Mining and Natural Hazard Vulnerability in the Philippines: Digging to Development or Digging to Disaster? (Anthem Environmental Studies)

Holden, William N.,Jacobson, R. Daniel

ISBN 10: 0857287761 / ISBN 13: 9780857287762

Editore: Anthem Press, 2012

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Dati bibliografici

• Titolo: Mining and Natural Hazard Vulnerability in the Philippines: Digging to Development or Digging to Disaster? (Anthem Environmental Studies)
• Editore: Anthem Press
• Data di pubblicazione: 2012
• Lingua: Inglese
• ISBN 10: 0857287761
• ISBN 13: 9780857287762
• Rilegatura: hardcover
• Condizione: Very Good

Descrizione articolo

Riassunto

The archipelago of the Philippines is well endowed in nonferrous mineral resources such as copper, gold, lead, silver, nickel, and zinc. In recent years, the government of the Philippines, acting under the influence of the dominant and seemingly ubiquitous neoliberal development paradigm, has liberalized its mining laws to encourage the extraction of minerals by foreign corporations in order to accelerate the development of the economy. The Philippines is also a nation highly prone to a variety of natural hazards such as earthquakes, volcanoes, tsunamis, typhoons, and El Niño–induced droughts.

Nonferrous metals mining is an activity with a substantial potential for environmental degradation, and these various natural hazards have a high potential to adversely interact with mining’s potential for environmental degradation. Earthquakes can destabilize tailings storage facilities, typhoons can flood tailings ponds, and mine-pit dewatering can enhance the competition for groundwater resources during droughts. This study show how natural hazards can amplify the environmental harm prevalent in mining and pose a substantial threat to the livelihoods of archipelago’s poor, who are dependent upon subsistence agriculture and subsistence aquaculture.

The archipelago of the Philippines is well endowed with nonferrous mineral resources, and in recent years the Philippine government, acting under the influence of the dominant and seemingly ubiquitous neoliberal development paradigm, has liberalized its mining laws in order to accelerate economic development. Yet the Philippines is also a country highly prone to a variety of natural hazards that have the ability to interact adversely with mining’s potential for environmental degradation. Thus there are great dangers inherent in pursuing such a development paradigm: earthquakes can destabilize tailings storage facilities, typhoons can flood tailings ponds, and mine-pit dewatering can enhance the competition for groundwater resources during droughts. This study explores how these hazards amplify the environmental harm prevalent in mining, and reveals the substantial threat posed to the livelihoods of the archipelago’s poor, as well as the inadequacies of the very institutions designed to protect their environment.

Informazioni sugli autori

William N. Holden is Associate Professor of Geography at the University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada and an inactive member of the Law Society of Alberta.

R. Daniel Jacobson is Associate Professor of Geography at the University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada and a Switzer Research Fellow.

William N. Holden is Associate Professor of Geography at the University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada and an inactive member of the Law Society of Alberta.

R. Daniel Jacobson is Associate Professor of Geography at the University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada and a Switzer Research Fellow.