit themselves to their defence.
The tenacity of the communities and their admirable decision not to allow large-scale opencast mining in this part of Ecuador, have successfully (though not without difficulty) prevented at least two mining companies from exploiting subsurface minerals and metals in Intag during the 90′s and 2000s. The presence of the mining multinationals Mitsubishi Metals and Copper Mesa (formerly Ascendant Copper) in the area revealed their web of lies and destruction: human rights violations, threats of  displacement, water and soil pollution, criminalisation of community leaders, paramilitarism and corruption. The opposition to mining was thus not arbitrary but the result of careful studies and assessment of its impacts by the communities and
the local authorities.
The announcement that another mining company is about to enter the region with the intention of extracting the copper under the forests rings alarm bells in Intag.
Residents see their rights and their environment once more threatened and they are deeply worried.
Our organisation expresses complete solidarity with the people and organisations of Intag, and supports their defence of life and nature and all expressions of their rejection of mining in Intag. We will be aware of any situation that may occur which might violate the rights and wishes of the communities.

In solidarity,

The Rainforest Rescue Team
Para
Las autoridades del Cantón Cotacachi y de la zona de Intag
A las comunidades
A las organizaciones sociales
A los grupos organizados de mujeres, artesanos, campesinos,
productores
A todos los interesad@s
Carta de Solidaridad
6 de Febrero de 2012
A tod@s l@s Inteñ@s
Nuestra organización Salva la Selva observa y acompaña desde 1998 el proceso de empoderamiento comunitario en la zona de Intag. Este comenzó a raíz de la defensa del bosque, y se ha consolidado sobre bases sólidas y productivas a lo largo de los años. Organizaciones y proyectos surgidos en Intag merecen nuestro respeto y admiración como aquellas que forman parte del Consorcio Toisán (como la Asociación de Caficultores Río Intag, la organización ecologista Defensa y Conservación Ecológica de Intag DECOIN, la Red Ecoturística de Intag, Manduriacos Solidario y otros). Los inteños han logrado elegir qué camino quieren seguir, hacia qué tipo de desarrollo.
Miembros de nuestra organización Salva la Selva han tenido la oportunidad de visitar la zona en diversas ocasiones y la hemos dado a conocer internacionalmente.

Durante casi dos décadas se ha logrado consolidar la defensa de los bosques y fuentes de agua, y proteger una reserva de bosques comunitaria, que hasta la fecha se mantiene intacta gracias al esfuerzo de las inteñas e inteños se comprometen diariamente con la defensa de la naturaleza.
La admirable decisión conjunta de las comunidades de no permitir la minería a cielo abierto y a gran escala en este rincón del Ecuador, lograron no sin esfuerzo, que al menos dos empresas mineras desistieran en los años 90 y en los 2000 de su intención de explotar los metales y minerales del subsuelo. La presencia en la zona de las multinacionales mineras Mitsubishi Metals y de la Copper Mesa (antes Ascendant) mostró el rostro oscuro de la mentira y la destrucción. Violaciones de derechos, amenazas de desplazamiento, contaminación de agua y suelos, criminalización de líderes comunitarios, paramilitarismo, corrupción y un largo etc. La oposición a la minería no es arbitraria, sino el resultado de cuidadosos estudios y análisis comunitarios y de las autoridades locales de los impactos supondría para todo y para
todos en Intag.
El anuncio de que una nueva empresa minera vuelve con la idea de extraer el cobre bajo los bosques, enciende todas las alarmas en Intag. Los pobladores ven nuevamente amenazados sus derechos y el medio que les rodea y están muy preocupados.
nuestra organización se solidariza con las personas y organizaciones de Intag, y con las acciones que decidan tomar en defensa de la vida y la naturaleza y en expresión de su  rechazo a la actividad minera en la zona de Intag. Quedamos atentos a toda situación que se pueda producir contraria a los derechos y la voluntad comunitaria.
Un abrazo solidario,
El equipo de Salva la Selva

29 January 2012
OUR FULL SOLIDARITY WITH INTAG

To our friends in the Intag-Manduriacos region
To the communities and grassroots organisations of the region To all local councils of the region and the surrounding territories To the people of the Canton Cotacachi and its government
To every person, group and organisation that speaks up against environmental degradation and human rights violations anywhere in the world

The courage and the practical humanity with which the people of Intag stand up for their environment, for their right to their land, for the livelihood of future generations, simply: for justice; is impressive.

This motivates our NGO Intag e.V. and Friends and gives us great hope. Having worked in Intag as volunteers, we have witnessed the strength and energy of the people of Intag and therefore would like to contribute to making the region’s alternative development model become known beyond Ecuador.

