{"id":20089236,"date":"2022-05-17T12:30:00","date_gmt":"2022-05-17T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thethirdpole.net\/?p=89236"},"modified":"2022-05-27T15:45:08","modified_gmt":"2022-05-27T10:15:08","slug":"in-the-wake-of-coup-gold-mining-boom-is-ravaging-myanmar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/business\/in-the-wake-of-coup-gold-mining-boom-is-ravaging-myanmar\/","title":{"rendered":"In the wake of coup, gold mining boom is ravaging Myanmar"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In a village in Kachin State, Myanmar, bordering China\u2019s Yunnan province, a day labourer named Naw had earned just enough in the sugarcane and corn fields to feed his family of six before pandemic-induced border closures left him struggling to find work. A February 2021 military coup sent Myanmar\u2019s economy into a downward spiral<\/a>, and Naw had to search for new ways to earn an income.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

About this article<\/p>

This article originally appeared in Yale Environment 360<\/a> and is republished here with permission.<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

He travelled 60 miles west, passing through verdant forests, rice paddies, and small villages of bamboo houses. Reaching Bhamo, a town on the banks of the Irrawaddy, Myanmar\u2019s longest river, he began mining gold and earning USD 4 per day. He uses a generator-powered pump to suck up sediment, then sends it through a sluice tray before adding mercury \u2013 which he handles barehanded \u2013 to extract gold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Naw estimates he is one of 1,000 people mining gold in Bhamo alone. Other areas across Kachin State are experiencing a similar influx \u2013 part of a broader resource grab<\/a> as Myanmar\u2019s economic crisis<\/a> deepens, rule of law breaks down<\/a>, and civil war intensifies<\/a> in the wake of the coup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once-tranquil riverbanks are now cluttered with dredging machines, and the sound of the river\u2019s flow is drowned out by revving engines. Dredging boats crowd waterways, while on land, excavator trucks dig pits into which gold miners blast water to dislodge the earth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"map<\/div>
Map of Kachin State, Myanmar (Image: Bret Folger)<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGold mining is suddenly popping up like mushrooms everywhere,\u201d said a local environmental activist in the state capital, Myitkyina. Another civil society worker who researches extractive industries in Kachin estimated that gold mining has increased tenfold since last year\u2019s coup, the result not only of an influx of small-scale miners but also larger operations using mechanised equipment. Along with several other people interviewed for this article, the activist and civil society worker requested anonymity out of fear of reprisals from the military.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Residents and activists describe widespread environmental destruction as a result of the gold rush \u2013 polluted water, erosion, deforestation, and a loss of farmland \u2013 and say it has created tensions between villagers who oppose the mining and those who are mining or who sold their land to miners. \u201cTo build our village to a habitable and healthy environment like before will be very difficult,\u201d said a villager from Nam San Yang, which has been heavily mined.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kachin, Myanmar\u2019s northernmost state, contains some of the country\u2019s most lucrative resources, including\u00a0jade<\/a>,\u00a0rare earth minerals<\/a>,\u00a0amber<\/a> and gold, in addition to timber. It also is home to the headwaters of the Irawaddy (also spelled Ayeyarwady) and three areas nominated to be UNESCO World Heritage sites. Gold mining and other extractive industries are reportedly encroaching on these UNESCO sites. The\u00a0Indawgyi Lake Wildlife Sanctuary<\/a>, which draws\u00a0bird watchers<\/a>\u00a0from around the world, contains threatened bird species, as well as endemic fish and turtle species. The\u00a0Hukawng Valley Wildlife Sanctuary<\/a>, which encompasses a\u00a0tiger reserve<\/a>\u00a0roughly the size of Vermont, is home to other threatened wildlife, including the Asian elephant. The\u00a0Northern Mountain Forest Complex<\/a>, one of the largest intact natural forests in Southeast Asia, includes a\u00a0mountain range<\/a>\u00a0with 16,000-foot peaks and threatened wildlife, including the red panda.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A<\/div>
A miner digs a trench to pan for gold near the Mali River (Image:\u00a0PRR)<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The Kachin people, one of dozens of ethnic groups in Myanmar\u2019s resource-rich border areas, have long made a living by farming, harvesting forest products and mining with hand tools. \u201cWe were taught by our parents that we cannot simply cut trees or kill fish, so that we can maintain our flora and fauna,\u201d said an environmental activist from Kachin\u2019s Sumprabum township. \u201cWe know there is gold in the water, but we don\u2019t destroy the river because it is our flesh, blood and strength.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

