"Cambodia needs a very good new petroleum law and expertise from Oxfam and World Bank would be very interesting," said Than Sina, chair of the National Assembly's planning and investment commission, at the first national public forum on extractive industries in April.
Oxfam America organized the event in Phnom Penh, which was attended by more than 130 members of the public, media, government, the private sector, and diplomatic missions.
"It would be a big opportunity for the government to draft a good law. We can't do it by ourselves, but with the help of Oxfam and other groups we have a good chance of making it work – other wise, Cambodia will be like Chad," Sina added. In Chad, a much vaunted plan to direct oil revenues towards poverty reduction, backed by the World Bank, has unraveled and the population has seen few concrete benefits from the oil boom there.
Chevron and other companies are currently exploring oil fields in Cambodian territorial waters. It is possible that oil production could begin in 2010, although the probability of finding significant oil reserves is not known. Sina said that oil and gas exploration represents a great opportunity for Cambodia because other natural resources such as timber and fish are quickly depleting.
Oxfam welcomes and supports the government's intention to work with other organizations to make development that supports poor communities part of the agenda. Our work centers around helping civil society and the wider population engage with the government before the new law is created. The current Cambodian Petroleum Act regulations were adopted by the Council of Ministers in 1991.
Oxfam's extensive extractive industries program in South America, Central America, United States, West Africa, and East Asia seeks to ensure that oil, gas and mining projects are designed in ways that respect the rights of the poor, and contribute to the long-term reduction of poverty.
In several countries, Oxfam has supported local groups to influence the development of new petroleum and mining laws. In Bolivia, for example, the new government's hydrocarbons law increased the rights of local communities to be consulted before oil and gas projects moved forward, and gave the National Assembly the ability to approve individual projects.
"The promise of oil wealth for Cambodia presents an opportunity to reduce poverty. But, experiences from other countries show that, on a variety of economic indicators, those that become dependent on oil as their leading export have often performed worse than countries without oil," said Ian Gary, extractive industries policy advisor for Oxfam America.
"While no country is perfect, there are positive elements of particular country experiences that Cambodia could draw upon. Nigeria, for example, has completed three audits under the "Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative," Gary said.
Oxfam also highlighted the experience of the joint government and civil society Petroleum Revenue Oversight and Control Committee in Chad. While the Chad experiment with oil revenue management has largely unravelled, this Committee formed in 2002 and tasked with approving social spending projects using oil revenues, made some strides to provide checks and balances in government spending. "In many countries, local civil society organizations have played a crucial monitoring role to try to ensure that oil, gas and mining revenues are used for beneficial purposes," Gary said.
Cambodian civil society could draw upon the experiences of other national level coalitions involved in the global Publish What You Pay campaign, which is a coalition over 300 NGOs worldwide who calls for the mandatory disclosure of the payments made by oil, gas and mining companies' to all governments for the extraction of natural resources. Publish What You Pay also calls on resource-rich developing country governments to publish full details on revenues.
“Too often, oil, gas, and mining projects don’t benefit people in countries that are rich in natural resources, but whose population is extremely poor. These extractive projects should not add to poverty and powerlessness – natural resources can and should help communities overcome these challenges,” says Raymond C. Offenheiser, President of Oxfam America. “In order for this to happen, however, communities need to know how mining and energy projects will impact their lives and lands and how revenues from these projects will be used.”
Oxfam calls on international oil, gas, and mining companies to show their respect for:
“Empowered with this information, communities are better able to share in the benefits of extractives projects. Revenues can go to real community needs like education, health care, and jobs, and communities can judge if these projects are a benefit or a burden,” said Offenheiser. “More often, contracts and revenues are kept secret leading to an environment that fosters embezzlement and corruption, which has contributed to the failure of extractive projects to help alleviate poverty.”
Oxfam supports legislation to reform revenue transparency rules for companies working in developing countries. Last fall, House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-MA) convened a hearing on the transparency of company payments to host governments. During the hearing, Rep. Frank opened the door for legislative action that could be a powerful step to remedy the problem. A mandatory approach in the US would be an important complement to voluntary initiatives currently in place in only a few countries.
