Pitfalls and Pipelines - Philippine Indigenous Peoples Links

16 Pitfalls and Pipelines: Indigenous Peoples and Extractive Industries
of Indigenous Peoples quotes this migration process as the
transition of “ecosystem people” into “ecological refugees,”
describing the negative effects of the continuous reallocation
of a significant number of the Adivasi (indigenous/tribal peoples)
of India as a result of large-scale developments projects. 39
Mining companies emphasize the employment and livelihood
opportunities. Yet employment levels in mining are in
severe decline, thanks to increasing automation that almost
certainly require skilled operators from outside the local area.
Employment opportunities for locals are often limited to unskilled
short-term labor or security positions. Mining remains
as one of the most hazardous industries in which to work, with
regard to levels of accidents at work and fatalities in the industry.
It should be noted, however, that open-pit mechanization
leading to large-scale job losses has meant that with fewer
workers, fewer people are killed in mining accidents. 40
The true potential costs and benefits of mining are seldom
understood due to a serious failure to recognize and respect
more sustainable livelihood activities that are adversely affected
by mining. Many of these activities may be difficult
to quantify using the standard tools of economics. The loss
of livelihoods in hunting, agriculture, fisheries, small-scale
mining and other traditional and alternative modern livelihoods
frequently far exceeds the benefit of paid jobs generated
in mining. Such livelihood losses are rarely accurately
recorded. While the mining companies may report billions of
taxes paid to the government, the state has seemingly failed
in redistributing the benefits, especially to those directly impacted
by the mines. Poverty and poor social services remain
endemic, particularly in communities hosting the mines.
Research conducted in Benguet province in the Philippines
(an area with a large number of indigenous peoples) shows a
direct, long-term correlation between poverty and large-scale
mining, and a recent article has drawn attention to the poverty
of Canadian Aboriginals living next to a De Beers diamond
mine in Attawapiskat, northern Ontario. 41
Gender issues: Indigenous women often have respected
and recognized roles in the management of the subsistence
economy of indigenous communities. The destruction of