BAN Riverine Tailings Disposal Save the MIGHTY SEPIK!!
Ban Riverine Tailings Disposal in Papua New Guinea a report compiled by the PNG Constitutional & Law Reform Commission.
BRG’s work to inform villages along the Sepik river about the environmental impacts of the newly proposed Freida Mine has just settled in time when the Constitutional & Law Reform Commission presented its final draft report to BAN Riverine Tailings Disposal in PNG.
The Constitutional & Law Reform Commission’s Review of Environmental & Mining Laws relating to the Management and Disposal of Tailings 2013 issues paper No.6 and draft report 2014 became a handy tool for NGO’s like BRG. It is now a very useful to inform prospective impacted communities as well as impacted communities in mining areas about the dangers of tailings disposal. The review gives a guideline that provides the capacity to enquire and identify that all developments follow appropriate legislations. Because of this the outcome of this report as outline by the press statement by Dr. Eric Kwa director of the Constitutional & Law Reform Commission who has announced that the commission has completed a comprehensive report on tailings disposal with nineteen recommendations one of them is to BAN all riverine tailings in the country.
This recommendation comes from the Constitutional & Law Reform Commission (CLRC) who has completed a review of the environmental and mining laws relating to the disposal of tailings.
The review was commissioned in 2007 but work commenced in 2013 due to change of leadership in the CLRC and concerns raised by the mining industry and other government agencies who questioned the CLRC’s role in conducting the review.
The report provided a space for concerned authorities to work together to create a transparent document on waste management and disposal tailings. The commission has been able to work closely with the Chamber of Mines and Petroleum, civil society organizations and other government departments to assess developments carried out by particular industries follow appropriate legislations.
The review covers current mine disposal techniques used by different mining projects in the country. It was commissioned following concerns raised over the impact of tailings disposal by Tolukuma mine into the Angabanga River in the Central Province.
Of the four mine sites scheduled to be visited, the review team was only able to visit OK Tedi and Porgera mines. They were refused entry into Lihir, Hidden Valley and the Ramu mine sites.
The reporting team was able to talk to representatives in the mining industry through the Chamber of Mines and Petroleum and to visit landowner impacted sites and the respective provincial governments.
The draft report will be compiled with 19 recommendations with one urgent and pressing at hand is to BAN all riverine disposal. This will be presented to the Minister of Justice and Attorney General to tabled in the next parliament.
On this the Sepik River communities are now calling for local MPs to SAVE the MIGHTY SEPIK RIVER from disposals from the Frieda Mine. In all alone;
The slopes of the Upper Sepik mountains contain more mammals species than anywhere on the planet."
Want to save the MIGHTY SEPIK RIVER and help the indigenous people to reaffirm its ownership over it? Donate to BRG’s Land is Life project now”.
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