GLOBALIZATION AND ITS IMPACT ON ENVIRONMENT AND HUMAN
SECURITY IN THE ASIA PACIFIC: THE CASE OF CHINA AND PAPUA NEW
GUINEA
Vania Orchid
Arizona State University
Course
Professor Dahlya
March, 2024
Week 3
Introduction
Globalization, characterized by the movement of ideas, people, goods and technology, has
been a global conversation since the 1960s (Scholte 2000:8) and remains of interest today.
One of the main agents of globalization is multinational corporations. Multinational
companies have begun to aggressively launch their economic activities across borders since
the 1970s. Multinational corporations are then known by two characteristics: expansive and
exploitative. These two characteristics also indicate the companies' neglect of the impacts of
their activities. As a consequence, environmental problems such as pollution of soil, water,
air, destruction of forests and crops have emerged. Furthermore, these environmental
problems threaten human life. The regions that are the target of economic expansion and
exploitation as well as reaping the direct impact of the globalization era are the countries in
the Asia-Pacific region. As a region where the majority of members are developing countries,
Asia-Pacific is the main target of multinational companies. The reason is not only because of
cheap labor. Asia-Pacific is also considered promising because the region is still green, vast,
and rich in natural resources.
This paper aims to present the facts of how globalization - in some ways - has brought
negative impacts on the environment which in turn endangers human security in the Asia
Pacific region. The systematization of this paper is as follows: First, this paper will review the
conceptual links between globalization, environmental degradation, and human security.
Second, this paper will focus on the study of economic globalization, especially in the mining
sector in two Asia-Pacific countries including China and Papua New Guinea. Third, it will
present several cases of environmental degradation along with real threats to human security
in these countries which then have an impact on surrounding countries. Next, it will look at
how the government policies of the two countries in solving these problems. Finally, the
paper will conclude. This paper does not intend to generalize that globalization always has a
negative impact on humanity.
Literature Review
The word globalization is often identified with economic activities that aim to
accumulate as much economic capital as possible regardless of borders and regions. Of the
many literatures that discuss globalization, Anderson, Brook, and Cochrane (1995), for
example, refer to the economic aspect as the main driving force of globalization which then
changes the world political order. This is reinforced by Marshall (1999) who says that the
globalization era is strongly influenced by the economic motives of global capitalist agents.
These global capitalist agents, Marshall continued, are driven by multinational companies that
were present after the end of World War II. Aided by the rapid development of science and
technology, which succeeded in transforming human labor into machine labor, the economic
activities of these multinational companies became increasingly advanced. Slowly but surely,
state power is intervened or even weakened by the pace of these multinational companies. The
success of intervening and weakening state power is actually not solely the result of the
efforts of multinational companies. According to Robinson (1996), there are also superstate
agents, high-level world political forums, and transnational elites who are aggressively
working to undermine state power campaigned for the need to minimize the role of the state.
They then created dependence of developing countries on developed countries through debt
schemes in order to accelerate economic development in developing countries. The results are
real. Due to their inability to manage their finances, these developing countries failed to
accelerate their economies and were unable to repay their debts. As a result, they were forced
to accept a scenario called the Structural Adjustment Program, which essentially required
them to liberalize the economy, deregulate the financial sector, and privatize natural
resources, industry, banking, and other public sectors (Casanova, 1996).
With this momentum, multinational corporations found their opportunity to act more
freely. They have slowly eaten into the natural resources of developing countries, causing
severe environmental damage in those countries. According to Gray (2002), current global
economic activity has gone far beyond what was envisioned. Instead of fighting for equitable
prosperity while preserving the environment, multinational corporations are doing the
opposite: widening economic disparities and bringing negative impacts on environmental
sustainability. Developed countries have moved their production fields to developing
countries, worsening the environmental conditions of these countries.
Likewise, Broswimmer (2002) also sees a link between global economic activity and
environmental damage. The current ecological disaster is a consequence of the dominant free
market paradigm, which is considered greedy, expansive and exploitative of nature. This is
further exacerbated by the excessive consumption patterns of the earth's citizens, in addition
to the increasing number of the world's population. It is no wonder then that Broswimmer
calls this century a period of ecological destruction due to the many indications that arise from
environmental problems, from simple ones, such as environmental pollution, to the most
complex ones, such as climate change. These environmental issues are believed to threaten
human security.
According to MacLean (1999), human security is the concept of protecting individuals
from political threats and protecting them from opportunities to prosper. The political threat
can be in the form of violence perpetrated by others while the opportunity to live well is
reflected in the accessibility of individuals to their environment. In short, MacLean defines
human security as security of self, community and environment. Similarly, King and Murray
(2002) define human security as security that centers on humans as individuals. The views of
these scientists then change the understanding of the concept of security itself, which
previously only centered on certain countries or territories and tended to be political, as is
often found in international relations studies, towards humans or individuals where
environmental damage is also considered a threat. However, Anwar (2003) argues that the
concept of human security has not completely shifted from the state to the individual because
each is mutually reinforcing.
Several human security issues caused by environmental degradation have the potential to
result in resource scarcity, conflict and disease. Studies conducted by Rosegrant et al (2002:7)
show that environmental degradation will lead to food scarcity in the future. They also predict
that in the near future there will be a decline in farmers' yields. This is predicted to continue
for decades to come. Similarly, a study by Rosegrant and Cline (2003:1917) also shows how
recent environmental degradation has had a real impact on food scarcity, especially in
developing countries.
Resource scarcity as a result of environmental degradation also has the potential for
conflict. According to Barnett and Agder (2007), environmental degradation has the potential
to cause poverty, which in turn will lead to conflict. Similarly, Reuveny (2007) sees an
interconnection between environmental degradation and migration (relocation), which also
fuels conflict. In addition, environmental degradation is believed to endanger human health,
as McMichael (2000:xiii) states. For him, the seriousness of global environmental degradation
is that human life itself is threatened by extreme climate change, depletion of the ozone layer,
and the loss of biodiversity from the face of the earth. In turn, this leads to a variety of chronic
diseases.
Globalization of Mining: The Case of China and Papua New Guinea
This section will focus on the globalization of the mining sector in two Asia-Pacific countries,
China and Papua New Guinea. It is believed that these sectors have a negative impact on the
environment and threaten human security in their respective regions.
Since Deng Xiao Ping became the number one person in China, the country immediately
implemented an open door policy for foreign investors and ended the era of China's economic
closure for 300 years (Tantri, 2006: 50). Since then, China has undergone a rapid economic
transformation. Starting from government policies that opened up opportunities for
multinational companies to carry out economic activities in the country, China then recorded
itself as a country with the third largest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the world (Liu and
Diamond 2005: 1180). Not only that, according to Walley and Xin (2007), China is even
listed as the highest-ranked country with Foreign Direct Investment, leaving the United States
in second place. This illustrates how China is very open to globalization by providing
opportunities for global economic agents to invest in the country.
One of the most attractive sectors for multinational companies is mining. Based on a
study conducted by Nolan and Zhang (2002), some of the multinational mining companies
investing in China are Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton, and Anglo-American. Later came the names
Eldorado Gold Mining, Jingshan and Sino Gold Mining. Eldorado and Jingshan are Canadian-
owned corporations. Eldorado operates in Tanjiangshan and Jinfeng, while Jingshan has
operated in Inner Mongolia and Ganshu Province since 2007. The corporation has two
business concentrations, namely gold and diamonds. Meanwhile, Sino, an Australian
company, concentrates its operations in Jiling, Heliongjian, Guizou, and Shaanxi Provinces on
gold exploration. In addition, domestic government-owned corporations have also begun to
proliferate with exploration mechanisms no different from multinational companies.
In Papua New Guinea, multinational corporations only arrived in the early 20th century.
However, exploration of the country's natural resources had been going on since the late 19th
century by European miners (Banks, 1993: 315), albeit in a simple form. Rio Tinto was the
first company to conduct mining activities in the country, especially on Bouganville Island
and later on Lihir Island. In the following years, several other multinational companies such
as BHP Billiton and Newmont also entered Papua New Guinea and concentrated their
exploration in Ok Tedi, Woodlark and Tolukuma. The presence of these multinationals
showed how close the government was to them. Recognizing this closeness, the government
prepared policy tools to perpetuate the entry of these corporations through the National
Development Strategy.
This strategy contains instructions on how to bring multinational companies on the
economic stage of Papua New Guinea as it is believed that their presence will generate huge
profits for the country. Evidently, more and more multinational companies have since
invested in Papua New Guinea. As a result, since 1986, two-thirds of the country's economy
has been supported by foreign investment (Daniel and Sims in Banks, 1993: 318-319) with
mining being the most reliable sector. It would not be wrong to say that Papua New Guinea's
economy is highly dependent on the presence of these multinational mining companies.
Environmental degradation
Miracles are happening in China thanks to Deng Xiao Ping's leadership touch. Since the last
30 years, the country's economic growth has almost always been above 8 percent. This is due
to the tremendous pace of industry and trade in China after integrating with the world
economy. However, it seems that the country has to pay a heavy price for its economic
achievements with its impact on the environment. Based on a study conducted by Duan
Yonghou et al (1998 in Wang, 2004), it was stated that the cost of environmental damage due
to industrial activities in China reached 283 trillion yuan per year. According to Wang (2004),
one of the biggest contributors to the damage is from the mining sector which causes damage
to soil, water, air and forests.
Based on a study conducted by Liu et al (2002) in Shaanxi province, mining activities
have damaged soil conditions in several areas namely Yulin, Shenmu, Fugu, Hengshan,
Jingbian, and Dingbian. As a result, the land in these areas has been desertified, which has led
to increasingly limited land use. In addition, desertification also results in the fragile condition
of the ecosystem in the area. Not only in Shaanxi, this kind of condition also occurs in other
Chinese provinces. Actually, mining does not only lead to desertification, but also
deforestation. This deforestation then spurs an increase in the frequency of floods and
landslides, especially in the western part of the country (Wang, 2004:166). While many
debate the relationship between deforestation and flooding, Wang remains convinced that
there is a strong causal relationship between the two.
The activities of mining corporations also pollute water. Evidently, in China, the
industrial waste of mining corporations has poisoned the water there, including that in the
river. According to Li (2006), in 2002 alone, mining waste in China had reached 265.4
million tons. This number is predicted to continue to grow if the mining industry, along with
other industries, continues to boost its activities. Later, due to the large demand for energy
from this industrial sector, China was building a mega hydroelectric power project at Lancang
Jiang. This has drawn protests from neighboring countries because it is considered to damage
the environment in their countries, especially countries around the Mekong river basin (Goh,
2009).
Furthermore, China's air and forests are also threatened by mining activities. In addition
to holding the record for the highest GDP in the world, China also holds the record for being a
major producer of gas greenhouse gases in the world. The country recorded 2.8 million metric
tons of carbon dioxide emissions in 2000 (Liu & Diamond, 2005: 1181). The mining industry
has been blamed as one of the main contributors to air pollution. In the forestry sector, mining
activities have cut down millions of trees and deforested several mountain ranges. With the
damage in these two sectors, China is considered to have accelerated the rise of the earth's
temperature, which also means causing extreme climate change.
In Papua New Guinea, environmental damage from mining also occurs and tends to be
even more severe. According to information obtained by Evans et al (2002), in Ok Tedi, BHP
Billiton has disposed of 80,000 tons of waste per day. This has been going on since the
corporation first started its activities. As a result, the Ok Tedi river changed its color from
clear to brownish, and many animals died from the toxic waste. In fact, before the arrival of
the corporation, the river was filled with fish that became the source of livelihood for the local
community. However, as the river became polluted, the fish disappeared. In addition, on-site
mining activities also eroded the forest to the riverbank (Kirsch, 1996: 1-3).
The environmental damage on Bougainville Island is no less severe. There are around
4000 hectares of land damaged by mining waste. As a result, forests, rivers, bays, and even
the air on the island have been affected. Chemical mining waste is believed to be the main
factor that caused the forests around the mining site to die, the rivers (Jaba and Kawarong)
and Empress Augusta Bay to be polluted, and the air on the island to become dirty. Based on
a study conducted by Gillespie (1996), there are at least 300 hectares of forest damaged by
Bougainville mining activities. The polluted air is caused by a mixture of dust and carbon
emissions from machinery.
Some Threats to Human Security
As described in the literature review, the behavior of multinational corporations in the era of
globalization has now had a serious impact on the environment, which in turn threatens the
security of many people. It is believed that the increase in the earth's temperature to 6 degrees
over the next 100 years will reduce world food production by 60 percent (History, 2010).
According to some scientists, in addition to scarcity of food resources, social conflicts and
chronic diseases are also cited as real threats from environmental degradation.
Based on data from the Food Agricultural Organization (2010), the increasing frequency
of floods has resulted in the destruction of 13 million hectares of crop land in China. The
areas most affected by the floods are Yunnan, Sichuan, Guizhou, Hubei, Chongqing, Anhui,
Jiangxi, Guanxi, Guangdong, Hunnan, Gansu, and Shaanxi. In the next few years, China is
predicted to continue experiencing similar disasters given the country's rapid economic
growth. In addition, climate change has also begun to show its threat. Although food
production in China as a whole is predicted to remain relatively stable until the end of 2010,
wheat production shows otherwise. By the end of 2010, there will be a one percent decline in
wheat production from 115,121 tons to 114,000 tons.
In addition, social conflicts are also threatening China. As Ho (2006) points out, as the
country's forests are depleted by economic activity, social conflicts have begun to emerge
everywhere. China's rural communities are often involved in disputes over forest ownership
with certain companies. The Chinese government is struggling to deal with this. Rules have
been made regarding the relationship between the government, companies and communities.
However, these regulations do not work well in the field. Furthermore, conflicts do not only
occur among the Chinese people but also involve other surrounding countries. Laos, Thailand,
Cambodia and Vietnam are among those affected by the construction of a hydroelectric power
plant in Lancangjiang, Yunnan (Goh, 2009: 1). This power plant is planned to be used to
supply industrial needs in China.
Another impact is disease. As a result of the high levels of air pollution in China, the
population develops respiratory, heart and lung cancer. It has even been reported that
pollution in China has resulted in thousands of deaths in the country each year. The same goes
for water pollution. Notably, around 500 million China's population no longer has access to
clean water. Although the government has launched the construction of giant dams to obtain
clean water, China, especially in the north, still suffers from pollution and lack of clean water.
According to Kahn and Yardley (2007), it has been approximately 60,000 people died from
diarrheal diseases due to this water pollution.
Meanwhile, in Papua New Guinea, resource depletion due to mining activities is also
evident. As stated by Bhavnani (2009), based on the results of his study in the Porgera area,
water contaminated by mining company toxins and waste has resulted in the loss of some
agricultural land in the area. This was followed by a reduction in agricultural production,
leading to food shortages in the country. In addition, the climate change that was predicted to
threaten the country has so far become a reality. Evidently, the existing rainfall has affected
the amount of agricultural production. In the future, as predicted by Bourke and Harwood
(2009), climate conditions will be much more extreme, characterized by rising sea levels and
increasingly erratic rainfall.
The country's problems are exacerbated by social conflict. Local communities in Porgera,
for example, oppose the existence of mining corporations because they destroy the
environment in which they live. Not only that, the existence of these corporations has also
sparked conflicts among the local communities themselves. According to Banks (2008), the
cause is that on the one hand there are community groups that receive benefits from the
company and on the other hand there are those who only receive losses from the activities of
the mining company. Although there are other views on this issue, it cannot be denied that the
presence of the company increases the possibility of conflict.
Like China, Papua New Guinea is also threatened with chronic disease. So far, mining
company waste in the country has caused a variety of diseases including lung and bladder
disease. According to Kepore et al (2008:12), pollution from the company's waste is the main
cause of these diseases, as in their study of local communities in Ok Tedi. Communities are
also fearful of other diseases in the future. As in Ok Tedi, the people of Lihirian also
experience the same fear. They suffer from diseases caused by multinational mining
companies in their area (McIntyre et al 2005: 88).
Government Policy
There is an impression that these two countries tend not to be serious or half-hearted when
addressing environmental issues and their threats. This impression is quite reasonable given
the absence of a meaningful response from the governments of the two countries in resolving
these issues. The Chinese government, for example, with its fantastic economic growth rate, is
not necessarily willing to reduce pollution, such as greenhouse gas emissions, due to
economic activity in the country. Meanwhile, Papua New Guinea tends to play it safe by
implementing half-hearted environmental policies. It will be interesting to see how the
governments of these two countries show their commitment to the environmental problems
faced by their respective countries.
In China, almost every state policy is linked to the economy. In other words, if it is not
economically oriented, it is almost impossible to become a state policy. As a result, these
policies tend to ignore other aspects of life such as environmental sustainability. One example
is the Environmental Protection Law (EPL) created in 1979. Although environmental in
nature, it is actually not used to preserve the environment, but to carry out what is referred to
as 'decollectivization' which means the revocation of common property rights to resources
(Muldavin, 2000: 253-254). 'Decollectivization' marks a shift in the status of resource
ownership rights from the collective to the individual. Instead of aiming for environmental
sustainability, the existing legal instruments open up opportunities for the operation of market
mechanisms in resource management, which in turn damage the country's environment in the
future.
In addition to the EPL, there are several other sets of laws. Some of them are the Water
Pollution Prevention Law of 1982, Forest Law 1984, Grassland Law 1985, and Air Pollution
Law 1987. Unfortunately, these legal instruments are only a mere formality in order to create
the impression that the Chinese government is very committed to protecting the environment
and in line with global commitments to preserve the environment. In reality, the Chinese
government cannot resist the ambition to continuously drive the country's economic sector by
utilizing as many economic opportunities as possible, including the influx of foreign
investment. As a result, despite having a fairly comprehensive set of laws, the country has
proven unable to control the environmental damage that arises from these economic activities
(Beyer, 2006: 209).
Until the 2009 Copenhagen Summit (COP 15), the Chinese government showed its lack
of seriousness towards environmental conservation by not signing the agreement at the
meeting. The reason is, for China, economic growth is the main target. With an average
growth of eight percent each year, China is optimistic that it will become the only global
economic power in the future, beating the United States, provided that the country's economic
growth must be stable without any interruption. Therefore, reducing greenhouse gas emissions
by 40 to 45 percent per unit of GDP by 2020 (Bodansky, 2010: 2), as requested by the
meeting, is considered a stumbling block to China's target. However, at COP 16 held in
Cancun at the end of 2010, China had already shown its good faith. The country, along with
the United States, which is known as the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gases, has
agreed to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases. This means that both China and America
are obliged to reduce their economic activities. It will be interesting to see how China will
implement its new commitment.
Like China, the Papua New Guinea government is also taking half-hearted steps.
Although the country is known to be quite keen on campaigning for the reduction of global
carbon emissions and was one of the leaders in campaigning for the Reduce Carbon Emission
from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) program with Costa Rica at COP 11 in 2005
Mellick (2010: 359), Papua New Guinea does not seem to really want to fight environmental
degradation in its territory, but is only eyeing financial benefits from the program. Papua New
Guinea is considered to have no legal instruments that truly support the implementation of
REDD, in addition to the absence of a clear implementation mechanism and qualified human
resources to implement the program. As a result, instead of getting benefits, the Papua New
Guinea government has to be disappointed because until now it has not received any benefits.
It is interesting to see what Papua New Guinea's environmental laws actually look like.
The country has several laws including the Environmental Planning Act 1978, Conservation
Area Act 1978, Water Resource Act 1982, and National Parks Act 1982. Furthermore, in
1993, the Papua New Guinea government created a policy called the National Sustainable
Development Strategy after attending the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. Finally, in
2000, Papua New Guinea created a new set of laws (the New Environment Act). This law
combines the laws that came before it (Mowbray & Duguman 2006). The aim is to balance
environmental management and conservation in the country.
Despite the many laws protecting the environment, the Papua New Guinea government
has been unable to withstand the onslaught of multinational corporations. Kinley and Tadaki
(2003), notes how Papua New Guinea's parliament had to pass another legal instrument, the
Ok Tedi Mine Continuation Act in 2001, to restore the good name of BHP Billiton, which had
previously been accused of environmental destruction and human rights abuses in the region.
For Kinley and Tadaki, this shows how the country continues to be in the shadow of
multinational corporations. It also signifies that a multitude of laws and regulations do not
guarantee the preservation of a country's environment if they are only half-heartedly
implemented.
Conclusion
Globalization, which is marked by the movement of ideas, goods, people and technology, on
the one hand has brought blessings to many people from various nations and countries.
However, it cannot be denied that globalization also brings threats to them. As this paper
shows, globalization, especially in the mining sector, tends to have a negative impact on
environmental sustainability. Taking the case of the mining sector in two Asia Pacific
countries, namely China and Papua New Guinea, the expansion and exploitation of nature has
resulted in environmental degradation and in turn threatens human security in the two
countries.
Historically, on the one hand, environmental degradation in China and Papua New
Guinea began with the influx of foreign capital from developed countries to developing
countries, characterized by the presence of multinational companies that aim to seek
maximum profit. On the other hand, the governments of the countries concerned welcomed
the arrival of these multinational companies. In the mining sector, for example, the arrival of
multinational companies is even facilitated by state policies such as in China known as the
open door policy and in Papua New Guinea with the national development strategy.
Gradually, the number of multinational companies is increasing. As a result, environmental
damage is increasingly inevitable. Some of the forms of damage found include deforestation,
desertification, soil, water and air pollution.
In turn, this environmental destruction threatens human security. So far, there has been
some evidence of this threat. In China, the activities of multinational mining companies have
resulted in the destruction of forests, contamination of rivers, soil and air, which has led to
respiratory and digestive diseases, and reduced food availability for local communities. In
addition, there have been reports of social conflicts in the areas where these multinationals
operate. The same is true in Papua New Guinea. Mining activities have contaminated the land
and water where local people live depend on for their livelihoods. Furthermore, the presence
of the mining company threatens the food security of the population and ignites conflicts
between local residents there.
Actually, this problem can be solved through government policy. Unfortunately, existing
policies are half-heartedly implemented. To this day, there is no seriousness from the
governments of the two countries. Both China and Papua New Guinea actually have quite a
lot of legal instruments that regulate the relationship between economic activity and
environmental conservation. However, these tools are not enough to overcome the problems
of environmental degradation in their respective countries. Therefore, the commitment to
implement existing environmental policies needs to be wholehearted. Otherwise,
environmental degradation and threats to human security in the two countries will continue to
occur.
Globalization of Mining: The Case of China and Papua New Guinea
This section will focus on the globalization of the mining sector in two Asia-Pacific countries,
China and Papua New Guinea. It is believed that these sectors have a negative impact on the
environment and threaten human security in their respective regions.
