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History also takes a detailed account of destruction of our upland, agricultural and coastal ecosystems, such as what happened in the Palawan Quicksilver Mines in Puerto Princesa, the nickel mines in Rio Tuba and in Colandorang Bay in Balabac; the non-rehabilitation of mined out and abandoned areas of silica mining in Roxas and the mining of nickel and chromite by Trident Mining Corporation and Olympic Mines in Narra, Palawan.

The recurring violations of civil, political, and human rights, as well as the displacement of indigenous peoples from their ancestral lands, and the stunting of the domestic agricultural and industrial economy which has made poverty a lingering and ugly reality in our country. Mining has spawned social conflicts. Local communities have been divided on whether or not to allow mining in their forests, ancestral domains and farmlands. Indigenous and farmer communities of Bataraza, Narra and Quezon, Palawan continue to deal with such conflicts.

Page 4 We jail people for killing one or two persons. How about institutions or people that ravage the environment and cause the death of hundreds or thousands? The floods of Palawan are absolutely due to mining due to the denudation of forests. (inquirer page 5)

These were the words of Gerry Ortega, radio broadcaster and environmentalist. He was shot in cold blood on January 24, 2011, in a public market in Puerto Princesa, Palawan, just a few kilometers from his hometown of Aborlan. Doc Gerry Ortega was a passionate crusader for the environment. He understood the evils of mining. He railed against the greed and corruption that allowed mining to proliferate. He explained to people that if mining in Palawan were allowed to continue, there would be a real danger that the island could collapse and sink into the sea. If the Philippines were to lose Palawan, the country would lose a valuable and irreplaceable treasure.

He dedicated his life to protecting the environment. He died working for his cause. Doc Gerry Ortega had a dream. That dream was to have a Palawan unspoiled by the devastation wrought by mining. It was his dream to put a stop to the destruction of forests, mangroves, and coral reefs. It was his dream for native Palaweos and for all Filipinos to take part in preserving the natural

beauty that is Palawan. It was his dream for the preservation of Palawan to become our legacy to the next generation.

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How Does Mining Affect the Environment

Mining activities require the clearing of large areas of land. The chemicals used in the mining process often escape into the environment causing large-scale pollution.

Mining refers to the process of extracting metals and minerals from the earth. Gold, silver, diamond, iron, coal and uranium are just a few of the vast array of metals and minerals that are obtained by this process. In fact, mining is the source of all the substances that cannot be obtained by industrial processes or through agriculture. Mining reaps huge profits for the companies that own them and provides employment to a large number of people. It is also a huge source of revenue for the government. Despite its economic importance, the question that how does mining affect the environment is a pressing environmental issue.

Mining activities require the clearing of large areas of land. The chemicals used in the mining process often escape into the environment causing large-scale pollution.

Effects of Mining on Environment

Effect on Land Deforestation: Mining requires large areas of land to be cleared so that the earth could be dug into by the miners. For this reason, large-scale deforestation is required to be carried out in the areas where mining has to be done. Besides clearing the mining area, vegetation in the adjoining areas also needs to be cut in order to construct roads and residential facilities for the mine workers. The human population brings along with it other activities that harm the environment.

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Loss of Biodiversity: The forests that are cleared for mining purposes are home to a large number of organisms. Indiscriminate clearing of the forests lead to loss of habitat of a large number of animals. This puts the survival of a large number of animal species at stake. The cutting down of trees in itself is a big threat to a number of plants and trees growing in the forests.

Pollution: Despite measures being taken to release the chemical waste into the nearby rivers through pipes, a large amount of chemicals still leak out onto the land. This changes the chemical composition of the land. Besides this, since the chemicals are poisonous, they make the soil unsuitable for plants to grow. Also, the organisms that live in the soil find the polluted environment hostile for their survival.

Effect on Water Pollution: Chemicals like mercury, cyanide, sulfuric acid, arsenic and methyl mercury are used in various stages of mining. Most of the chemicals are released into nearby water bodies that leads to water pollution. In spite of tailings (pipes) being used to dispose these chemicals into the water bodies, possibilities of leakage are always there. When the leaked chemicals slowly percolate through the layers of the earth, they reach the groundwater and pollute it. Surface run-off of just soil and rock debris, although non-toxic, can be harmful for vegetation of the surrounding areas.

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Loss of Aquatic Life: Release of toxic chemicals into the water is obviously harmful for the flora and fauna of the water bodies. Besides the pollution, mining processes use water from nearby water sources. The result is that the water content of the river or lake from which water is being used gets reduced. Organisms in these water bodies do not have enough water for their survival.

River dredging is a method adopted in case of gold mining. In this method, gravel and mud is suctioned from a particular area of the river. After the gold fragments are filtered out, the remaining mud and gravel is released back into the river, although, at a location different from where they had been taken. This disrupts the natural flow of the river that may cause fish and other organisms to die.

Spread of Diseases Sometimes the liquid waste that is generated after the metals or minerals have been extracted is disposed in a mining pit. As the pit gets filled up by the mine tailings, they become a stagnant pool of water. This becomes the breeding ground for water-borne diseases causing insects and organisms like mosquitoes to flourish.

Although the developed countries have tight norms regarding mining, such rules can be easily flouted in countries which lack strict monitoring of the procedures being followed for mining. The effects in such cases can be devastating for the environment. Be it due to ignorance of the regulations or just a freak accident, incidents like the Guyana spill of 1995 highlights the fact that issues like how does mining affect

Page 8 Philippine Mining Act of 1995. Declaration of Policy. All mineral resources in public and private lands within the territory and exclusive economic zone of the Republic of the Philippines are owned by the State. It shall be the responsibility of the State to promote their rational exploration, development, utilization and conservation through the combined efforts of government and the private sector in order to enhance national growth in a way that effectively safeguards the environment and protect the rights of affected communities. The Palawan Council for Sustainable Development (PCSD) that is tasked to implement R.A. 7611, and by the 1995 Mining Act. Brimo also quoted the scientific findings of PCSD in relation to mining and agriculture, stating that the actual loss of the standing trees in Palawan was not primarily due to mining but to continuing harvest of timber for domestic consumption, forest land use conversion for agricultural development and continuous establishment of human settlements to accommodate the province s increasing population growth rate.

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Save Palawan Movement The Save Palawan Movement is a mutli-sectoral coalition that launched a "No to Mining in Palawan" signature campaign in the hope of putting an end to mining activities in the province, known as the Philippines' last ecological frontier. The campaign aims to raise ten million signatures to deliver a strong

message to the Philippine and Palawan governments so that they would finally say no to mining in Palawan and help protect one of the Philippines last remaining treasures

Gina Lopez, managing director of ABS-CBN Foundation, Inc. and a supporter of the Save Palawan Movement, said they release information to the public based on facts. The strength of the movement comes from its ability to tell the truth. Page 11

The anti-mining advocate urged Ateneans to sign up for the Yes to No to Mining in Palawan campaign, saying that 10 million signatures are needed for the Save Palawan Movement. The group will later lobby the signature campaign in the Senate. An emotional Lopez said mining will destroy biodiversity in the island: Mining and logging go together because you cannot mine without cutting trees. Reforestation does not bring back lost biodiversity.

Currently, two large mining companies are conducting operations in Palawan: Rio Tuba which has been mining in the island for 36 years, and Citinickel whose nickel mining operation is located on top of Palawan s rice granary. Mining has also been linked to dwindling food supply in Palawan, which may affect the National Capital Region s food source.

Palawan currently supplies 50% of marine goods for Manila. However, frequent and large scale mining accidents threaten the capacity of the island to produce food and affect the health of the people consuming it.