We are greatly alarmed in view of the ever more unsettling news that currently have reached us from the Intag-Manduriacos region. The people of Intag yet again have to fear for their livelihoods: The Ecuadorian government makes common cause with the Chilean mining giant CODELCO; more and more signs and official statements indicate that the extraction of the copper deposits covered by INTAG’s precious cloud forests is apparently about to start.

In view of the expected grave impacts on people and nature we wish to express our deep concerns about this extremely serious situation. Once more the local population was unlawfully excluded by the national government from the decision making process, which will determine the fate of their livelihoods. It seems that, once more, the fundamental rights, enshrined in the constitution of Ecuador, are being consciously and systematically ignored.

We, the Intag e.V. and Friends, clearly, publicly and unreservedly declare our greatest solidarity with our friends afar.

Unified we present a stand against the imminent mining operations of CODELCO in INTAG and the probable offences against man and nature.

We will continue to support the local population of Inteñas and Inteños in Ecuador, to ensure that their collective voices will be heard in Germany and all over the world.

The people in INTAG will receive our fullest support. Neither CODELCO nor any other mining company shall win the struggle for the communities‘ views and sympathy with false promises or worse.

Intag e.V. and Friends

Carta abierta de Intag e.V. y círculo de amigos – Alemania
29 de enero 2012

NUESTRA SOLIDARIDAD CON INTAG

A nuestros amigos de la zona de Intag – Manduriacos
A las comunidades y organizaciones de base de la zona
A todos los representantes de las comunidades de la zona y los alrededores
A la población del cantón Cotacachi y su gobierno
A todas las personas, grupos y organizaciones que están en contra de la destrucción de la naturaleza y las violaciones de derechos humanos en todo el mundo, y que están activos en este contexto

El valor y la humanidad con la que los habitantes de la zona de Intag se comprometen con su naturaleza, los derechos territoriales y el sustento de las futuras generaciones, es decir, por la justicia, es impresionante.

Esto motiva a nuestra asociación Intag e.V. y círculo de amigos, y nos da grandes esperanzas. Hemos podido conocer la fuerza de las inteñas e inteños durante nuestro tiempo como voluntarios y por eso queremos contribuir dando a conocer más allá del Ecuador, el modelo zonal de desarrollo alternativo.

En este momento, estamos alarmados a la vista de las noticias que nos llegan desde Intag – Manduriacos. La población de Intag teme nuevamente por su modo de vida: el gobierno ecuatoriano trama algo junto con el gigante minero chileno CODELCO; cada vez más indicios y declaraciones dejan claro que estaría próxima la explotación del cobre bajo los bosques de Intag. A la vista de las consecuencias negativas para
la población y la naturaleza, expresamos nuestra gran preocupación por esta situación. Una vez más, no se ha tomado en cuenta a la población local. Parece que de manera consciente y sistemática, los derechos fundamentales reflejados en la Constitución ecuatoriana no son contemplados.

Como asociación Intag e.V. y círculo de amigos, declaramos abiertamente nuestra solidaridad ilimitada a nuestros amigos y desde la distancia.

Unidos rechazamos cualquier actividad minera de CODELCO o de otras compañías mineras en Intag, al igual manera a los delitos probables contra el hombre y la naturaleza causados por la economía extractivista.

Seguiremos contribuyendo a que las voces de las inteñas y los inteños sean escuchadas en
Ecuador, Alemania y el mundo.

La población de Intag cuenta con nuestro apoyo. Ni CODELCO ni ninguna otra empresa minera debe interponerse con falsas promesas o peores cosas a las opiniones de la población.

En solidaridad,
Intag e.V. y círculo de amigos.
Intag e.V. and Friends – Germany | Public Declaration

29th January 2012

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By Carlos Zorrilla, January 27, 2012

CODELCO COMMENCES DRILLING PARADISE

Today, CODELCO, with military personnel (15 in total as of today) in the area, started drilling its first exploratory wells in the Paraiso community. The irony is that the military personnel are supposedly in the area is to control criminal activity (like trafficking of stolen motorcycles!).

I guess the more obvious the criminal activity, the harder it is to see.

As of the this afternoon, additional drilling equipment was ready to start the journey up to Paraiso, and at this time, no attempt has been made by communities to stop the machinery’s progress, though yesterday a convoy with machinery was made to turn back.

CODELCO is in the area illegally, according to community members, and lawyers helping on the case. CODELCO’s unwelcome and illegitimate presence was made possible by the Ministry of the Environment’s approval of the project’s Environmental Impact Study, in spite of the study’s fundamental flaws, and official opposition by a local government authority.

