Govt told to focus on mines, poverty

By PRATCH RUJIVANAROM 
THE NATION

 

Photo: greenworld.or.th

 

Activists worry about eec environmental toll, agricultural sustainability.

ENVIRONMENTAL activists have identified two New Year gifts they would like from the government: An end to support for mining companies and a guarantee that no one in Thailand will go hungry.

 

Key speakers at a forum debating the theme “Presents for Thailand” said the new Mineral Act and the government’s support for the mining industry would permanently destroy the natural fertility of the land, harm the livelihoods of local people and benefit only foreign investors.

 

Much of the discussion focused on the government’s policies toward gold mining, oil-drilling companies and the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) special economic zone development.

 

Tiwa Tang-on, an environmentalist from Chanthaburi, claimed the natural resources of the country, especially in the Eastern Region, were being heavily exploited by a few rich investors, not only polluting the environment but also affecting people’s livelihoods.

 

Tiwa Tang-on // Photo : www.ppvoice.thainhf.org

 

He urged the government to offer a seasonal gift to people by stopping harmful policies and instead direct the country to more sustainable development.

 

Tiwa said the Eastern Region provinces were involved in the gold mine expansion plan, which, if approved, would lead to the destruction of forests and the region’s major water sources.

 

He also warned that the EEC industrial expansion would pollute the region and harm the ecosystem of the country’s largest source of fruit. “I have been working on agroforestry for long enough to realise that in a world with decreasing natural resources, countries producing food will survive – we can see that despite the Middle East countries being rich in oil deposits, when the oil runs out, they will starve,” he said.

 

If the government really needed to pursue the EEC, he said, it had to first decide what to do with 30 million tonnes of leftover garbage and the new industrial waste that would be generated by new industry, as there were more than 100 illegal industrial waste landfills scattered all over the region from existing industrial zones.

 

Former Bangkok senator Rosana Tositrakul agreed that Thailand was ideally situated geographically for agriculture, as the climate and land fertility were good enough to grow food all year round.

 

Former Bangkok senator Rosana Tositrakul

 

“Our region was historically called Suvarnabhumi, or the land of gold, but in this sense our true gold is food, because people need to eat to survive and we cannot consume gold to live,” Rosana said.

 

She added that despite Thailand also being rich in underground minerals, some resources should stay underground, because digging them up could have toxic results. For instance, she said, potash mining would generate large amounts of salt as a by-product, which kills most plants and turns fertile farmland into barren wasteland.

 

Meanwhile, prominent anti-gold mine activist Somlak Hutanuwatr said even though Thailand was one of the richest countries in term of natural resources, people benefited very little from that wealth, because most of the profits went to foreign investors.

 

Moreover, Somlak said many people, such as those around the gold mine in Phichit run by Akara Resources, had suffered from environmental problems and become sick, while a foreign company exploited Thailand’s natural resources.

 

“Thai people will not tolerate corrupt civil servants and foreign companies exploiting our national treasure and leaving pollution and conflict for the local people any more,” she said.

 

However, Somlak applauded Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha for suspending all gold mining in the country and urged him to not listen to corrupt officials and instead to act in the interests of people and national resources.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30335229

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2018-01-03

6 hours ago, webfact said:

Somlak applauded Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha for suspending all gold mining in the country

Yes, there's nothing like applauding the junta for its use of absolute power to resolve environmental and humanitarian issues based on its own singular perception of issues and their solutions. Sompak only encourages the junta to continue its exercise of absolute power.

Just quit acting surprised every time the junta invokes Article 44 to shut up activists like Sompak from criticizing government failures.

Just trade in some of those watches and give the money to the poor

9 hours ago, webfact said:

ENVIRONMENTAL activists have identified two New Year gifts they would like from the government: An end to support for mining companies and a guarantee that no one in Thailand will go hungry.

????.  Surprising that they didn’t want a unicorn as well.... and nothing about world peace.... so sad... very sad

10 hours ago, webfact said:

Meanwhile, prominent anti-gold mine activist Somlak Hutanuwatr said even though Thailand was one of the richest countries in term of natural resources, people benefited very little from that wealth, because most of the profits went to foreign investors.

Maybe he should question the Thai government about the “benefits”.... and ask after the wellfair of the 1000 workers laid off, and the effect of their lack of income in their community (which was the most direct of benifits)

 

 (Pic from smh.com.au)

 

Edited January 3, 20188 yr by farcanell

10 hours ago, webfact said:

Moreover, Somlak said many people, such as those around the gold mine in Phichit run by Akara Resources, had suffered from environmental problems and become sick, while a foreign company exploited Thailand’s natural resources.

And yet... there appears to be no proof that any of this is related to Ankara, with government sponsored testing being inconclusive.... and then there’s this (from mining.com)

 

 

Edited January 3, 20188 yr by farcanell

So there's no rich Thai companies gathering resources like PTP

& I they may want to check their drilling rigs (oil) before entering foriegn waters (Australia just had a good example a few yrs back from one of thailands )

9 hours ago, farcanell said:

And yet... there appears to be no proof that any of this is related to Ankara, with government sponsored testing being inconclusive.... and then there’s this (from mining.com)

 

 

Actually the arsenic issue is quite tricky. 

On the one hand, gold and other metals are often found in arsenic-rich soil, it may just be that people have been contaminated by naturally present arsenic.

But on the other hand, roasting ore can release arsenic in the atmosphere. So it may be another cause. I have no idea if they were roasting ore in this location.

And anyway, it is quite likely that none of the two parties can be trusted in this case.

http://www.miningfacts.org/Environment/What-is-the-role-of-arsenic-in-the-mining-industry/

21 hours ago, webfact said:

Govt told to focus on mines

 

As in, they will confiscate more mine assets long before the license expires?