Social Organizations demand compliance with the Prohibition of Metal Mining
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- Published: Thursday, 26 December 2019 02:45
Gloria Silvia Orellana - Co Latino
"Two years after the Law on the Prohibition of Metal Mining was passed, its application is yet to be implemented," expressed Rodolfo Calles from CRIPDES / ACAFREMIN. Along with a group of environmental organizations, Calles demanded the government of President Nayib Bukele, to resume actions in this matter and give protection to the population affected by the metal mining industry.
Among the specific requests of the organizations, UNES, ADES, CRIPDES and ACAFREMIN, there is the allocation of sufficient economic resources to execute various actions related to mine closures and for transforming the economic activities of artisanal miners (güiriceros). Finally, the organizations requested the drafting of regulations to apply the Law of Prohibition of Metallic Mining through different government institutions.
El Salvador is the first country in the world to ban metal mining in its entirety, in March, 2017; but who were the precursors of this victory?
The Law that prohibits mining in El Salvador was approved more than two years ago. Along with the law, key measures that needed to be implemented, such as the technical closures of the abandoned mines and remediation measures for environmental damage, remain absent. The government of the FMLN (Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front) had two years to enact these measures and it failed to do so. As such, the Roundtable against Metal Mining has asked the new government of Nayib Bukele to resume the actions still pending from the approval of the Metallic Mining Ban.
Members of the National Roundtable against Metal Mining requested the President of the Republic, Nayib Bukele, to implement the Ban of Metal Mining, to address problems faced by mining affected communities in country.
