Mining the Poor: The Pervasive Extractive Industry in the Philippines
The Philippines has been considered the 5th most resource rich country in the world and communities are not being adequately given a voice over whether or not mining-related developments should take place. Government and company lack of transparency often results in communities being uninformed or misinformed about the potential negative impacts related to mining, nor is there any law in place that allows them adequate, or any, compensation once damage has been done to their livelihoods.
This week on Earth Matters we focus on the impacts of mining in the Philippines by talking to environmental lawyer Rhia Muhi and Japps Hatta, Research Associate at Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center in the Philippines, who were both attending a conference in Maranduque related to the 1996 Marcopper mining accident which completely destroyed the Boac river and displaced over 400 families.
3CR Earthmatters by Jessie Boylan
Note: Jessie also works for MPI and is the director and videographer of our recent Hidden Valley documentary.
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