- Due to the pollution and deforestation they cause, Honduras has stopped issuing environmental permits for open-pit mine projects.
- Honduras has a poor record in human rights when it comes to mining. In the past decade, many environmental defenders have been arrested or murdered in connection to their opposition to mining.
- It is not clear when or how the ban will affect existing open-pit mining projects.
Officials in Honduras have announced that they are taking steps to curb open-pit mining. This activity has led to deforestation and pollution, as well as other environmental hazards.
According to the Ministry of Energy, Natural Resources and Environment, no environmental permits are being granted for open-pit mining projects. Statement. It also plans on closing down existing open-pit mining operations.
According to the ministry’s statement, the approval of extractive extraction permits was canceled because they were harmful and threatening natural resources, public safety, and limited access to water as a human rights.
It will review, suspend, and cancel existing environmental permits, licenses, and concessions. It didn’t give a timeline or cite any legal authority to cancel operations that are already underway.
Open-pit Mining is one of most common forms. This involves mining minerals by digging large holes or pits in the ground. It can be dangerous for local ecosystems as it requires the clearing of vegetation, and the displacement massive amounts of soil.
Sulfuric acid and ammonium Nitrate, which are chemicals used in mines, can cause aquatic life to become ill. Even after mines close, there are still risks of soil contamination and erosion, which can make it difficult for biodiversity, forest cover, water quality, and water quality to recover.
The environment ministry stated that it will immediately intervene in areas of high ecological importance to ensure their conservation.
The new measure will see Honduras join El Salvador and Costa Rica in banning open-pit mining across Central America. It comes just over a month after Xiomara Cruz was elected president. This ends the eight-year tenure that Juan Orlando Hernndez had been in office. He was plagued with corruption, crime, and a lack of concern for rural poverty.
We are proud of the new administration’s initiative considering that we have come out of a dictatorial government which for so many years passed laws not favorable to Indigenous communities and the environment of Honduras. Andrea Regina Pineda (an attorney with the Honduran Center for the Promotion of Community Development) told Mongabay.
We are beginning to see many changes, she said, and a lot more positive ones.
According to the Social Forum on Foreign Debt Development of Honduras (SFFDH), there are currently 217 mining reserves and concessions in the country. These cover 131 515 hectares (324 981 acres).FOSDEH). More than 130 of them were located within or near Indigenous territory in 2020.
FOSDEH reports that there has been a significant rise in approved mining concessions over the past year, around 40%.
These areas are prone to conflict, criminalization, stigmatization, and even murder of territorial or environmental defenders. Report said.
2020: Mongabay reportedIrma Lemus was an environmentalist who fled the country to protest mining projects in Coln, including one within Carlos Escaleras National Park.
Six environmental defenders were also elected earlier in the year. jailedLos Pinares was a mine in Guapinol that was stopped from being developed. The mine is located near Carlos Escaleras National Park and has allegedly affected rivers and other water bodies that local communities depend on for drinking water.
Honduran mining unions have expressed concern about the loss of thousands of jobs. TellingLocal media have indicated that they will be entering into negotiations with the government. This suggests that Honduras’ plan to end open-pit mining might take some time.
Aura Minerals is the operator of the San Andrs goldmine in Copn, one the largest mines of Honduras. In a statement, it said that it was working with the environment ministry in order to better understand the future of operations in the country.
Conservationists express concern about the possibility of mining companies filing lawsuits that could slow down government plans.
We would love for the initiative to move forward. CEHPRODECs Pineda indicated that, however, we want it to comply with the law. It could go through congress or other government agencies to ensure that these actions conform to the law.
Banner image: Mountains of Tegucigalpa (Honduras). Photo via Flickr/Lauri Vin.
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