Monday, August 6, 2012

PHILIPPINE GOVERNMENT TO IDENTIFY 'NO MINING ZONES'




MANILA, Aug. 6 (PNA) -- The government will delineate the no-go zones listed in President Benigno Aquino III's Executive Order 79 on responsible mining.
Environment chief Ramon Paje said such move aims to help guide potential investors on where in the country they can venture into mining.
"We want them to be informed accordingly," he said.
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) as well as other agencies concerned are among sources of inputs for the map.
"All tourism destinations defined by Department of Tourism are closed to mining," Paje said.
Also closed to mining are prime agricultural land and fisheries areas identified by the Department of Agriculture, he continued.
EO 79 likewise lists as no-go mining zones other critical and impact areas, island eco-systems as well as areas enumerated under Sec. 19 of Republic Act 7942 (Philippine Mining Act of 1995).
DENR-monitored protected areas (PAs)established under the National Integrated Protected Areas System (NIPAS) are also among the no-go mining zones.
EO 79 requires such zones to be defined and delineated under government's integrated map system.
"Current and existing efforts to create an integrated map system for the common and uniform use of all government agencies and instrumentalities shall include all mining-related maps such as, but not limited to, mining tenement maps, geo-hazard and multi-hazard maps, ancestral lands and domains and PAs under NIPAS among others," President Aquino said in EO 79.
Government decided establishing such system to help guide planning and decision-making processes.
Opposition to mining continues with parties warning that this extractive activity, as experienced in the Philippines, is environmentally destructive and not pro-people.
"There must be a paradigm shift - we musn't look at mining's potential revenues only but should also consider its impact on the environment and people," said Fr. Edwin Gariguez, recipient of the 2012 Goldman Prize for his work on protecting Mindoro Island from mining.
Paje reiterated the administration's commitment to promote responsible mining."This government will never sacrifice the environment for profit," he said.
He urged all sectors to join government in its campaign for responsible mining nationwide.
"EO 79 will do much in promoting transparency in mining," he also said.
Paje reported earlier that he has ordered the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) to upload in its website information on mining laws and contracts nationwide so people can have the opportunity to scrutinize these.
"Doing so will help reduce opportunities for corruption," he said.
Data MGB released last month show 30 metallic mines operated in the country during 2012's first quarter.
MGB also reported preliminary data show gross production value in large-scale metallic mining then reached some P18.5 billion. (PNA)

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