***<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1962, the military seized power, and over the next five decades excluded<\/a> local people from participation in land and resource management. \u201cThey threatened us with the law and accused us of not having any land rights,\u201d said the activist from Sumprabum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Inequitable access to land and resources has contributed to decades of civil war along the country\u2019s borders, including in Kachin, where the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) has been fighting for autonomy for 60 years. Natural resource exploitation has funded<\/a> both sides of the conflict, while smaller ethnic militias and paramilitary groups<\/a> are also active in the state\u2019s extractive economies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once-verdant mountains became a moonscape of excavator pits and waste heaps<\/blockquote><\/cite><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Kachin\u2019s environmental problems significantly worsened during a 17-year\u00a0ceasefire<\/a>\u00a0between the military and KIO, which began in 1994 and brought large areas of the state under military control. The military granted land concessions to companies favourable to its interests, and the environmental watchdog Global Witness\u00a0reported<\/a>\u00a0that Chinese companies were carrying out \u201clarge-scale, unregulated logging and mining operations\u201d in Kachin, with \u201ccatastrophic\u201d implications for local communities and the environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A 2004 civil society\u00a0report<\/a>\u00a0described a \u201cdevastating gold rush\u201d in Kachin. It found that miners commonly engaged in dangerous practices such as handling mercury \u2013 a neurotoxin posing serious\u00a0health risks<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 barehanded, and burning a mercury-laden amalgam to obtain gold. Miners also waded into mercury-contaminated water bare-legged, and locals ate fish from the same water, the report said. The report also found that gold mining diverted river flows, destroyed riverbanks and riverbeds, caused fluctuating water levels, hastened deforestation and brought about an \u201cincalculable loss of biodiversity\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Similar patterns<\/a> played out in Kachin\u2019s Hpakant region, where the military doled out jade mining concessions, with most of the jade being smuggled to China. Once-verdant mountains became a moonscape of excavator pits and waste heaps, and although hundreds of thousands of freelance miners searched for a way out of poverty, they rarely found it. Landslides claimed lives every year. Logging concessions during the ceasefire resulted in massive deforestation, particularly in areas along Kachin\u2019s northeastern border with China.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A<\/div>
A mining vessel on the Mali River in Kachin State. Sediment sucked from the river bottom passes through a sluice tray before mercury is added to extract gold.\u00a0PRR<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

While all of these industries benefited the military, armed groups, Chinese companies and business elites, local people faced land grabs, social disintegration and a spike in\u00a0drug addiction<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kevin Woods, a research fellow at the East-West Center<\/a> in Honolulu who has done extensive research<\/a> on conflict resources in Myanmar, described a close link between deforestation hotspots and areas under the control of the military and paramilitary groups. \u201cThese highly lucrative resource deals have lubricated military-aligned political relations and bank accounts,\u201d he said in an email.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Recommended<\/span><\/span><\/div><\/a>\n\n\n\n

When the elected civilian government led by Aung San Suu Kyi came to power in 2016, it took some steps<\/a> to reform extractive industries during its five-year term, but monitoring and enforcement remained weak<\/a>. Meanwhile, Kachin\u2019s jade continued to generate billions<\/a> of dollars annually yet remained mired in corruption.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although illegal logging slowed, in part due to the government\u2019s seizure<\/a> of more than 200,000 tons of timber, rare earth mining<\/a> surged in Pangwa, a remote border area controlled by military-linked armed groups. The risks of visiting the heavily armed area have thwarted efforts to document the industry, but satellite data, local media reports, and interviews by email and phone indicate<\/a> that many of the rare earth minerals supposedly coming from China are actually mined in Kachin. The past decade\u2019s expansion of rare earth mining in Kachin also corresponds to a crackdown<\/a> on rare earth mining in China, in part due to environmental harms<\/a>, which include deforestation and the contamination of water and soil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We don\u2019t dare drink water from the streams<\/blockquote> Resident in a gold mining region<\/cite><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

As dire as Kachin\u2019s environmental crisis was during the civilian government, however, the 2021 coup caused the resource scramble to accelerate. \u201cThe return to direct military rule has reversed course on the limited progress in resource governance reform and civil society\u2019s participation,\u201d said Woods of the East-West Center. \u201cThe vested financial interests by the military and its associates in resource pillaging \u2013 and the attendant social, political and environmental implications \u2013 should not be underestimated.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gold mining, which is broadly accessible and can be done across the state, has boomed. Areas of increased extraction include the confluence of two rivers that form the Irawaddy<\/a>, Indawgyi Lake, the Hukawng Valley, and the state\u2019s mountainous northern forests, according to interviews and local media reports. Local sources describe worsening impacts, including rivers polluted<\/a> with fuel, mining waste, and mercury.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBefore, we drank water from the Tarung stream,\u201d said a woman in the Hukawng Valley, who asked not to be identified. \u201cIt was fresh and sweet. But now, people dig wells for drinking water. We don\u2019t dare to drink water from the streams\u2026 They are mining with heavy machinery, so animals and fish are becoming scarce.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Satellite<\/div>
Satellite imagery shows the impact of gold mining in Nam San Yang, Kachin State between November 2019 (above) and January 2022 (below). Locals say the 2021 coup accelerated mining.\u00a0(Image: Bret Folger)<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The activist from Sumprabum said that the increase in gold mining has affected people\u2019s subsistence living. \u201cIn the past, there were a lot of fish in the river,\u201d he said. \u201cBut now, [gold miners] are digging out soil and rocks, and many living creatures are having difficulty surviving.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

