Dilip Simeon's blog

A decade of resistance against mining activity, displacement, and deforestation met with defeat on April 6, when the Chhattisgarh government gave its final assent for felling of trees and commencement of mining activity in Hasdeo in the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh. Back in 2011, the gram sabha (village assembly) of Ghatbarra village in the Hasdeo Arand forests passed a resolution opposing coal mining in the forests. Over ten years later, villagers in the area are determined to press on with their protests, calling on the government to halt the wanton destruction of India’s forest tracts. The Hasdeo Arand region in Chhattisgarh’s northern district of Sarguja is one of the largest blocks of forests in central India. It extends over 170,000 hectares and its forests are home to over 350 species of animals . Running through Hasdeo and its adjacent villages is the Hasdeo River – the lifeline of this under-attack forest region. While the region houses great biodiversity, t...

There are already signs that the coup has prompted an increase in illegal mining and logging, and regime economic policies are set to compound the environmental destruction at a time when activists and communities are unable to push back. Within months of the February 2021 coup, there were already signs that military rule could have disastrous consequences for Myanmar’s natural environment.  From far northern Kachin State,  reports  began to emerge that illegal rare earth mining in remote territory controlled by a military-affiliated Border Guard Force had begun to ramp up. The region is one of the world’s  major sources  of several types of heavy rare earths, which are exported over the border to China for use in everything from electric vehicles to smartphones. But the mining process is environmentally damaging; it involves toxic chemicals that are pumped through the mountains and often seep into waterways. As one miner  told   Frontier  last ...

With India’s largest coal mining project slated to come up in West Bengal, approximately 21,000 people will need to be relocated and rehabilitated. The government aims to make the Deocha-Pachami-Dewanganj-Harinsinga coal block a model project with sensitive land acquisition and appropriate compensation. The local people, however, are anxious and uncertain of the transition as their jobs, homes and way of life is at stake… https://india.mongabay.com/2021/12/photos-in-anticipation-of-indias-largest-coal-mining-project/?utm_source=pocket_mylist More posts on mining Chitrangada Choudhury, Ajay Dandekar – dealing with Maoists... Chitrangada Choudhury Aga - Illegal mining's ground zero ... Dipankar Ghose: In the mining villages of Raniganj, broken roads, homes - and system / Vidya Krishnan: India's moral failure Naxalites should lay down their arms and challenge the ruling class to abide by the Constitution

How is this a public hearing? Who are they hearing? The police or the barbed wires they h ave put to keep us out?   See video “In Mali Parbat we grow ice,  mandia ,  kaangu  (millets), harvest roots, tubers. Because of its mountain streams, our paddy ripens, our millets ripen.  We are able to collect firewood and produce to take to the market and sell. How can the government give away our jungle like this to the company?” Laxmi Khillo, 22,  was angry as she explained how she should have been at a 22 November public hearing called by the state government. That hearing was a legal requirement, supposed to give a voice to locals as part of a process by which the  ministry of environment, forests & climate change  would decide if it should grant a new environmental clearance to a now-defunct bauxite mine.  The company Laxmi referred to was  Hindalco Industries Ltd , a part of the Aditya Birla Group and India’s largest aluminium comp...

Trillions of metallic nodules on the sea floor could help stop global heating, but mining them may damage ocean ecology   In a display cabinet in the recently opened Our  Broken Planet exhibition  in London’s Natural History Museum, curators have placed a small nugget of dark material covered with faint indentations. The blackened lump could easily be mistaken for coal. Its true nature is much more intriguing, however. The nugget is a polymetallic nodule and oceanographers have discovered trillions of them litter Earth’s ocean floors. Each is rich in manganese, nickel, cobalt and copper, some of the most important ingredients for making the electric cars, wind turbines and solar panels that we need to replace the carbon-emitting lorries, power plants and factories now wrecking our climate. These metallic morsels could therefore help humanity save itself from the  ravages of global warming,  argue mining companies who say their extraction should be rated a...