“Many extractive industries projects promise wealth and new job opportunities,” says Mamadou Biteye, Oxfam America’s Regional Director in West Africa. “Unfortunately, many projects, like gold mining in West Africa, have failed to deliver. These industries create few jobs for locals, and communities rarely see the benefit. Communities need to be empowered with information to have more control over the management of the natural resources necessary to sustain their livelihoods.” In 2005, gold accounted for more than 50 percent of Mali’s total exports of $297 million, but information about mining revenues is inaccessible for the vast majority of citizens. And despite Mali’s gold wealth, it remains one of the poorest and least developed countries in the world.
]]>"We are disappointed that the IFC has decided to fund the second phase of the Camisea project. We believe the board of directors should have requested a delay of the vote in order to more fully assess the environmental and social impact this project will have on local communities," said Ian Gary, Oxfam America's Senior Policy Advisor for Extractive Industries and a member of the World Bank’s Extractive Industries Advisory Group.
The region surrounding the Camisea project is home to indigenous communities, notable biodiversity, national parks, and reserves. Communities in the Lower Urubamba area were particularly neglected by the first phase of the project, with serious compensation agreement problems and little spending of royalties by local governments for increased social services. And these communities have not been fully consulted on the second phase.
"The IFC declined to participate in the first phase of the Camisea gas project, and, with support for Camisea II, runs the risk of being further tarnished for its financing of oil, gas and mining projects, such as the Chad-Cameroon oil project, with dubious development impacts," said Gary.
In April 2006, the IFC instituted new "Performance Standards" to manage social and environmental impacts and enhance development opportunities for all financed countries. The standards require that the company sponsor obtain "broad community support" for high-risk projects within affected communities.
"The IFC has greatly undermined its new environmental and social policies by not fully applying these standards to the gas fields in the Peruvian Amazon, which will supply the export facilities financed by the IFC and other lenders," said Gary. "The narrow parsing of this project, done in order to avoid addressing serious problems, sets a disturbing precedent and will do significant harm to the credibility of the IFC's social and environmental risk management."
"We have yet to see, for example, how the IFC demonstrates compliance with its 'Broad Community Support' requirement, within the narrowly-defined transportation/export portion of the project, let alone for the upstream gas fields that supply the project. 'Broad Community Support' is an important new feature of the 'Performance Standards,' but it is unclear how, or whether, the IFC ensures compliance," said Gary.
Now that the World Bank Group has decided to support the project, it must address serious failures, risks, and concerns still pending from the first phase of the project and from new gas development in the Amazon. These include:
"I am pleased to stand with others in the jewelry industry today in announcing our support for protecting Alaska's Bristol Bay watershed from large-scale mining," said Jon Bridge, Co-CEO/General Counsel of Seattle-based Ben Bridge Jeweler. "As retail jewelers, we want to be able to tell our customers that the precious metals we use are mined responsibly—that the materials used in the jewelry they purchase have been mined in environmentally friendly ways, respectful of the Bristol Bay salmon fishery and the communities that depend on it."
The controversial Pebble mine is highlighted in a new report released today by the No Dirty Gold consumer campaign led by EARTHWORKS and Oxfam America. The report, “Golden Rules: Making the Case for Responsible Mining,” documents the toll of irresponsible mining on people, water, and wildlife at a time when soaring metals prices are driving new mining development globally. The report describes human rights violations and environmental concerns at metals mines in the United States and around the world. (To download a copy of the report, visit www.nodirtygold.org.)
The retailers are among a group of 28 jewelry retailers, representing 23 percent of US jewelry sales, who have endorsed the No Dirty Gold campaign's "Golden Rules"—human rights and environmental criteria for mining. Today’s announcement takes those commitments a step further.
“Some of the world’s leading jewelers have recognized that the Bristol Bay watershed is a treasure worth protecting. We applaud their principled position and commitment to not source metals from areas of high conservation value,” said Payal Sampat of EARTHWORKS.
The proposed Pebble mine is backed by the UK-based Anglo American, one of the world’s largest metals mining companies, and Canadian firm Northern Dynasty Minerals. The Bristol Bay watershed, where the proposed mine would be located, supports the world’s most productive wild salmon fishery—which is critical to the state’s economy and to the livelihood of many Alaska Native communities.
