Outlook bleak for OK Tedi and Fly River ecosystems
Ok Tedi swamp toxic for centuries
Greg Roberts
November 30, 2006
THE environmental effects of the Australian-managed Ok Tedi mine in Papua New Guinea will be felt for hundreds of years and vast areas of rainforest on the Fly River floodplain are being converted to toxic swampland.
An independent assessment of the copper mine by Australian consultant Alan Tingay found there had been no marked improvement in the living conditions of 50,000 people in its catchment area in 20 years of operation.
The assessment was raised yesterday by shareholders at the annual general meeting in Brisbane of former Ok Tedi operator BHP-Billiton, which quit the mine in 2002 but funds compensation for landholders through the PNG Sustainable Development Program.
Mr Tingay's report paints a much bleaker outlook for the region and its inhabitants than previously acknowledged. "Not only are the effects going to continue after the mine closes (in 2012), they are going to get worse," he said.
With 1.7 billion tonnes of waste being poured into the Ok Tedi and Fly river systems during the life of the mine, the build-up of toxic sediment in the Fly and consequent flooding would continue for "several hundred years".
About 3800 sqkm of rainforest would be flooded, most of it "long after the mine has closed".
"Flooding will cause major changes to the whole floodplain ecosystem and these will be permanent," the report said.
Fish populations had declined by 95 per cent in the Ok Tedi River, with more than a million tonnes of copper discharged into it during the life of the mine.
to read the original article from The Australian, click on:
The Australian
Greg Roberts
November 30, 2006
THE environmental effects of the Australian-managed Ok Tedi mine in Papua New Guinea will be felt for hundreds of years and vast areas of rainforest on the Fly River floodplain are being converted to toxic swampland.
An independent assessment of the copper mine by Australian consultant Alan Tingay found there had been no marked improvement in the living conditions of 50,000 people in its catchment area in 20 years of operation.
The assessment was raised yesterday by shareholders at the annual general meeting in Brisbane of former Ok Tedi operator BHP-Billiton, which quit the mine in 2002 but funds compensation for landholders through the PNG Sustainable Development Program.
Mr Tingay's report paints a much bleaker outlook for the region and its inhabitants than previously acknowledged. "Not only are the effects going to continue after the mine closes (in 2012), they are going to get worse," he said.
With 1.7 billion tonnes of waste being poured into the Ok Tedi and Fly river systems during the life of the mine, the build-up of toxic sediment in the Fly and consequent flooding would continue for "several hundred years".
About 3800 sqkm of rainforest would be flooded, most of it "long after the mine has closed".
"Flooding will cause major changes to the whole floodplain ecosystem and these will be permanent," the report said.
Fish populations had declined by 95 per cent in the Ok Tedi River, with more than a million tonnes of copper discharged into it during the life of the mine.
to read the original article from The Australian, click on:
The Australian
posted by Pax Christi @ Friday, December 01, 2006
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