Cement, Energy and Environment July-Sep 2002

deve loping world - being ranked 124, mu ch lowe r than non– democrati c states such as Saudi Arabia (7 1) or China (96)? Well, it doesn' t. One of the reasons democ rati c in stitutions fail to de live r, says the report, is that ·'burea uc rats are underpa id, overwo rked or both. " Now this seems like a joke for anyone who has set a foot in a government office in India. The report points out that democracy has been reduced to electoralism in many countries. It also talks about decentralisation of power to local governments. "Only ifaccompanied by strong support to communi ty g rou ps can decentralization empower ordinary peop le,'· it recommend s . Fo r exampl e, in Indi a, most state governments are yet to make any prog ress on Panchayati Raj instituti ons. The report doesn' t discuss how poorest people in the deve lopi ng countri es rel y on the natural resources, and how thi s base is degraded and poll uted afte r government s - many of them democratic - have take over the ownership of these resources away from the communities. The report gives short shrift to environmental concerns. So what does it say about internati ona l democracy? lt gives the example of the appointments to top financial bodies. "Formally, all membe rs of th e IMF and World Ban k exec uti ve boards are supposed to appointthe institutions' presidents. But by convent ion , Europeans select a cand idate for di recto r of IMF and th e US gove rnment selects the head of the Wo rld Bank." Thi s lack of democracy also shows in the World Trade Organisation. "Although all countries have a seat and a vote in the WTO, actua l decision-making occurs in the "green room" - the small group meetings convened by the direc tor-gene ra l and heav il y r.r.tl &:6:.11 influenced by Canada, the European Un ion, Japan and the United States. Mos t developing countri es are usually excluded." Courtesy: Down to Earth, Aug 3 / , 02, P-20. Fax: 91-11-6085879 Email: cse@cseindia.org Web: www.cseindia.org UNDERMlNING SUSTAINABILITY KushaI PS yadav The rec ent launch of the Mi ning, Minerals and Sustai nable Devel opment (MMSD) project report initi ated by the Gl'oba l Mining Initi ati ve (GMI ) - a conglomerate of the world's leading mining companies- seems a step in this direction. In the last decade after the Rio conference, the mining sector has been at the receiving end across the globe with regard to its poor environmental track record. Qu ite unde rstandab ly, therefo re major mining compan ies which did not evince much interest in the Rio conference. appear a concerned lot today. Through initi atives· like the MMSD, the indu stry seems a ll geared up to improve its tainted image. The project, was th e bra in child of I0 major mini ng companies, which are a part of the mining and minerals working group of th e Ge neva- based World Busin ess Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD).The repm1 acknowl edges the poor environmental co nd iti ons in the mining sector. However, non-governmental organi satior.s (NGOs) and experts working closely with mining issues have rejected the project. "MMSD is a knee-jerk reaction of the mining industry to put fo rward a humane face to dirty extractions that they are under1aking,'' says Ravi R Pragada, national convenor, M'ines, Minerals & People. an NGO working with mining issues. The MMSD report, circula ted at the fourth Preparatory Committee Meeting (Prepcom IV) for WSSD at Bali , Indonesia. in May was also criticised . Accord ing to a release from Jatam, an Indonesian NGO wo rki ng c lose ly w ith loca l communities affected by mini ng, Prepcom IV is a sham where in peopl e's organisations are drawn into meetings, inwhich they get ve ry little offi cial recognition and c learly exe rc ise no in fluence on the chairperson's text. "The min ing companies are following the track- !I mode as they want dia logues and partnershi ps with the NGOS and other civi l society organisations. But they are not add ress ing th e key iss ues : forging par1nerships with the local communities affected by mi ning:· says ·rragada. Activi sts affirm th at indigenous people in most pari s of the world have rejected the dialogue and partne rshi p o ffe red by the mining comp ani es. ..S uch pa rt nerships remind us of the indi sc ri minate killi ng of triba l people in Orissa in December 2000 when they refused to give up their land for mining operations:· says Pragada. "The companies and the NGOs which work with them follow the slogan " Digging for change'," adds Pragada. The NGOs are convinced that the mini ng indu stry wil l be successfu l in press ing fo r susta inab le mi n ing th rough the MMSD project. And it seems that the voice of the indigenous people will once again go unheard. Courtesy: Down to Earth, Aug 31, ()2. P- 13. Fax: 9 1-11-60858 - 9 Email: cse@cseindia.org IVeb: wwwcseindia.org GLOBAL WARMING: BUSH FEELS TilE HEAT US Pres ident George Bush's fa ilure to adopt a comprehensive