Mining: Growth industry’s devastating footprint: what next?

Mining: Growth industry’s devastating footprint: what next? Sunita Narain Director

Background

Our work:

Rating of Indian industry: Paper; auto; cement

Working with media: fellowship 2006

Our understanding:

Big issue ; big politics and current news – from Posco; Mittal; to China

Challenge to development : industry extracts resources; does not even provide employment – devastates local environment; people’s lives

Regulatory and governance failure – why laws and institutions not able to decide in public interest

Huge tensions – from lynching of contractor in Goa; Kalinganagar; to all other cases

Our work

From Green Rating of individual sectors to:

Work with regulators – paper on state of regulators (PCB’s) in India; training workshops;

Work with civil society – provide technical inputs into EIAs; training workshops;

Work with cross-cutting issues with industry; regulators and civil society – to push for policy changes: Book; consultation and briefing on mining

Overview: China factor

Since 2005

Huge increase in demand;

Huge increase in price -- up 48 per cent since the beginning of 2006

Real price at 15-year high

Impacts on us

Growth industry : between mid 1990s to 2005

Iron ore production increased has doubled in 10 years – from 60 million tonnes annually to 155 million tonnes;

Bauxite increased from 5 million tonnes to 12 million tonnes;

Chromite from 1 million tonnes to 3.4 million tonnes

Coal and lignite from 266 million tonnes to 438 million tonnes

Just the beginning – clear from the gold rush in all states; clear from the players in the field

Big business: Big fights

Steel; Aluminum; cement expected to grow at 9-10 per cent annually in next 10 years;

Power plants – on coal – on high trajectory

Fights:

Between big players – Indian and multinational only in the mining area and between Indian players in integrated sectors – steel makers want integrated iron ore fields etc; between export and domestic value addition;

Between public sector – which has existing concessions – and new players who want the mining areas;

Between small, unorganised miners and big multinational miners;

Left out:

People who will be displaced

Environment and forest

Mines and water

Mines and forests

Forest clearance for mining 8,639 2,031 Avg. forest diversion/ year (ha.) 95,003 60,427 34,527 Forests diverted (ha.) 80 126 19 Avg. leases granted/ year 1198 881 317 Mine leases granted in forest areas Total (1980-2005) 1997-2005 1980-1997

Understanding regulations

1. Environmental clearances: on what basis?

2. Public hearing: are people heard?

3. Forest clearance or forest compensation?

4. Environment management plan: who oversees? Who plans? What are the institutions for this?

5. Mine restoration?

6. Watersheds? Is this anyone’s concern

Mines and water

Mines and forests

Forest clearance for mining 8,639 2,031 Avg. forest diversion/ year (ha.) 95,003 60,427 34,527 Forests diverted (ha.) 80 126 19 Avg. leases granted/ year 1198 881 317 Mine leases granted in forest areas Total (1980-2005) 1997-2005 1980-1997

Understanding regulations