Wednesday, June 03, 2009

no to mining


Mindoro's natural wonders are under threat from mining. I am one with my provincemates in opposing the proposed Mindoro nickel project of Intex Resources Philippines Inc. I fear the damages this development will cause to the people of Mindoro and the environment will be massive and irreversible. This is personal because my hometown is the site of the project. Experts believe it will cause destruction of critical watershed affecting the food supply and security of the island. It will also invariably evict the Mangyans from their domain. Please help not to let this happen by spreading the word. Thanks.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Think of all the jobs it will provide. 2000 jobs is a lot!

beth said...

wow. wonderful picture is posted on the blog. It must be appreciated,

kikomeister said...

whoever you are:

2000 jobs is a lot, you are correct but this shouldn't cloud our better judgment. unfortunately, large-scale mining companies in the country have a poor track record and don't have strong policies that protect the ecological and social interests of the community. take a look at mindanao, for example, where almost a dozen mining projects are in operation. there is only a scant evidence that the communities benefit from them because if you look at statistics, mining seem to do very little in the alleviation of poverty in the region where majority of the poor people in the country live. in fact, a team of scientists even found out that these industries have a bigger role in the incidence of poverty in the area. this include the damages to the peoples' livelihood and health, which they traced to pollution caused by mining.

kikomeister said...

to beth,

thank you. appreciated and protected.

Sidney said...

How can we help?
Any petitions?
Those mining guys are not really very environmental friendly...and what are you with 2000 temporary jobs if your surroundings are destroyed.

kikomeister said...

sidney,

just by making people aware and informed, i think, is a great help. it is lamentable whilst the provincial and local governments have opposed the project, the national government, however, is endorsing it. both mindoro provinces have ordinances banning large scale mining, yet some people just don't want to accept them.