People living along the Irrawaddy fear landslides and flooding due to erosion caused by mining. They also lament the destruction of the river\u2019s shores, where locals used to relax and picnic but now fear their children will fall into mining pits. \u201cBefore, when we went to the riverbank, we felt the beautiful view and nature\u2026 Now, there is a lot of gold mining waste, stones and [mining] pits,\u201d said a resident of Ubyit village, near the Kachin capital, Myitkyina.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the village of Nam San Yang, mechanised gold mining has been encroaching on homes and farmland since 2013. Its dramatic expansion after the coup has dimmed prospects of return for most of the villagers, who are among around\u00a0100,000 people<\/a>\u00a0living in displacement camps since 2011 because of fighting between the military and the KIO.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBefore [2011], when we needed food, we went to the stream to catch fish,\u201d said a villager who recently went back from the camp to try to oppose the mining expansion. \u201cNow, there is no water for the fish. We also have no more land for our livestock\u2026 Farmland is just a word for us now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The big companies pay [the military] well, so they aren\u2019t stopped or arrested<\/blockquote>Small-scale gold miner<\/cite><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The situation has also damaged communal trust. \u201cThe big social issue is between people who want to sell their land and people who don\u2019t,\u201d he said. \u201cThe relationship is broken because of that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Local sources said that although villagers have been trying to resist the gold mining surge, including by directly asking gold miners to stop, they face little institutional support. \u201cThis kind of issue should be solved by the government, but in the current situation, it is like there is no government,\u201d said a resident of Ubyit village.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One reason for this weak response, locals say, is that the military, KIO and other armed actors routinely tax gold mining operations. \u201cThe armed groups aren\u2019t taking action against gold mining because all of them are involved in this business,\u201d said a civil society worker in Myitkyina.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The military has confiscated equipment and arrested gold miners in some areas, but local sources say these actions have been superficial. \u201cWhenever soldiers come, we leave the machinery and run\u2026 Everyone comes back to mine gold when the soldiers are gone,\u201d said Naw, the gold miner in Bhamo. \u201cThe big companies pay [the military] well, so they aren\u2019t stopped or arrested. Only small-scale gold miners who cannot pay are arrested.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Armored<\/div>
Armoured vehicles drive through Myitkyina, Kachin State on 3 February 2021, shortly after the military coup.\u00a0(Image: STR\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Ting Sau, the military-appointed Kachin State minister of natural resources and environmental conservation, did not reply to a request for comments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The KIO banned<\/a> gold mining in its territories in December and has since stopped gold mining in Nam San Yang village, which is under partial KIO control. Colonel Naw Bu, the KIO\u2019s information officer, said during a phone interview that the KIO was investigating the few remaining gold mining operations in territories where it exercises control and that it is prepared to lose tax revenue as a result of any crackdown. But he added that the coup and ongoing fighting<\/a> against the military has hindered the KIO\u2019s ability to address gold mining in other parts of the state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Recommended<\/span><\/span><\/div><\/a>\n\n\n\n

Several local sources expressed doubt about the KIO\u2019s political will, however. \u201cThe reason our village has been destroyed like this is that [the KIO] doesn\u2019t take serious action against gold mining \u2013 they only stop it for show,\u201d said a villager from Nam San Yang.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The activist from Sumprabum also said he has little hope that the gold mining boom will be brought under control. \u201cOnly two groups are benefiting from [gold mining]: wealthy businessmen and those who use the name of the government,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen they destroy the natural environment and resources, we feel like they are cutting off our legs.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A gold rush is increasingly despoiling rivers in Kachin state, polluting water with mercury, destroying riverbanks and farmland, and disrupting the traditional way of life of the region\u2019s ethnic groups<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20000283,"featured_media":20089575,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[758],"tags":[13887,50003602,566,20000341],"hashtags":[],"country":[20000117],"class_list":["post-20089236","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","tag-conflict","tag-human-rights","tag-mining","tag-water-pollution","country-myanmar"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nIn the wake of coup, gold mining boom is ravaging Myanmar<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A gold rush is despoiling rivers, polluting water with mercury, destroying riverbanks and farmland, and disrupting traditional ways of 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Laiza, Kachin, Myanmar - Chinese gold miners shovel heavy silt for a second pass to separate the lighter elements from the heavier ones at a gold mining site near Laiza, Kachin State, Myanmar. 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