Isn’t this mine destroying the Amazon rain forest?
That’s not the case at all. In fact, Alcoa has created a new model for sustainable development in the region that hopefully will re-define how projects are carried out in the future. The effort stems from the initial commitment: “Alcoa will mine bauxite and return the area to the same, if not better, condition than when we initially arrived.”
The Juruti Project will mine – and re-vegetate – a total of 6,000 hectares over a period of 40-60 years. That’s equivalent to one day’s worth of the current deforestation in the Amazon over the next 40-60 years according to the latest data published by Brazil’s Ministry of the Environment. However, recognizing that no permanent deforestation is acceptable, Alcoa has already been working with NGO’s and re-forestation experts for years to ensure that the mined-out areas will be totally re-vegetated with native species. On top of that, for every worker who finds a job and earns a good wage for his family within the mine we reduce pressure on deforesting the region.
For example:
For every Brazil nut tree removed during the mining process, Alcoa will replant 10 trees.
For every other species of tree impacted during the process, Alcoa will replant 2 trees for each tree removed.
An example of the care Alcoa will take as part of its operations: the Company will keep a log of all trees impacted during mining, report the details of the logs to the government, and present actions steps on how each will be replaced.
In all, Alcoa estimates it will plant 15 million trees over the next 50 years in the Juruti region.
To help with agricultural and economic development programs in the region where the average per capita income is approximately $23 a month, local villagers will help raise saplings used in replanting and sell them to Alcoa as part of the rehabilitation process.
Basic mining operations will treat the earth with care and help ensure the land is preserved and ready to be returned to its natural state. The bauxite in Juruti is approximately 12 meters from the surface (photo below). The top layer of soil is moved to the side, the bauxite is mined, and then the layer of soil is carefully replaced and then the trees and vegetation are re-planted.
What do the people in the community think about the project?
A poll published in May 2008 showed there is wide-spread support for the Juruti mine locally. An opinion poll conducted by IBOPE [Brazil’s leading public opinion research institute] showed nearly nine out of ten people in the community are either favorable to the project (54%) or are neutral (35%). Additionally, 61% state that Alcoa’s mine in Juruti improved theirs and their families’ lives; 64% view the project as important for themselves and their families; 76% consider it important for Juruti’s development; and 79% see the mine as important for the development of Pará State.
You say you are going to protect the environment, but what are you doing to make that happen?
Since the beginning of the project, we have held various preliminary meetings and public hearings with community leaders, public and private institutions and other stakeholders in Juruti, Santarem and Belem, in which some 6000 people have taken part. These meetings gave rise to the Environmental Control Plans (PCAs).
Environmental Control Plans bring together all the actions and measures that minimize, compensate for or amplify the beneficial potential of the environmental impacts identified in the Environmental Impact Study (EIA) in specific programs. In parallel with the introduction of the bauxite mine, Alcoa is carrying out a series of programs by the Environmental Control Plans and making funds of some US $18 million available for projects ranging from climate, air quality and noise monitoring; flora and fauna monitoring; and solid waste management.
For more information on the numerous Environmental Control Plans (PCAs), please click here.
What is Alcoa doing to ensure the project follows sustainable development practices?
Alcoa has spearheaded the creation of the Sustainable Juruti Project, comprised of an independent consulting council with representation of nine civil society organizations, three government authorities and three private companies – all from Juruti – to discuss and guide Juruti’s sustainable development. An investment fund was also set aside by Alcoa to implement sustainable development projects recommended by the Council. These efforts have been referred to as a prototype for sustainable development in extensive coverage by other media.
For more information on the Council for a Sustainable Juruti, please click here.
Isn’t Alcoa just doing what is called for in the letter of the law?
Alcoa is going above and beyond what is required of it, because we want to implement the best mining project anywhere in the world from a social, environmental, and operational perspective. In addition to all the obligations imposed by legislation, and also bearing in mind the lack of infrastructure and historic insufficiency of public services in Western Pará, Alcoa is implementing an ambitious program of voluntary investment, in partnership with local government and civil society, in initiatives to improve the life quality of Juruti inhabitants and to assure the region’s long-term sustainability. This program, called “Positive Agenda”, involves a substantial investment in such public works as hospital construction and expansion, education, water supply system, drainage, sanitary landfill, construction of a courthouse and several others. For more information on the Positive Agenda, please click here.
Isn’t the norm for a project like this for a company to build separate communities for the management to live in? You’re not even going to be a part of this community.
We work with the premise that society today will no longer tolerate static mining projects in which the board and the management live in gated communities with golf courses, stores and restaurants…in absolutely disparate realities, divorced from what is on the other side of the wall.
Rather, our management team will live in the community in which we operate. The issues that arise in the community will be felt and addressed by our management as they live there. We believe this is the right approach to take in Juruti.
You say you want to create a benchmark project, so what is your plan?
The plan calls for a model that is different than other projects in the region. It is a three-pronged model to practically implement the local sustainability goals. The model includes:
Creation of a Local Development Forum, with the effective participation of all the interested parties to discuss a common future serving the public interest, prioritize actions, and formulate a long-term agenda.
Construction of Sustainable Development Indicators, to institute the process of monitoring the development of Juruti and surrounding area and contribute to the public decision-making process.
Creation of a Sustainable Development Fund, to raise money and invest in the demands identified when monitoring the development in Juruti and the surrounding area and by the priority targets set in the forum.
For more information on the model