Since Deng Xiao Ping became the number one person in China, the country immediately
implemented an open door policy for foreign investors and ended the era of China's economic
closure for 300 years (Tantri, 2006: 50). Since then, China has undergone a rapid economic
transformation. Starting from government policies that opened up opportunities for
multinational companies to carry out economic activities in the country, China then recorded
itself as a country with the third largest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the world (Liu and
Diamond 2005: 1180). Not only that, according to Walley and Xin (2007), China is even
listed as the highest-ranked country with Foreign Direct Investment, leaving the United States
in second place. This illustrates how China is very open to globalization by providing
opportunities for global economic agents to invest in the country.
One of the most attractive sectors for multinational companies is mining. Based on a
study conducted by Nolan and Zhang (2002), some of the multinational mining companies
investing in China are Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton, and Anglo-American. Later came the names
Eldorado Gold Mining, Jingshan and Sino Gold Mining. Eldorado and Jingshan are Canadian-
owned corporations. Eldorado operates in Tanjiangshan and Jinfeng, while Jingshan has
operated in Inner Mongolia and Ganshu Province since 2007. The corporation has two
business concentrations, namely gold and diamonds. Meanwhile, Sino, an Australian
company, concentrates its operations in Jiling, Heliongjian, Guizou, and Shaanxi Provinces on
gold exploration. In addition, domestic government-owned corporations have also begun to
proliferate with exploration mechanisms no different from multinational companies.
In Papua New Guinea, multinational corporations only arrived in the early 20th century.
However, exploration of the country's natural resources had been going on since the late 19th
century by European miners (Banks, 1993: 315), albeit in a simple form. Rio Tinto was the
first company to conduct mining activities in the country, especially on Bouganville Island
and later on Lihir Island. In the following years, several other multinational companies such
as BHP Billiton and Newmont also entered Papua New Guinea and concentrated their
exploration in Ok Tedi, Woodlark and Tolukuma. The presence of these multinationals
showed how close the government was to them. Recognizing this closeness, the government
prepared policy tools to perpetuate the entry of these corporations through the National
Development Strategy.
This strategy contains instructions on how to bring multinational companies on the
economic stage of Papua New Guinea as it is believed that their presence will generate huge
profits for the country. Evidently, more and more multinational companies have since
invested in Papua New Guinea. As a result, since 1986, two-thirds of the country's economy
has been supported by foreign investment (Daniel and Sims in Banks, 1993: 318-319) with
mining being the most reliable sector. It would not be wrong to say that Papua New Guinea's
economy is highly dependent on the presence of these multinational mining companies.
Environmental degradation
Miracles are happening in China thanks to Deng Xiao Ping's leadership touch. Since the last
30 years, the country's economic growth has almost always been above 8 percent. This is due
to the tremendous pace of industry and trade in China after integrating with the world
economy. However, it seems that the country has to pay a heavy price for its economic
achievements with its impact on the environment. Based on a study conducted by Duan
Yonghou et al (1998 in Wang, 2004), it was stated that the cost of environmental damage due
to industrial activities in China reached 283 trillion yuan per year. According to Wang (2004),
one of the biggest contributors to the damage is from the mining sector which causes damage
to soil, water, air and forests.
Based on a study conducted by Liu et al (2002) in Shaanxi province, mining activities
have damaged soil conditions in several areas namely Yulin, Shenmu, Fugu, Hengshan,
Jingbian, and Dingbian. As a result, the land in these areas has been desertified, which has led
to increasingly limited land use. In addition, desertification also results in the fragile condition
of the ecosystem in the area. Not only in Shaanxi, this kind of condition also occurs in other
Chinese provinces. Actually, mining does not only lead to desertification, but also
deforestation. This deforestation then spurs an increase in the frequency of floods and
landslides, especially in the western part of the country (Wang, 2004:166). While many
debate the relationship between deforestation and flooding, Wang remains convinced that
there is a strong causal relationship between the two.
The activities of mining corporations also pollute water. Evidently, in China, the
industrial waste of mining corporations has poisoned the water there, including that in the
river. According to Li (2006), in 2002 alone, mining waste in China had reached 265.4
million tons. This number is predicted to continue to grow if the mining industry, along with
other industries, continues to boost its activities. Later, due to the large demand for energy
from this industrial sector, China was building a mega hydroelectric power project at Lancang
Jiang. This has drawn protests from neighboring countries because it is considered to damage
the environment in their countries, especially countries around the Mekong river basin (Goh,
2009).
Furthermore, China's air and forests are also threatened by mining activities. In addition
to holding the record for the highest GDP in the world, China also holds the record for being a
major producer of gas greenhouse gases in the world. The country recorded 2.8 million metric
tons of carbon dioxide emissions in 2000 (Liu & Diamond, 2005: 1181). The mining industry
has been blamed as one of the main contributors to air pollution. In the forestry sector, mining
activities have cut down millions of trees and deforested several mountain ranges. With the
damage in these two sectors, China is considered to have accelerated the rise of the earth's
temperature, which also means causing extreme climate change.
In Papua New Guinea, environmental damage from mining also occurs and tends to be
even more severe. According to information obtained by Evans et al (2002), in Ok Tedi, BHP
Billiton has disposed of 80,000 tons of waste per day. This has been going on since the
corporation first started its activities. As a result, the Ok Tedi river changed its color from
clear to brownish, and many animals died from the toxic waste. In fact, before the arrival of
the corporation, the river was filled with fish that became the source of livelihood for the local
community. However, as the river became polluted, the fish disappeared. In addition, on-site
mining activities also eroded the forest to the riverbank (Kirsch, 1996: 1-3).
The environmental damage on Bougainville Island is no less severe. There are around
4000 hectares of land damaged by mining waste. As a result, forests, rivers, bays, and even
the air on the island have been affected. Chemical mining waste is believed to be the main
factor that caused the forests around the mining site to die, the rivers (Jaba and Kawarong)
and Empress Augusta Bay to be polluted, and the air on the island to become dirty. Based on
a study conducted by Gillespie (1996), there are at least 300 hectares of forest damaged by
Bougainville mining activities. The polluted air is caused by a mixture of dust and carbon
emissions from machinery.
Some Threats to Human Security
As described in the literature review, the behavior of multinational corporations in the era of
globalization has now had a serious impact on the environment, which in turn threatens the
security of many people. It is believed that the increase in the earth's temperature to 6 degrees
over the next 100 years will reduce world food production by 60 percent (History, 2010).
According to some scientists, in addition to scarcity of food resources, social conflicts and
chronic diseases are also cited as real threats from environmental degradation.
Based on data from the Food Agricultural Organization (2010), the increasing frequency
of floods has resulted in the destruction of 13 million hectares of crop land in China. The
areas most affected by the floods are Yunnan, Sichuan, Guizhou, Hubei, Chongqing, Anhui,
Jiangxi, Guanxi, Guangdong, Hunnan, Gansu, and Shaanxi. In the next few years, China is
predicted to continue experiencing similar disasters given the country's rapid economic
growth. In addition, climate change has also begun to show its threat. Although food
production in China as a whole is predicted to remain relatively stable until the end of 2010,
wheat production shows otherwise. By the end of 2010, there will be a one percent decline in
wheat production from 115,121 tons to 114,000 tons.
In addition, social conflicts are also threatening China. As Ho (2006) points out, as the
country's forests are depleted by economic activity, social conflicts have begun to emerge
everywhere. China's rural communities are often involved in disputes over forest ownership
with certain companies. The Chinese government is struggling to deal with this. Rules have
been made regarding the relationship between the government, companies and communities.
However, these regulations do not work well in the field. Furthermore, conflicts do not only
occur among the Chinese people but also involve other surrounding countries. Laos, Thailand,
Cambodia and Vietnam are among those affected by the construction of a hydroelectric power
plant in Lancangjiang, Yunnan (Goh, 2009: 1). This power plant is planned to be used to
supply industrial needs in China.
Another impact is disease. As a result of the high levels of air pollution in China, the
population develops respiratory, heart and lung cancer. It has even been reported that
pollution in China has resulted in thousands of deaths in the country each year. The same goes
for water pollution. Notably, around 500 million China's population no longer has access to
clean water. Although the government has launched the construction of giant dams to obtain
clean water, China, especially in the north, still suffers from pollution and lack of clean water.
According to Kahn and Yardley (2007), it has been approximately 60,000 people died from
diarrheal diseases due to this water pollution.
Meanwhile, in Papua New Guinea, resource depletion due to mining activities is also
evident. As stated by Bhavnani (2009), based on the results of his study in the Porgera area,
water contaminated by mining company toxins and waste has resulted in the loss of some
agricultural land in the area. This was followed by a reduction in agricultural production,
leading to food shortages in the country. In addition, the climate change that was predicted to
threaten the country has so far become a reality. Evidently, the existing rainfall has affected
the amount of agricultural production. In the future, as predicted by Bourke and Harwood
(2009), climate conditions will be much more extreme, characterized by rising sea levels and
increasingly erratic rainfall.
The country's problems are exacerbated by social conflict. Local communities in Porgera,
for example, oppose the existence of mining corporations because they destroy the
environment in which they live. Not only that, the existence of these corporations has also
sparked conflicts among the local communities themselves. According to Banks (2008), the
cause is that on the one hand there are community groups that receive benefits from the
company and on the other hand there are those who only receive losses from the activities of
the mining company. Although there are other views on this issue, it cannot be denied that the
presence of the company increases the possibility of conflict.
Like China, Papua New Guinea is also threatened with chronic disease. So far, mining
company waste in the country has caused a variety of diseases including lung and bladder
disease. According to Kepore et al (2008:12), pollution from the company's waste is the main
cause of these diseases, as in their study of local communities in Ok Tedi. Communities are
also fearful of other diseases in the future. As in Ok Tedi, the people of Lihirian also
experience the same fear. They suffer from diseases caused by multinational mining
companies in their area (McIntyre et al 2005: 88).
Government Policy
There is an impression that these two countries tend not to be serious or half-hearted when
addressing environmental issues and their threats. This impression is quite reasonable given
the absence of a meaningful response from the governments of the two countries in resolving
these issues. The Chinese government, for example, with its fantastic economic growth rate, is
not necessarily willing to reduce pollution, such as greenhouse gas emissions, due to
economic activity in the country. Meanwhile, Papua New Guinea tends to play it safe by
implementing half-hearted environmental policies. It will be interesting to see how the
governments of these two countries show their commitment to the environmental problems
faced by their respective countries.
In China, almost every state policy is linked to the economy. In other words, if it is not
economically oriented, it is almost impossible to become a state policy. As a result, these
policies tend to ignore other aspects of life such as environmental sustainability. One example
is the Environmental Protection Law (EPL) created in 1979. Although environmental in
nature, it is actually not used to preserve the environment, but to carry out what is referred to
as 'decollectivization' which means the revocation of common property rights to resources
(Muldavin, 2000: 253-254). 'Decollectivization' marks a shift in the status of resource
ownership rights from the collective to the individual. Instead of aiming for environmental
sustainability, the existing legal instruments open up opportunities for the operation of market
mechanisms in resource management, which in turn damage the country's environment in the
future.
In addition to the EPL, there are several other sets of laws. Some of them are the Water
Pollution Prevention Law of 1982, Forest Law 1984, Grassland Law 1985, and Air Pollution
Law 1987. Unfortunately, these legal instruments are only a mere formality in order to create
the impression that the Chinese government is very committed to protecting the environment
and in line with global commitments to preserve the environment. In reality, the Chinese
government cannot resist the ambition to continuously drive the country's economic sector by
utilizing as many economic opportunities as possible, including the influx of foreign
investment. As a result, despite having a fairly comprehensive set of laws, the country has
proven unable to control the environmental damage that arises from these economic activities
(Beyer, 2006: 209).
Until the 2009 Copenhagen Summit (COP 15), the Chinese government showed its lack
of seriousness towards environmental conservation by not signing the agreement at the
meeting. The reason is, for China, economic growth is the main target. With an average
growth of eight percent each year, China is optimistic that it will become the only global
economic power in the future, beating the United States, provided that the country's economic
growth must be stable without any interruption. Therefore, reducing greenhouse gas emissions
by 40 to 45 percent per unit of GDP by 2020 (Bodansky, 2010: 2), as requested by the
meeting, is considered a stumbling block to China's target. However, at COP 16 held in
Cancun at the end of 2010, China had already shown its good faith. The country, along with
the United States, which is known as the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gases, has
agreed to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases. This means that both China and America
are obliged to reduce their economic activities. It will be interesting to see how China will
implement its new commitment.
Like China, the Papua New Guinea government is also taking half-hearted steps.
Although the country is known to be quite keen on campaigning for the reduction of global
carbon emissions and was one of the leaders in campaigning for the Reduce Carbon Emission
from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) program with Costa Rica at COP 11 in 2005
Mellick (2010: 359), Papua New Guinea does not seem to really want to fight environmental
degradation in its territory, but is only eyeing financial benefits from the program. Papua New
Guinea is considered to have no legal instruments that truly support the implementation of
REDD, in addition to the absence of a clear implementation mechanism and qualified human
resources to implement the program. As a result, instead of getting benefits, the Papua New
Guinea government has to be disappointed because until now it has not received any benefits.
It is interesting to see what Papua New Guinea's environmental laws actually look like.
The country has several laws including the Environmental Planning Act 1978, Conservation
Area Act 1978, Water Resource Act 1982, and National Parks Act 1982. Furthermore, in
1993, the Papua New Guinea government created a policy called the National Sustainable
Development Strategy after attending the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. Finally, in
2000, Papua New Guinea created a new set of laws (the New Environment Act). This law
combines the laws that came before it (Mowbray & Duguman 2006). The aim is to balance
environmental management and conservation in the country.
Despite the many laws protecting the environment, the Papua New Guinea government
has been unable to withstand the onslaught of multinational corporations. Kinley and Tadaki
(2003), notes how Papua New Guinea's parliament had to pass another legal instrument, the
Ok Tedi Mine Continuation Act in 2001, to restore the good name of BHP Billiton, which had
previously been accused of environmental destruction and human rights abuses in the region.
For Kinley and Tadaki, this shows how the country continues to be in the shadow of
multinational corporations. It also signifies that a multitude of laws and regulations do not
guarantee the preservation of a country's environment if they are only half-heartedly
implemented.
Conclusion
Globalization, which is marked by the movement of ideas, goods, people and technology, on
the one hand has brought blessings to many people from various nations and countries.
However, it cannot be denied that globalization also brings threats to them. As this paper
shows, globalization, especially in the mining sector, tends to have a negative impact on
environmental sustainability. Taking the case of the mining sector in two Asia Pacific
countries, namely China and Papua New Guinea, the expansion and exploitation of nature has
resulted in environmental degradation and in turn threatens human security in the two
countries.
Historically, on the one hand, environmental degradation in China and Papua New
Guinea began with the influx of foreign capital from developed countries to developing
countries, characterized by the presence of multinational companies that aim to seek
maximum profit. On the other hand, the governments of the countries concerned welcomed
the arrival of these multinational companies. In the mining sector, for example, the arrival of
multinational companies is even facilitated by state policies such as in China known as the
open door policy and in Papua New Guinea with the national development strategy.
Gradually, the number of multinational companies is increasing. As a result, environmental
damage is increasingly inevitable. Some of the forms of damage found include deforestation,
desertification, soil, water and air pollution.
In turn, this environmental destruction threatens human security. So far, there has been
some evidence of this threat. In China, the activities of multinational mining companies have
resulted in the destruction of forests, contamination of rivers, soil and air, which has led to
respiratory and digestive diseases, and reduced food availability for local communities. In
addition, there have been reports of social conflicts in the areas where these multinationals
operate. The same is true in Papua New Guinea. Mining activities have contaminated the land
and water where local people live depend on for their livelihoods. Furthermore, the presence
of the mining company threatens the food security of the population and ignites conflicts
between local residents there.
Actually, this problem can be solved through government policy. Unfortunately, existing
policies are half-heartedly implemented. To this day, there is no seriousness from the
governments of the two countries. Both China and Papua New Guinea actually have quite a
lot of legal instruments that regulate the relationship between economic activity and
environmental conservation. However, these tools are not enough to overcome the problems
of environmental degradation in their respective countries. Therefore, the commitment to
implement existing environmental policies needs to be wholehearted. Otherwise,
environmental degradation and threats to human security in the two countries will continue to
occur.
Globalization of Mining: The Case of China and Papua New Guinea
This section will focus on the globalization of the mining sector in two Asia-Pacific countries,
China and Papua New Guinea. It is believed that these sectors have a negative impact on the
environment and threaten human security in their respective regions.
Since Deng Xiao Ping became the number one person in China, the country immediately
implemented an open door policy for foreign investors and ended the era of China's economic
closure for 300 years (Tantri, 2006: 50). Since then, China has undergone a rapid economic
transformation. Starting from government policies that opened up opportunities for
multinational companies to carry out economic activities in the country, China then recorded
itself as a country with the third largest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the world (Liu and
Diamond 2005: 1180). Not only that, according to Walley and Xin (2007), China is even
listed as the highest-ranked country with Foreign Direct Investment, leaving the United States
in second place. This illustrates how China is very open to globalization by providing
opportunities for global economic agents to invest in the country.
One of the most attractive sectors for multinational companies is mining. Based on a
study conducted by Nolan and Zhang (2002), some of the multinational mining companies
investing in China are Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton, and Anglo-American. Later came the names
Eldorado Gold Mining, Jingshan and Sino Gold Mining. Eldorado and Jingshan are Canadian-
owned corporations. Eldorado operates in Tanjiangshan and Jinfeng, while Jingshan has
operated in Inner Mongolia and Ganshu Province since 2007. The corporation has two
business concentrations, namely gold and diamonds. Meanwhile, Sino, an Australian
company, concentrates its operations in Jiling, Heliongjian, Guizou, and Shaanxi Provinces on
gold exploration. In addition, domestic government-owned corporations have also begun to
proliferate with exploration mechanisms no different from multinational companies.
In Papua New Guinea, multinational corporations only arrived in the early 20th century.
However, exploration of the country's natural resources had been going on since the late 19th
century by European miners (Banks, 1993: 315), albeit in a simple form. Rio Tinto was the
first company to conduct mining activities in the country, especially on Bouganville Island
and later on Lihir Island. In the following years, several other multinational companies such
as BHP Billiton and Newmont also entered Papua New Guinea and concentrated their
exploration in Ok Tedi, Woodlark and Tolukuma. The presence of these multinationals
showed how close the government was to them. Recognizing this closeness, the government
prepared policy tools to perpetuate the entry of these corporations through the National
Development Strategy.
This strategy contains instructions on how to bring multinational companies on the
economic stage of Papua New Guinea as it is believed that their presence will generate huge
profits for the country. Evidently, more and more multinational companies have since
invested in Papua New Guinea. As a result, since 1986, two-thirds of the country's economy
has been supported by foreign investment (Daniel and Sims in Banks, 1993: 318-319) with
mining being the most reliable sector. It would not be wrong to say that Papua New Guinea's
economy is highly dependent on the presence of these multinational mining companies.
Environmental degradation
Miracles are happening in China thanks to Deng Xiao Ping's leadership touch. Since the last
30 years, the country's economic growth has almost always been above 8 percent. This is due
to the tremendous pace of industry and trade in China after integrating with the world
economy. However, it seems that the country has to pay a heavy price for its economic
achievements with its impact on the environment. Based on a study conducted by Duan
Yonghou et al (1998 in Wang, 2004), it was stated that the cost of environmental damage due
to industrial activities in China reached 283 trillion yuan per year. According to Wang (2004),
one of the biggest contributors to the damage is from the mining sector which causes damage
to soil, water, air and forests.
Based on a study conducted by Liu et al (2002) in Shaanxi province, mining activities
have damaged soil conditions in several areas namely Yulin, Shenmu, Fugu, Hengshan,
Jingbian, and Dingbian. As a result, the land in these areas has been desertified, which has led
to increasingly limited land use. In addition, desertification also results in the fragile condition
of the ecosystem in the area. Not only in Shaanxi, this kind of condition also occurs in other
Chinese provinces. Actually, mining does not only lead to desertification, but also
deforestation. This deforestation then spurs an increase in the frequency of floods and
landslides, especially in the western part of the country (Wang, 2004:166). While many
debate the relationship between deforestation and flooding, Wang remains convinced that
there is a strong causal relationship between the two.
The activities of mining corporations also pollute water. Evidently, in China, the
industrial waste of mining corporations has poisoned the water there, including that in the
river. According to Li (2006), in 2002 alone, mining waste in China had reached 265.4
million tons. This number is predicted to continue to grow if the mining industry, along with
other industries, continues to boost its activities. Later, due to the large demand for energy
from this industrial sector, China was building a mega hydroelectric power project at Lancang
Jiang. This has drawn protests from neighboring countries because it is considered to damage
the environment in their countries, especially countries around the Mekong river basin (Goh,
2009).
Furthermore, China's air and forests are also threatened by mining activities. In addition
to holding the record for the highest GDP in the world, China also holds the record for being a
major producer of gas greenhouse gases in the world. The country recorded 2.8 million metric
tons of carbon dioxide emissions in 2000 (Liu & Diamond, 2005: 1181). The mining industry
has been blamed as one of the main contributors to air pollution. In the forestry sector, mining
activities have cut down millions of trees and deforested several mountain ranges. With the
damage in these two sectors, China is considered to have accelerated the rise of the earth's
temperature, which also means causing extreme climate change.
In Papua New Guinea, environmental damage from mining also occurs and tends to be
even more severe. According to information obtained by Evans et al (2002), in Ok Tedi, BHP
Billiton has disposed of 80,000 tons of waste per day. This has been going on since the
corporation first started its activities. As a result, the Ok Tedi river changed its color from
clear to brownish, and many animals died from the toxic waste. In fact, before the arrival of
the corporation, the river was filled with fish that became the source of livelihood for the local
community. However, as the river became polluted, the fish disappeared. In addition, on-site
mining activities also eroded the forest to the riverbank (Kirsch, 1996: 1-3).
The environmental damage on Bougainville Island is no less severe. There are around
4000 hectares of land damaged by mining waste. As a result, forests, rivers, bays, and even
the air on the island have been affected. Chemical mining waste is believed to be the main
factor that caused the forests around the mining site to die, the rivers (Jaba and Kawarong)
and Empress Augusta Bay to be polluted, and the air on the island to become dirty. Based on
a study conducted by Gillespie (1996), there are at least 300 hectares of forest damaged by
Bougainville mining activities. The polluted air is caused by a mixture of dust and carbon
emissions from machinery.
Some Threats to Human Security
As described in the literature review, the behavior of multinational corporations in the era of
globalization has now had a serious impact on the environment, which in turn threatens the
security of many people. It is believed that the increase in the earth's temperature to 6 degrees
over the next 100 years will reduce world food production by 60 percent (History, 2010).
According to some scientists, in addition to scarcity of food resources, social conflicts and
chronic diseases are also cited as real threats from environmental degradation.
