Environmental Assessment
Volume B-5.1
Mine
Socioeconomics
Ambatovy Project
321
January 2006
•
Care will be taken in the above to plan any mitigation is such a way as
to enable the claimant over the medium term to maintain economic
well-being without becoming dependent on resources provided by the
project on a regular basis. This could include for example negotiating
rights for the claimant with respect to any forest management plan,
training to find an alternative economic activity, establishing alternative
pasture systems, plantations or gardens to ensure a source of forest
products, etc.
With specific regard to water resources, this is of concern at the mine site and at
the tailings facility. The impact assessment concludes that downstream water
effects, while not of consequence when assessed on an annual or seasonal basis,
may at specific times result in a) surface water deficits (tailings area) and/or
b) excess surface water flows (mine area) that may be of consequence to farmers.
It is also likely that irrespective of actual effects on the hydrological regime,
people will perceive water quantity problems to be attributable to the mine and
tailings.
There will be individuals who experience or perceive water effects that in turn
affect economic activities and/or health, including paddy rice and baiboho
cultivation, fishing, water supply for small livestock, and water supply for
domestic uses. The project’s community relations staff at the mine site will
ensure that in such events:
•
People are encouraged to come forward with concerns that water effects
are in turn having economic or health effects.
•
Any such claims are investigated in a timely fashion, in conjunction
with a formal grievance and dispute resolution mechanism (see below)
where necessary, such that claims can be resolved at no cost to the
claimant.
•
Where water supplies are demonstrated to have been affected by the
project with a resultant economic or health effect, means are negotiated
to mitigate that effect by the project, or compensation in the event of
economic effects.
•
Where water supplies are thought not to have not been affected by the
project, this is either satisfactorily explained and accepted by the
claimant, or there is recourse to assist with water management such that
the claimant can be confident the project is not materially affecting
economic well-being. It is noted that whereas there are areas well
beyond any potential project effect for which claims are likely to be
judged spurious, there is a zone of uncertainty between the boundaries
of the project footprint and floodplains up to 10 km downstream in the
six watersheds potentially affected by the mine site.
