Locals want to be involved

 By JAYNE SAFIHAO

RAMU River faces a major threat of sedimentation, a public forum on the proposed review of mining and environment laws in Madang was told.

At the forum conducted by the Constitutional Law Reform Commission, speakers voiced their concerns about the lack of participation by landowners in the management of their environment.

 Danny, a local from middle Ramu, said as a result of the wash-down from the Ramu nickel mine site at Kurumbukari, sedimentation had built up in the Ramu River and would affect the river system over time.

“The Ramu River is our important food source.

“Pollution and sedimentation will affect the people of middle and lower Ramu too.

“We are worried that a high level of sedimentation can be seen with huge iron off-cuts from pipes and other material being thrown into the river,” he said.

He said while people in the immediate impact areas would benefit from the project, the middle Ramu people and relatives further down the river in Bogia would miss out.

Danny urged the government and project developer to include them in compensation packages as they would also be affected by the impact of the mine.

Joe Maira, the Arabaka local level government president in middle Ramu, said the situation needed immediate government intervention as people’s lives were at risk.

“We do not want to be another Angabanga river case study with statistics to prove that pollution is occurring daily,” he said.

“Our normal lifestyle is being made difficult with what is visible to us.”