Based on data from the Food Agricultural Organization (2010), the increasing frequency
of floods has resulted in the destruction of 13 million hectares of crop land in China. The
areas most affected by the floods are Yunnan, Sichuan, Guizhou, Hubei, Chongqing, Anhui,
Jiangxi, Guanxi, Guangdong, Hunnan, Gansu, and Shaanxi. In the next few years, China is
predicted to continue experiencing similar disasters given the country's rapid economic
growth. In addition, climate change has also begun to show its threat. Although food
production in China as a whole is predicted to remain relatively stable until the end of 2010,
wheat production shows otherwise. By the end of 2010, there will be a one percent decline in
wheat production from 115,121 tons to 114,000 tons.
In addition, social conflicts are also threatening China. As Ho (2006) points out, as the
country's forests are depleted by economic activity, social conflicts have begun to emerge
everywhere. China's rural communities are often involved in disputes over forest ownership
with certain companies. The Chinese government is struggling to deal with this. Rules have
been made regarding the relationship between the government, companies and communities.
However, these regulations do not work well in the field. Furthermore, conflicts do not only
occur among the Chinese people but also involve other surrounding countries. Laos, Thailand,
Cambodia and Vietnam are among those affected by the construction of a hydroelectric power
plant in Lancangjiang, Yunnan (Goh, 2009: 1). This power plant is planned to be used to
supply industrial needs in China.
Another impact is disease. As a result of the high levels of air pollution in China, the
population develops respiratory, heart and lung cancer. It has even been reported that
pollution in China has resulted in thousands of deaths in the country each year. The same goes
for water pollution. Notably, around 500 million China's population no longer has access to
clean water. Although the government has launched the construction of giant dams to obtain
clean water, China, especially in the north, still suffers from pollution and lack of clean water.
According to Kahn and Yardley (2007), it has been approximately 60,000 people died from
diarrheal diseases due to this water pollution.
Meanwhile, in Papua New Guinea, resource depletion due to mining activities is also
evident. As stated by Bhavnani (2009), based on the results of his study in the Porgera area,
water contaminated by mining company toxins and waste has resulted in the loss of some
agricultural land in the area. This was followed by a reduction in agricultural production,
leading to food shortages in the country. In addition, the climate change that was predicted to
threaten the country has so far become a reality. Evidently, the existing rainfall has affected
the amount of agricultural production. In the future, as predicted by Bourke and Harwood
(2009), climate conditions will be much more extreme, characterized by rising sea levels and
increasingly erratic rainfall.
The country's problems are exacerbated by social conflict. Local communities in Porgera,
for example, oppose the existence of mining corporations because they destroy the
environment in which they live. Not only that, the existence of these corporations has also
sparked conflicts among the local communities themselves. According to Banks (2008), the
cause is that on the one hand there are community groups that receive benefits from the
company and on the other hand there are those who only receive losses from the activities of
the mining company. Although there are other views on this issue, it cannot be denied that the
presence of the company increases the possibility of conflict.
Like China, Papua New Guinea is also threatened with chronic disease. So far, mining
company waste in the country has caused a variety of diseases including lung and bladder
disease. According to Kepore et al (2008:12), pollution from the company's waste is the main
cause of these diseases, as in their study of local communities in Ok Tedi. Communities are
also fearful of other diseases in the future. As in Ok Tedi, the people of Lihirian also
experience the same fear. They suffer from diseases caused by multinational mining
companies in their area (McIntyre et al 2005: 88).
Government Policy
There is an impression that these two countries tend not to be serious or half-hearted when
addressing environmental issues and their threats. This impression is quite reasonable given
the absence of a meaningful response from the governments of the two countries in resolving
these issues. The Chinese government, for example, with its fantastic economic growth rate, is
not necessarily willing to reduce pollution, such as greenhouse gas emissions, due to
economic activity in the country. Meanwhile, Papua New Guinea tends to play it safe by
implementing half-hearted environmental policies. It will be interesting to see how the
governments of these two countries show their commitment to the environmental problems
faced by their respective countries.
In China, almost every state policy is linked to the economy. In other words, if it is not
economically oriented, it is almost impossible to become a state policy. As a result, these
policies tend to ignore other aspects of life such as environmental sustainability. One example
is the Environmental Protection Law (EPL) created in 1979. Although environmental in
nature, it is actually not used to preserve the environment, but to carry out what is referred to
as 'decollectivization' which means the revocation of common property rights to resources
(Muldavin, 2000: 253-254). 'Decollectivization' marks a shift in the status of resource
ownership rights from the collective to the individual. Instead of aiming for environmental
sustainability, the existing legal instruments open up opportunities for the operation of market
mechanisms in resource management, which in turn damage the country's environment in the
future.
In addition to the EPL, there are several other sets of laws. Some of them are the Water
Pollution Prevention Law of 1982, Forest Law 1984, Grassland Law 1985, and Air Pollution
Law 1987. Unfortunately, these legal instruments are only a mere formality in order to create
the impression that the Chinese government is very committed to protecting the environment
and in line with global commitments to preserve the environment. In reality, the Chinese
government cannot resist the ambition to continuously drive the country's economic sector by
utilizing as many economic opportunities as possible, including the influx of foreign
investment. As a result, despite having a fairly comprehensive set of laws, the country has
proven unable to control the environmental damage that arises from these economic activities
(Beyer, 2006: 209).
Until the 2009 Copenhagen Summit (COP 15), the Chinese government showed its lack
of seriousness towards environmental conservation by not signing the agreement at the
meeting. The reason is, for China, economic growth is the main target. With an average
growth of eight percent each year, China is optimistic that it will become the only global
economic power in the future, beating the United States, provided that the country's economic
growth must be stable without any interruption. Therefore, reducing greenhouse gas emissions
by 40 to 45 percent per unit of GDP by 2020 (Bodansky, 2010: 2), as requested by the
meeting, is considered a stumbling block to China's target. However, at COP 16 held in
Cancun at the end of 2010, China had already shown its good faith. The country, along with
the United States, which is known as the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gases, has
agreed to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases. This means that both China and America
are obliged to reduce their economic activities. It will be interesting to see how China will
implement its new commitment.
Like China, the Papua New Guinea government is also taking half-hearted steps.
Although the country is known to be quite keen on campaigning for the reduction of global
carbon emissions and was one of the leaders in campaigning for the Reduce Carbon Emission
from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) program with Costa Rica at COP 11 in 2005
Mellick (2010: 359), Papua New Guinea does not seem to really want to fight environmental
degradation in its territory, but is only eyeing financial benefits from the program. Papua New
Guinea is considered to have no legal instruments that truly support the implementation of
REDD, in addition to the absence of a clear implementation mechanism and qualified human
resources to implement the program. As a result, instead of getting benefits, the Papua New
Guinea government has to be disappointed because until now it has not received any benefits.
It is interesting to see what Papua New Guinea's environmental laws actually look like.
The country has several laws including the Environmental Planning Act 1978, Conservation
Area Act 1978, Water Resource Act 1982, and National Parks Act 1982. Furthermore, in
1993, the Papua New Guinea government created a policy called the National Sustainable
Development Strategy after attending the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. Finally, in
2000, Papua New Guinea created a new set of laws (the New Environment Act). This law
combines the laws that came before it (Mowbray & Duguman 2006). The aim is to balance
environmental management and conservation in the country.
Despite the many laws protecting the environment, the Papua New Guinea government
has been unable to withstand the onslaught of multinational corporations. Kinley and Tadaki
(2003), notes how Papua New Guinea's parliament had to pass another legal instrument, the
Ok Tedi Mine Continuation Act in 2001, to restore the good name of BHP Billiton, which had
previously been accused of environmental destruction and human rights abuses in the region.
For Kinley and Tadaki, this shows how the country continues to be in the shadow of
multinational corporations. It also signifies that a multitude of laws and regulations do not
guarantee the preservation of a country's environment if they are only half-heartedly
implemented.
Conclusion
Globalization, which is marked by the movement of ideas, goods, people and technology, on
the one hand has brought blessings to many people from various nations and countries.
However, it cannot be denied that globalization also brings threats to them. As this paper
shows, globalization, especially in the mining sector, tends to have a negative impact on
environmental sustainability. Taking the case of the mining sector in two Asia Pacific
countries, namely China and Papua New Guinea, the expansion and exploitation of nature has
resulted in environmental degradation and in turn threatens human security in the two
countries.
Historically, on the one hand, environmental degradation in China and Papua New
Guinea began with the influx of foreign capital from developed countries to developing
countries, characterized by the presence of multinational companies that aim to seek
maximum profit. On the other hand, the governments of the countries concerned welcomed
the arrival of these multinational companies. In the mining sector, for example, the arrival of
multinational companies is even facilitated by state policies such as in China known as the
open door policy and in Papua New Guinea with the national development strategy.
Gradually, the number of multinational companies is increasing. As a result, environmental
damage is increasingly inevitable. Some of the forms of damage found include deforestation,
desertification, soil, water and air pollution.
In turn, this environmental destruction threatens human security. So far, there has been
some evidence of this threat. In China, the activities of multinational mining companies have
resulted in the destruction of forests, contamination of rivers, soil and air, which has led to
respiratory and digestive diseases, and reduced food availability for local communities. In
addition, there have been reports of social conflicts in the areas where these multinationals
operate. The same is true in Papua New Guinea. Mining activities have contaminated the land
and water where local people live depend on for their livelihoods. Furthermore, the presence
of the mining company threatens the food security of the population and ignites conflicts
between local residents there.
Actually, this problem can be solved through government policy. Unfortunately, existing
policies are half-heartedly implemented. To this day, there is no seriousness from the
governments of the two countries. Both China and Papua New Guinea actually have quite a
lot of legal instruments that regulate the relationship between economic activity and
environmental conservation. However, these tools are not enough to overcome the problems
of environmental degradation in their respective countries. Therefore, the commitment to
implement existing environmental policies needs to be wholehearted. Otherwise,
environmental degradation and threats to human security in the two countries will continue to
occur.
Globalization of Mining: The Case of China and Papua New Guinea
This section will focus on the globalization of the mining sector in two Asia-Pacific countries,
China and Papua New Guinea. It is believed that these sectors have a negative impact on the
environment and threaten human security in their respective regions.
Since Deng Xiao Ping became the number one person in China, the country immediately
implemented an open door policy for foreign investors and ended the era of China's economic
closure for 300 years (Tantri, 2006: 50). Since then, China has undergone a rapid economic
transformation. Starting from government policies that opened up opportunities for
multinational companies to carry out economic activities in the country, China then recorded
itself as a country with the third largest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the world (Liu and
Diamond 2005: 1180). Not only that, according to Walley and Xin (2007), China is even
listed as the highest-ranked country with Foreign Direct Investment, leaving the United States
in second place. This illustrates how China is very open to globalization by providing
opportunities for global economic agents to invest in the country.
One of the most attractive sectors for multinational companies is mining. Based on a
study conducted by Nolan and Zhang (2002), some of the multinational mining companies
investing in China are Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton, and Anglo-American. Later came the names
Eldorado Gold Mining, Jingshan and Sino Gold Mining. Eldorado and Jingshan are Canadian-
owned corporations. Eldorado operates in Tanjiangshan and Jinfeng, while Jingshan has
operated in Inner Mongolia and Ganshu Province since 2007. The corporation has two
business concentrations, namely gold and diamonds. Meanwhile, Sino, an Australian
company, concentrates its operations in Jiling, Heliongjian, Guizou, and Shaanxi Provinces on
gold exploration. In addition, domestic government-owned corporations have also begun to
proliferate with exploration mechanisms no different from multinational companies.
In Papua New Guinea, multinational corporations only arrived in the early 20th century.
However, exploration of the country's natural resources had been going on since the late 19th
century by European miners (Banks, 1993: 315), albeit in a simple form. Rio Tinto was the
first company to conduct mining activities in the country, especially on Bouganville Island
and later on Lihir Island. In the following years, several other multinational companies such
as BHP Billiton and Newmont also entered Papua New Guinea and concentrated their
exploration in Ok Tedi, Woodlark and Tolukuma. The presence of these multinationals
showed how close the government was to them. Recognizing this closeness, the government
prepared policy tools to perpetuate the entry of these corporations through the National
Development Strategy.
This strategy contains instructions on how to bring multinational companies on the
economic stage of Papua New Guinea as it is believed that their presence will generate huge
profits for the country. Evidently, more and more multinational companies have since
invested in Papua New Guinea. As a result, since 1986, two-thirds of the country's economy
has been supported by foreign investment (Daniel and Sims in Banks, 1993: 318-319) with
mining being the most reliable sector. It would not be wrong to say that Papua New Guinea's
economy is highly dependent on the presence of these multinational mining companies.
Environmental degradation
Miracles are happening in China thanks to Deng Xiao Ping's leadership touch. Since the last
30 years, the country's economic growth has almost always been above 8 percent. This is due
to the tremendous pace of industry and trade in China after integrating with the world
economy. However, it seems that the country has to pay a heavy price for its economic
achievements with its impact on the environment. Based on a study conducted by Duan
Yonghou et al (1998 in Wang, 2004), it was stated that the cost of environmental damage due
to industrial activities in China reached 283 trillion yuan per year. According to Wang (2004),
one of the biggest contributors to the damage is from the mining sector which causes damage
to soil, water, air and forests.
Based on a study conducted by Liu et al (2002) in Shaanxi province, mining activities
have damaged soil conditions in several areas namely Yulin, Shenmu, Fugu, Hengshan,
Jingbian, and Dingbian. As a result, the land in these areas has been desertified, which has led
to increasingly limited land use. In addition, desertification also results in the fragile condition
of the ecosystem in the area. Not only in Shaanxi, this kind of condition also occurs in other
Chinese provinces. Actually, mining does not only lead to desertification, but also
deforestation. This deforestation then spurs an increase in the frequency of floods and
landslides, especially in the western part of the country (Wang, 2004:166). While many
debate the relationship between deforestation and flooding, Wang remains convinced that
there is a strong causal relationship between the two.
The activities of mining corporations also pollute water. Evidently, in China, the
industrial waste of mining corporations has poisoned the water there, including that in the
river. According to Li (2006), in 2002 alone, mining waste in China had reached 265.4
million tons. This number is predicted to continue to grow if the mining industry, along with
other industries, continues to boost its activities. Later, due to the large demand for energy
from this industrial sector, China was building a mega hydroelectric power project at Lancang
Jiang. This has drawn protests from neighboring countries because it is considered to damage
the environment in their countries, especially countries around the Mekong river basin (Goh,
2009).
Furthermore, China's air and forests are also threatened by mining activities. In addition
to holding the record for the highest GDP in the world, China also holds the record for being a
major producer of gas greenhouse gases in the world. The country recorded 2.8 million metric
tons of carbon dioxide emissions in 2000 (Liu & Diamond, 2005: 1181). The mining industry
has been blamed as one of the main contributors to air pollution. In the forestry sector, mining
activities have cut down millions of trees and deforested several mountain ranges. With the
damage in these two sectors, China is considered to have accelerated the rise of the earth's
temperature, which also means causing extreme climate change.
In Papua New Guinea, environmental damage from mining also occurs and tends to be
even more severe. According to information obtained by Evans et al (2002), in Ok Tedi, BHP
Billiton has disposed of 80,000 tons of waste per day. This has been going on since the
corporation first started its activities. As a result, the Ok Tedi river changed its color from
clear to brownish, and many animals died from the toxic waste. In fact, before the arrival of
the corporation, the river was filled with fish that became the source of livelihood for the local
community. However, as the river became polluted, the fish disappeared. In addition, on-site
mining activities also eroded the forest to the riverbank (Kirsch, 1996: 1-3).
The environmental damage on Bougainville Island is no less severe. There are around
4000 hectares of land damaged by mining waste. As a result, forests, rivers, bays, and even
the air on the island have been affected. Chemical mining waste is believed to be the main
factor that caused the forests around the mining site to die, the rivers (Jaba and Kawarong)
and Empress Augusta Bay to be polluted, and the air on the island to become dirty. Based on
a study conducted by Gillespie (1996), there are at least 300 hectares of forest damaged by
Bougainville mining activities. The polluted air is caused by a mixture of dust and carbon
emissions from machinery.
Some Threats to Human Security
As described in the literature review, the behavior of multinational corporations in the era of
globalization has now had a serious impact on the environment, which in turn threatens the
security of many people. It is believed that the increase in the earth's temperature to 6 degrees
over the next 100 years will reduce world food production by 60 percent (History, 2010).
According to some scientists, in addition to scarcity of food resources, social conflicts and
chronic diseases are also cited as real threats from environmental degradation.
Based on data from the Food Agricultural Organization (2010), the increasing frequency
of floods has resulted in the destruction of 13 million hectares of crop land in China. The
areas most affected by the floods are Yunnan, Sichuan, Guizhou, Hubei, Chongqing, Anhui,
Jiangxi, Guanxi, Guangdong, Hunnan, Gansu, and Shaanxi. In the next few years, China is
predicted to continue experiencing similar disasters given the country's rapid economic
growth. In addition, climate change has also begun to show its threat. Although food
production in China as a whole is predicted to remain relatively stable until the end of 2010,
wheat production shows otherwise. By the end of 2010, there will be a one percent decline in
wheat production from 115,121 tons to 114,000 tons.
In addition, social conflicts are also threatening China. As Ho (2006) points out, as the
country's forests are depleted by economic activity, social conflicts have begun to emerge
everywhere. China's rural communities are often involved in disputes over forest ownership
with certain companies. The Chinese government is struggling to deal with this. Rules have
been made regarding the relationship between the government, companies and communities.
However, these regulations do not work well in the field. Furthermore, conflicts do not only
occur among the Chinese people but also involve other surrounding countries. Laos, Thailand,
Cambodia and Vietnam are among those affected by the construction of a hydroelectric power
plant in Lancangjiang, Yunnan (Goh, 2009: 1). This power plant is planned to be used to
supply industrial needs in China.
Another impact is disease. As a result of the high levels of air pollution in China, the
population develops respiratory, heart and lung cancer. It has even been reported that
pollution in China has resulted in thousands of deaths in the country each year. The same goes
for water pollution. Notably, around 500 million China's population no longer has access to
clean water. Although the government has launched the construction of giant dams to obtain
clean water, China, especially in the north, still suffers from pollution and lack of clean water.
According to Kahn and Yardley (2007), it has been approximately 60,000 people died from
diarrheal diseases due to this water pollution.
Meanwhile, in Papua New Guinea, resource depletion due to mining activities is also
evident. As stated by Bhavnani (2009), based on the results of his study in the Porgera area,
water contaminated by mining company toxins and waste has resulted in the loss of some
agricultural land in the area. This was followed by a reduction in agricultural production,
leading to food shortages in the country. In addition, the climate change that was predicted to
threaten the country has so far become a reality. Evidently, the existing rainfall has affected
the amount of agricultural production. In the future, as predicted by Bourke and Harwood
(2009), climate conditions will be much more extreme, characterized by rising sea levels and
increasingly erratic rainfall.
The country's problems are exacerbated by social conflict. Local communities in Porgera,
for example, oppose the existence of mining corporations because they destroy the
environment in which they live. Not only that, the existence of these corporations has also
sparked conflicts among the local communities themselves. According to Banks (2008), the
cause is that on the one hand there are community groups that receive benefits from the
company and on the other hand there are those who only receive losses from the activities of
the mining company. Although there are other views on this issue, it cannot be denied that the
presence of the company increases the possibility of conflict.
Like China, Papua New Guinea is also threatened with chronic disease. So far, mining
company waste in the country has caused a variety of diseases including lung and bladder
disease. According to Kepore et al (2008:12), pollution from the company's waste is the main
cause of these diseases, as in their study of local communities in Ok Tedi. Communities are
also fearful of other diseases in the future. As in Ok Tedi, the people of Lihirian also
experience the same fear. They suffer from diseases caused by multinational mining
companies in their area (McIntyre et al 2005: 88).
Government Policy
There is an impression that these two countries tend not to be serious or half-hearted when
addressing environmental issues and their threats. This impression is quite reasonable given
the absence of a meaningful response from the governments of the two countries in resolving
these issues. The Chinese government, for example, with its fantastic economic growth rate, is
not necessarily willing to reduce pollution, such as greenhouse gas emissions, due to
economic activity in the country. Meanwhile, Papua New Guinea tends to play it safe by
implementing half-hearted environmental policies. It will be interesting to see how the
governments of these two countries show their commitment to the environmental problems
faced by their respective countries.
In China, almost every state policy is linked to the economy. In other words, if it is not
economically oriented, it is almost impossible to become a state policy. As a result, these
policies tend to ignore other aspects of life such as environmental sustainability. One example
is the Environmental Protection Law (EPL) created in 1979. Although environmental in
nature, it is actually not used to preserve the environment, but to carry out what is referred to
as 'decollectivization' which means the revocation of common property rights to resources
(Muldavin, 2000: 253-254). 'Decollectivization' marks a shift in the status of resource
ownership rights from the collective to the individual. Instead of aiming for environmental
sustainability, the existing legal instruments open up opportunities for the operation of market
mechanisms in resource management, which in turn damage the country's environment in the
future.
In addition to the EPL, there are several other sets of laws. Some of them are the Water
Pollution Prevention Law of 1982, Forest Law 1984, Grassland Law 1985, and Air Pollution
Law 1987. Unfortunately, these legal instruments are only a mere formality in order to create
the impression that the Chinese government is very committed to protecting the environment
and in line with global commitments to preserve the environment. In reality, the Chinese
government cannot resist the ambition to continuously drive the country's economic sector by
utilizing as many economic opportunities as possible, including the influx of foreign
investment. As a result, despite having a fairly comprehensive set of laws, the country has
proven unable to control the environmental damage that arises from these economic activities
(Beyer, 2006: 209).
Until the 2009 Copenhagen Summit (COP 15), the Chinese government showed its lack
of seriousness towards environmental conservation by not signing the agreement at the
meeting. The reason is, for China, economic growth is the main target. With an average
growth of eight percent each year, China is optimistic that it will become the only global
economic power in the future, beating the United States, provided that the country's economic
growth must be stable without any interruption. Therefore, reducing greenhouse gas emissions
by 40 to 45 percent per unit of GDP by 2020 (Bodansky, 2010: 2), as requested by the
meeting, is considered a stumbling block to China's target. However, at COP 16 held in
Cancun at the end of 2010, China had already shown its good faith. The country, along with
the United States, which is known as the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gases, has
agreed to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases. This means that both China and America
are obliged to reduce their economic activities. It will be interesting to see how China will
implement its new commitment.
Like China, the Papua New Guinea government is also taking half-hearted steps.
Although the country is known to be quite keen on campaigning for the reduction of global
carbon emissions and was one of the leaders in campaigning for the Reduce Carbon Emission
from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) program with Costa Rica at COP 11 in 2005
Mellick (2010: 359), Papua New Guinea does not seem to really want to fight environmental
degradation in its territory, but is only eyeing financial benefits from the program. Papua New
Guinea is considered to have no legal instruments that truly support the implementation of
REDD, in addition to the absence of a clear implementation mechanism and qualified human
resources to implement the program. As a result, instead of getting benefits, the Papua New
Guinea government has to be disappointed because until now it has not received any benefits.
