ANTH 206 Lecture 11: 11
8 Jun 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
10/26/17- Caroline Seagle Lecture (not testable)
• CEDA (Canadian international development agency). Dissolved during Stephen Harper's legacy-
driven by mining-led development.
o Link sustainable development through mining companies
o Canadian mining is prominent globally in South and Central America, expanding especially
towards Africa
• Rio Tinto is a Quebec ilmenite mine in Madagascar. Cut down trees, create big artificial lakes for
mineral to float to surface. Sent to Quebec to be processed into a white pigment.
o 20% owned by state, 80% by Rio Tinto.
o Multi-billion dollar project
o Forest that needs to be cut down
o Heralded as leader in green mining
• Sustainability Narratives
o 1999- major mining companies came together and defined land access as a problem.
Launched GMI, sustainability consciously adopted as catchphrase
o Lots of new partnerships and win-win scenarios- mining improves life and ecosystems
• Destructive mining is still happening- these discourses are "ethical capitalism"
o Corporate social responsibility is an industry of its own, lots of media attention
o Corporate paternalism, politics of care (not doing harm, doing good)
o Sustainability industry, corporate sector is pillar according to IUCN
• Madagascar
o Land as a social body, anchors social relations. Blurred boundaries between nature and
culture.
o Environmental impacts: deforestation. Won't replace biodiversity, replace with eucalyptus
and acacia plantations (given as compensation to local groups, doesn’t reflect culture of the
people).
• Colonial memory of land appropriation
o Importance of land- land of ancestors, farmland, spiritual and economic connection with
land
o Resettlement due to rock quarry- money given did not equal value of land taken.
o Replacement land ill-suited for cultivation, schools and health clinics appreciated but not
what people wanted/needed. Lots of pressure on land, people forced onto government land
• Integrated Compensation Package
o Ecotourism, agriculture productivity, plantations, restorations, conservation, improved
fishing
o Improved fishing: offered as compensation, inverted impacts of mine by turning
compensation into sustainable development, ignore impacts
▪ Dam built to supply water for mine. Cut salt water from fresh water, major impact on
nearby village, drop in income and food security
▪ Rio Tinto claimed that local populations were degrading estuary prior to arrival and
mine
▪ Villagers say that Rio Tinto gave them "sustainable" fishing nets after Weir dam was
built, weren't any fish left anyway
▪ Villagers fined for using local "unsustainable" nets
o Decimation of mahampy, local livelihood source for women
▪ Women given handicrafts training
Document Summary
10/26/17- caroline seagle lecture (not testable: ceda (canadian international development agency). Dissolved during stephen harper"s legacy- driven by mining-led development: link sustainable development through mining companies, canadian mining is prominent globally in south and central america, expanding especially towards africa, rio tinto is a quebec ilmenite mine in madagascar. Cut down trees, create big artificial lakes for mineral to float to surface. Sent to quebec to be processed into a white pigment: 20% owned by state, 80% by rio tinto, multi-billion dollar project, forest that needs to be cut down, heralded as leader in green mining. Sustainability narratives: 1999- major mining companies came together and defined land access as a problem. Blurred boundaries between nature and culture: environmental impacts: deforestation. Won"t replace biodiversity, replace with eucalyptus and acacia plantations (given as compensation to local groups, doesn"t reflect culture of the people): colonial memory of land appropriation. Lots of pressure on land, people forced onto government land.
