Environmental, social and economic costs and benefits

Mining activities are usually located in rural and mountainous areas and can affect farmlands,
rivers and shorelines, where the poorest of the poor are located, namely, the farmers,
indigenous peoples and municipal fishermen.

The fact is that mining cannot be conducted without affecting the land, water, and air
surrounding the site, as well as the various natural resources found in them. Mining involves
the extraction of minerals, but may also involve the use or destruction of non-mineral
resources, such as fresh water, timber, and wildlife. This may also result in health problems,
displacement of people, social divisiveness, even the need to provide PNP and AFP protection
to mining companies. Then there are the disasters that can happen from the cutting of trees,
from siltation and erosion, and accidents from mining structures. All these translate into public
costs.

That is why mining is often cited as an example of what Paul Krugman calls activities that
privatize benefits and socialize costs. This is the social justice issue on mining.

As for the argument that minerals are meant to serve humanity and are the raw materials for
the modern conveniences we use everyday, the point is that, in cases where mining is allowed,
the minerals should be priced at full cost, including environmental, social and economic
costs. Otherwise, our poor who mainly bear these costs would be subsidizing the consumerism
of the rich, both domestic and foreign.

We cannot find the answers to the plight of the poor unless we listen to the poor. In this regard,
you might want to read 3 public documents – the National Rural Congress II of the CBCP in
2007, the Climate Change National Consultations of 2009 and the Summit on Poverty,
Inequality and Social Reform conducted last October to December 2011.

Why climate change? Because the new normal arising from climate change requires a
watershed approach to mitigation, adaptat,ion and disaster management and watersheds are
where the forests and minerals are mostly located. In these conferences, one of the deepest
concerns of the poor are the environmental, social and economic costs of mining.