NAMA Embarks on Area Monitoring, Media Campaign

The Negros Anti-Mining Alliance (NAMA), the provincial network of civil society, church and environmental groups, continue to undertake its media campaign and area monitoring work on persisting threats of coastal/offshore mining in the province.

Aside from the monthly regular meetings, NAMA thru the facilitation of Philippine Rural Reconstruction Movement (PRRM)-Negros, its provincial Secretariat and implementing NGO recently held local area monitoring to check on cases of reported coastal quarrying and small reclamations. NAMA also initially held its strategic project planning to define and chart the course of the new project which is funded by the Coalition on Human Rights and Development.

As of press time, the most alarming and pervasive coastal/offshore mining threats in Negros are the pending applications of 11 big coastal mining projects in Department of Environment & Natural Resources.

This May PANEG-CA leaders from various areas with support from. NAMA/PRRM-Negros Office conducted media campaign with various radio stations and aired their continuing opposition to Coastal and marine mining and these posed serious environmental harms and high safety risks to small fishers, coastal communities and livelihoods and their marine ecosystems.

Bacolod City small fisher leader Tay Edwin Espinosa said the NAMA campaign vs coastal mining had initially proved to be a major deterrent against the pending mining applications. ” NAMA’s active work with support from small fishers, PRRM and the Diocese of Bacolod Social Action Center and other environmental allies had proven to be a significant factor in our opposition to black sand mining.’* (Hazel Aghon)