Philippine mining plans blocked

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The Palawan tribe of the Philippines is celebrating after a local government panel refused to give the go-ahead to mining giant MacroAsia to mine on their traditional territory.

Survival supporters, Indigenous groups and others had lobbied the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development (PCSD) in the run up to the panel meeting. The PCSD also heard evidence from a Palawan Indigenous leader and other experts about the Palawan communities’ opposition to mining on their land, and how MacroAsia’s explorations have been predominantly in highly protected areas of virgin forest.

The council, which had been expected by many to merely rubber stamp the environmental approval, giving the green light for mining to begin, declared that more investigation was needed before a decision could be reached. It ordered wide-ranging investigations, including into the impact of mining on the Indigenous peoples’ culture and livelihood and the legality of local government endorsements of the project.

During the meeting, Palawan Indigenous leader Artiso Mandawa said, ‘It will not be difficult to establish that the people of Brookes Point are overwhelmingly against any mining. This is what we Indigenous peoples and farmers have been trying to communicate to the government for the past two years through public demonstrations and rallies, but they did not listen.’

After the decision not to endorse the mining plans he cautioned, ‘This is just an initial victory for the Indigenous peoples and our supporters.’