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In the 90's a Canadian mining organization called Infinito Gold arrived to Costa Rica with the purpose of creating an open air mine to extract gold in Crucitas, San Carlos in the north near San Juan river, our border with Nicaragua. The president at the time, Miguel Angel said that they could start creating the mine if the Ministry of Environment agreed that it wouldn't cause any damage. The Ministry didn't agree with the creation of the mine but the company asked again to the government of Oscar Arias and he declared that the mine was of public interest due to the lack of jobs in this part of the country. The company began preparing the land after the agreement. Then studies came out showing the impact on the environment so the mine was closed but now the company is suing the government for not sticking to their agreement and demanding 93 million dollars. Recently people started going in the mine and taking the gold.
The problem in the short term is that the area has been completely deforested. The area is extremely sensitive because it contains a variety of endangered organisms like trees and other plants. Mercury is used because this chemical serves as a magnet for the gold extraction but when this substance is used it first damages the land, and also contaminates the water supply of the communities nearby. In the long term the mercury could affect the animals and it could cause problems in the immune, nervous and respiratory system of the locals. Another big problem is that children are dropping out of school so they can get in the mine and extract gold to gain money.
The people that are extracting gold are clearly benefiting economically but they are not seeing that they are going to get sick in the long term due to their exposure to dangerous chemicals. Locals are having a hard time due to their water supply being contaminated and they are getting sick. Colonization is having a big part of this problem, the earning of the mining is going to the individuals and not the country, the environment is being exploited and people are draining the minerals of the land, also causing a lot of different problems to the environment and the communities due to the need of money. Canadian and Costa Rican NGO's are in opposition of this mine and are making efforts to make sure no one gets in and extracts gold ever again. The government and activists are also against the mining. Police has already taken action to make sure people will not get in the area any more. The mine should be closed but people without jobs need to be provided with one but that is something that the government should carefully take into account because if people get desperate they will continue to due things like mining that will endanger them and the environment.
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1 Comment(s)
Very insightful post Lucia, thanks for bringing this ongoing case to the fore again, because raising awareness is an important component in the fight against climate change and very essential in our adaptation to it. Awareness increases motivation for personal and public involvement in climate change issues. Due to the dependency on the environment, companies that deal on natural resources are very vulnerable. However, the are opportunities for these companies to understand and adapt to climate change.
You are absolutely right regarding deforestation, it is a major driver of climate change, the disruption from deforestation usually leads to extreme temperature swings that harms an ecosystem. There are also lots of other issues around climate change, the environment and companies extracting natural resources that requires extensive research.
Nice map you included, it added a touch of reality to your write up.....:)
Keep up the motivation and the zeal up..... we have all it takes to tackle the climate change challenge.
Sandra Ukaigwe
Oct 15, 2017