"We want to express a sincere thank you to these jewelry companies,” said Bobby Andrew, a spokesperson for Nunamta Aulukestai (Caretakers of the Land), an association of eight Alaska Native corporations. “The proposed Pebble mine threatens the wild salmon fishery that has sustained the region's economy and our people for generations.”
Last year, Nunamta Aulukestai and a diverse group of Alaska Native communities, commercial fishermen, businesses, and sportsmen publicly invited jewelry retailers to express support for the protection of Alaska's Bristol Bay watershed from large-scale mining. The invitation ran as a full-page ad in National Jeweler magazine. (For a copy of the ad and jeweler pledge, see www.protectbristolbay.org.)
Consumers today are more aware of the human and environmental costs of the goods and services they purchase than ever before. While other business sectors have responded to demand for cleaner, ethically produced goods and services—such as sustainably harvested wood products and fair trade coffee—the mining sector lags behind in terms of embracing an independent system for standards and verification. Some 100,000 consumers in more than 100 countries have signed on to the No Dirty Gold pledge, urging mining companies to provide alternatives to “dirty” gold.
“Consumers and jewelry retailers across the country have clearly signaled their desire for certified, more ethically produced metals,” noted Raymond C. Offenheiser of Oxfam America. “The question is: when will mining companies step up to meet this obvious demand?”
The No Dirty Gold campaign urges mining companies to find solutions and implement best practices that can be independently verified—at both existing and new operations. According to the campaign’s new report, mining practices in places like Ghana, Indonesia, Nevada, and other parts of the world continue to pollute air and water, damage farmland and forests, and, in some parts of the world, fuel violent conflict. The report describes damaging practices at 17 metals mines around the world. These mines include:
There are promising signs within the industry that some operations are responding to community concerns and consumer demands for more responsibly mined gold. For example, a number of firms have adopted a policy against dumping mine wastes in rivers, while others have publicly committed to disclosing payments made to foreign governments.
]]>According to an Associated Press story, President Correa publicly pledged government support for the case, which began nearly 10 years ago in the United States and was thrown out on appeal in 2003. Since then the court in Ecuador has been conducting judicial inspections of polluted areas, gathering evidence a judge will use to make a decision, possibly in the next year.
During the same week, indigenous leaders representing the people affected by the pollution in the Orellana and Succumbios region of Ecuador attended the annual meeting for shareholders of ChevronTexaco in California. Humberto Piaguaje, a leader of the Secoya indigenous people, called for the company to resolve the case and help clean up the environment. "We want you to give us back our lives," Piaguaje said. "We want you to let us live in peace and harmony with nature. We want you to repair the damage so that our children do not have to continue suffering."
Oxfam America has supported the Amazon Defense Front's legal case for nine years, and assisted in the creation of the Assembly of Delegates of Communities Affected by Texaco, a community-based organization that has ensured those most directly affected by the pollution have a voice in the legal strategy.
"We think it is positive that President Correa has declared his support of those affected by pollution in the Lago Agrio region," said Javier Aroca, who coordinates programs related to indigenous rights for Oxfam America in South America. "We consider this is a signal that the government is interested in investigating and sanctioning those who are responsible."
"It is important to remember that the people affected are demanding compensation for almost 10 years now," Aroca said. "The pollution has affected the health of indigenous peoples and peasants... there have been cases of skin diseases and cancer. Furthermore, the lands are not as productive as they used to be, which has affected the agricultural economy. From our point of view, the government of Ecuador should support the affected population to complete the legal procedures, which are very expensive."
A win for the Amazon Defense Front in this precedent-setting case could change the landscape of the oil industry, and further establish the rights of communities to be compensated for negative social and environmental effects of oil operations.
]]>“As the world’s largest gold mining company, Barrick should be an industry leader and respect the rights of communities to give their free, prior, and informed consent to all mining projects proposed on their lands,” said Keith Slack, senior policy advisor for Oxfam America. “Respecting the right of consent is critical for protecting indigenous peoples’ sacred sites.”
