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Grain drain, Laos’ sand mining damaging the Mekong

By Nantiya Tangwisutijit

Grain by grain, truckload by truckload, Laos’ section of the Mekong River is being dredged of sand to make cement — a commodity being devoured by a Chinese-led building boom in the capital.

But the hollowing out of the riverbed is also damaging a vital waterway that feeds hundreds of thousands of fishermen and farmers in the poverty-stricken nation.

“Today, it’s more complicated for us to go fetch water for crops,” DeamSaengarn told AFP from the muddy river’s shores, describing how its gentle slopes have given way to steep embankments.

New book: Licensed Larceny: Infrastructure, Financial Extraction and the global South

By Nantiya Tangwisutijit

This new 144-page book, just published by Manchester University Press, argues that the current push worldwide for Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) is not about building infrastructure — roads, bridges, hospitals, ports and railways – for the benefit of society but about constructing new subsidies to benefit the already wealthy. It is less about financing
development than developing finance.

China Economy Ripples Into Laos

By Nantiya Tangwisutijit

A decade long mining boom, combined with a rapid development of hydropower, has seen Laos’ growth rate reach over 7 percent a year, allowing national output to more than double, generating some half a million jobs.

A key player in the economic progress has been China. A recent World Bank report on the Lao economy noted China’s influence was continuing to grow.

Compensation for mining company’s ‘poisoning’ not enough: plaintiffs

By Nantiya Tangwisutijit

PEOPLE in Tak province say nothing has been done about removing cadmium contamination from their water source, while the Appeals Court yesterday upheld the Civil Court’s earlier ruling against zinc-mining companies on the leakage of toxins into the Mae Tao River Basin.

The Southern Bangkok Civil Court upheld the previous court decision to sentence 84 people in three tambon of Tak’s Mae Sot district in a complaint filed against Padaeng Industry and Tak Mining Co. It also ruled that the 20 plaintiffs be given Bt62,000 each in compensation for cadmium poisoning. No court decision has been made on environmental damage.

Mining Companies Told to Comply

By Nantiya Tangwisutijit

Only a few days after the Koh Kong Provincial Court found three environmental activists guilty for protesting against a sand dredging company, the Ministry of Energy and Mines has called for greater civilian participation in protecting The Kingdom’s natural resources.

Suy Sem, the Minister of Mining and Energy, issued a strong warning to mining and sand-dredging companies, saying those who do not act within ministerial guidelines will have their licenses revoked, be blacklisted and sent to court.

Mining Activists from Three Provinces Discuss Advocacy

By Paritta Wangkiat

About 30 Community Mining Focal People (CMFP) from Mondolkiri, Ratanakiri and Preah Vihear province gathered on June 14 2016 in Banlung town of Ratanakiri province to present and share their implementation of advocacy plans and updates about impacts of mining on local people.

Ms. Vong Socheat, a CMFP from Mondolkiri province said that one mining company has a license to mine and the company forced villagers to give farmlands to them because the farmlands are in the exploration or exploitation area of the company. She also said that local authorities have not paid attention to those issues, but they have forced local people to leave their farmlands as it belongs to the company.

MPE’s Cambodian Civil Society Partners Make Major Contribution to New Mining EIA Framework

By Paritta Wangkiat

Cambodia’s Ministry of Mines and Energy and the Ministry of Environment have co-signed an agreement to improve Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) requirements in artisanal and small scale mining projects. Mekong Partnership for the Environment (MPE) partner Development and Partnership in Action (DPA) and a network of CSOs they facilitate played a key role in advising the government prior to the final agreement. The agreement aims to bring better transparency leading to stronger public participation in EIA processes.

Dangerous Myanmar Jade Mines Bring Income, Death

By Paritta Wangkiat

Within days of the start of the monsoon rains, the dangerous conditions and lack of safety measures at Myanmar’s jade mines were highlighted when a dozen miners were killed while scavenging in a mining pit.

The area in Hpakant Township, in northern Myanmar’s Kachin State, is a vast wasteland of deep pits and huge rubble heaps produced by mining companies using heavy machinery and dynamite.

New EIA rules for mining

By Nantiya Tangwisutijit

Kali Kotoski The Ministry of Mines and Energy signed joint prakas with the Ministry of Environment to simplifying the environmental impact assessment (EIA) requirements for artisanal and small-scale mining practices. The law has set up a transitional regime for EIA compliance, based on the scale and scope of existing mining operations in attempt to formalise […]