It is interesting to see what Papua New Guinea's environmental laws actually look like.
The country has several laws including the Environmental Planning Act 1978, Conservation
Area Act 1978, Water Resource Act 1982, and National Parks Act 1982. Furthermore, in
1993, the Papua New Guinea government created a policy called the National Sustainable
Development Strategy after attending the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. Finally, in
2000, Papua New Guinea created a new set of laws (the New Environment Act). This law
combines the laws that came before it (Mowbray & Duguman 2006). The aim is to balance
environmental management and conservation in the country.
Despite the many laws protecting the environment, the Papua New Guinea government
has been unable to withstand the onslaught of multinational corporations. Kinley and Tadaki
(2003), notes how Papua New Guinea's parliament had to pass another legal instrument, the
Ok Tedi Mine Continuation Act in 2001, to restore the good name of BHP Billiton, which had
previously been accused of environmental destruction and human rights abuses in the region.
For Kinley and Tadaki, this shows how the country continues to be in the shadow of
multinational corporations. It also signifies that a multitude of laws and regulations do not
guarantee the preservation of a country's environment if they are only half-heartedly
implemented.
Conclusion
Globalization, which is marked by the movement of ideas, goods, people and technology, on
the one hand has brought blessings to many people from various nations and countries.
However, it cannot be denied that globalization also brings threats to them. As this paper
shows, globalization, especially in the mining sector, tends to have a negative impact on
environmental sustainability. Taking the case of the mining sector in two Asia Pacific
countries, namely China and Papua New Guinea, the expansion and exploitation of nature has
resulted in environmental degradation and in turn threatens human security in the two
countries.
Historically, on the one hand, environmental degradation in China and Papua New
Guinea began with the influx of foreign capital from developed countries to developing
countries, characterized by the presence of multinational companies that aim to seek
maximum profit. On the other hand, the governments of the countries concerned welcomed
the arrival of these multinational companies. In the mining sector, for example, the arrival of
multinational companies is even facilitated by state policies such as in China known as the
open door policy and in Papua New Guinea with the national development strategy.
Gradually, the number of multinational companies is increasing. As a result, environmental
damage is increasingly inevitable. Some of the forms of damage found include deforestation,
desertification, soil, water and air pollution.
In turn, this environmental destruction threatens human security. So far, there has been
some evidence of this threat. In China, the activities of multinational mining companies have
resulted in the destruction of forests, contamination of rivers, soil and air, which has led to
respiratory and digestive diseases, and reduced food availability for local communities. In
addition, there have been reports of social conflicts in the areas where these multinationals
operate. The same is true in Papua New Guinea. Mining activities have contaminated the land
and water where local people live depend on for their livelihoods. Furthermore, the presence
of the mining company threatens the food security of the population and ignites conflicts
between local residents there.
Actually, this problem can be solved through government policy. Unfortunately, existing
policies are half-heartedly implemented. To this day, there is no seriousness from the
governments of the two countries. Both China and Papua New Guinea actually have quite a
lot of legal instruments that regulate the relationship between economic activity and
environmental conservation. However, these tools are not enough to overcome the problems
of environmental degradation in their respective countries. Therefore, the commitment to
implement existing environmental policies needs to be wholehearted. Otherwise,
environmental degradation and threats to human security in the two countries will continue to
occur.
Globalization of Mining: The Case of China and Papua New Guinea
This section will focus on the globalization of the mining sector in two Asia-Pacific countries,
China and Papua New Guinea. It is believed that these sectors have a negative impact on the
environment and threaten human security in their respective regions.
Since Deng Xiao Ping became the number one person in China, the country immediately
implemented an open door policy for foreign investors and ended the era of China's economic
closure for 300 years (Tantri, 2006: 50). Since then, China has undergone a rapid economic
transformation. Starting from government policies that opened up opportunities for
multinational companies to carry out economic activities in the country, China then recorded
itself as a country with the third largest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the world (Liu and
Diamond 2005: 1180). Not only that, according to Walley and Xin (2007), China is even
listed as the highest-ranked country with Foreign Direct Investment, leaving the United States
in second place. This illustrates how China is very open to globalization by providing
opportunities for global economic agents to invest in the country.
One of the most attractive sectors for multinational companies is mining. Based on a
study conducted by Nolan and Zhang (2002), some of the multinational mining companies
investing in China are Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton, and Anglo-American. Later came the names
Eldorado Gold Mining, Jingshan and Sino Gold Mining. Eldorado and Jingshan are Canadian-
owned corporations. Eldorado operates in Tanjiangshan and Jinfeng, while Jingshan has
operated in Inner Mongolia and Ganshu Province since 2007. The corporation has two
business concentrations, namely gold and diamonds. Meanwhile, Sino, an Australian
company, concentrates its operations in Jiling, Heliongjian, Guizou, and Shaanxi Provinces on
gold exploration. In addition, domestic government-owned corporations have also begun to
proliferate with exploration mechanisms no different from multinational companies.
In Papua New Guinea, multinational corporations only arrived in the early 20th century.
However, exploration of the country's natural resources had been going on since the late 19th
century by European miners (Banks, 1993: 315), albeit in a simple form. Rio Tinto was the
first company to conduct mining activities in the country, especially on Bouganville Island
and later on Lihir Island. In the following years, several other multinational companies such
as BHP Billiton and Newmont also entered Papua New Guinea and concentrated their
exploration in Ok Tedi, Woodlark and Tolukuma. The presence of these multinationals
showed how close the government was to them. Recognizing this closeness, the government
prepared policy tools to perpetuate the entry of these corporations through the National
Development Strategy.
This strategy contains instructions on how to bring multinational companies on the
economic stage of Papua New Guinea as it is believed that their presence will generate huge
profits for the country. Evidently, more and more multinational companies have since
invested in Papua New Guinea. As a result, since 1986, two-thirds of the country's economy
has been supported by foreign investment (Daniel and Sims in Banks, 1993: 318-319) with
mining being the most reliable sector. It would not be wrong to say that Papua New Guinea's
economy is highly dependent on the presence of these multinational mining companies.
Environmental degradation
Miracles are happening in China thanks to Deng Xiao Ping's leadership touch. Since the last
30 years, the country's economic growth has almost always been above 8 percent. This is due
to the tremendous pace of industry and trade in China after integrating with the world
economy. However, it seems that the country has to pay a heavy price for its economic
achievements with its impact on the environment. Based on a study conducted by Duan
Yonghou et al (1998 in Wang, 2004), it was stated that the cost of environmental damage due
to industrial activities in China reached 283 trillion yuan per year. According to Wang (2004),
one of the biggest contributors to the damage is from the mining sector which causes damage
to soil, water, air and forests.
Based on a study conducted by Liu et al (2002) in Shaanxi province, mining activities
have damaged soil conditions in several areas namely Yulin, Shenmu, Fugu, Hengshan,
Jingbian, and Dingbian. As a result, the land in these areas has been desertified, which has led
to increasingly limited land use. In addition, desertification also results in the fragile condition
of the ecosystem in the area. Not only in Shaanxi, this kind of condition also occurs in other
Chinese provinces. Actually, mining does not only lead to desertification, but also
deforestation. This deforestation then spurs an increase in the frequency of floods and
landslides, especially in the western part of the country (Wang, 2004:166). While many
debate the relationship between deforestation and flooding, Wang remains convinced that
there is a strong causal relationship between the two.
The activities of mining corporations also pollute water. Evidently, in China, the
industrial waste of mining corporations has poisoned the water there, including that in the
river. According to Li (2006), in 2002 alone, mining waste in China had reached 265.4
million tons. This number is predicted to continue to grow if the mining industry, along with
other industries, continues to boost its activities. Later, due to the large demand for energy
from this industrial sector, China was building a mega hydroelectric power project at Lancang
Jiang. This has drawn protests from neighboring countries because it is considered to damage
the environment in their countries, especially countries around the Mekong river basin (Goh,
2009).
Furthermore, China's air and forests are also threatened by mining activities. In addition
to holding the record for the highest GDP in the world, China also holds the record for being a
major producer of gas greenhouse gases in the world. The country recorded 2.8 million metric
tons of carbon dioxide emissions in 2000 (Liu & Diamond, 2005: 1181). The mining industry
has been blamed as one of the main contributors to air pollution. In the forestry sector, mining
activities have cut down millions of trees and deforested several mountain ranges. With the
damage in these two sectors, China is considered to have accelerated the rise of the earth's
temperature, which also means causing extreme climate change.
In Papua New Guinea, environmental damage from mining also occurs and tends to be
even more severe. According to information obtained by Evans et al (2002), in Ok Tedi, BHP
Billiton has disposed of 80,000 tons of waste per day. This has been going on since the
corporation first started its activities. As a result, the Ok Tedi river changed its color from
clear to brownish, and many animals died from the toxic waste. In fact, before the arrival of
the corporation, the river was filled with fish that became the source of livelihood for the local
community. However, as the river became polluted, the fish disappeared. In addition, on-site
mining activities also eroded the forest to the riverbank (Kirsch, 1996: 1-3).
The environmental damage on Bougainville Island is no less severe. There are around
4000 hectares of land damaged by mining waste. As a result, forests, rivers, bays, and even
the air on the island have been affected. Chemical mining waste is believed to be the main
factor that caused the forests around the mining site to die, the rivers (Jaba and Kawarong)
and Empress Augusta Bay to be polluted, and the air on the island to become dirty. Based on
a study conducted by Gillespie (1996), there are at least 300 hectares of forest damaged by
Bougainville mining activities. The polluted air is caused by a mixture of dust and carbon
emissions from machinery.
Some Threats to Human Security
As described in the literature review, the behavior of multinational corporations in the era of
globalization has now had a serious impact on the environment, which in turn threatens the
security of many people. It is believed that the increase in the earth's temperature to 6 degrees
over the next 100 years will reduce world food production by 60 percent (History, 2010).
According to some scientists, in addition to scarcity of food resources, social conflicts and
chronic diseases are also cited as real threats from environmental degradation.
Based on data from the Food Agricultural Organization (2010), the increasing frequency
of floods has resulted in the destruction of 13 million hectares of crop land in China. The
areas most affected by the floods are Yunnan, Sichuan, Guizhou, Hubei, Chongqing, Anhui,
Jiangxi, Guanxi, Guangdong, Hunnan, Gansu, and Shaanxi. In the next few years, China is
predicted to continue experiencing similar disasters given the country's rapid economic
growth. In addition, climate change has also begun to show its threat. Although food
production in China as a whole is predicted to remain relatively stable until the end of 2010,
wheat production shows otherwise. By the end of 2010, there will be a one percent decline in
wheat production from 115,121 tons to 114,000 tons.
In addition, social conflicts are also threatening China. As Ho (2006) points out, as the
country's forests are depleted by economic activity, social conflicts have begun to emerge
everywhere. China's rural communities are often involved in disputes over forest ownership
with certain companies. The Chinese government is struggling to deal with this. Rules have
been made regarding the relationship between the government, companies and communities.
However, these regulations do not work well in the field. Furthermore, conflicts do not only
occur among the Chinese people but also involve other surrounding countries. Laos, Thailand,
Cambodia and Vietnam are among those affected by the construction of a hydroelectric power
plant in Lancangjiang, Yunnan (Goh, 2009: 1). This power plant is planned to be used to
supply industrial needs in China.
Another impact is disease. As a result of the high levels of air pollution in China, the
population develops respiratory, heart and lung cancer. It has even been reported that
pollution in China has resulted in thousands of deaths in the country each year. The same goes
for water pollution. Notably, around 500 million China's population no longer has access to
clean water. Although the government has launched the construction of giant dams to obtain
clean water, China, especially in the north, still suffers from pollution and lack of clean water.
According to Kahn and Yardley (2007), it has been approximately 60,000 people died from
diarrheal diseases due to this water pollution.
Meanwhile, in Papua New Guinea, resource depletion due to mining activities is also
evident. As stated by Bhavnani (2009), based on the results of his study in the Porgera area,
water contaminated by mining company toxins and waste has resulted in the loss of some
agricultural land in the area. This was followed by a reduction in agricultural production,
leading to food shortages in the country. In addition, the climate change that was predicted to
threaten the country has so far become a reality. Evidently, the existing rainfall has affected
the amount of agricultural production. In the future, as predicted by Bourke and Harwood
(2009), climate conditions will be much more extreme, characterized by rising sea levels and
increasingly erratic rainfall.
The country's problems are exacerbated by social conflict. Local communities in Porgera,
for example, oppose the existence of mining corporations because they destroy the
environment in which they live. Not only that, the existence of these corporations has also
sparked conflicts among the local communities themselves. According to Banks (2008), the
cause is that on the one hand there are community groups that receive benefits from the
company and on the other hand there are those who only receive losses from the activities of
the mining company. Although there are other views on this issue, it cannot be denied that the
presence of the company increases the possibility of conflict.
Like China, Papua New Guinea is also threatened with chronic disease. So far, mining
company waste in the country has caused a variety of diseases including lung and bladder
disease. According to Kepore et al (2008:12), pollution from the company's waste is the main
cause of these diseases, as in their study of local communities in Ok Tedi. Communities are
also fearful of other diseases in the future. As in Ok Tedi, the people of Lihirian also
experience the same fear. They suffer from diseases caused by multinational mining
companies in their area (McIntyre et al 2005: 88).
Government Policy
There is an impression that these two countries tend not to be serious or half-hearted when
addressing environmental issues and their threats. This impression is quite reasonable given
the absence of a meaningful response from the governments of the two countries in resolving
these issues. The Chinese government, for example, with its fantastic economic growth rate, is
not necessarily willing to reduce pollution, such as greenhouse gas emissions, due to
economic activity in the country. Meanwhile, Papua New Guinea tends to play it safe by
implementing half-hearted environmental policies. It will be interesting to see how the
governments of these two countries show their commitment to the environmental problems
faced by their respective countries.
In China, almost every state policy is linked to the economy. In other words, if it is not
economically oriented, it is almost impossible to become a state policy. As a result, these
policies tend to ignore other aspects of life such as environmental sustainability. One example
is the Environmental Protection Law (EPL) created in 1979. Although environmental in
nature, it is actually not used to preserve the environment, but to carry out what is referred to
as 'decollectivization' which means the revocation of common property rights to resources
(Muldavin, 2000: 253-254). 'Decollectivization' marks a shift in the status of resource
ownership rights from the collective to the individual. Instead of aiming for environmental
sustainability, the existing legal instruments open up opportunities for the operation of market
mechanisms in resource management, which in turn damage the country's environment in the
future.
In addition to the EPL, there are several other sets of laws. Some of them are the Water
Pollution Prevention Law of 1982, Forest Law 1984, Grassland Law 1985, and Air Pollution
Law 1987. Unfortunately, these legal instruments are only a mere formality in order to create
the impression that the Chinese government is very committed to protecting the environment
and in line with global commitments to preserve the environment. In reality, the Chinese
government cannot resist the ambition to continuously drive the country's economic sector by
utilizing as many economic opportunities as possible, including the influx of foreign
investment. As a result, despite having a fairly comprehensive set of laws, the country has
proven unable to control the environmental damage that arises from these economic activities
(Beyer, 2006: 209).
Until the 2009 Copenhagen Summit (COP 15), the Chinese government showed its lack
of seriousness towards environmental conservation by not signing the agreement at the
meeting. The reason is, for China, economic growth is the main target. With an average
growth of eight percent each year, China is optimistic that it will become the only global
economic power in the future, beating the United States, provided that the country's economic
growth must be stable without any interruption. Therefore, reducing greenhouse gas emissions
by 40 to 45 percent per unit of GDP by 2020 (Bodansky, 2010: 2), as requested by the
meeting, is considered a stumbling block to China's target. However, at COP 16 held in
Cancun at the end of 2010, China had already shown its good faith. The country, along with
the United States, which is known as the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gases, has
agreed to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases. This means that both China and America
are obliged to reduce their economic activities. It will be interesting to see how China will
implement its new commitment.
Like China, the Papua New Guinea government is also taking half-hearted steps.
Although the country is known to be quite keen on campaigning for the reduction of global
carbon emissions and was one of the leaders in campaigning for the Reduce Carbon Emission
from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) program with Costa Rica at COP 11 in 2005
Mellick (2010: 359), Papua New Guinea does not seem to really want to fight environmental
degradation in its territory, but is only eyeing financial benefits from the program. Papua New
Guinea is considered to have no legal instruments that truly support the implementation of
REDD, in addition to the absence of a clear implementation mechanism and qualified human
resources to implement the program. As a result, instead of getting benefits, the Papua New
Guinea government has to be disappointed because until now it has not received any benefits.
It is interesting to see what Papua New Guinea's environmental laws actually look like.
The country has several laws including the Environmental Planning Act 1978, Conservation
Area Act 1978, Water Resource Act 1982, and National Parks Act 1982. Furthermore, in
1993, the Papua New Guinea government created a policy called the National Sustainable
Development Strategy after attending the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. Finally, in
2000, Papua New Guinea created a new set of laws (the New Environment Act). This law
combines the laws that came before it (Mowbray & Duguman 2006). The aim is to balance
environmental management and conservation in the country.
Despite the many laws protecting the environment, the Papua New Guinea government
has been unable to withstand the onslaught of multinational corporations. Kinley and Tadaki
(2003), notes how Papua New Guinea's parliament had to pass another legal instrument, the
Ok Tedi Mine Continuation Act in 2001, to restore the good name of BHP Billiton, which had
previously been accused of environmental destruction and human rights abuses in the region.
For Kinley and Tadaki, this shows how the country continues to be in the shadow of
multinational corporations. It also signifies that a multitude of laws and regulations do not
guarantee the preservation of a country's environment if they are only half-heartedly
implemented.
Conclusion
Globalization, which is marked by the movement of ideas, goods, people and technology, on
the one hand has brought blessings to many people from various nations and countries.
However, it cannot be denied that globalization also brings threats to them. As this paper
shows, globalization, especially in the mining sector, tends to have a negative impact on
environmental sustainability. Taking the case of the mining sector in two Asia Pacific
countries, namely China and Papua New Guinea, the expansion and exploitation of nature has
resulted in environmental degradation and in turn threatens human security in the two
countries.
Historically, on the one hand, environmental degradation in China and Papua New
Guinea began with the influx of foreign capital from developed countries to developing
countries, characterized by the presence of multinational companies that aim to seek
maximum profit. On the other hand, the governments of the countries concerned welcomed
the arrival of these multinational companies. In the mining sector, for example, the arrival of
multinational companies is even facilitated by state policies such as in China known as the
open door policy and in Papua New Guinea with the national development strategy.
Gradually, the number of multinational companies is increasing. As a result, environmental
damage is increasingly inevitable. Some of the forms of damage found include deforestation,
desertification, soil, water and air pollution.
In turn, this environmental destruction threatens human security. So far, there has been
some evidence of this threat. In China, the activities of multinational mining companies have
resulted in the destruction of forests, contamination of rivers, soil and air, which has led to
respiratory and digestive diseases, and reduced food availability for local communities. In
addition, there have been reports of social conflicts in the areas where these multinationals
operate. The same is true in Papua New Guinea. Mining activities have contaminated the land
and water where local people live depend on for their livelihoods. Furthermore, the presence
of the mining company threatens the food security of the population and ignites conflicts
between local residents there.
Actually, this problem can be solved through government policy. Unfortunately, existing
policies are half-heartedly implemented. To this day, there is no seriousness from the
governments of the two countries. Both China and Papua New Guinea actually have quite a
lot of legal instruments that regulate the relationship between economic activity and
environmental conservation. However, these tools are not enough to overcome the problems
of environmental degradation in their respective countries. Therefore, the commitment to
implement existing environmental policies needs to be wholehearted. Otherwise,
environmental degradation and threats to human security in the two countries will continue to
occur.
Globalization of Mining: The Case of China and Papua New Guinea
This section will focus on the globalization of the mining sector in two Asia-Pacific countries,
China and Papua New Guinea. It is believed that these sectors have a negative impact on the
environment and threaten human security in their respective regions.
Since Deng Xiao Ping became the number one person in China, the country immediately
implemented an open door policy for foreign investors and ended the era of China's economic
closure for 300 years (Tantri, 2006: 50). Since then, China has undergone a rapid economic
transformation. Starting from government policies that opened up opportunities for
multinational companies to carry out economic activities in the country, China then recorded
itself as a country with the third largest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the world (Liu and
Diamond 2005: 1180). Not only that, according to Walley and Xin (2007), China is even
listed as the highest-ranked country with Foreign Direct Investment, leaving the United States
in second place. This illustrates how China is very open to globalization by providing
opportunities for global economic agents to invest in the country.
One of the most attractive sectors for multinational companies is mining. Based on a
study conducted by Nolan and Zhang (2002), some of the multinational mining companies
investing in China are Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton, and Anglo-American. Later came the names
Eldorado Gold Mining, Jingshan and Sino Gold Mining. Eldorado and Jingshan are Canadian-
owned corporations. Eldorado operates in Tanjiangshan and Jinfeng, while Jingshan has
operated in Inner Mongolia and Ganshu Province since 2007. The corporation has two
business concentrations, namely gold and diamonds. Meanwhile, Sino, an Australian
company, concentrates its operations in Jiling, Heliongjian, Guizou, and Shaanxi Provinces on
gold exploration. In addition, domestic government-owned corporations have also begun to
proliferate with exploration mechanisms no different from multinational companies.
In Papua New Guinea, multinational corporations only arrived in the early 20th century.
However, exploration of the country's natural resources had been going on since the late 19th
century by European miners (Banks, 1993: 315), albeit in a simple form. Rio Tinto was the
first company to conduct mining activities in the country, especially on Bouganville Island
and later on Lihir Island. In the following years, several other multinational companies such
as BHP Billiton and Newmont also entered Papua New Guinea and concentrated their
exploration in Ok Tedi, Woodlark and Tolukuma. The presence of these multinationals
showed how close the government was to them. Recognizing this closeness, the government
prepared policy tools to perpetuate the entry of these corporations through the National
Development Strategy.
This strategy contains instructions on how to bring multinational companies on the
economic stage of Papua New Guinea as it is believed that their presence will generate huge
profits for the country. Evidently, more and more multinational companies have since
invested in Papua New Guinea. As a result, since 1986, two-thirds of the country's economy
has been supported by foreign investment (Daniel and Sims in Banks, 1993: 318-319) with
mining being the most reliable sector. It would not be wrong to say that Papua New Guinea's
economy is highly dependent on the presence of these multinational mining companies.
Environmental degradation
Miracles are happening in China thanks to Deng Xiao Ping's leadership touch. Since the last
30 years, the country's economic growth has almost always been above 8 percent. This is due
to the tremendous pace of industry and trade in China after integrating with the world
economy. However, it seems that the country has to pay a heavy price for its economic
achievements with its impact on the environment. Based on a study conducted by Duan
Yonghou et al (1998 in Wang, 2004), it was stated that the cost of environmental damage due
to industrial activities in China reached 283 trillion yuan per year. According to Wang (2004),
one of the biggest contributors to the damage is from the mining sector which causes damage
to soil, water, air and forests.