"The United Nations has recognized that the U.S. government and the mining companies are violating Western Shoshone land rights,” said Larson Bill, community organizer for the Western Shoshone Defense Project. “We have repeatedly tried to engage with Barrick regarding their plans to mine on Mount Tenabo, but all they have done is bring in more drilling rigs and put up fences.”
“We are bringing a petition signed by over 18,500 people telling Barrick to stop all activity on Mount Tenabo and Horse Canyon. These are people all over the country who understand that this is Western Shoshone land and the mining companies have no right to destroy it,” said Bill.
Slack continued, "Today's meeting is an opportunity for the WSDP to take their concerns directly to Barrick and its shareholders."
Oxfam America works to ensure the oil, gas, and mining industries respect the rights of community members impacted by extractive industries projects, and that projects contribute to the long-term reduction of poverty. For more information, or for an interview with Keith Slack or Larson Bill, please contact Helen DaSilva at hdasilva@oxfamamerica.org, (617) 728-2409 (office) or (617) 331-2984 (cell).
]]>“It’s time for Newmont to take a serious look at how it conducts its business,” said Keith Slack, senior policy advisor for Oxfam America, an international relief and development organization. “It should call on experts who are completely independent of the company and won’t just say what it wants to hear. It should also seek input from affected communities themselves.”
Earlier this year, the Christian Brothers Investment Services and members of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility, a corporate accountability organization, filed a shareholder resolution asking Newmont to review how it engages with affected communities and addresses local opposition. In filing the resolution, the shareholders cited a pattern of community resistance to the company’s operations, including protests in Peru and Ghana which led to deaths and injuries. Concurrently, the New York City Comptroller filed a resolution on behalf of the New York City Pension Funds asking Newmont to review the environmental and public health impacts of its Indonesian operations. Both resolutions will be voted on at tomorrow’s shareholder meeting, which the company moved from its headquarters in Denver, Colorado to Wilmington, Delaware.
“Newmont shareholders are right to be concerned about community opposition and environmental risk measures. These issues can influence a company’s reputation, share price, and ability to obtain permits,” said Radhika Sarin, international campaign coordinator for environmental group EARTHWORKS.
“Newmont is not fulfilling its commitments to respect the human rights of communities affected by its projects,” said Father Marco Arana, a Catholic priest and president of GRUFIDES, a local group in Cajamarca, Peru, site of Newmont’s Yanacocha gold mine. Arana and his colleagues have received death threats in recent months and were the targets of a spying operation linked to the private security firm hired by the mine. “The company must investigate and hold accountable any employee responsible for making threats, harassment, spying or any other form of abuse.”
Newmont’s operations in Indonesia have also been sharply criticized over the company’s practice of dumping mining waste into the ocean at the now-closed Minahasa Raya gold mine and its larger Batu Hijau gold and copper mine. A verdict in the criminal case brought by the Indonesian government against Newmont’s Indonesia unit and its head, Richard Ness, over pollution charges is expected this week. Ocean dumping of mine waste is effectively banned in the United States under the Clean Water Act.
“Newmont must stop dumping mining waste into ours oceans,” said Chalid Muhammad, national director of WALHI, Indonesia’s largest environmental group. “It can’t use this destructive practice in its own country, and it should not do so anywhere else either.” Last month, WALHI filed a civil suit against the company over negligence in the dumping of mine waste into the ocean.
Rural livelihoods are at stake in Ghana, where more than 10,000 poor farmers have been displaced to make way for Newmont’s Ahafo gold mine, and another 10,000 will be displaced when the mine expands to the north. The company has also come under fire for trying to develop the Akyem gold mine in Ghana’s Ajenjua Bepo Forest Reserve. Construction of the mine is on hold because Newmont has been unable to secure an environmental permit from the government of Ghana.
“Ghana’s forests have been severely deforested in the last 40 years. The remaining forest reserves are invaluable and must stay off-limits to mining,” said Daniel Owusu-Koranteng, executive director of the Wassa Association of Communities Affected by Mining, in Ghana.
Groups in Romania are urging Newmont to divest its19 percent stake in Gabriel Resources, a small Canadian mining company that wants to develop a gold mine on top of the historic town of Rosia Montana in Romania. Newmont’s investment, which has boosted Gabriel Resources financially, has led local families to question why Newmont wants to be linked to such a highly controversial and risky project.