By authorizing the start of exploration in the Manduriacos area, the government seems to be saying a number of things. It is saying, basically, and in spite the opposition by local government and affected communities, the project’s risk of contaminating several sources of water – including two that provide drinking water to communities (prohibited by the Constitution), the project’s risk of of unleashing arsenic and lead contamination from underground water sources, in addition to the numerous flawed scientific studies contained in the EIA, plus a long list of illegalities having to do with the process that “legitimized” the study-such as the Constitutional right to free and prior consultation- that mining development is above the law, and the Constitution.

Most people will interpret the presence of a contingency of army personnel just when exploration activities start, as sending a clear message that the armed forces are at the beck and call of transnational mining companies.

Welcome to the world of Responsible Mining in Ecuador

CODELCO Y MILITARES EN INTAG

Zona de INTAG, Jueves, 26 de enero 2012

ACTUALIZACIÓN: SE CONFIRMÓ UN POCO DESPUES DE ENVIAR ESTE BOLETÍN DE PRENSA QUE CODELCO INICIÓ LAS PRIMERAS PERFORACIONES EN LA CONCESION DE LOS MANDARIYACUS EL DÍA DE HOY.

En estos momentos, la empresa minera CODELCO (Chile) se encuentra intentando de  ingresar  con nueva  maquinaria para iniciar  las labores de exploración avanazada en los alrededores de la comunidad de el Paraíso,  Parroquia de García Moreno, Cantón Cotacachi, y Provincia de Imbabura.

Dicha comunidad se encuentra muy cerca al yacimiento de cobre de JUNIN, que sabemos que el gobierno quiere desarrollar.

MILITARES Y COINCIDENCIAS DE LA VIDA 

Justo hace dos días ingresaron una grupo de 15 militares al mismo sector de Intag para, supuestamente, controlar la delincuencia.    ¿Delincuencia?    ¿Militares?   ¿No será más bien para garantizar los derechos empresariales de CODELCO e intimidar a la población?

CODELCO busca cobre en la concesión denominada Los Mandariyacu, y está en Intag gracias a un convenio con una individuo que se sospecha es traficante de concesiones, ya que no tiene la capacidad económica de realizar minería a gran escala. La nueva ley del 2009, supuestamente eliminó el tráfico de concesiones mineras. 

ESTUDIO DE IMPACTO VERGONZOSO.

La empresa justifica su presencia y actividades basado en la aprobación de un Estudio de Impacto Ambiental para actividades avanzadas de minería que esta repleta de falencias técnicas, las cuales fueron denunciadas a su debido tiempo al Ministerio del Ambiente por parte de la Presidenta de la Junta Parroquial y la CEDHU.  El Ministerio nunca respondió a las observaciones realizadas en el mencionado documento. 

MÁS ILEGALIDADES.

A pesar de ser legalmente solicitado, las autoridades no han presentado el Estudio de Impacto Ambiental para actividades iniciales mineras, tal como requiere la Ley de Minería, siendo éste un documento indispensable para dar paso al Estudio de Impacto Ambiental para actividades avanzadas de minería. 

Por otro lado, el proceso de aprobación de dicho estudio estuvo viciado de irregularidades, y fue deslegitimado por cuatro de las cinco comunidades que se encuentran dentro del área de influencia del proyecto minero.  Legalmente es inválido cualquier EIA que no se haya socializado con las comunidades afectadas por actividades mineras.  

En cuanto a la consulta previa prevista en la Constitución- nunca se realizó según los comuneros de la mayoría de las comunidades, y el gobierno Parroquial de García Moreno.  Cabe añadir que la minería no consta en los planes de Ordenamiento Territorial de ningunos de los gobiernos seccionales o locales.

Riesgos Ambientales.  Bosques 

Los bosques que se encuentran el área minera se consideran entre los más biodiversos del mundo (Andes Tropical y Magdalena-Chocó).   Parte del área minera se encuntra cubierta con bosques primarios que albergan decenas de especies en peligro de extincción, incluyendo, entre muchos otros:  Osos de Anteojos, Jaguares, y el Mono Aaña cabeci-café (Ateles fusciceps). El Estudio de Impacto no mencionó la existencia de dichos mamíferos, y los estudios de las aves y anfibios fueron un chiste.

 Agua.

El Estudio de Impacto Ambiental, identificó cinco fuentes de agua dentro del proyecto.  Y, a pesar de sus falencias de fondo, reportó el hallazgo de subsuelo contaminado con arsénico y plomo.  En los biodiversos bosques nublados de Junin, una zona muy similar a la que hoy en día CODELCO quiere hacer pozos de cientos de metros de profundidad para identificar la posible presencia de cobre, los pozos perforados por otro proyecto minero en los años 1990, contaminaron ríos y quebradas con arsénico y plomo. La contaminación continúa contaminando el agua a hasta el día de hoy (la contaminación fue comprobada como parte de una investigación científica para obtener su Phd). 

Bienvenidos a otro ejemplo más de la minería responsable en el Ecuador