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Guatemalan Communities Have No Say in Exploitation of Resources

Source: IPS

By Danilo Valladares

GUATEMALA CITY, 21 May 2012 - "People haven’t been coming in for the past month or so because they are afraid again, like during war-time," complained Juan Gaspar, a shopkeeper in the northwestern Guatemalan town of Santa Cruz Barillas, where a fierce battle is raging between locals opposed to a hydropower dam and the security forces.

The conflict broke out in the town on May 1 when private security guards, police and soldiers cracked down on a protest by local residents opposed to the construction of the five-MW Canbalam I hydroelectric complex by the Spanish firm Hidralia. One local peasant farmer was killed in the clashes and two were injured.

In response, right-wing President Otto Pérez Molina declared a state of siege in the town and sent in troops and police with the order to "capture the ringleaders." The measure was lifted on Friday May 18.

So far, 17 community leaders have been arrested. Hundreds of demonstrators took to the streets on May 15 to demand that they be released, and that the state of siege be lifted.

Gaspar told IPS that before investing in a project such as a dam or mine, investors should engage in dialogue with the local population and take their views into consideration, in order to avoid regrettable incidents. "That’s how it should work," he said.

When asked his opinion about the dam, the shopkeeper first said he did not support it. But immediately afterwards he said "We have nothing to do with these things; I don’t care one way or the other."

Perhaps the abrupt turnaround was a result of the heavy police and military presence in the town, reminiscent of the 1960-1996 civil war.

For the complete article, please see IPS.

Zimbabwe: Dying Rivers Dry Up Livelihoods

Source: allAfrica

25 April 2012 - Murewa. Thousands of poor Zimbabweans have turned to illegal panning for precious minerals, but environmental and water experts say their activities are contributing to the drying up of rivers which many communities rely on for their livelihoods.

"Siltation of rivers is becoming endemic in the country, particularly in regions where there is acute illegal panning of minerals, especially gold. Rivers have been reduced to rivulets," said the Zimbabwe National Water Authority (ZINWA) in a November 2011 statement aimed at drawing attention to the country's "dying rivers and water bodies" and their impact on downstream communities.

Illegal gold mining is common along rivers that run close to the Great Dyke, a hilly mineral-rich belt which cuts across most of the country, and is concentrated in Mashonaland Central, West, East and Midlands provinces. Diamond panning is associated with the Chiadzwa District of Manicaland.

According to John Robertson, a Harare-based economic consultant, people began turning to gold panning in large numbers in the early 1990s when the country was hit by poor harvests due to droughts and job layoffs resulting from the government's economic structural adjustment programme.

"The damage caused by illegal mining is enormous. It is a vicious cycle as people are taking to panning in order to earn a living, but in the end their activities are causing untold degradation," Robertson told IRIN.

Monica Mapeka, a 24-year-old single mother of two from rural Murewa District, about 100km northeast of Harare, the capital, regularly visits the banks of Mazowe river, a tributary of the River Zambezi which passes through the area, in search of alluvial gold. Armed with a pick, shovel and container, and clad in muddy overalls, she joins hundreds of other illegal gold panners popularly known as 'makorokoza' in digging up the riverbed.

From dusk until dawn, she and two other women work together to mix the earth they have dug up with water and move it in circular motions in containers until they are left with small quantities of mud containing shiny yellow particles of alluvial gold.

"On a lucky day, we get something like two ounces that we sell for US$40 and share the money. If you work hard enough, it's easy to get rich," said Mapeka. "We are single mothers and have to do something to fend for our children and other members of the extended family, otherwise we will starve and walk in rags."

For the complete article, please see allAfrica

Zimbabwe: Dying Rivers Dry Up Livelihoods

Source: allAfrica

25 April 2012 -Murewa. Thousands of poor Zimbabweans have turned to illegal panning for precious minerals, but environmental and water experts say their activities are contributing to the drying up of rivers which many communities rely on for their livelihoods.

"Siltation of rivers is becoming endemic in the country, particularly in regions where there is acute illegal panning of minerals, especially gold. Rivers have been reduced to rivulets," said the Zimbabwe National Water Authority (ZINWA) in a November 2011 statement aimed at drawing attention to the country's "dying rivers and water bodies" and their impact on downstream communities.

Illegal gold mining is common along rivers that run close to the Great Dyke, a hilly mineral-rich belt which cuts across most of the country, and is concentrated in Mashonaland Central, West, East and Midlands provinces. Diamond panning is associated with the Chiadzwa District of Manicaland.

According to John Robertson, a Harare-based economic consultant, people began turning to gold panning in large numbers in the early 1990s when the country was hit by poor harvests due to droughts and job layoffs resulting from the government's economic structural adjustment programme.

"The damage caused by illegal mining is enormous. It is a vicious cycle as people are taking to panning in order to earn a living, but in the end their activities are causing untold degradation," Robertson told IRIN.

Monica Mapeka, a 24-year-old single mother of two from rural Murewa District, about 100km northeast of Harare, the capital, regularly visits the banks of Mazowe river, a tributary of the River Zambezi which passes through the area, in search of alluvial gold. Armed with a pick, shovel and container, and clad in muddy overalls, she joins hundreds of other illegal gold panners popularly known as 'makorokoza' in digging up the riverbed.

From dusk until dawn, she and two other women work together to mix the earth they have dug up with water and move it in circular motions in containers until they are left with small quantities of mud containing shiny yellow particles of alluvial gold.

"On a lucky day, we get something like two ounces that we sell for US$40 and share the money. If you work hard enough, it's easy to get rich," said Mapeka. "We are single mothers and have to do something to fend for our children and other members of the extended family, otherwise we will starve and walk in rags."

For the complete article, please see allAfrica