“We want Newmont shareholders to know that the Rosia Montana gold project is a bad investment. Over 96 percent of Romanians oppose this project so we are confident it will never be developed. Why is Newmont putting its reputation on the line by getting involved?” asked Eugen David, president of Alburnus Maior, a local association of property owners in Rosia Montana opposed to the mine.
Closer to home, in Nevada, Newmont operates several mines on the traditional lands of the Western Shoshone – with neither their consent, nor compensation to the Shoshone for past and present gold extraction. The Western Shoshone have been asking Newmont for a formal policy regarding their concerns, including disputed land, fair compensation, and the right to free, prior, and informed consent for any new mining and expansion projects.
“As long as these disputes continue under the discriminatory 1872 Mining Law, Newmont is party to violations of our human rights, including our cultural and spiritual rights. According to the Supreme Law of the Land, the Treaty of Ruby Valley, these mines are guests of this land, and they should be held accountable,” said Larson Bill of the Western Shoshone Defense Project in Nevada, citing the treaty between the US government and the Western Shoshone recognizing the Shoshone as the landowners.
]]>After a preliminary meeting in August, Oxfam brought together a number of key organizations in January, including World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), and PACT Cambodia. The groups reviewed proposed oil and mining projects and discussed ways to ensure that future revenues contribute to sustainable development in the region.
In recent months, companies from the US, China, and Australia have scrambled to obtain mining rights in Cambodia, a country rich in untapped resources. BHP Billiton, Southern Gold, Oxiana, Chevron, and other companies have signed deals with the government to explore indigenous lands, including protected forests, for minerals such as bauxite, gold and copper and offshore areas for oil and gas.
"The rapid pace of the development means that we might not have a say about if it happens, but more how it happens," said Warwick Browne, a program officer in Oxfam America's East Asia office.
The future revenues from the extraction of resources could add up to several billions of dollars a year in the near future, according to estimates by local organizations. That amount is expected to dwarf Cambodia's current economy, which is currently based on foreign aid, agriculture, and garment manufacturing.
With that sort of cash influencing the government's actions, Oxfam and other non-governmental organizations say they will have to act as watchdogs over the burgeoning extractive industries, making sure that the affected indigenous people get a say in the whole development process—and if and when oil and mining projects should even move forward on their ancestral lands.
"Now they're just exploring, but it's important to get people involved early on. By participating, we want to avoid environmental, social, and cultural impacts," said Chhith Sam Ath, executive director of The NGO Forum on Cambodia, an Oxfam partner. "We also want to empower communities to have some decision-making power."
NGOs have long played an important role in advocating for Cambodian people and their rights over natural resources. Back in the early 1980s, when the country began rebuilding after the devastating reign of the Khmer Rouge, groups like WWF and WCS began their campaign to conserve the forests of the northeast highlands, those threatened then by a sudden influx of illegal logging, and now by the extraction of minerals.
The organizations made the issue a zero-sum game, said Joe Walston, country program director for WCS. There was little conversation about how logging revenue could help Cambodia, only about how it would hurt the affected ethnic communities and biodiversity. With mining, the groups need to think more broadly and consider how mining could actually fuel the economy, Walston said.
The biggest challenge for Cambodia will be avoiding the "resource curse." when countries rich in resources are essentially cursed by their bounty instead of blessed by it. Unable to translate their resources into a strong economy, some countries actually become poorer when large-scale mineral, gas, and oil companies generate export revenues that are either squandered or misused.
"Oxfam and its partners need to engage with the government and corporations to make sure that affected communities are not left worse off," Browne said. "At the same time, Cambodia needs to follow best practices and international standards so that oil, gas, and mining can be managed in a just and equitable way."
]]>Oxfam America and Peru's National Human Rights Coordinating Body are both publicly denouncing these threats and expressing concerns about the safety of the individuals being intimidated. Oxfam America calls on the legal authorities to protect these individuals, and investigate the death threats and attacks.
