Sharing the Philippine experience in conducting Environmental Investigation Mission International People’s Conference on Mining 2015: Workshop No. 5-Establishing Community-Based Scientific tools to Investigate Corporate Mining Accountability The Hive Hotel July 30, 2015

What is an Environmental Investigation Mission?

•  Itera&ve,  par&cipatory  and  scien&fic  process  of  inves&ga&on,  engaging  a  mul$-­‐disciplinary  team  to  integrate  the  knowledge  of  the  local  communi&es  with  the  quan&fying  exper&se  of  the  scien&sts  and  technologists  

•  Covers  biophysical,  social,  poli&cal,  and  economic  impact  of  the  project  to  the  people  

Consultation  with  the  people’s  organizations/communities  

     

Data  collation  and  desk  research        

Scoping  activity              

EIM  Proper          

Report  back  to  the  community        

Dialogue  with  the  local  and  national  government  /regulatory  government  agencies  

 

EIM Methodology

A.  Scientific  Parameters  For  water  quality  

     

 

Physical    Parameters  

Chemical    Parameters  

Biological  Parameters  

•  Temperature  •  Color/Taste/Odor  •  Turbidity  •  Suspended  solids  •  Water  velocity  

•  pH  •  Conduc&vity  •  Biological  oxygen  demand/  Dissolved  oxygen  

•  Trace/Toxic  metals  

•  Bioassessment  •  Flora  and  Faunal  Assessment  

A.   Biological,  Physico-­‐Chemical  Parameters  For  soil  quality  

     

 

Chemical    Parameters  

Biological    Parameters  

•  pH  • Heavy  metal  analysis  •  Soil  produc&vity    (N,  P,  K)  

Flora  and  Faunal  Assessment  

B.  Social  and  Economic  Parameters  •   Actual  Impact  •   Perception  of  impact  •   Health  condition    •   Impact  on  livelihood  

C.  Legal  Parameters  •  Land  use  and  zoning  •  Protected  areas/  reserves  •  Endangered  species  •  Public  par&cipa&on  •  Social  groups  affected  by  development  

EIM in various mining areas Ci&Nickel  Mining  in  Española,  Palawan  •  mining  stockpiles  and  the  faulty  silta&on  dam  system  are  the  

causes  of  polluted  water  of  the  river  system  •  Presence  of  nickel  250  &mes  greater  than  the  allowable  

standard  is  affec&ng  the  palay  produc&on  •  Cases  of  respiratory  and  skin  diseases  in  the  community  

Philex  tailings  dam  breach  -­‐  20  million  tons  of  

mine  tailings  released  from  the  storage  facility  rendering  an  important  river  system  biologically  dead  

-­‐  Resulted  to  copper  contamina&on  4.5  &mes  higher  than  the  maximum  tolerable  level  in  soil  

Oceana  Gold  Mining  in  Nueva  Viscaya  -­‐    Copper  concentra&on  has  exceeded  the  threhold  level  by  7.4  &mes  in  the  river  system  

Value of EIM

•  Counterchecks the government regulation and the compliance of the corporation to the environmental laws and policies

•  Serves as a tool in mobilizing affected commuties to act in demanding accountability to the mining corporation;

•  Use for lobbying at the local and national government entities and regulatory agencies

Gaps, Limitations and challenges in having EIM

•  Question of accuracy and credibility •  Absence of baseline data •  Lack of supporting documents such as EIS •  Limited analysis conducted due to budget

constraint •  EIM results as substantial evidence to

pursue a case against mining company

Man can find meaning in life. Short and perilous as it is, only through devoting himself to society.

–Albert Einstein