Based on a study conducted by Liu et al (2002) in Shaanxi province, mining activities
have damaged soil conditions in several areas namely Yulin, Shenmu, Fugu, Hengshan,
Jingbian, and Dingbian. As a result, the land in these areas has been desertified, which has led
to increasingly limited land use. In addition, desertification also results in the fragile condition
of the ecosystem in the area. Not only in Shaanxi, this kind of condition also occurs in other
Chinese provinces. Actually, mining does not only lead to desertification, but also
deforestation. This deforestation then spurs an increase in the frequency of floods and
landslides, especially in the western part of the country (Wang, 2004:166). While many
debate the relationship between deforestation and flooding, Wang remains convinced that
there is a strong causal relationship between the two.
The activities of mining corporations also pollute water. Evidently, in China, the
industrial waste of mining corporations has poisoned the water there, including that in the
river. According to Li (2006), in 2002 alone, mining waste in China had reached 265.4
million tons. This number is predicted to continue to grow if the mining industry, along with
other industries, continues to boost its activities. Later, due to the large demand for energy
from this industrial sector, China was building a mega hydroelectric power project at Lancang
Jiang. This has drawn protests from neighboring countries because it is considered to damage
the environment in their countries, especially countries around the Mekong river basin (Goh,
2009).
Furthermore, China's air and forests are also threatened by mining activities. In addition
to holding the record for the highest GDP in the world, China also holds the record for being a
major producer of gas greenhouse gases in the world. The country recorded 2.8 million metric
tons of carbon dioxide emissions in 2000 (Liu & Diamond, 2005: 1181). The mining industry
has been blamed as one of the main contributors to air pollution. In the forestry sector, mining
activities have cut down millions of trees and deforested several mountain ranges. With the
damage in these two sectors, China is considered to have accelerated the rise of the earth's
temperature, which also means causing extreme climate change.
In Papua New Guinea, environmental damage from mining also occurs and tends to be
even more severe. According to information obtained by Evans et al (2002), in Ok Tedi, BHP
Billiton has disposed of 80,000 tons of waste per day. This has been going on since the
corporation first started its activities. As a result, the Ok Tedi river changed its color from
clear to brownish, and many animals died from the toxic waste. In fact, before the arrival of
the corporation, the river was filled with fish that became the source of livelihood for the local
community. However, as the river became polluted, the fish disappeared. In addition, on-site
mining activities also eroded the forest to the riverbank (Kirsch, 1996: 1-3).
The environmental damage on Bougainville Island is no less severe. There are around
4000 hectares of land damaged by mining waste. As a result, forests, rivers, bays, and even
the air on the island have been affected. Chemical mining waste is believed to be the main
factor that caused the forests around the mining site to die, the rivers (Jaba and Kawarong)
and Empress Augusta Bay to be polluted, and the air on the island to become dirty. Based on
a study conducted by Gillespie (1996), there are at least 300 hectares of forest damaged by
Bougainville mining activities. The polluted air is caused by a mixture of dust and carbon
emissions from machinery.
Some Threats to Human Security
As described in the literature review, the behavior of multinational corporations in the era of
globalization has now had a serious impact on the environment, which in turn threatens the
security of many people. It is believed that the increase in the earth's temperature to 6 degrees
over the next 100 years will reduce world food production by 60 percent (History, 2010).
According to some scientists, in addition to scarcity of food resources, social conflicts and
chronic diseases are also cited as real threats from environmental degradation.
Based on data from the Food Agricultural Organization (2010), the increasing frequency
of floods has resulted in the destruction of 13 million hectares of crop land in China. The
areas most affected by the floods are Yunnan, Sichuan, Guizhou, Hubei, Chongqing, Anhui,
Jiangxi, Guanxi, Guangdong, Hunnan, Gansu, and Shaanxi. In the next few years, China is
predicted to continue experiencing similar disasters given the country's rapid economic
growth. In addition, climate change has also begun to show its threat. Although food
production in China as a whole is predicted to remain relatively stable until the end of 2010,
wheat production shows otherwise. By the end of 2010, there will be a one percent decline in
wheat production from 115,121 tons to 114,000 tons.
In addition, social conflicts are also threatening China. As Ho (2006) points out, as the
country's forests are depleted by economic activity, social conflicts have begun to emerge
everywhere. China's rural communities are often involved in disputes over forest ownership
with certain companies. The Chinese government is struggling to deal with this. Rules have
been made regarding the relationship between the government, companies and communities.
However, these regulations do not work well in the field. Furthermore, conflicts do not only
occur among the Chinese people but also involve other surrounding countries. Laos, Thailand,
Cambodia and Vietnam are among those affected by the construction of a hydroelectric power
plant in Lancangjiang, Yunnan (Goh, 2009: 1). This power plant is planned to be used to
supply industrial needs in China.
Another impact is disease. As a result of the high levels of air pollution in China, the
population develops respiratory, heart and lung cancer. It has even been reported that
pollution in China has resulted in thousands of deaths in the country each year. The same goes
for water pollution. Notably, around 500 million China's population no longer has access to
clean water. Although the government has launched the construction of giant dams to obtain
clean water, China, especially in the north, still suffers from pollution and lack of clean water.
According to Kahn and Yardley (2007), it has been approximately 60,000 people died from
diarrheal diseases due to this water pollution.
Meanwhile, in Papua New Guinea, resource depletion due to mining activities is also
evident. As stated by Bhavnani (2009), based on the results of his study in the Porgera area,
water contaminated by mining company toxins and waste has resulted in the loss of some
agricultural land in the area. This was followed by a reduction in agricultural production,
leading to food shortages in the country. In addition, the climate change that was predicted to
threaten the country has so far become a reality. Evidently, the existing rainfall has affected
the amount of agricultural production. In the future, as predicted by Bourke and Harwood
(2009), climate conditions will be much more extreme, characterized by rising sea levels and
increasingly erratic rainfall.
The country's problems are exacerbated by social conflict. Local communities in Porgera,
for example, oppose the existence of mining corporations because they destroy the
environment in which they live. Not only that, the existence of these corporations has also
sparked conflicts among the local communities themselves. According to Banks (2008), the
cause is that on the one hand there are community groups that receive benefits from the
company and on the other hand there are those who only receive losses from the activities of
the mining company. Although there are other views on this issue, it cannot be denied that the
presence of the company increases the possibility of conflict.
Like China, Papua New Guinea is also threatened with chronic disease. So far, mining
company waste in the country has caused a variety of diseases including lung and bladder
disease. According to Kepore et al (2008:12), pollution from the company's waste is the main
cause of these diseases, as in their study of local communities in Ok Tedi. Communities are
also fearful of other diseases in the future. As in Ok Tedi, the people of Lihirian also
experience the same fear. They suffer from diseases caused by multinational mining
companies in their area (McIntyre et al 2005: 88).
Government Policy
There is an impression that these two countries tend not to be serious or half-hearted when
addressing environmental issues and their threats. This impression is quite reasonable given
the absence of a meaningful response from the governments of the two countries in resolving
these issues. The Chinese government, for example, with its fantastic economic growth rate, is
not necessarily willing to reduce pollution, such as greenhouse gas emissions, due to
economic activity in the country. Meanwhile, Papua New Guinea tends to play it safe by
implementing half-hearted environmental policies. It will be interesting to see how the
governments of these two countries show their commitment to the environmental problems
faced by their respective countries.
In China, almost every state policy is linked to the economy. In other words, if it is not
economically oriented, it is almost impossible to become a state policy. As a result, these
policies tend to ignore other aspects of life such as environmental sustainability. One example
is the Environmental Protection Law (EPL) created in 1979. Although environmental in
nature, it is actually not used to preserve the environment, but to carry out what is referred to
as 'decollectivization' which means the revocation of common property rights to resources
(Muldavin, 2000: 253-254). 'Decollectivization' marks a shift in the status of resource
ownership rights from the collective to the individual. Instead of aiming for environmental
sustainability, the existing legal instruments open up opportunities for the operation of market
mechanisms in resource management, which in turn damage the country's environment in the
future.
In addition to the EPL, there are several other sets of laws. Some of them are the Water
Pollution Prevention Law of 1982, Forest Law 1984, Grassland Law 1985, and Air Pollution
Law 1987. Unfortunately, these legal instruments are only a mere formality in order to create
the impression that the Chinese government is very committed to protecting the environment
and in line with global commitments to preserve the environment. In reality, the Chinese
government cannot resist the ambition to continuously drive the country's economic sector by
utilizing as many economic opportunities as possible, including the influx of foreign
investment. As a result, despite having a fairly comprehensive set of laws, the country has
proven unable to control the environmental damage that arises from these economic activities
(Beyer, 2006: 209).
Until the 2009 Copenhagen Summit (COP 15), the Chinese government showed its lack
of seriousness towards environmental conservation by not signing the agreement at the
meeting. The reason is, for China, economic growth is the main target. With an average
growth of eight percent each year, China is optimistic that it will become the only global
economic power in the future, beating the United States, provided that the country's economic
growth must be stable without any interruption. Therefore, reducing greenhouse gas emissions
by 40 to 45 percent per unit of GDP by 2020 (Bodansky, 2010: 2), as requested by the
meeting, is considered a stumbling block to China's target. However, at COP 16 held in
Cancun at the end of 2010, China had already shown its good faith. The country, along with
the United States, which is known as the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gases, has
agreed to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases. This means that both China and America
are obliged to reduce their economic activities. It will be interesting to see how China will
implement its new commitment.
Like China, the Papua New Guinea government is also taking half-hearted steps.
Although the country is known to be quite keen on campaigning for the reduction of global
carbon emissions and was one of the leaders in campaigning for the Reduce Carbon Emission
from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) program with Costa Rica at COP 11 in 2005
Mellick (2010: 359), Papua New Guinea does not seem to really want to fight environmental
degradation in its territory, but is only eyeing financial benefits from the program. Papua New
Guinea is considered to have no legal instruments that truly support the implementation of
REDD, in addition to the absence of a clear implementation mechanism and qualified human
resources to implement the program. As a result, instead of getting benefits, the Papua New
Guinea government has to be disappointed because until now it has not received any benefits.
It is interesting to see what Papua New Guinea's environmental laws actually look like.
The country has several laws including the Environmental Planning Act 1978, Conservation
Area Act 1978, Water Resource Act 1982, and National Parks Act 1982. Furthermore, in
1993, the Papua New Guinea government created a policy called the National Sustainable
Development Strategy after attending the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. Finally, in
2000, Papua New Guinea created a new set of laws (the New Environment Act). This law
combines the laws that came before it (Mowbray & Duguman 2006). The aim is to balance
environmental management and conservation in the country.
Despite the many laws protecting the environment, the Papua New Guinea government
has been unable to withstand the onslaught of multinational corporations. Kinley and Tadaki
(2003), notes how Papua New Guinea's parliament had to pass another legal instrument, the
Ok Tedi Mine Continuation Act in 2001, to restore the good name of BHP Billiton, which had
previously been accused of environmental destruction and human rights abuses in the region.
For Kinley and Tadaki, this shows how the country continues to be in the shadow of
multinational corporations. It also signifies that a multitude of laws and regulations do not
guarantee the preservation of a country's environment if they are only half-heartedly
implemented.
Conclusion
Globalization, which is marked by the movement of ideas, goods, people and technology, on
the one hand has brought blessings to many people from various nations and countries.
However, it cannot be denied that globalization also brings threats to them. As this paper
shows, globalization, especially in the mining sector, tends to have a negative impact on
environmental sustainability. Taking the case of the mining sector in two Asia Pacific
countries, namely China and Papua New Guinea, the expansion and exploitation of nature has
resulted in environmental degradation and in turn threatens human security in the two
countries.
Historically, on the one hand, environmental degradation in China and Papua New
Guinea began with the influx of foreign capital from developed countries to developing
countries, characterized by the presence of multinational companies that aim to seek
maximum profit. On the other hand, the governments of the countries concerned welcomed
the arrival of these multinational companies. In the mining sector, for example, the arrival of
multinational companies is even facilitated by state policies such as in China known as the
open door policy and in Papua New Guinea with the national development strategy.
Gradually, the number of multinational companies is increasing. As a result, environmental
damage is increasingly inevitable. Some of the forms of damage found include deforestation,
desertification, soil, water and air pollution.
In turn, this environmental destruction threatens human security. So far, there has been
some evidence of this threat. In China, the activities of multinational mining companies have
resulted in the destruction of forests, contamination of rivers, soil and air, which has led to
respiratory and digestive diseases, and reduced food availability for local communities. In
addition, there have been reports of social conflicts in the areas where these multinationals
operate. The same is true in Papua New Guinea. Mining activities have contaminated the land
and water where local people live depend on for their livelihoods. Furthermore, the presence
of the mining company threatens the food security of the population and ignites conflicts
between local residents there.
Actually, this problem can be solved through government policy. Unfortunately, existing
policies are half-heartedly implemented. To this day, there is no seriousness from the
governments of the two countries. Both China and Papua New Guinea actually have quite a
lot of legal instruments that regulate the relationship between economic activity and
environmental conservation. However, these tools are not enough to overcome the problems
of environmental degradation in their respective countries. Therefore, the commitment to
implement existing environmental policies needs to be wholehearted. Otherwise,
environmental degradation and threats to human security in the two countries will continue to
occur.
Globalization of Mining: The Case of China and Papua New Guinea
This section will focus on the globalization of the mining sector in two Asia-Pacific countries,
China and Papua New Guinea. It is believed that these sectors have a negative impact on the
environment and threaten human security in their respective regions.
Since Deng Xiao Ping became the number one person in China, the country immediately
implemented an open door policy for foreign investors and ended the era of China's economic
closure for 300 years (Tantri, 2006: 50). Since then, China has undergone a rapid economic
transformation. Starting from government policies that opened up opportunities for
multinational companies to carry out economic activities in the country, China then recorded
itself as a country with the third largest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the world (Liu and
Diamond 2005: 1180). Not only that, according to Walley and Xin (2007), China is even
listed as the highest-ranked country with Foreign Direct Investment, leaving the United States
in second place. This illustrates how China is very open to globalization by providing
opportunities for global economic agents to invest in the country.
One of the most attractive sectors for multinational companies is mining. Based on a
study conducted by Nolan and Zhang (2002), some of the multinational mining companies
investing in China are Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton, and Anglo-American. Later came the names
Eldorado Gold Mining, Jingshan and Sino Gold Mining. Eldorado and Jingshan are Canadian-
owned corporations. Eldorado operates in Tanjiangshan and Jinfeng, while Jingshan has
operated in Inner Mongolia and Ganshu Province since 2007. The corporation has two
business concentrations, namely gold and diamonds. Meanwhile, Sino, an Australian
company, concentrates its operations in Jiling, Heliongjian, Guizou, and Shaanxi Provinces on
gold exploration. In addition, domestic government-owned corporations have also begun to
proliferate with exploration mechanisms no different from multinational companies.
In Papua New Guinea, multinational corporations only arrived in the early 20th century.
However, exploration of the country's natural resources had been going on since the late 19th
century by European miners (Banks, 1993: 315), albeit in a simple form. Rio Tinto was the
first company to conduct mining activities in the country, especially on Bouganville Island
and later on Lihir Island. In the following years, several other multinational companies such
as BHP Billiton and Newmont also entered Papua New Guinea and concentrated their
exploration in Ok Tedi, Woodlark and Tolukuma. The presence of these multinationals
showed how close the government was to them. Recognizing this closeness, the government
prepared policy tools to perpetuate the entry of these corporations through the National
Development Strategy.
This strategy contains instructions on how to bring multinational companies on the
economic stage of Papua New Guinea as it is believed that their presence will generate huge
profits for the country. Evidently, more and more multinational companies have since
invested in Papua New Guinea. As a result, since 1986, two-thirds of the country's economy
has been supported by foreign investment (Daniel and Sims in Banks, 1993: 318-319) with
mining being the most reliable sector. It would not be wrong to say that Papua New Guinea's
economy is highly dependent on the presence of these multinational mining companies.
Environmental degradation
Miracles are happening in China thanks to Deng Xiao Ping's leadership touch. Since the last
30 years, the country's economic growth has almost always been above 8 percent. This is due
to the tremendous pace of industry and trade in China after integrating with the world
economy. However, it seems that the country has to pay a heavy price for its economic
achievements with its impact on the environment. Based on a study conducted by Duan
Yonghou et al (1998 in Wang, 2004), it was stated that the cost of environmental damage due
to industrial activities in China reached 283 trillion yuan per year. According to Wang (2004),
one of the biggest contributors to the damage is from the mining sector which causes damage
to soil, water, air and forests.
Based on a study conducted by Liu et al (2002) in Shaanxi province, mining activities
have damaged soil conditions in several areas namely Yulin, Shenmu, Fugu, Hengshan,
Jingbian, and Dingbian. As a result, the land in these areas has been desertified, which has led
to increasingly limited land use. In addition, desertification also results in the fragile condition
of the ecosystem in the area. Not only in Shaanxi, this kind of condition also occurs in other
Chinese provinces. Actually, mining does not only lead to desertification, but also
deforestation. This deforestation then spurs an increase in the frequency of floods and
landslides, especially in the western part of the country (Wang, 2004:166). While many
debate the relationship between deforestation and flooding, Wang remains convinced that
there is a strong causal relationship between the two.
The activities of mining corporations also pollute water. Evidently, in China, the
industrial waste of mining corporations has poisoned the water there, including that in the
river. According to Li (2006), in 2002 alone, mining waste in China had reached 265.4
million tons. This number is predicted to continue to grow if the mining industry, along with
other industries, continues to boost its activities. Later, due to the large demand for energy
from this industrial sector, China was building a mega hydroelectric power project at Lancang
Jiang. This has drawn protests from neighboring countries because it is considered to damage
the environment in their countries, especially countries around the Mekong river basin (Goh,
2009).
Furthermore, China's air and forests are also threatened by mining activities. In addition
to holding the record for the highest GDP in the world, China also holds the record for being a
major producer of gas greenhouse gases in the world. The country recorded 2.8 million metric
tons of carbon dioxide emissions in 2000 (Liu & Diamond, 2005: 1181). The mining industry
has been blamed as one of the main contributors to air pollution. In the forestry sector, mining
activities have cut down millions of trees and deforested several mountain ranges. With the
damage in these two sectors, China is considered to have accelerated the rise of the earth's
temperature, which also means causing extreme climate change.
In Papua New Guinea, environmental damage from mining also occurs and tends to be
even more severe. According to information obtained by Evans et al (2002), in Ok Tedi, BHP
Billiton has disposed of 80,000 tons of waste per day. This has been going on since the
corporation first started its activities. As a result, the Ok Tedi river changed its color from
clear to brownish, and many animals died from the toxic waste. In fact, before the arrival of
the corporation, the river was filled with fish that became the source of livelihood for the local
community. However, as the river became polluted, the fish disappeared. In addition, on-site
mining activities also eroded the forest to the riverbank (Kirsch, 1996: 1-3).
The environmental damage on Bougainville Island is no less severe. There are around
4000 hectares of land damaged by mining waste. As a result, forests, rivers, bays, and even
the air on the island have been affected. Chemical mining waste is believed to be the main
factor that caused the forests around the mining site to die, the rivers (Jaba and Kawarong)
and Empress Augusta Bay to be polluted, and the air on the island to become dirty. Based on
a study conducted by Gillespie (1996), there are at least 300 hectares of forest damaged by
Bougainville mining activities. The polluted air is caused by a mixture of dust and carbon
emissions from machinery.
Some Threats to Human Security
As described in the literature review, the behavior of multinational corporations in the era of
globalization has now had a serious impact on the environment, which in turn threatens the
security of many people. It is believed that the increase in the earth's temperature to 6 degrees
over the next 100 years will reduce world food production by 60 percent (History, 2010).
According to some scientists, in addition to scarcity of food resources, social conflicts and
chronic diseases are also cited as real threats from environmental degradation.
Based on data from the Food Agricultural Organization (2010), the increasing frequency
of floods has resulted in the destruction of 13 million hectares of crop land in China. The
areas most affected by the floods are Yunnan, Sichuan, Guizhou, Hubei, Chongqing, Anhui,
Jiangxi, Guanxi, Guangdong, Hunnan, Gansu, and Shaanxi. In the next few years, China is
predicted to continue experiencing similar disasters given the country's rapid economic
growth. In addition, climate change has also begun to show its threat. Although food
production in China as a whole is predicted to remain relatively stable until the end of 2010,
wheat production shows otherwise. By the end of 2010, there will be a one percent decline in
wheat production from 115,121 tons to 114,000 tons.
In addition, social conflicts are also threatening China. As Ho (2006) points out, as the
country's forests are depleted by economic activity, social conflicts have begun to emerge
everywhere. China's rural communities are often involved in disputes over forest ownership
with certain companies. The Chinese government is struggling to deal with this. Rules have
been made regarding the relationship between the government, companies and communities.
However, these regulations do not work well in the field. Furthermore, conflicts do not only
occur among the Chinese people but also involve other surrounding countries. Laos, Thailand,
Cambodia and Vietnam are among those affected by the construction of a hydroelectric power
plant in Lancangjiang, Yunnan (Goh, 2009: 1). This power plant is planned to be used to
supply industrial needs in China.
Another impact is disease. As a result of the high levels of air pollution in China, the
population develops respiratory, heart and lung cancer. It has even been reported that
pollution in China has resulted in thousands of deaths in the country each year. The same goes
for water pollution. Notably, around 500 million China's population no longer has access to
clean water. Although the government has launched the construction of giant dams to obtain
clean water, China, especially in the north, still suffers from pollution and lack of clean water.
According to Kahn and Yardley (2007), it has been approximately 60,000 people died from
diarrheal diseases due to this water pollution.
Meanwhile, in Papua New Guinea, resource depletion due to mining activities is also
evident. As stated by Bhavnani (2009), based on the results of his study in the Porgera area,
water contaminated by mining company toxins and waste has resulted in the loss of some
agricultural land in the area. This was followed by a reduction in agricultural production,
leading to food shortages in the country. In addition, the climate change that was predicted to
threaten the country has so far become a reality. Evidently, the existing rainfall has affected
the amount of agricultural production. In the future, as predicted by Bourke and Harwood
(2009), climate conditions will be much more extreme, characterized by rising sea levels and
increasingly erratic rainfall.
The country's problems are exacerbated by social conflict. Local communities in Porgera,
for example, oppose the existence of mining corporations because they destroy the
environment in which they live. Not only that, the existence of these corporations has also
sparked conflicts among the local communities themselves. According to Banks (2008), the
cause is that on the one hand there are community groups that receive benefits from the
company and on the other hand there are those who only receive losses from the activities of
the mining company. Although there are other views on this issue, it cannot be denied that the
presence of the company increases the possibility of conflict.
