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Global Coal Management Phulbari Coal Mine
The British company Global Coal Management (GCM) want to build an open-cast coal mine, near Phulbari in north-west Bangladesh.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is considering giving a loan to this project. The Bangladesh government has to give final authorisation before the mine can go ahead.
Update: The ADB has withdrawn from the project see:
Blow for British coal company’s controversial mining plans
Local people are opposed to the project and their views are being ignored. Information on the ground implies there has been no genuine public consultation.
There is strong opposition to the mine. Forty-two community leaders from the Phulbari area have written to the ADB opposing the mine and 63 international NGOs have publicly echoed their demand.
Update: following pressure from WDM and other NGOs Royal Bank of Scotland have sold their shares in CGM see:
Royal Bank of Scotland sells its shares in Phulbari mine scheme
Watch WDM's short film about Phulbari (Youtube), and the full length documentary: The Blood Soaked Banner of Phulbari.
On the 24th April Tim Jones from WDM and Jennifer Kalafut from the International Accountability Project (IAP) attended the Barclays AGM and demanded Barclays disassociated itself from the project because of environmental and social concerns.
Watch Jennifer’s update to WDM (YouTube)
Update: After thousands of WDM supporters emailed Barclays bank, Barclays sold its shares in Global Coal Management a UK company pushing through a controversial mine in Bangladesh contract with Nepal. More
Update: UK government withdraws support for the mine. More
Impacts of the mine
Resettlement
GCM have acknowledged that at least 40,000 people will be forced to leave their land by this project, and stated that it will compensate these people to some extent. Most agricultural workers in the area do not own the land they work on, and will receive little compensation. Furthermore, an expert committee analysing the impacts of GCM’s plans say that there is no way the same amount of land can be bought locally, or in other parts of Bangladesh, with the compensation money.
Access to clean water
There is evidence that thousands of people in the area surrounding the mine will receive lower quality water as a result of the draining of the water level by the mine..There are also major concerns about toxins from the mining process contaminating the water system.
Food security
There is likely to be a knock-on impact on food security from the Phulbari mine. Bangladesh is already one of the most densely populated countries on Earth, with huge pressures on land. The Phulbari mine will result in a large area of fertile agricultural land being taken out of use.
Democratic legitimacy
Forty-two community leaders from the Phulbari area wrote to the Asian Development Bank at the start of 2008 calling for the ADB not to fund the mine. They stated that “we believe that this project will increase the poverty of the local population as well as cause environmental disaster.”
In August 2006 between 20,000 and 100,000 people protested in the area against the mine and Global Coal Management. Three people were killed after Bangladesh government troops opened-fire on the protest. Global Coal Management cannot operate in the area at the moment.
An expert committee says there is a “high risk of social and unrest and conflict” if the relocation of thousands of people is attempted, and “The majority of the local community with whom the Committee exchanged views was against the Phulbari coal project.” If Global Coal Management continue to pursue this project, it appears that there is a risk of further unrest and conflict.
Read a Bangladeshi activist blog about what is happening in Phulbari now
Take action
Support the World Development Movement by making a donation to the campaign
Write to GCM and call on them to stop the project
*The average population density is 1,042 people per square km, compared to 246 people per square km in the UK.
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