Javier Jahncke is the coordinator of a technical support team that advises communities affected by the Rio Blanco mining project in the Huancabamba and Ayabaca provinces of the department of Piura. Jahncke is also a member of FEDEPAZ, one of Oxfam America's partners, as well as the Muqui Network, which is an association of national and local organizations working on the environmental and social effects of mining.
The Rio Blanco Project is run by the Majaz Mining company, an affiliate of the British Monterrico Metals company. Critics of the Rio Blanco project contend that mining could transform an environmentally fragile area of cloud forests and high plains into a mining district that will degrade natural resources and pollute the Piura and Chinchipe rivers. (The Chinchipe is part of the Amazon Basin.) Peru's Public Defender office (a government ombudsman agency that protects the rights of citizens) has said that the mining company started the mining exploration project without the approval of the communities, as required by law.
Civil society groups including the Front for the Sustainable Development of the Peruvian Northern Border have proposed community consultations so that people can express agreement or disagreement with mining activities on their lands. The Front is formed by representatives of farming communities, social organizations, the mayors of the Provinces of Ayabaca and Huancabamba, in Piura, and of Jaén and San Ignacio, in Cajamarca. Javier Jahncke is member of the technical team that advises the Front.
FEDEPAZ has for several years assisted the communities of Ayacaba and Huancabamba in filing claims of illegal land seizure by the Majaz Mining Company.
The death threat against Jahncke is the latest in a series of threats and attacks against community rights advocates in Peru:
In December 2006, Father Marco Arana of the GRUFIDES organization in Cajamarca was being followed, threatened, and intimidated in retaliation for his work advocating for the rights of communities affected by mining.
In February 2007, a man driving a car shot at, but did not hit, Nicanor Alvarado, coordinator of the Environmental Apostolic Vicarage of Jaen, a member of the Muqui Network.
Oxfam America has joined with Peru's National Human Rights Coordinating Body (Coordinadora Nacional de Derechos Humanos del Perú) in expressing concern for the safety of environmental and community advocates, and calls on all sides of conflicts related to mining projects to resolve them through dialogue and other non-violent means.
]]>These were the questions taken up by the Organization of American States' Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in a special session to discuss "Human Rights Violations and the Responsibility of International Financial Institutions."
Financial institutions like the Inter-American Development Bank loan huge sums to governments and companies in Latin America. In 2006 it provided more than $6 billion for 112 projects. World Bank lending in the region was more than $5 billion in 2005. Yet despite the power to affect the lives of millions across the region, these bodies have always claimed they are not bound by international human rights law.
"This was the first time the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights has held a hearing on this topic, and they seemed quite enthusiastic about becoming more engaged on the issue," said Ian Gary, Oxfam America's policy advisor on extractive industries. He delivered remarks specifically on the $1.7 billion Camisea gas pipeline in Peru, which benefited from $135 million in financial support from the Inter-American Development Bank. Broader legal arguments regarding the need for international financial institutions to comply with human rights norms in their projects were made by representatives of the Indian Law Resource Center and the Center on International Environmental Law.
Critics of the pipeline charge that it runs through national parks and environmentally sensitive areas of Peru without the proper consultation of indigenous communities living there, a violation of the International Labour Organization's Convention Concerning Indigenous and Tribal People in Independent Countries. The five spills since the pipeline was completed in 2004 have affected the right to a livelihood of indigenous communities – communities say project impacts have contributed to a decline in fish stocks and access to wild game.. A delegation of NGO representatives led by Oxfam America visiting the pipeline area in 2006 were told by local groups that little of the gas royalties given to local government had been used for social programs, such as schools or health clinics, to help the indigenous people in the area.
"This hearing was an important first step to bring public agencies like the World Bank or the Inter-American Development Bank within a system of accountability to address human rights abuses," Gary said. "Our prospects for sustainable reforms are greatly enhanced when we support local partners to defend their rights and, at the same time, make these arguments in important venues such as this."
Oral Presentation by Ian Gary, Policy Advisor for Extractive Industries, Oxfam America, March 1, 2007
Indigenous groups, Peruvian and international environmental and human rights NGOs expressed serious concerns about the project prior to the IDB's decision to co-finance the project. Unfortunately, many of the concerns related to the rights of indigenous peoples and environmental damage have been borne out.
