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A lack of successful resettlement programmes in Mozambique – NPO

UNSUCCESSFUL RESETTLEMENT
Many households that were resettled to make way for mining operations had limited access to food and water

UNSUCCESSFUL RESETTLEMENT Many households that were resettled to make way for mining operations had limited access to food and water

Photo by Human Rights Watch

6th June 2014

By: Mia Breytenbach

Creamer Media Deputy Editor: Features

  

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Despite a report from independent human rights organisation Human Rights Watch (HRW) in 2013 that indicated the negative impact of the mining industry on the local Mozambique community, it remains unclear whether the government and mining companies operating in the region are implementing lessons learned from earlier shortcomings, says HRW.

The report, titled ‘What Is a House without Food? Mozambique’s Coal Mining Boom and Resettlements’, detailed how local farming communities were displaced to make way for coal mining majors’ operations in the Tete province and how this negatively impacted on local residents’ access to food, water and work opportunities.

HRW senior researcher Nisha Varia points out that, while mining majors Vale and Rio Tinto have taken several steps to improve the situation – such as implementing projects to improve water supply to the new plots and providing new plots of land and financial compensation for resettled communities – mining companies have, nevertheless, disrupted the lives of these communities for years.

“We have yet to see a successful example of a resettlement programme from start to finish in Mozambique,” she remarks.

Released in May last year, the report examined how shortcomings in Mozambique government policy, and mining companies’ implementation thereof, led to the uprooting of largely self-sufficient farming communities who were resettled on arid land far from rivers and markets, says Varia.

Mining Weekly reported last year that many of the 1 429 households that were resettled to make way for Vale and Rio Tinto’s international coal mining operations in Tete, had limited access to food and water and depended on short-term food assistance from the mining companies.

Vale resettled 1 365 households in a newly constructed village, Cateme, and in the urban neighbourhood 25 de Setembro, in the district capital of Moatize, during 2009 and 2010.

In 2011, mining company Riversdale Holdings and Rio Tinto resettled 71 and 13 households respectively in a newly constructed village, Mwaladzi, and at least 388 additional house-holds in 2013.

In addition, India-based mining, steel and power conglomerate Jindal Steel & Power, which also has coal mining operations in Tete province, plans to resettle 484 families.

Legislation Challenges
Varia points out that one of the reasons farmers suffered during this resettlement was the absence of stringent laws and clear policies in this regard. “While the Mozambique government has taken steps to strengthen its legal framework, including a 2012 decree to regulate how resettle-ments are carried out, it still falls short on key protections, for example, pertaining to land quality, livelihoods and grievance mechanisms.”

The government should ensure that it has an adequate regulatory framework in place and the capacity to enforce it, before projects move forward, maintains Varia.

Further, while changes to the country’s mining and oil and gas laws are still pending, she points out, many projects are continuing to move forward.

In addition, Varia notes that the procedures for approvals for mining and/or oil and natural gas operations make it difficult for local communities to provide their input.

“Companies, such as Jindal Steel, can start initial mining work and can inform communities that they must move before the required resettlement action plans and environmental licences have received final approval from government,” she says.

“Considering this, an important responsibility of government is to ensure that resettlements are not implemented unless the process and subsequent results respect the rights of local communities.

“This includes a meaningful and participatory consultation process, access to information and complaints mechanisms, and fair compensation packages that restore and improve impacted communities’ standard of living,” Varia says.

She further notes that, while mining com-panies and government may feel pressure to keep projects moving according to challenging timelines, shortcuts should be avoided, as they can lead to negative, costly and time-consuming problems in the future.

“Mining companies should understand that disseminating information and ensuring that communities participate meaningfully in the design of resettlement plans require a sub-stantial investment in time and effort,” she stresses, adding that promoting transparency and collaborations with local communities and civil society is key.

Another lesson learned from the Tete province resettlements was that government and mining companies did not undertake sufficient com-munication with resettled communities, says Varia, further emphasising that regular three-way communication is critical at all phases of a project – from initial exploration to resettlement plan design and longer-term monitoring.

Further, Varia suggests that there is a significant risk that high growth rates and multibillion-dollar investments in Mozambique will have little impact on the lives of the majority of people in one of the world’s poorest countries, and Mozambicans deserve to have a greater say in how the revenues from these projects are used.

“In addition, governments, such as Australia, Brazil, India and the UK, should monitor the human rights conduct of domestic mining companies operating in Mozambique and should require these companies to report publicly on the human rights impacts of their operations,” Varia concludes.

Edited by Samantha Herbst
Creamer Media Deputy Editor

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