ENVIRONMENT: Earth Day report slams Minera Panama
An Earth Day report by the movement Panama Worth More Without Mining adds to the list of 200 “serious” breaches of environmental commitments in the latest inspection reports from the Ministry of the Environment (MiAmbiente), regarding the Cobre Panama project, in Donoso, Colón.
The additions include the felling of 876 hectares above the authorized area, the non-reforestation of 1,300 hectares, the discharge of waste from the tailings tank into natural bodies of water without official endorsement, as well as the debt of $11 million to MiAmbiente
In the note, the movement assured that the felling of 876 hectares is an area that additionally brings the impacted surface to almost 3,000 hectares, in an area of high biodiversity and international importance. the reports show another serious non-compliance related to forest cover, the project has not fulfilled the reforestation commitments included in its Environmental Impact Study as compensation for the authorized felling,” said the movement that groups 36 organizations of environmentalists, conservationists, and educators, among others. Regarding the impacts on water resources, the organization cited that one of the MiAmbiente reports highlighted that the project maintains the discharge of process residues into natural water bodies without permission from the ministry. “By not having the corresponding permit for the Final Discharge of the Settling Tunnel [to the river] del Medio the water from the Tailings Tank Process, it has and causes negative impacts on the natural ecosystems and human populations adjacent to and dependent on the bodies of water subject to discharge through the contribution of possible dangerous pollutants such as heavy metals, etc.”.
