| Chiquitano Forest, Bolivia The Enron Corporation, former Bolivian President Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada, and the World Bank are entangled around a gold-mining project in Bolivia that threatens the welfare of local indigenous communities and one of the world's ecological treasures.
Excavation trench through Chiquitano Forest to benefit Don Mario Mine. Credit: Indigenous Organizations' Monitoring Report, 10/02 | The once dormant Don Mario mine was revived in 2003 with help from a link to the controversial Cuiabá natural gas pipeline, which runs through Bolivia's Chiquitano Forest, the world's largest remaining tract of dry tropical forest. The company that owns the mine, COMSUR, was founded by Sanchez de Lozada at a time when the country was undergoing a rapid privatization and liberalization program. However, the web of self-interest that brought Don Mario back to life does not stop at Bolivia's borders.
Deforestation of Chiquitano Forest
in association with Don Mario Mine.
Credit: Indigenous Organizations'
Monitoring Report, 10/02 | In 2000, Enron secured a $200 million loan to build the Cuiabá Pipeline from the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), a U.S. government agency that finances private sector projects in foreign countries. At the time, indigenous groups pointed out that the pipeline passed just 5 km from the then-dormant Don Mario mine and that its proximity might lead to the mine's reopening. Indigenous groups feared that reopening the mine would lead to the contamination of their surface and groundwater by the cyanide heap leach process used to extract gold from its ore.
During construction, Enron assured community members it would not build valves to enable a link between the mine and the pipeline. Such valves were built, however, in violation of the company's agreement with OPIC. The Bolivian government also approved the Don Mario mine's operating license in 1999 without consulting indigenous organizations, such as the Coordinating Entity for the Ethnic Peoples of Santa Cruz (CPESC) or the Chiquitano Indigenous Organization (OICH).
The mine began commercial production on July 10, 2003. Two weeks later, CPESC filed a complaint with the World Bank's International Finance Corporation (IFC), which owns an 11 percent equity stake in COMSUR. The IFC refused to invest in the controversial Don Mario project in 2001, but a report by the IFC's Office of the Compliance Advisor/Ombudsman (CAO) found that the IFC was still accountable. The CAO report also acknowledged the merit of indigenous peoples' claims of international and Bolivian law violations, suggested enhancements to COMSUR's social development and community relations capacities, and proposed an independent baseline audit of COMSUR's operations.
The remedies sound reassuring, but the IFC is not required to comply with the CAO's recommendations. Meanwhile, development at Don Mario continues without adequate consultation with local indigenous communities.
For more information:
CEADES: ceadescz@roble.entelnet.bo |