Like China, Papua New Guinea is also threatened with chronic disease. So far, mining
company waste in the country has caused a variety of diseases including lung and bladder
disease. According to Kepore et al (2008:12), pollution from the company's waste is the main
cause of these diseases, as in their study of local communities in Ok Tedi. Communities are
also fearful of other diseases in the future. As in Ok Tedi, the people of Lihirian also
experience the same fear. They suffer from diseases caused by multinational mining
companies in their area (McIntyre et al 2005: 88).
Government Policy
There is an impression that these two countries tend not to be serious or half-hearted when
addressing environmental issues and their threats. This impression is quite reasonable given
the absence of a meaningful response from the governments of the two countries in resolving
these issues. The Chinese government, for example, with its fantastic economic growth rate, is
not necessarily willing to reduce pollution, such as greenhouse gas emissions, due to
economic activity in the country. Meanwhile, Papua New Guinea tends to play it safe by
implementing half-hearted environmental policies. It will be interesting to see how the
governments of these two countries show their commitment to the environmental problems
faced by their respective countries.
In China, almost every state policy is linked to the economy. In other words, if it is not
economically oriented, it is almost impossible to become a state policy. As a result, these
policies tend to ignore other aspects of life such as environmental sustainability. One example
is the Environmental Protection Law (EPL) created in 1979. Although environmental in
nature, it is actually not used to preserve the environment, but to carry out what is referred to
as 'decollectivization' which means the revocation of common property rights to resources
(Muldavin, 2000: 253-254). 'Decollectivization' marks a shift in the status of resource
ownership rights from the collective to the individual. Instead of aiming for environmental
sustainability, the existing legal instruments open up opportunities for the operation of market
mechanisms in resource management, which in turn damage the country's environment in the
future.
In addition to the EPL, there are several other sets of laws. Some of them are the Water
Pollution Prevention Law of 1982, Forest Law 1984, Grassland Law 1985, and Air Pollution
Law 1987. Unfortunately, these legal instruments are only a mere formality in order to create
the impression that the Chinese government is very committed to protecting the environment
and in line with global commitments to preserve the environment. In reality, the Chinese
government cannot resist the ambition to continuously drive the country's economic sector by
utilizing as many economic opportunities as possible, including the influx of foreign
investment. As a result, despite having a fairly comprehensive set of laws, the country has
proven unable to control the environmental damage that arises from these economic activities
(Beyer, 2006: 209).
Until the 2009 Copenhagen Summit (COP 15), the Chinese government showed its lack
of seriousness towards environmental conservation by not signing the agreement at the
meeting. The reason is, for China, economic growth is the main target. With an average
growth of eight percent each year, China is optimistic that it will become the only global
economic power in the future, beating the United States, provided that the country's economic
growth must be stable without any interruption. Therefore, reducing greenhouse gas emissions
by 40 to 45 percent per unit of GDP by 2020 (Bodansky, 2010: 2), as requested by the
meeting, is considered a stumbling block to China's target. However, at COP 16 held in
Cancun at the end of 2010, China had already shown its good faith. The country, along with
the United States, which is known as the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gases, has
agreed to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases. This means that both China and America
are obliged to reduce their economic activities. It will be interesting to see how China will
implement its new commitment.
Like China, the Papua New Guinea government is also taking half-hearted steps.
Although the country is known to be quite keen on campaigning for the reduction of global
carbon emissions and was one of the leaders in campaigning for the Reduce Carbon Emission
from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) program with Costa Rica at COP 11 in 2005
Mellick (2010: 359), Papua New Guinea does not seem to really want to fight environmental
degradation in its territory, but is only eyeing financial benefits from the program. Papua New
Guinea is considered to have no legal instruments that truly support the implementation of
REDD, in addition to the absence of a clear implementation mechanism and qualified human
resources to implement the program. As a result, instead of getting benefits, the Papua New
Guinea government has to be disappointed because until now it has not received any benefits.
It is interesting to see what Papua New Guinea's environmental laws actually look like.
The country has several laws including the Environmental Planning Act 1978, Conservation
Area Act 1978, Water Resource Act 1982, and National Parks Act 1982. Furthermore, in
1993, the Papua New Guinea government created a policy called the National Sustainable
Development Strategy after attending the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. Finally, in
2000, Papua New Guinea created a new set of laws (the New Environment Act). This law
combines the laws that came before it (Mowbray & Duguman 2006). The aim is to balance
environmental management and conservation in the country.
Despite the many laws protecting the environment, the Papua New Guinea government
has been unable to withstand the onslaught of multinational corporations. Kinley and Tadaki
(2003), notes how Papua New Guinea's parliament had to pass another legal instrument, the
Ok Tedi Mine Continuation Act in 2001, to restore the good name of BHP Billiton, which had
previously been accused of environmental destruction and human rights abuses in the region.
For Kinley and Tadaki, this shows how the country continues to be in the shadow of
multinational corporations. It also signifies that a multitude of laws and regulations do not
guarantee the preservation of a country's environment if they are only half-heartedly
implemented.
Conclusion
Globalization, which is marked by the movement of ideas, goods, people and technology, on
the one hand has brought blessings to many people from various nations and countries.
However, it cannot be denied that globalization also brings threats to them. As this paper
shows, globalization, especially in the mining sector, tends to have a negative impact on
environmental sustainability. Taking the case of the mining sector in two Asia Pacific
countries, namely China and Papua New Guinea, the expansion and exploitation of nature has
resulted in environmental degradation and in turn threatens human security in the two
countries.
Historically, on the one hand, environmental degradation in China and Papua New
Guinea began with the influx of foreign capital from developed countries to developing
countries, characterized by the presence of multinational companies that aim to seek
maximum profit. On the other hand, the governments of the countries concerned welcomed
the arrival of these multinational companies. In the mining sector, for example, the arrival of
multinational companies is even facilitated by state policies such as in China known as the
open door policy and in Papua New Guinea with the national development strategy.
Gradually, the number of multinational companies is increasing. As a result, environmental
damage is increasingly inevitable. Some of the forms of damage found include deforestation,
desertification, soil, water and air pollution.
In turn, this environmental destruction threatens human security. So far, there has been
some evidence of this threat. In China, the activities of multinational mining companies have
resulted in the destruction of forests, contamination of rivers, soil and air, which has led to
respiratory and digestive diseases, and reduced food availability for local communities. In
addition, there have been reports of social conflicts in the areas where these multinationals
operate. The same is true in Papua New Guinea. Mining activities have contaminated the land
and water where local people live depend on for their livelihoods. Furthermore, the presence
of the mining company threatens the food security of the population and ignites conflicts
between local residents there.
Actually, this problem can be solved through government policy. Unfortunately, existing
policies are half-heartedly implemented. To this day, there is no seriousness from the
governments of the two countries. Both China and Papua New Guinea actually have quite a
lot of legal instruments that regulate the relationship between economic activity and
environmental conservation. However, these tools are not enough to overcome the problems
of environmental degradation in their respective countries. Therefore, the commitment to
implement existing environmental policies needs to be wholehearted. Otherwise,
environmental degradation and threats to human security in the two countries will continue to
occur.
Globalization of Mining: The Case of China and Papua New Guinea
This section will focus on the globalization of the mining sector in two Asia-Pacific countries,
China and Papua New Guinea. It is believed that these sectors have a negative impact on the
environment and threaten human security in their respective regions.
Since Deng Xiao Ping became the number one person in China, the country immediately
implemented an open door policy for foreign investors and ended the era of China's economic
closure for 300 years (Tantri, 2006: 50). Since then, China has undergone a rapid economic
transformation. Starting from government policies that opened up opportunities for
multinational companies to carry out economic activities in the country, China then recorded
itself as a country with the third largest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the world (Liu and
Diamond 2005: 1180). Not only that, according to Walley and Xin (2007), China is even
listed as the highest-ranked country with Foreign Direct Investment, leaving the United States
in second place. This illustrates how China is very open to globalization by providing
opportunities for global economic agents to invest in the country.
One of the most attractive sectors for multinational companies is mining. Based on a
study conducted by Nolan and Zhang (2002), some of the multinational mining companies
investing in China are Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton, and Anglo-American. Later came the names
Eldorado Gold Mining, Jingshan and Sino Gold Mining. Eldorado and Jingshan are Canadian-
owned corporations. Eldorado operates in Tanjiangshan and Jinfeng, while Jingshan has
operated in Inner Mongolia and Ganshu Province since 2007. The corporation has two
business concentrations, namely gold and diamonds. Meanwhile, Sino, an Australian
company, concentrates its operations in Jiling, Heliongjian, Guizou, and Shaanxi Provinces on
gold exploration. In addition, domestic government-owned corporations have also begun to
proliferate with exploration mechanisms no different from multinational companies.
In Papua New Guinea, multinational corporations only arrived in the early 20th century.
However, exploration of the country's natural resources had been going on since the late 19th
century by European miners (Banks, 1993: 315), albeit in a simple form. Rio Tinto was the
first company to conduct mining activities in the country, especially on Bouganville Island
and later on Lihir Island. In the following years, several other multinational companies such
as BHP Billiton and Newmont also entered Papua New Guinea and concentrated their
exploration in Ok Tedi, Woodlark and Tolukuma. The presence of these multinationals
showed how close the government was to them. Recognizing this closeness, the government
prepared policy tools to perpetuate the entry of these corporations through the National
Development Strategy.
This strategy contains instructions on how to bring multinational companies on the
economic stage of Papua New Guinea as it is believed that their presence will generate huge
profits for the country. Evidently, more and more multinational companies have since
invested in Papua New Guinea. As a result, since 1986, two-thirds of the country's economy
has been supported by foreign investment (Daniel and Sims in Banks, 1993: 318-319) with
mining being the most reliable sector. It would not be wrong to say that Papua New Guinea's
economy is highly dependent on the presence of these multinational mining companies.
Environmental degradation
Miracles are happening in China thanks to Deng Xiao Ping's leadership touch. Since the last
30 years, the country's economic growth has almost always been above 8 percent. This is due
to the tremendous pace of industry and trade in China after integrating with the world
economy. However, it seems that the country has to pay a heavy price for its economic
achievements with its impact on the environment. Based on a study conducted by Duan
Yonghou et al (1998 in Wang, 2004), it was stated that the cost of environmental damage due
to industrial activities in China reached 283 trillion yuan per year. According to Wang (2004),
one of the biggest contributors to the damage is from the mining sector which causes damage
to soil, water, air and forests.
Based on a study conducted by Liu et al (2002) in Shaanxi province, mining activities
have damaged soil conditions in several areas namely Yulin, Shenmu, Fugu, Hengshan,
Jingbian, and Dingbian. As a result, the land in these areas has been desertified, which has led
to increasingly limited land use. In addition, desertification also results in the fragile condition
of the ecosystem in the area. Not only in Shaanxi, this kind of condition also occurs in other
Chinese provinces. Actually, mining does not only lead to desertification, but also
deforestation. This deforestation then spurs an increase in the frequency of floods and
landslides, especially in the western part of the country (Wang, 2004:166). While many
debate the relationship between deforestation and flooding, Wang remains convinced that
there is a strong causal relationship between the two.
The activities of mining corporations also pollute water. Evidently, in China, the
industrial waste of mining corporations has poisoned the water there, including that in the
river. According to Li (2006), in 2002 alone, mining waste in China had reached 265.4
million tons. This number is predicted to continue to grow if the mining industry, along with
other industries, continues to boost its activities. Later, due to the large demand for energy
from this industrial sector, China was building a mega hydroelectric power project at Lancang
Jiang. This has drawn protests from neighboring countries because it is considered to damage
the environment in their countries, especially countries around the Mekong river basin (Goh,
2009).
Furthermore, China's air and forests are also threatened by mining activities. In addition
to holding the record for the highest GDP in the world, China also holds the record for being a
major producer of gas greenhouse gases in the world. The country recorded 2.8 million metric
tons of carbon dioxide emissions in 2000 (Liu & Diamond, 2005: 1181). The mining industry
has been blamed as one of the main contributors to air pollution. In the forestry sector, mining
activities have cut down millions of trees and deforested several mountain ranges. With the
damage in these two sectors, China is considered to have accelerated the rise of the earth's
temperature, which also means causing extreme climate change.
In Papua New Guinea, environmental damage from mining also occurs and tends to be
even more severe. According to information obtained by Evans et al (2002), in Ok Tedi, BHP
Billiton has disposed of 80,000 tons of waste per day. This has been going on since the
corporation first started its activities. As a result, the Ok Tedi river changed its color from
clear to brownish, and many animals died from the toxic waste. In fact, before the arrival of
the corporation, the river was filled with fish that became the source of livelihood for the local
community. However, as the river became polluted, the fish disappeared. In addition, on-site
mining activities also eroded the forest to the riverbank (Kirsch, 1996: 1-3).
The environmental damage on Bougainville Island is no less severe. There are around
4000 hectares of land damaged by mining waste. As a result, forests, rivers, bays, and even
the air on the island have been affected. Chemical mining waste is believed to be the main
factor that caused the forests around the mining site to die, the rivers (Jaba and Kawarong)
and Empress Augusta Bay to be polluted, and the air on the island to become dirty. Based on
a study conducted by Gillespie (1996), there are at least 300 hectares of forest damaged by
Bougainville mining activities. The polluted air is caused by a mixture of dust and carbon
emissions from machinery.
Some Threats to Human Security
As described in the literature review, the behavior of multinational corporations in the era of
globalization has now had a serious impact on the environment, which in turn threatens the
security of many people. It is believed that the increase in the earth's temperature to 6 degrees
over the next 100 years will reduce world food production by 60 percent (History, 2010).
According to some scientists, in addition to scarcity of food resources, social conflicts and
chronic diseases are also cited as real threats from environmental degradation.
Based on data from the Food Agricultural Organization (2010), the increasing frequency
of floods has resulted in the destruction of 13 million hectares of crop land in China. The
areas most affected by the floods are Yunnan, Sichuan, Guizhou, Hubei, Chongqing, Anhui,
Jiangxi, Guanxi, Guangdong, Hunnan, Gansu, and Shaanxi. In the next few years, China is
predicted to continue experiencing similar disasters given the country's rapid economic
growth. In addition, climate change has also begun to show its threat. Although food
production in China as a whole is predicted to remain relatively stable until the end of 2010,
wheat production shows otherwise. By the end of 2010, there will be a one percent decline in
wheat production from 115,121 tons to 114,000 tons.
In addition, social conflicts are also threatening China. As Ho (2006) points out, as the
country's forests are depleted by economic activity, social conflicts have begun to emerge
everywhere. China's rural communities are often involved in disputes over forest ownership
with certain companies. The Chinese government is struggling to deal with this. Rules have
been made regarding the relationship between the government, companies and communities.
However, these regulations do not work well in the field. Furthermore, conflicts do not only
occur among the Chinese people but also involve other surrounding countries. Laos, Thailand,
Cambodia and Vietnam are among those affected by the construction of a hydroelectric power
plant in Lancangjiang, Yunnan (Goh, 2009: 1). This power plant is planned to be used to
supply industrial needs in China.
Another impact is disease. As a result of the high levels of air pollution in China, the
population develops respiratory, heart and lung cancer. It has even been reported that
pollution in China has resulted in thousands of deaths in the country each year. The same goes
for water pollution. Notably, around 500 million China's population no longer has access to
clean water. Although the government has launched the construction of giant dams to obtain
clean water, China, especially in the north, still suffers from pollution and lack of clean water.
According to Kahn and Yardley (2007), it has been approximately 60,000 people died from
diarrheal diseases due to this water pollution.
Meanwhile, in Papua New Guinea, resource depletion due to mining activities is also
evident. As stated by Bhavnani (2009), based on the results of his study in the Porgera area,
water contaminated by mining company toxins and waste has resulted in the loss of some
agricultural land in the area. This was followed by a reduction in agricultural production,
leading to food shortages in the country. In addition, the climate change that was predicted to
threaten the country has so far become a reality. Evidently, the existing rainfall has affected
the amount of agricultural production. In the future, as predicted by Bourke and Harwood
(2009), climate conditions will be much more extreme, characterized by rising sea levels and
increasingly erratic rainfall.
The country's problems are exacerbated by social conflict. Local communities in Porgera,
for example, oppose the existence of mining corporations because they destroy the
environment in which they live. Not only that, the existence of these corporations has also
sparked conflicts among the local communities themselves. According to Banks (2008), the
cause is that on the one hand there are community groups that receive benefits from the
company and on the other hand there are those who only receive losses from the activities of
the mining company. Although there are other views on this issue, it cannot be denied that the
presence of the company increases the possibility of conflict.
Like China, Papua New Guinea is also threatened with chronic disease. So far, mining
company waste in the country has caused a variety of diseases including lung and bladder
disease. According to Kepore et al (2008:12), pollution from the company's waste is the main
cause of these diseases, as in their study of local communities in Ok Tedi. Communities are
also fearful of other diseases in the future. As in Ok Tedi, the people of Lihirian also
experience the same fear. They suffer from diseases caused by multinational mining
companies in their area (McIntyre et al 2005: 88).
Government Policy
There is an impression that these two countries tend not to be serious or half-hearted when
addressing environmental issues and their threats. This impression is quite reasonable given
the absence of a meaningful response from the governments of the two countries in resolving
these issues. The Chinese government, for example, with its fantastic economic growth rate, is
not necessarily willing to reduce pollution, such as greenhouse gas emissions, due to
economic activity in the country. Meanwhile, Papua New Guinea tends to play it safe by
implementing half-hearted environmental policies. It will be interesting to see how the
governments of these two countries show their commitment to the environmental problems
faced by their respective countries.
In China, almost every state policy is linked to the economy. In other words, if it is not
economically oriented, it is almost impossible to become a state policy. As a result, these
policies tend to ignore other aspects of life such as environmental sustainability. One example
is the Environmental Protection Law (EPL) created in 1979. Although environmental in
nature, it is actually not used to preserve the environment, but to carry out what is referred to
as 'decollectivization' which means the revocation of common property rights to resources
(Muldavin, 2000: 253-254). 'Decollectivization' marks a shift in the status of resource
ownership rights from the collective to the individual. Instead of aiming for environmental
sustainability, the existing legal instruments open up opportunities for the operation of market
mechanisms in resource management, which in turn damage the country's environment in the
future.
In addition to the EPL, there are several other sets of laws. Some of them are the Water
Pollution Prevention Law of 1982, Forest Law 1984, Grassland Law 1985, and Air Pollution
Law 1987. Unfortunately, these legal instruments are only a mere formality in order to create
the impression that the Chinese government is very committed to protecting the environment
and in line with global commitments to preserve the environment. In reality, the Chinese
government cannot resist the ambition to continuously drive the country's economic sector by
utilizing as many economic opportunities as possible, including the influx of foreign
investment. As a result, despite having a fairly comprehensive set of laws, the country has
proven unable to control the environmental damage that arises from these economic activities
(Beyer, 2006: 209).
Until the 2009 Copenhagen Summit (COP 15), the Chinese government showed its lack
of seriousness towards environmental conservation by not signing the agreement at the
meeting. The reason is, for China, economic growth is the main target. With an average
growth of eight percent each year, China is optimistic that it will become the only global
economic power in the future, beating the United States, provided that the country's economic
growth must be stable without any interruption. Therefore, reducing greenhouse gas emissions
by 40 to 45 percent per unit of GDP by 2020 (Bodansky, 2010: 2), as requested by the
meeting, is considered a stumbling block to China's target. However, at COP 16 held in
Cancun at the end of 2010, China had already shown its good faith. The country, along with
the United States, which is known as the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gases, has
agreed to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases. This means that both China and America
are obliged to reduce their economic activities. It will be interesting to see how China will
implement its new commitment.
Like China, the Papua New Guinea government is also taking half-hearted steps.
Although the country is known to be quite keen on campaigning for the reduction of global
carbon emissions and was one of the leaders in campaigning for the Reduce Carbon Emission
from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) program with Costa Rica at COP 11 in 2005
Mellick (2010: 359), Papua New Guinea does not seem to really want to fight environmental
degradation in its territory, but is only eyeing financial benefits from the program. Papua New
Guinea is considered to have no legal instruments that truly support the implementation of
REDD, in addition to the absence of a clear implementation mechanism and qualified human
resources to implement the program. As a result, instead of getting benefits, the Papua New
Guinea government has to be disappointed because until now it has not received any benefits.
It is interesting to see what Papua New Guinea's environmental laws actually look like.
The country has several laws including the Environmental Planning Act 1978, Conservation
Area Act 1978, Water Resource Act 1982, and National Parks Act 1982. Furthermore, in
1993, the Papua New Guinea government created a policy called the National Sustainable
Development Strategy after attending the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. Finally, in
2000, Papua New Guinea created a new set of laws (the New Environment Act). This law
combines the laws that came before it (Mowbray & Duguman 2006). The aim is to balance
environmental management and conservation in the country.
Despite the many laws protecting the environment, the Papua New Guinea government
has been unable to withstand the onslaught of multinational corporations. Kinley and Tadaki
(2003), notes how Papua New Guinea's parliament had to pass another legal instrument, the
Ok Tedi Mine Continuation Act in 2001, to restore the good name of BHP Billiton, which had
previously been accused of environmental destruction and human rights abuses in the region.
For Kinley and Tadaki, this shows how the country continues to be in the shadow of
multinational corporations. It also signifies that a multitude of laws and regulations do not
guarantee the preservation of a country's environment if they are only half-heartedly
implemented.
Conclusion
Globalization, which is marked by the movement of ideas, goods, people and technology, on
the one hand has brought blessings to many people from various nations and countries.
However, it cannot be denied that globalization also brings threats to them. As this paper
shows, globalization, especially in the mining sector, tends to have a negative impact on
environmental sustainability. Taking the case of the mining sector in two Asia Pacific
countries, namely China and Papua New Guinea, the expansion and exploitation of nature has
resulted in environmental degradation and in turn threatens human security in the two
countries.
Historically, on the one hand, environmental degradation in China and Papua New
Guinea began with the influx of foreign capital from developed countries to developing
countries, characterized by the presence of multinational companies that aim to seek
maximum profit. On the other hand, the governments of the countries concerned welcomed
the arrival of these multinational companies. In the mining sector, for example, the arrival of
multinational companies is even facilitated by state policies such as in China known as the
open door policy and in Papua New Guinea with the national development strategy.
Gradually, the number of multinational companies is increasing. As a result, environmental
damage is increasingly inevitable. Some of the forms of damage found include deforestation,
desertification, soil, water and air pollution.
In turn, this environmental destruction threatens human security. So far, there has been
some evidence of this threat. In China, the activities of multinational mining companies have
resulted in the destruction of forests, contamination of rivers, soil and air, which has led to
respiratory and digestive diseases, and reduced food availability for local communities. In
addition, there have been reports of social conflicts in the areas where these multinationals
operate. The same is true in Papua New Guinea. Mining activities have contaminated the land
and water where local people live depend on for their livelihoods. Furthermore, the presence
of the mining company threatens the food security of the population and ignites conflicts
between local residents there.