According to the IEA, just one country, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), currently supplies more than 80% of the world’s cobalt, and another — China — 70% of its rare-earth elements. Similarly, lithium production is largely in two countries, Argentina and Chile, which jointly account for nearly 80% of world supply, while four countries — Argentina, Chile, the DRC, and Peru — provide most of our copper. In other words, such future supplies are far more concentrated in far fewer lands than petroleum and natural gas, leading IEA analysts to worry about future struggles over the world’s access to them...  Thanks to its very name — renewable energy — we can picture a time in the not-too-distant future when our need for non-renewable fuels like oil, natural gas, and coal will vanish. Indeed, the Biden administration has  announced  a breakthrough target of 2035 for fully eliminating U.S. reliance on those non-renewable fuels for the generation of electricity. That wo...

I grew up and learned about caring for nature thanks to a pilot programme (Fatima Experimental Center) for the conservation of Amazonian fauna run by the Organization of Indigenous Peoples of Pastaza (OPIP). Today,  Pastaza Kikin Kichwa Runakuna  (Pakkiru – the current name for OPIP, my home organisation) consists of more than 180 grassroots communities and 13 associations, communes and villages within Ecuador’s Pastaza province. In 1992, the historic Allpamanda, Kakwsaymanda, Jatarishun march led by OPIP reached Quito, Ecuador’s capital, and obtained 1.3 million hectares of tropical forest for the Kichwa, Zápara and Shiwia nationalities. This included not only the mountain ranges of Abitahua and Llangantes, but also the great plains of the lowland jungles, which have been historically inhabited by Kichwa men and women https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/democraciaabierta/oil-exploitation-threatening-ecuadorian-rainforest-and-the-planet/

Global carbon dioxide emissions are set to surge dangerously this year as the global economy undergoes a huge recovery.  In a new report, the International Energy Agency estimates that carbon emissions from energy use are on track to spike by 1.5 billion tonnes in 2021, as heavy coal consumption in Asia, and in China in particular, outweighs rapid growth in renewable sources. That would be the second largest annual increase in energy-related emissions in history. Welcome that kind of activism: US climate envoy John Kerry on Disha Ravi "This is a dire warning that the economic recovery from the Covid crisis is currently anything but sustainable for our climate," Executive Director Fatih Birol said in a statement. "Unless governments around the world move rapidly to start cutting emissions, we are likely to face an even worse situation in 2022."... https://edition.cnn.com/2021/04/20/business/iea-carbon-emissions-report/index.html Aseem Shrivastava: An Age gone blind /...

Jill Morrison has seen how the bust of oil and gas production can permanently scar a landscape. Near her land in north-east Wyoming’s Powder River Basin, where drilling started in 1889, more than 2,000 abandoned wells are seeping brine into the groundwater and leaking potent greenhouse gasses. The problem is getting worse. As the oil and gas industry contracts owing to the pandemic, low prices and the rise of renewables, more than 50 major companies have gone bankrupt in the last year. Joe Biden’s recent order to pause drilling on federal land could drive that number higher. Morrison, a rancher and the head of the Powder River Basin resource council, said the crash was exacerbating the abandonment issue…. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/feb/25/us-abandoned-oil-wells-leak-methane-climate-crisis John Sentamu - It’s time to act against the oil companies causing death and destruction Matt Sheehan - Silent documentary on China's unspooling environmental disasters Toby W...

Ecuadorians voted for their next president on Sunday 7 February, but it wasn’t the only significant decision on ballots. Cuenca, the third largest city in the South American country, voted to ban mining projects within the nearby drainage basins of five rivers. There are over 4,000 large and small bodies of water in the sensitive Páramo ecosystem, which acts as a reservoir in the Andes. The land, which is directly adjacent to a national park, has been declared a biosphere reserve by UNESCO.  Nevertheless, corporations from Canada, Australia, Peru and Chile had already been granted 43 concessions for the mining of various metals. Fourteen grassroots organisations were behind the referendum, approved by the constitutional court last September via the Cuenca city council.... https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/democraciaabierta/ecuador-pro-mining-politics-indigenous-green-movement-victory/ More posts on mining

