|
Canadian aluminum plant in Chile
Congratulations to all Port Alberni environmentalists and citizens in sending a
clear message to BC Hydro about their Tebo Avenue plans
Thought you might be interested in this: Aluminum Plant Could Spark Dispute
with Canada
SANTIAGO, Oct 24 (IPS) - The projected construction of a large aluminum plant in
southern Chile could trigger a conflict with Canada, due to the terms of the
trade deal signed by the two countries in 1996, local environmental
organizations warned Wednesday .
Fernando Dougnac, a laywer with the Environmental Prosecutor's Office (FIMA), an
independent organisation, said the trade agreement could be invoked to force the
Chilean state to strictly apply existing laws in the case of the environmental
impact study on the Alumysa aluminum plant project.
In the region of Aysen, 1,500 kms south of Santiago, a Canadian company, Noranda,
plans to build a smelter that would produce an annual 440,000 tonnes of aluminum
by processing alumina, calcinated coal coke, tar and other highly contaminating
elements.
Noranda, ''a firm that has an appalling environmental record,'' is pressing
Chilean authorities to approve the project, in order to seek partners willing to
invest around 2.75 billion dollars, said Manuel Baquedano, president of the
Institute of Political Ecology
Patricio Ramos, coordinator of the ''Regional Citizen Committee for the Defence
of the Aysen Life Reserve'', said the Alumysa project would irreversibly damage
the wilderness areas and pristine rivers that attract tourists to the remote
region, as well as farming, ranching and small-scale fishing activity.
There is a risk that authorities will approve the project, giving priority to
foreign investment and the temporary creation of around 3,000 jobs, without
adequately assessing the environmental, economic and social impact of the
smelter, said Peter Hartmann, director of the Aysen office of the National
Committee for the Defence of Flora and Fauna (CODEFF).
Chile's leading environmental organisations have joined together in a national
alliance, ''Aysen, Life Reserve'', the aim of which is to back the regional
citizen committee's efforts to press the government to exhaustively evaluate the
environmental impact of the Alumysa plant.
Participating in the alliance are CODEFF, the IEP, the National Network for
Ecological Action, FIMA, Geo-Austral, Defenders of the Forest, Greenpeace Chile,
the Terram Foundation and Sustainable Chile.
The 60-day deadline for residents of Aysen to present observations on the
environmental impact study carried out by Noranda expires on Nov 22.
Ramos said the study was ''cryptic'' and difficult for local peasant farmers and
fisherfolk to understand. He also said it covered up essential aspects of the
plant's effects on the Aysen ecosystem and the health of the local population.
The same shortcomings were also mentioned in a report drawn up for the
government National Environment Commission by experts at the Catholic
University.
If approved, the Alumysa plant will represent the single biggest foreign
investment in Chilean history - a fact that could lead authorities to favour
ratification of the project given the economic difficulties currently facing
Chile as a consequence of the cooling off of the global economy.
Hartmann noted that the alumina that would be processed by the plant would be
imported from Jamaica, Brazil or Australia - countries that do not want highly
contaminating aluminum smelters in their territory, he said.<
Large amounts of energy are required to process alumina, equivalent to 30
percent of the cost of aluminum, the final product.
''Energy equivalent to one litre of oil is used to produce each soft drink
can,'' the activist pointed out.
The Alumysa plant would be run on hydroelectric energy obtained by damming three
rivers in the Aysen region. The dams would flood nearly 10,000 hectares of
forest, farmland and pastures, and jeopardise five threatened species native to
southern Chile.
The aluminum plant would occupy a surface area over one- kilometre long and
700-metres wide. The project would also entail the construction of a port
capable of handling large ships, and around 70 kms of roads.
Dougnac said that since objections to the Canadian company's environmental
impact study have been raised, local authorities are under the obligation to
freeze approval of the project.
The lawyer said Chile's constitution and environmental legislation recognised
the right of local citizens to live in areas free of pollution.
The national environmental alliance will use all available legal resources to
block approval of the project and force Noranda to carry out a more serious and
exhaustive impact study, he added.
But if local legal initiatives fail to prosper, the free trade accord signed
with Canada in 1996 could be invoked, he warned.
In that treaty, Chile and Canada agreed to rigorously apply their environmental
legislation. They also agreed on the possibility of referring complaints of
violations of the laws in either of the two countries to a dispute settlement
mechanism. (END)
Copyright © 2001 IPS-Inter Press Service.
All rights reserved.
Stuart Hertzog
=====================================
stuart_hertzog@telus.net
research, writing, editing, design and media relations
1619 Store Street #200,
Victoria, B.C.,
Canada V8W 3K3
(250) 361-3436 (office) (250) 889-3436 (cell)
=====================================
|