Book – Green Justice -Fighting for our
planet’s rights
Our planet earth is the most vital thing we are having now because it
is the one on which we [Link] is the one who has given us life and is
fulfilling all our needs whether it’s water , air , soil and what not but
in return, we are polluting it for our greed ,which is injustice to our
mother earth
Environmental injustice happens when some communities carry the
heaviest environmental burdens while enjoying the fewest benefits,
like clean air, safe water, or green spaces. These disparities usually
reflect deeper systemic problems
Environmental injustice around the world
Ok Tedi, Papua New Guinea: Rivers Turn to Sludge
Papua New guinea is an island country in pacific ocean in which
there’s a mine called “Ok Tedi “ mine and it is continuously dumping
it’s waste into the “ok Tedi “ river which is causing widespread
destruction. It is one of the worst environmental disaster caused by
humans.
Environmental Impact
In 1999, BHP (BHP Group Limited, founded as the Broken Hill
Proprietary Company, is an Australian multinational mining and
metals corporation) reported that 90 million tons of mine waste was
annually discharged into the river for more than ten years and
destroyed downstream villages, agriculture and fisheries. Mine
wastes were deposited along 1,000 km of the Ok Tedi and the Fly
River below its confluence with the Ok Tedi, and over an area of 100
km2 . BHP's CEO, Paul Anderson, said that the Ok Tedi Mine was "not
compatible with our environmental values and the company should
never have become [Link] of 2006, mine operators continued to
discharge 80 million tons of tailings, overburden, and mine-induced
erosion into the river system each year. About 1,588 km2 of forest
has died or is under stress. Following heavy rainfall, mine tailings are
swept into the surrounding rainforest, swamps, and creeks, and have
left behind 30 km2 of dead forest. Thick gray sludge from the mine is
visible throughout the Fly River system, although its effects
downriver are not as [Link] from the tailings killed or
contaminated fish, although they are still eaten by the people of the
surrounding villages. However, fish counts decrease closer to the
mine. The massive amount of mine-derived waste dumped into the
river exceeded its carrying capacity. This dumping resulted in the
river bed being raised by 10 m, causing a relatively deep and slow
river to become shallower and develop rapids, thereby disrupting
indigenous transportation routes. Flooding, caused by the raised
riverbed, left a thick layer of contaminated mud on the flood plain
among plantations of taro, bananas, and sago palm that are the
staples of the local diet.
Mine life extension and community support
In 2013, the PNG Government seized 100% ownership of Ok Tedi
Mine and repealed laws that would allow people to sue mining giant
BHP Billiton over environmental damage. BHP expressed confidence,
stating that it had other indemnities in place that protected
shareholders from future legal costs. Ok Tedi Mining launched the
OT2025 project that was focused on transitioning the business to a
smaller operation in preparation for Mine Life Extension.
Community consent for the mine's life to be extended to 2025 was
endorsed by the Mine Associated Communities, which is made up of
156 villages, through the signing of the respective Community Mine
Continuation Extension Agreements by the Community
representatives and OTML at the end of 2012 and beginning of 2013.
The signing of the Agreements facilitated the Company to commence
planning for the MLE project throughout 2013
Links for reference
1. (13 August 1999). "BHP admits Ok Tedi mine is environmental disaster". Asia Times
Online. Archived from the original on 25 September 2000. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
2. Scholarly Publishing Office of the University of Michigan
Library. hdl:2027/spo.4750978.0004.104.
3. case study on the Ok Tedi Mine, Papua New Guinea". Mineral Deposit. 32 (3):
280. Bibcode:1997MinDe..32..280H. doi:10.1007/s001260050093. S2CID 12965009
7.
4. "Environmental impact of mining waste disposal on a tropical lowland river system: a
case study on the Ok Tedi Mine, Papua New Guinea". Mineralium Deposita. 32 (3):
280. Bibcode:1997MinDe..32..280H. doi:10.1007/s001260050093. S2CID 12965009
7.
5. (10 February 2014). "Community control of Ok Tedi mine assets welcomed in Papua
New Guinea's Western Province". Australia Network News.
6. "PNG Report – Bhp "Confident" Despite Threat Of Ok Tedi Legal Action". PNG
Report.