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April 2003 | Intag | By Carlos Zorrilla
| en español
The following is a detailed account of the current mining
situation which, unfortunately, continues to be our main concern.
Click here
for a brief summary of our other projects and recent work.
As some of you might know, ever since the communities worked
to reject the Mitsubishi-Ecuadorian government Junin copper
mining project in May of 1997 by taking over and burning down
the Mitsubishi mining camp, miners and government mining officials
have pretty much kept away from the mining area- though they
have by no means lost interest in the minerals, unfortunately.
For the past almost 6 years the pro-mining forces have not
stopped their strategy of neutralizing the opposition -- strategy
that has included a nasty anti-DECOIN campaign (including
wild and false accusations against our organization and members),
which has led to death threats against some of us at DECOIN
, and outright intimidation against Junin community members
and their Ecological
Tourism project. Divide and conquer is very much alive
in the hills around Junin.
AUCTION OF THE JUNIN MINING CONCESSION
In August of last year, DECOIN found out about the government's
plan to auction the 7,000 hectare (17,500 acres) Junin mining
concession a few days before it was to take place. We were
able to quickly mobilize and organize (with help from the
Cotacachi Environmental Committee) a forum attended by over
a hundred Intag residents, including the 6 local township
government presidents of Intag, and many organizations and
community representatives. On that day, they unanimously rejected
the government's auction plans -- calling officially to be
stopped. We further were able to get support to stop the auction
from 24 organizations working in Cotacachi County, plus the
crucial backing of the Cotacachi City Council, and personal
intervention of our County Mayor. At the international level,
with invaluable support from Mineral Policy Center in Washington,
we launched a last minute campaign to pressure the federal
government to stop the sale of our forests, rivers, and land.
Not surprising, the initiative failed- but in failing, it
set a precedent in Ecuador, and probably Latin America, in
having so many government and non-government organizations
oppose government plans to allow mining activities.
The buyer, by the way, did not represent a mining company,
but is an investor interested in selling the concession to
a transnational mining company- the highest bidder. As of
mid March, when we met with his legal team, the concession
was still in his power, and part of it (1,500) was still needing
to be legalized by the Ministry of Energy and Mines, since
it was found that it was located in a legally declared private
protected area- and thus in need of a special permit before
it can be legalized as a concession (Chontal Protected Forest).
Legal Maneuvers
An interesting outcome of the campaign was that only one single
individual showed up at the auction, something we think was
due to the direct result of the campaign (which included taking
out a half page ad in Ecuador's largest circulation newspaper
the day before the auction). We believe this one fact invalidates
the auction. To address this illegality, DECOIN has hired
one of Ecuador's best criminal lawyer to legally challenge
the auction, and annul the auction. Luckily, we recently were
able to convince Cotacachi government council to actively
support this legal action- something we believe is essential
(and which took quite a bit of lobbying!)
Funding Needs -- Legal Defense Fund
For this initiative, we are in great need of funds to pay
for all the legal expenses - the lawyer is not cheap (even
in Ecuador!)- and there are tons of other indirect expenses
(he has been paid $2,500, or only 50% of his fees). We expect
weÕll need NOT LESS THAN $3,500.00 to see the legal work through.
If we get additional funding in excess of the $3,500 we need,
it'll go towards expanding the legal action to look into other
legal possibilities to implement our Ecological Ordinance,
including creating a Municipal Protected Reserve in the areas
of contention with mining interests (this should be interesting...)
MINING MORATORIUM AND ANTI-MINING CONGRESS
I can't believe we are also involved in contributing to a
national mining and petroleum moratorium!. This initiative
is being promoted by Oil Watch, and other national organizations.
They've asked DECOIN to help build the case against mining,
to be used in declaring a moratorium on new mining and petroleum
activities (this will be taking place this year).
Congress
Together with Acci—n Ecol—gica, and other orgs, we are planning
on holding an regional Congress on Mining this (late) June
or early July ('03) in Cotacachi. The main idea is to bring
together people, communities, and organizations opposing mining,
to, among other objectives, strengthen the opposition to mining
in the country, support the moratorium, and show positive
examples of alternative development (such as the Junin Ecological
Tourism project, handicraft production, etc). Funding Needs:
For this, WE COULD USE FUNDS IMMEDIATELY (I'm estimating DECOIN
could use $3000; hoping the other organizations also contribute
another 4 or 5,000).
Environmental -- Anti Mining Campaign
I strongly feel that as soon as the concession is sold to
a large mining company, that the first thing they'll do is
come into Intag to try and persuade the people of the benefits
of mining. This translates into big problems for all of us
that oppose mining, due to the "measures of persuasion" used
by the very powerful and well funded mining giants. In order
to prepare, in case the concession is sold, we would like
to prepare by going from community to community, strengthening
the opposition and reminding Intag residents of the real impacts
of mining has on the communities and the environment, so they
will not be so easily persuade by the lies and promises of
the miners.
Funding Needs
We have worked out a year long Environmental
Education Program to be carried out by 3 different teams in
Intag, costing about $36,000.00. I know this is a lot of money,
but the communities are spread out all over the place here
in Intag- making transportation a major expense. But ANY contribution
to this fund will go a long ways. We estimate each workshop
averages around $250.00 (transportation is not cheap here-
and we must hire since we don't own a vehicle). The full proposal
calls for field trips to mining towns so people can see first
hand the real impacts of mining; also includes forums, and
a annual congress, etc. A bare-bones version is $15,000.00
and focuses on workshops with communities, schools, organized
groups and local government officials, plus basic educational
material (posters, hand outs, etc).
How to Get Involved or Make Donations
If you'd like to donate your time, or money, please specify
which of the projects you would like to support and get in
touch with me at: intagcz@uio.satnet.net
Keep in mind that there may be other ways you might be able
to support our work.
Thank you,
Carlos Zorrilla
Executive Director Defensa y Conservacion Ecologica de Intag
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