Carmen Jamal
How A Beloved
Gemstone Became A Symbol Of Environmental Tragedy In Myanmar
The beloved Jade gemstone has long been apart of China's
history and culture, but the source of the stone has its own history and has
caused years of agony to a small town in Myanmar. The stone is mined in the
town of Hpakant, Myanmar’s northernmost Kachin state. Long before this area was
overpopulated, it was a place of few miners and many of the residents lived off
the land. The streams were clean and full of freshwater oysters that were
harvested by the locals that lived there and were known as n-hypa law in the
Jing paw language. Today, many of the new generations do not know the once-popular oyster because they are no longer found in their streams. This is all
due to the environmental devastation and havoc that’s been caused by having
mountains turned into valleys and these valleys transformed into mining
grounds. Many rivers have been turned upside down causing shifts in the
environment.
Due to the accelerated mining over the past two decades, a
landslide occurred on July 2nd killing nearly 200 townspeople, many of them
miners who worked the mine for the jade stone. This is only one of many
environmental catastrophes that have happened due to jade mining. Many locals
and environmental rights activists have diligently placed pressure on the
government to take matters into their own hands in order to immediately stop
anymore destruction to the environment and prevent the loss of lives associated
with the mining practices in place at Kachin state.
One of the many concerns for the
environment is the waste left behind after a company’s permit period has come
to an end. There are several mountains called tailings heap heights that are
just mounds of mining waste. Another issue is the mining pits left behind after
the work is complete. These pits fill up with rainwater that turns them into
lakes. After some time, this water runs up the waste heaps and has the
tendency to cause landslides that result in human loss. It is mandating that
any tailings that exceed 500 ft from a water source need to be disposed of
but many times this is ignored. Due to this ignorance, many villages have washed
away from the buildup of sediment in the streams.
A breakthrough came in 2016 when the government had mining
licenses come to a complete halt until the companies completed the
Environmental Impact Assessments as well as submitting environmental management
plans that included ways the company would dispose of the waste. Unfortunately,
many companies have found loopholes to get around having to follow the new
regulations and continue their illegal work in mining according to Global
Witness.
If companies continue to pile mining waste and the
government does nothing to prevent this the environment will continue to get
worse in those areas and lead to further destruction. Companies need to stop
the mining process in Hpkant to help heal the environment and the eradication
they have caused. Most importantly the companies should be held accountable by
the government to clean up the damage they have continued to inflict on the environment
and help rehabilitate the ecosystem in this area. This could be done by
implementing stricter regulations, harsher fines, or immediate closure of
production. This issue isn't just in Myanmar but around the world and without
laws and enforcement of those laws, major companies will continue to fend the
land and undermine future repercussions.
-Source
Fishbein, Emily, Lamung Myat,
Aung. How a Beloved Gemstone Became a Symbol of Environmental Tragedy in
Myanmar. (2020, September 29). NPR.
https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2020/09/29/915604532/how-a-beloved-gemstone-became-a-symbol-of-environmental-tragedy-in-myanmar
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