Conflicts involving mining projects persist in Dominican Republic.
| Autor | Giron, Crosby |
In March, the Continental Encounter Against Mining and in Favor of Popular Sovereignty took place in Guatemala. As part of the event, a peaceful march took place in which representatives from Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Peru, Dominican Republic, and South Africa participated.
During the encounter, Domingo Abreu Collado, a member of the Dominican Republic's Asamblea Nacional Ambiental (ANA), told local community media that there is a geological formation along the island known as the central mountain range or cordillera central that comprises 20% of its entire territory where around 30 large mining companies are searching for gold, silver, and copper and are seeking to obtain mining licenses from the government.
Abreu said these mining projects would have a detrimental impact on the country's water and land resources. "We regard the search for gold, silver, and copper on the island as a threat because it has had a devastating impact on other countries.
In Romania and Canada, for example, this type of mining activity is highly unsafe because it uses cyanide. Added to this, these projects destroy our soil and leave many problems that future generations will inherit," he said.
Among the 30 companies seeking to develop the mining industry in the Dominican Republic are Gold Corp, Barrick Gold, M&M, Mayescorp, Enviro Gold, and Gold West (NotiCen, Aug. 29, 2013).
Therefore, the ANA is working to unify the environmentalist movement throughout the island, but its main ally is the campesino movement. "Campesinos are the group most at risk because land and water pollution will lead to the loss of their animals, which is already occurring," said Abreu.
Abreu said that, although there are currently no laws criminalizing social movements, he wouldn't be surprised if such a law was approved in the short term.
Since the government has not taken the negative effects of mining into account, Abreu believes that civil society should keep a watchful eye on future developments in the mining sector. "Governments don't understand these arguments. Their development proposals are very much in line with those of the corporate actors that are mainly interested in investments that will give them the greatest possible return on their investments," says Abreu.
It was recently reported that the Pueblo Viejo Dominicana Corporation (PVDC), a local subsidiary of Gold Corp and Barrick Gold, is causing "alarming levels of...
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