Environmental Issues and Community Monitoring.

How do we pay the Community for destroying their culture and land asks David Van Wyk of Bench Mark Foundation

A question which participants in the thematic Break Away session titled ‘’Environmental Issues and Community Monitoring’ tried to answer.

Participants in the session came from different African Countries such as Zambia, Angola, Malawi, Mozambique tried to answer.

Many of the participants believe that mining is doing more harm than good to the environment and that compensation to the Communities alone is not enough.

When compensating communities, compensation should be tabulated according to the value of the minerals in the soil.

Compensation should not be merely a figure that Governments that come up with but an amount that actually tabulates with the worth of the land to the mines.

“The rivers, the mountains, the minerals, the resources, the forests belong to the people of Africa ” a participant in the session said.

Amade from Mozambique reveals that the law in that country says that any thing below the ground belongs to the Government.

This means that if one owns a farm and gold is discovered there the Government can take it away without any obligation for compensation.

The unfortunate part regarding this is that land which has been in families for generations is just taken away.

A participant from Angola complained about the blood diamonds and says that the practice is still highly prevalent.

Children are used in mines by illegal miners he also revealed that in an area of Angola over 300 women experienced genital mutilation in mining areas.

Regarding pollution, land degradation and many dangers caused by mines it is important to look at where mines get their finances and that is the banks.

Banks should take up responsibility by withholding funding funding from rogue mines.

The burden of cleaning up any damage to land or the environment should not fall on poor Governments.

Mining conglomerates should shoulder the burden as they and no one are responsible for damage.

Communities should be sensitized so that if any environmental damage is been done they can act.

This is so that mines no longer get away from cleaning up pollution by claiming that it is historical.

The feeling of most participants were summed up by David Van Wyk who said that “Mining is a form of  rape of the environment ,of the community and of the land because its impenetrable and non permissible.