  Infrastructure  megaprojects risk pushing the world’s remaining forests past a “dangerous tipping point” and making climate targets unachievable, a report says. Tens of thousands of miles of roads and railways are planned alongside mines and dams, opening up the forests of South America, south-east Asia and central Africa to destruction, according to the report by a coalition of 25 research and conservation organisations called the  New York Declaration on Forests Assessment Partners . Today, almost half of all large mines – more than 1,500 – are in forests. In 2014, 50 countries and 50 of the world’s biggest companies backed the declaration, pledging to cut deforestation by 50% by 2020 and end the destruction of forests by 2030. But the 2020 goal has been missed and deforestation is rising. The report found that many countries and businesses had introduced regulations and plans but implementation remained poor. Only 10% of 225 companies that mine in forests responded...

A private investigator working for Adani took covert photographs of an environmental activist walking his nine-year-old daughter to primary school, court documents have revealed. The affidavit of the investigator – who was instructed by lawyers representing Adani in its civil case against activist Ben Pennings – also revealed he surveilled Pennings’ wife, trawled her Facebook page and followed her to work. Guardian Australia can reveal documents detailing the surveillance of Pennings and his family were tendered to the Queensland supreme court in  a recent “Anton Piller” case , in which Adani had sought permission to conduct an unannounced search of the activist’s family home.... https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/oct/28/private-investigator-hired-by-adani-secretly-photographed-activists-family   Toby Walsh - Noam Chomsky and Stephen Hawking among a thousand intellectuals to sign Open Letter to Stop Killer Robots Before They’re Built Joseph Stiglitz on artificial inte...

Sand-mining is arguably one of the prime sources of environmental degradation in the world. More than 40 billion metric tons of sand is extracted every year, and over 50% of that is consumed by the construction industry. In the last few decades, several developing nations across the globe have co-opted rapid urbanisation into their national development policies. The foreseeable detrimental impact of these changes on the environment has been neglected. Urbanisation has been seen as a sure marker of ‘progress’.  Urbanisation is achieved by standing upon the shoulders of the modern construction industry which depends on concrete prepared using sand. It’s no surprise then that sand is extracted at a large scale. India, a country that has obsessively focused on building urban spaces since the turn of the century, is the 2nd largest producer of concrete in the world and one of the leading extractors and consumers of sand.  Riverbed mining is a major form of sand extraction....

Mining giant Rio Tinto has apologized after blowing up a 46,000-year-old sacred indigenous site with dynamite to expand an Australian iron ore mine.  The site, in Juukan Gorge, in Western Australia state's resource-rich Pilbara region, featured two cave systems that contained artifacts indicating tens of thousands of years of continuous human occupation. Grinding stones, a bone sharpened into a tool and 4,000-year-old braided hair were among almost 7,000 relics that had been discovered at the site, according to CNN affiliate 7News.  Rio Tinto is one of the world's largest mining companies and has vast operations in Australia. Its iron ore mines make up more than half of its revenue. The May 24 demolition went ahead despite a seven-year battle by the local custodians of the land, the Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura People, to protect the site.... https://edition.cnn.com/2020/06/01/business/rio-tinto-pilbara-sacred-site-intl-hnk-scli/index.html

Greta Thunberg  and fellow youth climate campaigners are demanding that global leaders immediately end the “madness” of huge ongoing investments in fossil fuel exploration and enormous subsidies for coal, oil and gas use.  The 21 young activists are also calling on the political and business leaders who will be attending the World Economic Forum in Davos to ensure investment funds dump their holdings in fossil fuel companies.  “Anything less would be a betrayal against life itself,”  said Thunberg and colleagues  in an article in the Guardian . “Today’s business as usual is turning into a crime against humanity. We demand that you play your part in putting an end to this madness.”  The burning of fossil fuels is the biggest driver of the climate emergency. Scientists predict catastrophic impacts unless deep cuts in emissions are made rapidly, but  global emissions are still rising . “Young people are being let down by older generations and tho...