Actually, this problem can be solved through government policy. Unfortunately, existing
policies are half-heartedly implemented. To this day, there is no seriousness from the
governments of the two countries. Both China and Papua New Guinea actually have quite a
lot of legal instruments that regulate the relationship between economic activity and
environmental conservation. However, these tools are not enough to overcome the problems
of environmental degradation in their respective countries. Therefore, the commitment to
implement existing environmental policies needs to be wholehearted. Otherwise,
environmental degradation and threats to human security in the two countries will continue to
occur.
Globalization of Mining: The Case of China and Papua New Guinea
This section will focus on the globalization of the mining sector in two Asia-Pacific countries,
China and Papua New Guinea. It is believed that these sectors have a negative impact on the
environment and threaten human security in their respective regions.
Since Deng Xiao Ping became the number one person in China, the country immediately
implemented an open door policy for foreign investors and ended the era of China's economic
closure for 300 years (Tantri, 2006: 50). Since then, China has undergone a rapid economic
transformation. Starting from government policies that opened up opportunities for
multinational companies to carry out economic activities in the country, China then recorded
itself as a country with the third largest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the world (Liu and
Diamond 2005: 1180). Not only that, according to Walley and Xin (2007), China is even
listed as the highest-ranked country with Foreign Direct Investment, leaving the United States
in second place. This illustrates how China is very open to globalization by providing
opportunities for global economic agents to invest in the country.
One of the most attractive sectors for multinational companies is mining. Based on a
study conducted by Nolan and Zhang (2002), some of the multinational mining companies
investing in China are Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton, and Anglo-American. Later came the names
Eldorado Gold Mining, Jingshan and Sino Gold Mining. Eldorado and Jingshan are Canadian-
owned corporations. Eldorado operates in Tanjiangshan and Jinfeng, while Jingshan has
operated in Inner Mongolia and Ganshu Province since 2007. The corporation has two
business concentrations, namely gold and diamonds. Meanwhile, Sino, an Australian
company, concentrates its operations in Jiling, Heliongjian, Guizou, and Shaanxi Provinces on
gold exploration. In addition, domestic government-owned corporations have also begun to
proliferate with exploration mechanisms no different from multinational companies.
In Papua New Guinea, multinational corporations only arrived in the early 20th century.
However, exploration of the country's natural resources had been going on since the late 19th
century by European miners (Banks, 1993: 315), albeit in a simple form. Rio Tinto was the
first company to conduct mining activities in the country, especially on Bouganville Island
and later on Lihir Island. In the following years, several other multinational companies such
as BHP Billiton and Newmont also entered Papua New Guinea and concentrated their
exploration in Ok Tedi, Woodlark and Tolukuma. The presence of these multinationals
showed how close the government was to them. Recognizing this closeness, the government
prepared policy tools to perpetuate the entry of these corporations through the National
Development Strategy.
This strategy contains instructions on how to bring multinational companies on the
economic stage of Papua New Guinea as it is believed that their presence will generate huge
profits for the country. Evidently, more and more multinational companies have since
invested in Papua New Guinea. As a result, since 1986, two-thirds of the country's economy
has been supported by foreign investment (Daniel and Sims in Banks, 1993: 318-319) with
mining being the most reliable sector. It would not be wrong to say that Papua New Guinea's
economy is highly dependent on the presence of these multinational mining companies.
Environmental degradation
Miracles are happening in China thanks to Deng Xiao Ping's leadership touch. Since the last
30 years, the country's economic growth has almost always been above 8 percent. This is due
to the tremendous pace of industry and trade in China after integrating with the world
economy. However, it seems that the country has to pay a heavy price for its economic
achievements with its impact on the environment. Based on a study conducted by Duan
Yonghou et al (1998 in Wang, 2004), it was stated that the cost of environmental damage due
to industrial activities in China reached 283 trillion yuan per year. According to Wang (2004),
one of the biggest contributors to the damage is from the mining sector which causes damage
to soil, water, air and forests.
Based on a study conducted by Liu et al (2002) in Shaanxi province, mining activities
have damaged soil conditions in several areas namely Yulin, Shenmu, Fugu, Hengshan,
Jingbian, and Dingbian. As a result, the land in these areas has been desertified, which has led
to increasingly limited land use. In addition, desertification also results in the fragile condition
of the ecosystem in the area. Not only in Shaanxi, this kind of condition also occurs in other
Chinese provinces. Actually, mining does not only lead to desertification, but also
deforestation. This deforestation then spurs an increase in the frequency of floods and
landslides, especially in the western part of the country (Wang, 2004:166). While many
debate the relationship between deforestation and flooding, Wang remains convinced that
there is a strong causal relationship between the two.
The activities of mining corporations also pollute water. Evidently, in China, the
industrial waste of mining corporations has poisoned the water there, including that in the
river. According to Li (2006), in 2002 alone, mining waste in China had reached 265.4
million tons. This number is predicted to continue to grow if the mining industry, along with
other industries, continues to boost its activities. Later, due to the large demand for energy
from this industrial sector, China was building a mega hydroelectric power project at Lancang
Jiang. This has drawn protests from neighboring countries because it is considered to damage
the environment in their countries, especially countries around the Mekong river basin (Goh,
2009).
Furthermore, China's air and forests are also threatened by mining activities. In addition
to holding the record for the highest GDP in the world, China also holds the record for being a
major producer of gas greenhouse gases in the world. The country recorded 2.8 million metric
tons of carbon dioxide emissions in 2000 (Liu & Diamond, 2005: 1181). The mining industry
has been blamed as one of the main contributors to air pollution. In the forestry sector, mining
activities have cut down millions of trees and deforested several mountain ranges. With the
damage in these two sectors, China is considered to have accelerated the rise of the earth's
temperature, which also means causing extreme climate change.
In Papua New Guinea, environmental damage from mining also occurs and tends to be
even more severe. According to information obtained by Evans et al (2002), in Ok Tedi, BHP
Billiton has disposed of 80,000 tons of waste per day. This has been going on since the
corporation first started its activities. As a result, the Ok Tedi river changed its color from
clear to brownish, and many animals died from the toxic waste. In fact, before the arrival of
the corporation, the river was filled with fish that became the source of livelihood for the local
community. However, as the river became polluted, the fish disappeared. In addition, on-site
mining activities also eroded the forest to the riverbank (Kirsch, 1996: 1-3).
The environmental damage on Bougainville Island is no less severe. There are around
4000 hectares of land damaged by mining waste. As a result, forests, rivers, bays, and even
the air on the island have been affected. Chemical mining waste is believed to be the main
factor that caused the forests around the mining site to die, the rivers (Jaba and Kawarong)
and Empress Augusta Bay to be polluted, and the air on the island to become dirty. Based on
a study conducted by Gillespie (1996), there are at least 300 hectares of forest damaged by
Bougainville mining activities. The polluted air is caused by a mixture of dust and carbon
emissions from machinery.
Some Threats to Human Security
As described in the literature review, the behavior of multinational corporations in the era of
globalization has now had a serious impact on the environment, which in turn threatens the
security of many people. It is believed that the increase in the earth's temperature to 6 degrees
over the next 100 years will reduce world food production by 60 percent (History, 2010).
According to some scientists, in addition to scarcity of food resources, social conflicts and
chronic diseases are also cited as real threats from environmental degradation.
Based on data from the Food Agricultural Organization (2010), the increasing frequency
of floods has resulted in the destruction of 13 million hectares of crop land in China. The
areas most affected by the floods are Yunnan, Sichuan, Guizhou, Hubei, Chongqing, Anhui,
Jiangxi, Guanxi, Guangdong, Hunnan, Gansu, and Shaanxi. In the next few years, China is
predicted to continue experiencing similar disasters given the country's rapid economic
growth. In addition, climate change has also begun to show its threat. Although food
production in China as a whole is predicted to remain relatively stable until the end of 2010,
wheat production shows otherwise. By the end of 2010, there will be a one percent decline in
wheat production from 115,121 tons to 114,000 tons.
In addition, social conflicts are also threatening China. As Ho (2006) points out, as the
country's forests are depleted by economic activity, social conflicts have begun to emerge
everywhere. China's rural communities are often involved in disputes over forest ownership
with certain companies. The Chinese government is struggling to deal with this. Rules have
been made regarding the relationship between the government, companies and communities.
However, these regulations do not work well in the field. Furthermore, conflicts do not only
occur among the Chinese people but also involve other surrounding countries. Laos, Thailand,
Cambodia and Vietnam are among those affected by the construction of a hydroelectric power
plant in Lancangjiang, Yunnan (Goh, 2009: 1). This power plant is planned to be used to
supply industrial needs in China.
Another impact is disease. As a result of the high levels of air pollution in China, the
population develops respiratory, heart and lung cancer. It has even been reported that
pollution in China has resulted in thousands of deaths in the country each year. The same goes
for water pollution. Notably, around 500 million China's population no longer has access to
clean water. Although the government has launched the construction of giant dams to obtain
clean water, China, especially in the north, still suffers from pollution and lack of clean water.
According to Kahn and Yardley (2007), it has been approximately 60,000 people died from
diarrheal diseases due to this water pollution.
Meanwhile, in Papua New Guinea, resource depletion due to mining activities is also
evident. As stated by Bhavnani (2009), based on the results of his study in the Porgera area,
water contaminated by mining company toxins and waste has resulted in the loss of some
agricultural land in the area. This was followed by a reduction in agricultural production,
leading to food shortages in the country. In addition, the climate change that was predicted to
threaten the country has so far become a reality. Evidently, the existing rainfall has affected
the amount of agricultural production. In the future, as predicted by Bourke and Harwood
(2009), climate conditions will be much more extreme, characterized by rising sea levels and
increasingly erratic rainfall.
The country's problems are exacerbated by social conflict. Local communities in Porgera,
for example, oppose the existence of mining corporations because they destroy the
environment in which they live. Not only that, the existence of these corporations has also
sparked conflicts among the local communities themselves. According to Banks (2008), the
cause is that on the one hand there are community groups that receive benefits from the
company and on the other hand there are those who only receive losses from the activities of
the mining company. Although there are other views on this issue, it cannot be denied that the
presence of the company increases the possibility of conflict.
Like China, Papua New Guinea is also threatened with chronic disease. So far, mining
company waste in the country has caused a variety of diseases including lung and bladder
disease. According to Kepore et al (2008:12), pollution from the company's waste is the main
cause of these diseases, as in their study of local communities in Ok Tedi. Communities are
also fearful of other diseases in the future. As in Ok Tedi, the people of Lihirian also
experience the same fear. They suffer from diseases caused by multinational mining
companies in their area (McIntyre et al 2005: 88).
Government Policy
There is an impression that these two countries tend not to be serious or half-hearted when
addressing environmental issues and their threats. This impression is quite reasonable given
the absence of a meaningful response from the governments of the two countries in resolving
these issues. The Chinese government, for example, with its fantastic economic growth rate, is
not necessarily willing to reduce pollution, such as greenhouse gas emissions, due to
economic activity in the country. Meanwhile, Papua New Guinea tends to play it safe by
implementing half-hearted environmental policies. It will be interesting to see how the
governments of these two countries show their commitment to the environmental problems
faced by their respective countries.
In China, almost every state policy is linked to the economy. In other words, if it is not
economically oriented, it is almost impossible to become a state policy. As a result, these
policies tend to ignore other aspects of life such as environmental sustainability. One example
is the Environmental Protection Law (EPL) created in 1979. Although environmental in
nature, it is actually not used to preserve the environment, but to carry out what is referred to
as 'decollectivization' which means the revocation of common property rights to resources
(Muldavin, 2000: 253-254). 'Decollectivization' marks a shift in the status of resource
ownership rights from the collective to the individual. Instead of aiming for environmental
sustainability, the existing legal instruments open up opportunities for the operation of market
mechanisms in resource management, which in turn damage the country's environment in the
future.
In addition to the EPL, there are several other sets of laws. Some of them are the Water
Pollution Prevention Law of 1982, Forest Law 1984, Grassland Law 1985, and Air Pollution
Law 1987. Unfortunately, these legal instruments are only a mere formality in order to create
the impression that the Chinese government is very committed to protecting the environment
and in line with global commitments to preserve the environment. In reality, the Chinese
government cannot resist the ambition to continuously drive the country's economic sector by
utilizing as many economic opportunities as possible, including the influx of foreign
investment. As a result, despite having a fairly comprehensive set of laws, the country has
proven unable to control the environmental damage that arises from these economic activities
(Beyer, 2006: 209).
Until the 2009 Copenhagen Summit (COP 15), the Chinese government showed its lack
of seriousness towards environmental conservation by not signing the agreement at the
meeting. The reason is, for China, economic growth is the main target. With an average
growth of eight percent each year, China is optimistic that it will become the only global
economic power in the future, beating the United States, provided that the country's economic
growth must be stable without any interruption. Therefore, reducing greenhouse gas emissions
by 40 to 45 percent per unit of GDP by 2020 (Bodansky, 2010: 2), as requested by the
meeting, is considered a stumbling block to China's target. However, at COP 16 held in
Cancun at the end of 2010, China had already shown its good faith. The country, along with
the United States, which is known as the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gases, has
agreed to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases. This means that both China and America
are obliged to reduce their economic activities. It will be interesting to see how China will
implement its new commitment.
Like China, the Papua New Guinea government is also taking half-hearted steps.
Although the country is known to be quite keen on campaigning for the reduction of global
carbon emissions and was one of the leaders in campaigning for the Reduce Carbon Emission
from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) program with Costa Rica at COP 11 in 2005
Mellick (2010: 359), Papua New Guinea does not seem to really want to fight environmental
degradation in its territory, but is only eyeing financial benefits from the program. Papua New
Guinea is considered to have no legal instruments that truly support the implementation of
REDD, in addition to the absence of a clear implementation mechanism and qualified human
resources to implement the program. As a result, instead of getting benefits, the Papua New
Guinea government has to be disappointed because until now it has not received any benefits.
It is interesting to see what Papua New Guinea's environmental laws actually look like.
The country has several laws including the Environmental Planning Act 1978, Conservation
Area Act 1978, Water Resource Act 1982, and National Parks Act 1982. Furthermore, in
1993, the Papua New Guinea government created a policy called the National Sustainable
Development Strategy after attending the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. Finally, in
2000, Papua New Guinea created a new set of laws (the New Environment Act). This law
combines the laws that came before it (Mowbray & Duguman 2006). The aim is to balance
environmental management and conservation in the country.
Despite the many laws protecting the environment, the Papua New Guinea government
has been unable to withstand the onslaught of multinational corporations. Kinley and Tadaki
(2003), notes how Papua New Guinea's parliament had to pass another legal instrument, the
Ok Tedi Mine Continuation Act in 2001, to restore the good name of BHP Billiton, which had
previously been accused of environmental destruction and human rights abuses in the region.
For Kinley and Tadaki, this shows how the country continues to be in the shadow of
multinational corporations. It also signifies that a multitude of laws and regulations do not
guarantee the preservation of a country's environment if they are only half-heartedly
implemented.
Conclusion
Globalization, which is marked by the movement of ideas, goods, people and technology, on
the one hand has brought blessings to many people from various nations and countries.
However, it cannot be denied that globalization also brings threats to them. As this paper
shows, globalization, especially in the mining sector, tends to have a negative impact on
environmental sustainability. Taking the case of the mining sector in two Asia Pacific
countries, namely China and Papua New Guinea, the expansion and exploitation of nature has
resulted in environmental degradation and in turn threatens human security in the two
countries.
Historically, on the one hand, environmental degradation in China and Papua New
Guinea began with the influx of foreign capital from developed countries to developing
countries, characterized by the presence of multinational companies that aim to seek
maximum profit. On the other hand, the governments of the countries concerned welcomed
the arrival of these multinational companies. In the mining sector, for example, the arrival of
multinational companies is even facilitated by state policies such as in China known as the
open door policy and in Papua New Guinea with the national development strategy.
Gradually, the number of multinational companies is increasing. As a result, environmental
damage is increasingly inevitable. Some of the forms of damage found include deforestation,
desertification, soil, water and air pollution.
In turn, this environmental destruction threatens human security. So far, there has been
some evidence of this threat. In China, the activities of multinational mining companies have
resulted in the destruction of forests, contamination of rivers, soil and air, which has led to
respiratory and digestive diseases, and reduced food availability for local communities. In
addition, there have been reports of social conflicts in the areas where these multinationals
operate. The same is true in Papua New Guinea. Mining activities have contaminated the land
and water where local people live depend on for their livelihoods. Furthermore, the presence
of the mining company threatens the food security of the population and ignites conflicts
between local residents there.
Actually, this problem can be solved through government policy. Unfortunately, existing
policies are half-heartedly implemented. To this day, there is no seriousness from the
governments of the two countries. Both China and Papua New Guinea actually have quite a
lot of legal instruments that regulate the relationship between economic activity and
environmental conservation. However, these tools are not enough to overcome the problems
of environmental degradation in their respective countries. Therefore, the commitment to
implement existing environmental policies needs to be wholehearted. Otherwise,
environmental degradation and threats to human security in the two countries will continue to
occur.
Globalization of Mining: The Case of China and Papua New Guinea
This section will focus on the globalization of the mining sector in two Asia-Pacific countries,
China and Papua New Guinea. It is believed that these sectors have a negative impact on the
environment and threaten human security in their respective regions.
Since Deng Xiao Ping became the number one person in China, the country immediately
implemented an open door policy for foreign investors and ended the era of China's economic
closure for 300 years (Tantri, 2006: 50). Since then, China has undergone a rapid economic
transformation. Starting from government policies that opened up opportunities for
multinational companies to carry out economic activities in the country, China then recorded
itself as a country with the third largest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the world (Liu and
Diamond 2005: 1180). Not only that, according to Walley and Xin (2007), China is even
listed as the highest-ranked country with Foreign Direct Investment, leaving the United States
in second place. This illustrates how China is very open to globalization by providing
opportunities for global economic agents to invest in the country.
One of the most attractive sectors for multinational companies is mining. Based on a
study conducted by Nolan and Zhang (2002), some of the multinational mining companies
investing in China are Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton, and Anglo-American. Later came the names
Eldorado Gold Mining, Jingshan and Sino Gold Mining. Eldorado and Jingshan are Canadian-
owned corporations. Eldorado operates in Tanjiangshan and Jinfeng, while Jingshan has
operated in Inner Mongolia and Ganshu Province since 2007. The corporation has two
business concentrations, namely gold and diamonds. Meanwhile, Sino, an Australian
company, concentrates its operations in Jiling, Heliongjian, Guizou, and Shaanxi Provinces on
gold exploration. In addition, domestic government-owned corporations have also begun to
proliferate with exploration mechanisms no different from multinational companies.
In Papua New Guinea, multinational corporations only arrived in the early 20th century.
However, exploration of the country's natural resources had been going on since the late 19th
century by European miners (Banks, 1993: 315), albeit in a simple form. Rio Tinto was the
first company to conduct mining activities in the country, especially on Bouganville Island
and later on Lihir Island. In the following years, several other multinational companies such
as BHP Billiton and Newmont also entered Papua New Guinea and concentrated their
exploration in Ok Tedi, Woodlark and Tolukuma. The presence of these multinationals
showed how close the government was to them. Recognizing this closeness, the government
prepared policy tools to perpetuate the entry of these corporations through the National
Development Strategy.
This strategy contains instructions on how to bring multinational companies on the
economic stage of Papua New Guinea as it is believed that their presence will generate huge
profits for the country. Evidently, more and more multinational companies have since
invested in Papua New Guinea. As a result, since 1986, two-thirds of the country's economy
has been supported by foreign investment (Daniel and Sims in Banks, 1993: 318-319) with
mining being the most reliable sector. It would not be wrong to say that Papua New Guinea's
economy is highly dependent on the presence of these multinational mining companies.
Environmental degradation
Miracles are happening in China thanks to Deng Xiao Ping's leadership touch. Since the last
30 years, the country's economic growth has almost always been above 8 percent. This is due
to the tremendous pace of industry and trade in China after integrating with the world
economy. However, it seems that the country has to pay a heavy price for its economic
achievements with its impact on the environment. Based on a study conducted by Duan
Yonghou et al (1998 in Wang, 2004), it was stated that the cost of environmental damage due
to industrial activities in China reached 283 trillion yuan per year. According to Wang (2004),
one of the biggest contributors to the damage is from the mining sector which causes damage
to soil, water, air and forests.
Based on a study conducted by Liu et al (2002) in Shaanxi province, mining activities
have damaged soil conditions in several areas namely Yulin, Shenmu, Fugu, Hengshan,
Jingbian, and Dingbian. As a result, the land in these areas has been desertified, which has led
to increasingly limited land use. In addition, desertification also results in the fragile condition
of the ecosystem in the area. Not only in Shaanxi, this kind of condition also occurs in other
Chinese provinces. Actually, mining does not only lead to desertification, but also
deforestation. This deforestation then spurs an increase in the frequency of floods and
landslides, especially in the western part of the country (Wang, 2004:166). While many
debate the relationship between deforestation and flooding, Wang remains convinced that
there is a strong causal relationship between the two.
The activities of mining corporations also pollute water. Evidently, in China, the
industrial waste of mining corporations has poisoned the water there, including that in the
river. According to Li (2006), in 2002 alone, mining waste in China had reached 265.4
million tons. This number is predicted to continue to grow if the mining industry, along with
other industries, continues to boost its activities. Later, due to the large demand for energy
from this industrial sector, China was building a mega hydroelectric power project at Lancang
Jiang. This has drawn protests from neighboring countries because it is considered to damage
the environment in their countries, especially countries around the Mekong river basin (Goh,
2009).
Furthermore, China's air and forests are also threatened by mining activities. In addition
to holding the record for the highest GDP in the world, China also holds the record for being a
major producer of gas greenhouse gases in the world. The country recorded 2.8 million metric
tons of carbon dioxide emissions in 2000 (Liu & Diamond, 2005: 1181). The mining industry
has been blamed as one of the main contributors to air pollution. In the forestry sector, mining
activities have cut down millions of trees and deforested several mountain ranges. With the
damage in these two sectors, China is considered to have accelerated the rise of the earth's
temperature, which also means causing extreme climate change.
In Papua New Guinea, environmental damage from mining also occurs and tends to be
even more severe. According to information obtained by Evans et al (2002), in Ok Tedi, BHP
Billiton has disposed of 80,000 tons of waste per day. This has been going on since the
corporation first started its activities. As a result, the Ok Tedi river changed its color from
clear to brownish, and many animals died from the toxic waste. In fact, before the arrival of
the corporation, the river was filled with fish that became the source of livelihood for the local
community. However, as the river became polluted, the fish disappeared. In addition, on-site
mining activities also eroded the forest to the riverbank (Kirsch, 1996: 1-3).
