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Recommendations / Areas for Future Research The information presented in this article has highlighted some of the key challenges confronting groups interested in mitigating the negative impacts of mining in Burma. More research is needed to identify which areas should be prioritized. ERI recognizes that action on them is extremely unlikely given the current political situation inside Burma. Nonetheless, ERI presents them here to highlight three key areas where improvements are urgently necessary. Additional research to further target these recommendations and to improve awareness concerning the dangers mining presents to human beings, especially women, and the environment is planned. Gender - The SPDC adhere to the United Nations “Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women” (CEDAW), which it signed in 1997. As a state party, Burma has the obligation under international law to uphold all articles enshrined in CEDAW, including to stop any discrimination against women in the field of employment, health care and to take into account the particular problems faced by rural women.
- Mining companies, while not directly party to CEDAW, respect its principles and ensure that their policies do not discriminate against women in the workplace or result in the sexual exploitation of women.
- The SPDC create an independent agency to conduct future social impact assessments and environmental impact assessments taking into account gender analysis in order to avoid conflicts of interest.
- The Ministry of Women and the “Myanmar Women’s Affairs Federation,” a national membership controlled by the SPDC, take concrete steps to monitor and to protect the rights of women who work in and around mining sites.
- The Ministry of Health immediately improve its efforts to raise awareness regarding HIV/AIDS throughout Burma, particularly in rural areas near mining sites. HIV/AIDS infection rates in these areas indicate that past efforts to educate at-risk populations and to provide condoms to prevent the transmission of sexually transmitted diseases has been woefully inadequate.
General Environmental Regulations - The SPDC replace outdated laws and replace ineffective environmental provisions to bring them into accordance with its 1994 Environmental Policy and the UN-supported national action plan for the environment known as “Myanmar Agenda 21.”
- The SPDC strengthen the National Commission for Environmental Affairs (NCEA) by empowering it to enforce existing laws and other regulations regarding environmental issues. Additionally, the NCEA should be provided with sufficient human and financial resources to accomplish this task.
- The SPDC reform the system for administering and enforcing environmental laws, which is currently organized along sectoral lines and is highly inefficient. In most cases, the laws are concerned with licensing requirements (by ministry) and refer to environmental protection in vague terms where they are mentioned at all.
- The SPDC revise and enforce penalties for violating environmental laws. Fines and other deterrents should be adjusted to account for the differences in comparative wealth of individuals, Burmese companies, and foreign companies in order to avoid situations where it is more cost-effective to damage the environment instead of preventing the harm in the first place.
- The SPDC offer financial and other incentives to state-owned enterprises and private sector actors to manage the country’s natural resources in a sustainable fashion.
Mining-Specific Regulations - The SPDC ban and take immediate legal action against individuals and companies using ecologically damaging techniques, such as:
- Hydraulic mining, a practice that has been outlawed throughout the world;
- “Deep trenching,” which involves cutting deep trenches across the farmland; and
- The indiscriminate use of mercury, cyanide, sulphuric acid, and other chemicals to leach precious metals and minerals from extracted ore.
- The SPDC enforce Section 12(a) of SLORC Law No. 8/95. This section contains language requiring that:
- All applications to the Ministry of Mines conduct an environmental impact assessment (EIA) prior to receiving official approval to extract minerals, gems, and precious metals; and
- The Myanmar Gems Trading Corporation investigate whether the environment, flora and fauna, highways, religious property, and/or items of cultural heritage would be negatively affected by mining activities. Laws and regulations in both these areas should be strengthened.
- The SPDC repeal the section of the SLORC Law No. 8/94 (Myanmar Mines Law of 1994) which states that no mining company is liable to prosecution or fines.
- The SPDC promulgate laws that permit citizens whose health and/or livelihoods are harmed by mining activities, including downstream pollution, to file lawsuits and receive adequate compensation for their injuries.
- The SPDC create specific laws for governing water pollution. The general provision in Section 3 of the Public Health Law of 1972 and the guidelines issued by the Myanmar Investment Commission in June 1994 are inadequate to address the pollution problems caused by mining operations and other heavy industries.
- The SPDC prepare and distribute information regarding the environmental and health risks connected to artisanal mining. Such information should be available in both oral and printed form and in the country’s major ethnic languages.
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