If the prophets of technology are to be believed, the best hope for solving the climate crisis is ever more  efficient batteries . But the race to produce enough materials for this energy-storage revolution is creating a host of other environmental problems, as cobalt-producing nations like the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zambia and Cuba are discovering. A woman and child break rocks at a copper quarry and cobalt pit in Lubumbashi, DRC.  Photograph: Junior Kannah/Getty Lung disease and heart failure have been linked to high levels of this element, while the mines that produce it are blamed for devastated landscapes, water pollution, contaminated crops and a loss of soil fertility. Scientists are also investigating a  possible link to cancer . As with any chemical, the risks depend on the amount and duration of exposure. Cobalt is a metal that occurs naturally in rocks, water, plants, and animals. It is less toxic than many other metals. At low levels, it is...

The  Universal Declaration of Human Rights  begins: “All human beings … should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.” It is now widely acknowledged that human rights cannot be enjoyed without a safe, clean and healthy environment. The right to a healthy environment is enshrined in more than 100 constitutions all over the world because human and environmental rights are intertwined. However, despite the endorsement of the  UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights , oil companies exploiting irreplaceable resources in the Niger Delta are callously flouting fundamental human rights. That is the conclusion I have been forced to draw from my work as chair of the  Bayelsa State Oil and Environmental Commission  (BSOEC). In numerous recent visits with my commission colleagues, I have had first-hand experience of  the chronic damage  being inflicted on the people of Bayelsa state and their environment. Colossal oil spillages acr...

I didn’t know of Madalyn Murray O’ Hair until a feature film on her life, The Most Hated Woman in America dropped on Netflix. She was irreverent; she had a mind of her own, questioned the practice of blindly following social norms and took on those in power. In her case, it was the American government imposing the Lord’s prayer in public school classrooms. For America’s democracy, this was a huge win, as it was for O’ Hair. But for the dominant Christian electorate of 1960s America, she was an anarchist. When I meet 59-year-old Right to Information ( RTI) activist, Agnes Kharshiing in Shillong, she reminds me of O’ Hair. Kharshiing, who was still bound to her bedroom, had survived a blunt force trauma 7-9 cm deep on the scalp by a mob a year ago when she had been investigating the illegal transportation of coal in Meghalaya. The attack pitched the spotlight firmly on the danger posed by the coal mafia in the state to those who dared to speak up against them.  But far fr...

Victory for green groups follows damning scientific study and criticism from spending watchdog The government has banned fracking with immediate effect in a watershed moment for environmentalists and community activists. Ministers also warned shale gas companies it would not support future fracking projects, in a crushing blow to companies that had been hoping to capitalise on one of the  new frontiers of growth in the fossil fuel industry . The decision draws a line under years of bitter opposition to the controversial extraction process in a major victory for green groups and local communities. The decision was taken after a new scientific study warned it was not possible to rule out “unacceptable” consequences for those living near fracking sites. The report, undertaken by the Oil and  Gas  Authority (OGA), also warned it was not possible to predict the magnitude of earthquakes fracking might trigger. Fracking , also known as hydraulic fracturing, involv...

KHEDUT EKTA MANCH – GUJARAT Khet Bhavan, Near Gandhi Ashram, Ahmedabad 380027 Tel.: 7359051818 Email: khedutektamanch.2019@gmail.com 25th June 2019 To, The High Court Appointed Committee (Impact of Limestone Mining in Bhavnagar) Bhavnagar Respected members, As a non-profit farmers’ organization working on issues of agriculture and rural economy, we would like to draw your attention to the very serious issues emerging in the wake of sanctioning of mining lease in the area without the prior informed consent of the thousands of families and people who are to be divested of their livelihoods. The issue is not of livelihoods alone but of the loss of the entire ecosystem, water bodies, biodiversity and the endangered and protected lion population in the area. We therefore request you to carefully examine the issues we raise in our submission to you. We further request you to seek more information from the officials and the concerned departments on these issues. O...