A woman in her 30s looked up from the floor, directed her gaze at me, and spoke. "Señorita," she began respectfully, yet ready to speak her part. "These projects you have helped us with are good. We are growing fish, and our gardens are healthy. But, a real concern to me is education. After completing the 6th grade here in the community, where will my children go to study?" She explained that she does not want to send them away to boarding school, but that she wants them to be educated "so that they know who they are, and what they can do." She proceeded to ask us to help them build a school.
This is a big request. I had to explain that Oxfam is not in a position to build schools in every rural Amazonian village. And once built, they need to be staffed with properly paid teachers. Schools also need books, desks, chalkboards, qualified teachers and to be maintained—every year. Funding a school from outside the community can be risky. A well-meaning donor could cover some construction and other costs. But as the years go by, if there is no viable local structure to foster education, who will be responsible for the school?
However, I continued, the people of Sensa have a basic right to quality education for their children, and we would consider supporting their efforts to claim that right in collaboration with the communities farther down the river. This would involve organizing these communities, and forming allies with others outside the Urubamba river valley. In this way they could reach out to the local and national government, who are responsible for education, and advocate for decent schools that will endure.
The contrast between the poorest indigenous people in Peru and the fantastic wealth in timber, gas, and minerals coming from their lands is stark. While the local government builds fancy offices for itself down the river in Echarate with oil and gas money, villages like Sensa, where the resources are extracted, have no electricity, telephones, or health clinic.
The indigenous people in these villages do not always understand their rights to a fair portion of these revenues in the form of basic services like health care and education. And if they do, they may not have the means to verify that they are getting their fair share. They usually lack the skills and political connections to hold accountable a government that has never shown it is open to the concerns of its native peoples.
"You do not want to be beggars, saying 'We are poor, give us money. Take care of us,'" said my colleague Igidio Naveda, himself an indigenous person from the Andes of Peru and a passionate, highly experienced program officer.
"No—you are indigenous people," he continued. "You have your culture, your traditions; you love your land. You have rights and need to demand them and ensure that they are met. And your lands: these are your home. Would you walk into someone else's home and take their things, leave a mess, disrespect the place? You should demand that the loggers in the area, the gas companies, the government workers respect your rights, and knock at the door before coming in. You need to lay out the rules and make them follow them."
Heads were nodding and people began to speak to one another in their Yine language. The group became animated, some laughing, others speaking intensely, gesturing as they sat at the wooden tables.
We concluded the meeting soon thereafter, inviting a new and more ambitious funding proposal from them, developed together with the chiefs of the other three nearby communities that had participated in the current project. A proposal like this would show that the community is moving to the next level of organization: The villagers will need to coordinate the project with other communities, and create effective ways to encourage the local government to meet its obligations. They will also have to address the illegal logging and other threats to the environment coming from outside the community.
From my perspective, last year's project was a success. It helped indigenous communities manage their local biodiversity and begin to increase their food supply. That, in turn, served as a catalyst for them to become organized and collectively determine their priorities. This greatly strengthens their control over local development efforts, and increases the likelihood that new projects they pursue will succeed.
Although they may lack the advocacy skills needed to get the government to meet its obligations to educate their children immediately, we know the right organizations that can train them. Once people know their rights and are educated, they are better able to hold their leaders accountable. This knowledge and sense of empowerment can never be taken away. It is one of the best investments you can make, because it helps people learn to solve their own problems—they create a vision for the type of future they want for their village, set their own priorities, and make sure that they are met.
Hoping to reach the next community before dark, we excused ourselves from the welcoming community of Sensa, slipping down the muddy river banks to our canoe, with children trailing us on all sides, teasing each other and, laughing, no doubt at the spectacle of the four outsiders that had come to visit. The sun had moved sideways along the river and the tree tops were shining with a golden light. As the first mosquitoes of the evening reached us in our boat, we pushed off and continued downstream, eager to see what the next community had to say.
]]>This report examines current laws and practices relating to mining revenue management in Mali, and presents a series of recommendations for improving transparency and information disclosure.
The authors are A. Rani Parker, Ph.D., and Fred Wood, Ph.D., of Business-Community Synergies (www.bcsynergies.com).
A French language translation of this report is available below.
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