Mozambique: CIP launches study on Chinese mining activities causing community discontent

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Mozambique: CIP launches study on Chinese mining activities causing community discontent

9:02 CAT | 29 Feb 2024

Photo: CIP

A study presented in Maputo on Wednesday concluded that the mining activity carried out by Chinese companies in Mozambique is causing community discontent due to the destruction of livelihoods and environmental degradation.

Called “Environmental crimes committed by Chinese mining companies in Mozambique”, the study was conducted by the Centre for Public Integrity (CIP) that analysed the actions of three companies operating in the provinces of Gaza (south), Zambézia (centre) and Nampula (north), between August and December 2023.

“Mining projects have a unique potential to accelerate the country’s development, but there is weak government oversight and poor attention paid by companies to environmental issues, which results in the violation of communities and discontent,” said Mery Rodrigues from CIP’s environmental governance department, citing the study’s findings.

The mining activities of the companies analysed have resulted in the loss of communities’ livelihoods, such as preventing access to fields, resettling populations in areas prone to flooding and blocking access to water sources, said Rodrigues.

In terms of environmental crimes, the study noted the destruction of dunes and vegetation, alteration of environmental quality, with a negative impact on soil and water, and the blocking and diversion of water resources, causing coastal erosion and loss of biodiversity.

“The host communities [of the mining projects] complain about the ‘modus operandi’ of the companies, which have not improved the quality of life of the populations. On the contrary, they have reduced it,” emphasised Mery Rodrigues.

Rodrigues noted that, “in recent decades, Mozambique has received several projects related to mining, which generate expectations to boost the growth of communities and the country’s economy, however, they have been registering negative results,” said Rodrigues.

The CIP called on the judicial authorities to hold the perpetrators of environmental crimes accountable and on the government to step up inspections of companies in the mining sector. “We recommend that the government strengthen measures to protect the environment and the rights of communities and that it step up the fight against corruption,” he said.

Américo Zimba, a magistrate from the Attorney General’s Office, speaking on behalf of this institution, pointed to advances in the training of investigators and judicial operators in matters of environmental crimes, acknowledging that there are still challenges to stop offences against the environment.

“We have been working to prevent and combat environmental crimes within the scope of our strategic plan,” Zimba emphasised.

Investigators and magistrates, he continued, have been trained to become more aware of environmental crimes and better able to interpret legislation in this sector.

Source: Lusa