DISPUTE OVER MINING IN NATIONAL PARKS HEATS UP

UNCLAS BOGOTA 000732

SIPDIS
SENSITIVE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EMIN SENV PGOV CO
SUBJECT: DISPUTE OVER MINING IN NATIONAL PARKS HEATS UP


1. (SBU) SUMMARY: A long-running internal GOC dispute over
mining within/around Colombia's national parks and forest
reserves boiled over into public after the Ministry of
Environment (MOE) alleged February 22 that industrial mining
occurs in or near 15 parks, threatening critical
biodiversity. The Ministry of Mines and Energy's Institute
for Geology and Mining (Ingeominas) insists it issues
licenses consistent with Colombia's Mining Code and that the
MOE overstates the environmental effects of mining while
ignoring the activity's vital role in Colombia's economic
development. Many local experts hope the upcoming GOC
decision on a major AngloGold Ashanti gold mining concession,
which is located in a forest reserve, provides clarity on how
the GOC will reconcile this debate between mining and
environment. However, until vague park boundaries and
licensing language that have fueled confusion among investors
and environmental officials are resolved, a long-term
solution appears unlikely. END SUMMARY.

Mining Code: No Operations Within Parks, But Outskirts Okay
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2. (SBU) Colombia's 2001 mining code declared mining within
national parks illegal, while permitting mining on the
outskirts of parks, and mining within forest reserves illegal
without MOE authorization. According to Mario Ballesteros,
the director of Colombia's mine licensing agency, over the
last few decades Ingeominas and authorized regional
authorities have issued 35 licenses near parks or forest
reserves. He reiterated to us that such permits are legal
and that he is frustrated with "completely false" media
reports suggesting that mining occurs inside parks. However,
according to the Director of Technical Operations of National
Parks Emilio Rodriguez, 3 mining licenses (two in Antioquia
and one in Boyaca) authorize operations within parks and 12
directly on park borders. He noted, though, that Ingeominas
issued most of those licenses several years ago, and in error
due to confusion over park limits. He said much of the
debate is based upon lack of clarity on park limits, and that
he does not think Ingeominas purposely violated the mining
code.

Legislation To Protect Other Environmental Areas?
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3. (U) Maria Isabel Vieira, a biodiversity researcher from
the GOC's Humboldt Institute, characterized mining as one of
the most destructive activities to Colombia's parks and
forest reserves, but also to strategically important
environmental areas such as wetlands. She said such
strategic areas should be protected by legislation,
highlighting that water and soil contamination caused by
mining threatens 50 percent of Colombia's wetlands. The
Minister of Environment Juan Lozano, publicly stated that
environmentally strategic areas should have the same legal
protections afforded to parks and forest reserves.
Ballesteros responded to us, however, that the MOE overstates
the environmental effects of mining and fails to acknowledge
that the activity annually contributes USD 6 billion to
Colombia's GDP, providing essential resources for economic
development.

AngloGold Dispute As Litmus Test
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4. (SBU) Local experts, such as the World Wildlife
Foundation's (WWF) Environmental Policy Officer Juan
Espinosa, highlight a pending AngloGold Ashanti license case
as a litmus test for broader GOC efforts to reconcile mining
and environment priorities. In February 2008, the MOE
suspended AngloGold's La Colosa project, as it did not have
MOE authorization to operate in a forest reserve, as the
mining code requires. (NOTE: La Colosa is located in a
Tolima department forest reserve and experts believe that it
may contain as much as 12.8 million ounces of gold.
AngloGold, the world's third-largest gold miner, plans to
spend USD 2.5 billion on the La Colosa mine in the next 2-3
years. END NOTE.) AngloGold representatives publicly claim
that legislation from the MOE is not consistent, stating that
they were not required to have MOE authorization when the
company first began to explore. Rodriguez said AngloGold
knew all along that it needed MOE authorization. He said the
question now is whether political support behind the
operation and the expected economic benefit will cause the
GOC to overlook the legal inconsistencies. (NOTE: President
Uribe announced the finding of the reserve in 2008 and has
publicly supported AngloGold's operation. END NOTE.)

COMMENT: Knowing the Boundaries
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5. (U) With improving security opening greater swathes of
Colombia's richly biodiverse territory to exploration, the
local debate between economic progress and environmental
protection is growing and will intensify. The MOE's ultimate
aim of prohibiting mining near any area that it deems of
strategic environmental importance is unrealistic given how
much of the country could theoretically fall into that
category. Tough economic times also place strain on those
who value biodiversity protection over economic development.
It is now incumbent on the GOC to clearly delineate park and
forest reserve boundaries, as well as clarify the
bureaucratic conflicts in its mining licensing process.

BROWNFIELD