The environmental damage on Bougainville Island is no less severe. There are around
4000 hectares of land damaged by mining waste. As a result, forests, rivers, bays, and even
the air on the island have been affected. Chemical mining waste is believed to be the main
factor that caused the forests around the mining site to die, the rivers (Jaba and Kawarong)
and Empress Augusta Bay to be polluted, and the air on the island to become dirty. Based on
a study conducted by Gillespie (1996), there are at least 300 hectares of forest damaged by
Bougainville mining activities. The polluted air is caused by a mixture of dust and carbon
emissions from machinery.
Some Threats to Human Security
As described in the literature review, the behavior of multinational corporations in the era of
globalization has now had a serious impact on the environment, which in turn threatens the
security of many people. It is believed that the increase in the earth's temperature to 6 degrees
over the next 100 years will reduce world food production by 60 percent (History, 2010).
According to some scientists, in addition to scarcity of food resources, social conflicts and
chronic diseases are also cited as real threats from environmental degradation.
Based on data from the Food Agricultural Organization (2010), the increasing frequency
of floods has resulted in the destruction of 13 million hectares of crop land in China. The
areas most affected by the floods are Yunnan, Sichuan, Guizhou, Hubei, Chongqing, Anhui,
Jiangxi, Guanxi, Guangdong, Hunnan, Gansu, and Shaanxi. In the next few years, China is
predicted to continue experiencing similar disasters given the country's rapid economic
growth. In addition, climate change has also begun to show its threat. Although food
production in China as a whole is predicted to remain relatively stable until the end of 2010,
wheat production shows otherwise. By the end of 2010, there will be a one percent decline in
wheat production from 115,121 tons to 114,000 tons.
In addition, social conflicts are also threatening China. As Ho (2006) points out, as the
country's forests are depleted by economic activity, social conflicts have begun to emerge
everywhere. China's rural communities are often involved in disputes over forest ownership
with certain companies. The Chinese government is struggling to deal with this. Rules have
been made regarding the relationship between the government, companies and communities.
However, these regulations do not work well in the field. Furthermore, conflicts do not only
occur among the Chinese people but also involve other surrounding countries. Laos, Thailand,
Cambodia and Vietnam are among those affected by the construction of a hydroelectric power
plant in Lancangjiang, Yunnan (Goh, 2009: 1). This power plant is planned to be used to
supply industrial needs in China.
Another impact is disease. As a result of the high levels of air pollution in China, the
population develops respiratory, heart and lung cancer. It has even been reported that
pollution in China has resulted in thousands of deaths in the country each year. The same goes
for water pollution. Notably, around 500 million China's population no longer has access to
clean water. Although the government has launched the construction of giant dams to obtain
clean water, China, especially in the north, still suffers from pollution and lack of clean water.
According to Kahn and Yardley (2007), it has been approximately 60,000 people died from
diarrheal diseases due to this water pollution.
Meanwhile, in Papua New Guinea, resource depletion due to mining activities is also
evident. As stated by Bhavnani (2009), based on the results of his study in the Porgera area,
water contaminated by mining company toxins and waste has resulted in the loss of some
agricultural land in the area. This was followed by a reduction in agricultural production,
leading to food shortages in the country. In addition, the climate change that was predicted to
threaten the country has so far become a reality. Evidently, the existing rainfall has affected
the amount of agricultural production. In the future, as predicted by Bourke and Harwood
(2009), climate conditions will be much more extreme, characterized by rising sea levels and
increasingly erratic rainfall.
The country's problems are exacerbated by social conflict. Local communities in Porgera,
for example, oppose the existence of mining corporations because they destroy the
environment in which they live. Not only that, the existence of these corporations has also
sparked conflicts among the local communities themselves. According to Banks (2008), the
cause is that on the one hand there are community groups that receive benefits from the
company and on the other hand there are those who only receive losses from the activities of
the mining company. Although there are other views on this issue, it cannot be denied that the
presence of the company increases the possibility of conflict.
Like China, Papua New Guinea is also threatened with chronic disease. So far, mining
company waste in the country has caused a variety of diseases including lung and bladder
disease. According to Kepore et al (2008:12), pollution from the company's waste is the main
cause of these diseases, as in their study of local communities in Ok Tedi. Communities are
also fearful of other diseases in the future. As in Ok Tedi, the people of Lihirian also
experience the same fear. They suffer from diseases caused by multinational mining
companies in their area (McIntyre et al 2005: 88).
Government Policy
There is an impression that these two countries tend not to be serious or half-hearted when
addressing environmental issues and their threats. This impression is quite reasonable given
the absence of a meaningful response from the governments of the two countries in resolving
these issues. The Chinese government, for example, with its fantastic economic growth rate, is
not necessarily willing to reduce pollution, such as greenhouse gas emissions, due to
economic activity in the country. Meanwhile, Papua New Guinea tends to play it safe by
implementing half-hearted environmental policies. It will be interesting to see how the
governments of these two countries show their commitment to the environmental problems
faced by their respective countries.
In China, almost every state policy is linked to the economy. In other words, if it is not
economically oriented, it is almost impossible to become a state policy. As a result, these
policies tend to ignore other aspects of life such as environmental sustainability. One example
is the Environmental Protection Law (EPL) created in 1979. Although environmental in
nature, it is actually not used to preserve the environment, but to carry out what is referred to
as 'decollectivization' which means the revocation of common property rights to resources
(Muldavin, 2000: 253-254). 'Decollectivization' marks a shift in the status of resource
ownership rights from the collective to the individual. Instead of aiming for environmental
sustainability, the existing legal instruments open up opportunities for the operation of market
mechanisms in resource management, which in turn damage the country's environment in the
future.
In addition to the EPL, there are several other sets of laws. Some of them are the Water
Pollution Prevention Law of 1982, Forest Law 1984, Grassland Law 1985, and Air Pollution
Law 1987. Unfortunately, these legal instruments are only a mere formality in order to create
the impression that the Chinese government is very committed to protecting the environment
and in line with global commitments to preserve the environment. In reality, the Chinese
government cannot resist the ambition to continuously drive the country's economic sector by
utilizing as many economic opportunities as possible, including the influx of foreign
investment. As a result, despite having a fairly comprehensive set of laws, the country has
proven unable to control the environmental damage that arises from these economic activities
(Beyer, 2006: 209).
Until the 2009 Copenhagen Summit (COP 15), the Chinese government showed its lack
of seriousness towards environmental conservation by not signing the agreement at the
meeting. The reason is, for China, economic growth is the main target. With an average
growth of eight percent each year, China is optimistic that it will become the only global
economic power in the future, beating the United States, provided that the country's economic
growth must be stable without any interruption. Therefore, reducing greenhouse gas emissions
by 40 to 45 percent per unit of GDP by 2020 (Bodansky, 2010: 2), as requested by the
meeting, is considered a stumbling block to China's target. However, at COP 16 held in
Cancun at the end of 2010, China had already shown its good faith. The country, along with
the United States, which is known as the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gases, has
agreed to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases. This means that both China and America
are obliged to reduce their economic activities. It will be interesting to see how China will
implement its new commitment.
Like China, the Papua New Guinea government is also taking half-hearted steps.
Although the country is known to be quite keen on campaigning for the reduction of global
carbon emissions and was one of the leaders in campaigning for the Reduce Carbon Emission
from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) program with Costa Rica at COP 11 in 2005
Mellick (2010: 359), Papua New Guinea does not seem to really want to fight environmental
degradation in its territory, but is only eyeing financial benefits from the program. Papua New
Guinea is considered to have no legal instruments that truly support the implementation of
REDD, in addition to the absence of a clear implementation mechanism and qualified human
resources to implement the program. As a result, instead of getting benefits, the Papua New
Guinea government has to be disappointed because until now it has not received any benefits.
It is interesting to see what Papua New Guinea's environmental laws actually look like.
The country has several laws including the Environmental Planning Act 1978, Conservation
Area Act 1978, Water Resource Act 1982, and National Parks Act 1982. Furthermore, in
1993, the Papua New Guinea government created a policy called the National Sustainable
Development Strategy after attending the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. Finally, in
2000, Papua New Guinea created a new set of laws (the New Environment Act). This law
combines the laws that came before it (Mowbray & Duguman 2006). The aim is to balance
environmental management and conservation in the country.
Despite the many laws protecting the environment, the Papua New Guinea government
has been unable to withstand the onslaught of multinational corporations. Kinley and Tadaki
(2003), notes how Papua New Guinea's parliament had to pass another legal instrument, the
Ok Tedi Mine Continuation Act in 2001, to restore the good name of BHP Billiton, which had
previously been accused of environmental destruction and human rights abuses in the region.
For Kinley and Tadaki, this shows how the country continues to be in the shadow of
multinational corporations. It also signifies that a multitude of laws and regulations do not
guarantee the preservation of a country's environment if they are only half-heartedly
implemented.
Conclusion
Globalization, which is marked by the movement of ideas, goods, people and technology, on
the one hand has brought blessings to many people from various nations and countries.
However, it cannot be denied that globalization also brings threats to them. As this paper
shows, globalization, especially in the mining sector, tends to have a negative impact on
environmental sustainability. Taking the case of the mining sector in two Asia Pacific
countries, namely China and Papua New Guinea, the expansion and exploitation of nature has
resulted in environmental degradation and in turn threatens human security in the two
countries.
Historically, on the one hand, environmental degradation in China and Papua New
Guinea began with the influx of foreign capital from developed countries to developing
countries, characterized by the presence of multinational companies that aim to seek
maximum profit. On the other hand, the governments of the countries concerned welcomed
the arrival of these multinational companies. In the mining sector, for example, the arrival of
multinational companies is even facilitated by state policies such as in China known as the
open door policy and in Papua New Guinea with the national development strategy.
Gradually, the number of multinational companies is increasing. As a result, environmental
damage is increasingly inevitable. Some of the forms of damage found include deforestation,
desertification, soil, water and air pollution.
In turn, this environmental destruction threatens human security. So far, there has been
some evidence of this threat. In China, the activities of multinational mining companies have
resulted in the destruction of forests, contamination of rivers, soil and air, which has led to
respiratory and digestive diseases, and reduced food availability for local communities. In
addition, there have been reports of social conflicts in the areas where these multinationals
operate. The same is true in Papua New Guinea. Mining activities have contaminated the land
and water where local people live depend on for their livelihoods. Furthermore, the presence
of the mining company threatens the food security of the population and ignites conflicts
between local residents there.
Actually, this problem can be solved through government policy. Unfortunately, existing
policies are half-heartedly implemented. To this day, there is no seriousness from the
governments of the two countries. Both China and Papua New Guinea actually have quite a
lot of legal instruments that regulate the relationship between economic activity and
environmental conservation. However, these tools are not enough to overcome the problems
of environmental degradation in their respective countries. Therefore, the commitment to
implement existing environmental policies needs to be wholehearted. Otherwise,
environmental degradation and threats to human security in the two countries will continue to
occur.
Globalization of Mining: The Case of China and Papua New Guinea
This section will focus on the globalization of the mining sector in two Asia-Pacific countries,
China and Papua New Guinea. It is believed that these sectors have a negative impact on the
environment and threaten human security in their respective regions.
Since Deng Xiao Ping became the number one person in China, the country immediately
implemented an open door policy for foreign investors and ended the era of China's economic
closure for 300 years (Tantri, 2006: 50). Since then, China has undergone a rapid economic
transformation. Starting from government policies that opened up opportunities for
multinational companies to carry out economic activities in the country, China then recorded
itself as a country with the third largest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the world (Liu and
Diamond 2005: 1180). Not only that, according to Walley and Xin (2007), China is even
listed as the highest-ranked country with Foreign Direct Investment, leaving the United States
in second place. This illustrates how China is very open to globalization by providing
opportunities for global economic agents to invest in the country.
One of the most attractive sectors for multinational companies is mining. Based on a
study conducted by Nolan and Zhang (2002), some of the multinational mining companies
investing in China are Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton, and Anglo-American. Later came the names
Eldorado Gold Mining, Jingshan and Sino Gold Mining. Eldorado and Jingshan are Canadian-
owned corporations. Eldorado operates in Tanjiangshan and Jinfeng, while Jingshan has
operated in Inner Mongolia and Ganshu Province since 2007. The corporation has two
business concentrations, namely gold and diamonds. Meanwhile, Sino, an Australian
company, concentrates its operations in Jiling, Heliongjian, Guizou, and Shaanxi Provinces on
gold exploration. In addition, domestic government-owned corporations have also begun to
proliferate with exploration mechanisms no different from multinational companies.
In Papua New Guinea, multinational corporations only arrived in the early 20th century.
However, exploration of the country's natural resources had been going on since the late 19th
century by European miners (Banks, 1993: 315), albeit in a simple form. Rio Tinto was the
first company to conduct mining activities in the country, especially on Bouganville Island
and later on Lihir Island. In the following years, several other multinational companies such
as BHP Billiton and Newmont also entered Papua New Guinea and concentrated their
exploration in Ok Tedi, Woodlark and Tolukuma. The presence of these multinationals
showed how close the government was to them. Recognizing this closeness, the government
prepared policy tools to perpetuate the entry of these corporations through the National
Development Strategy.
This strategy contains instructions on how to bring multinational companies on the
economic stage of Papua New Guinea as it is believed that their presence will generate huge
profits for the country. Evidently, more and more multinational companies have since
invested in Papua New Guinea. As a result, since 1986, two-thirds of the country's economy
has been supported by foreign investment (Daniel and Sims in Banks, 1993: 318-319) with
mining being the most reliable sector. It would not be wrong to say that Papua New Guinea's
economy is highly dependent on the presence of these multinational mining companies.
Environmental degradation
Miracles are happening in China thanks to Deng Xiao Ping's leadership touch. Since the last
30 years, the country's economic growth has almost always been above 8 percent. This is due
to the tremendous pace of industry and trade in China after integrating with the world
economy. However, it seems that the country has to pay a heavy price for its economic
achievements with its impact on the environment. Based on a study conducted by Duan
Yonghou et al (1998 in Wang, 2004), it was stated that the cost of environmental damage due
to industrial activities in China reached 283 trillion yuan per year. According to Wang (2004),
one of the biggest contributors to the damage is from the mining sector which causes damage
to soil, water, air and forests.
Based on a study conducted by Liu et al (2002) in Shaanxi province, mining activities
have damaged soil conditions in several areas namely Yulin, Shenmu, Fugu, Hengshan,
Jingbian, and Dingbian. As a result, the land in these areas has been desertified, which has led
to increasingly limited land use. In addition, desertification also results in the fragile condition
of the ecosystem in the area. Not only in Shaanxi, this kind of condition also occurs in other
Chinese provinces. Actually, mining does not only lead to desertification, but also
deforestation. This deforestation then spurs an increase in the frequency of floods and
landslides, especially in the western part of the country (Wang, 2004:166). While many
debate the relationship between deforestation and flooding, Wang remains convinced that
there is a strong causal relationship between the two.
The activities of mining corporations also pollute water. Evidently, in China, the
industrial waste of mining corporations has poisoned the water there, including that in the
river. According to Li (2006), in 2002 alone, mining waste in China had reached 265.4
million tons. This number is predicted to continue to grow if the mining industry, along with
other industries, continues to boost its activities. Later, due to the large demand for energy
from this industrial sector, China was building a mega hydroelectric power project at Lancang
Jiang. This has drawn protests from neighboring countries because it is considered to damage
the environment in their countries, especially countries around the Mekong river basin (Goh,
2009).
Furthermore, China's air and forests are also threatened by mining activities. In addition
to holding the record for the highest GDP in the world, China also holds the record for being a
major producer of gas greenhouse gases in the world. The country recorded 2.8 million metric
tons of carbon dioxide emissions in 2000 (Liu & Diamond, 2005: 1181). The mining industry
has been blamed as one of the main contributors to air pollution. In the forestry sector, mining
activities have cut down millions of trees and deforested several mountain ranges. With the
damage in these two sectors, China is considered to have accelerated the rise of the earth's
temperature, which also means causing extreme climate change.
In Papua New Guinea, environmental damage from mining also occurs and tends to be
even more severe. According to information obtained by Evans et al (2002), in Ok Tedi, BHP
Billiton has disposed of 80,000 tons of waste per day. This has been going on since the
corporation first started its activities. As a result, the Ok Tedi river changed its color from
clear to brownish, and many animals died from the toxic waste. In fact, before the arrival of
the corporation, the river was filled with fish that became the source of livelihood for the local
community. However, as the river became polluted, the fish disappeared. In addition, on-site
mining activities also eroded the forest to the riverbank (Kirsch, 1996: 1-3).
The environmental damage on Bougainville Island is no less severe. There are around
4000 hectares of land damaged by mining waste. As a result, forests, rivers, bays, and even
the air on the island have been affected. Chemical mining waste is believed to be the main
factor that caused the forests around the mining site to die, the rivers (Jaba and Kawarong)
and Empress Augusta Bay to be polluted, and the air on the island to become dirty. Based on
a study conducted by Gillespie (1996), there are at least 300 hectares of forest damaged by
Bougainville mining activities. The polluted air is caused by a mixture of dust and carbon
emissions from machinery.
Some Threats to Human Security
As described in the literature review, the behavior of multinational corporations in the era of
globalization has now had a serious impact on the environment, which in turn threatens the
security of many people. It is believed that the increase in the earth's temperature to 6 degrees
over the next 100 years will reduce world food production by 60 percent (History, 2010).
According to some scientists, in addition to scarcity of food resources, social conflicts and
chronic diseases are also cited as real threats from environmental degradation.
Based on data from the Food Agricultural Organization (2010), the increasing frequency
of floods has resulted in the destruction of 13 million hectares of crop land in China. The
areas most affected by the floods are Yunnan, Sichuan, Guizhou, Hubei, Chongqing, Anhui,
Jiangxi, Guanxi, Guangdong, Hunnan, Gansu, and Shaanxi. In the next few years, China is
predicted to continue experiencing similar disasters given the country's rapid economic
growth. In addition, climate change has also begun to show its threat. Although food
production in China as a whole is predicted to remain relatively stable until the end of 2010,
wheat production shows otherwise. By the end of 2010, there will be a one percent decline in
wheat production from 115,121 tons to 114,000 tons.
In addition, social conflicts are also threatening China. As Ho (2006) points out, as the
country's forests are depleted by economic activity, social conflicts have begun to emerge
everywhere. China's rural communities are often involved in disputes over forest ownership
with certain companies. The Chinese government is struggling to deal with this. Rules have
been made regarding the relationship between the government, companies and communities.
However, these regulations do not work well in the field. Furthermore, conflicts do not only
occur among the Chinese people but also involve other surrounding countries. Laos, Thailand,
Cambodia and Vietnam are among those affected by the construction of a hydroelectric power
plant in Lancangjiang, Yunnan (Goh, 2009: 1). This power plant is planned to be used to
supply industrial needs in China.
Another impact is disease. As a result of the high levels of air pollution in China, the
population develops respiratory, heart and lung cancer. It has even been reported that
pollution in China has resulted in thousands of deaths in the country each year. The same goes
for water pollution. Notably, around 500 million China's population no longer has access to
clean water. Although the government has launched the construction of giant dams to obtain
clean water, China, especially in the north, still suffers from pollution and lack of clean water.
According to Kahn and Yardley (2007), it has been approximately 60,000 people died from
diarrheal diseases due to this water pollution.
Meanwhile, in Papua New Guinea, resource depletion due to mining activities is also
evident. As stated by Bhavnani (2009), based on the results of his study in the Porgera area,
water contaminated by mining company toxins and waste has resulted in the loss of some
agricultural land in the area. This was followed by a reduction in agricultural production,
leading to food shortages in the country. In addition, the climate change that was predicted to
threaten the country has so far become a reality. Evidently, the existing rainfall has affected
the amount of agricultural production. In the future, as predicted by Bourke and Harwood
(2009), climate conditions will be much more extreme, characterized by rising sea levels and
increasingly erratic rainfall.
The country's problems are exacerbated by social conflict. Local communities in Porgera,
for example, oppose the existence of mining corporations because they destroy the
environment in which they live. Not only that, the existence of these corporations has also
sparked conflicts among the local communities themselves. According to Banks (2008), the
cause is that on the one hand there are community groups that receive benefits from the
company and on the other hand there are those who only receive losses from the activities of
the mining company. Although there are other views on this issue, it cannot be denied that the
presence of the company increases the possibility of conflict.
Like China, Papua New Guinea is also threatened with chronic disease. So far, mining
company waste in the country has caused a variety of diseases including lung and bladder
disease. According to Kepore et al (2008:12), pollution from the company's waste is the main
cause of these diseases, as in their study of local communities in Ok Tedi. Communities are
also fearful of other diseases in the future. As in Ok Tedi, the people of Lihirian also
experience the same fear. They suffer from diseases caused by multinational mining
companies in their area (McIntyre et al 2005: 88).
Government Policy
There is an impression that these two countries tend not to be serious or half-hearted when
addressing environmental issues and their threats. This impression is quite reasonable given
the absence of a meaningful response from the governments of the two countries in resolving
these issues. The Chinese government, for example, with its fantastic economic growth rate, is
not necessarily willing to reduce pollution, such as greenhouse gas emissions, due to
economic activity in the country. Meanwhile, Papua New Guinea tends to play it safe by
implementing half-hearted environmental policies. It will be interesting to see how the
governments of these two countries show their commitment to the environmental problems
faced by their respective countries.
In China, almost every state policy is linked to the economy. In other words, if it is not
economically oriented, it is almost impossible to become a state policy. As a result, these
policies tend to ignore other aspects of life such as environmental sustainability. One example
is the Environmental Protection Law (EPL) created in 1979. Although environmental in
nature, it is actually not used to preserve the environment, but to carry out what is referred to
as 'decollectivization' which means the revocation of common property rights to resources
(Muldavin, 2000: 253-254). 'Decollectivization' marks a shift in the status of resource
ownership rights from the collective to the individual. Instead of aiming for environmental
sustainability, the existing legal instruments open up opportunities for the operation of market
mechanisms in resource management, which in turn damage the country's environment in the
future.
In addition to the EPL, there are several other sets of laws. Some of them are the Water
Pollution Prevention Law of 1982, Forest Law 1984, Grassland Law 1985, and Air Pollution
Law 1987. Unfortunately, these legal instruments are only a mere formality in order to create
the impression that the Chinese government is very committed to protecting the environment
and in line with global commitments to preserve the environment. In reality, the Chinese
government cannot resist the ambition to continuously drive the country's economic sector by
utilizing as many economic opportunities as possible, including the influx of foreign
investment. As a result, despite having a fairly comprehensive set of laws, the country has
proven unable to control the environmental damage that arises from these economic activities
(Beyer, 2006: 209).
Until the 2009 Copenhagen Summit (COP 15), the Chinese government showed its lack
of seriousness towards environmental conservation by not signing the agreement at the
meeting. The reason is, for China, economic growth is the main target. With an average
growth of eight percent each year, China is optimistic that it will become the only global
economic power in the future, beating the United States, provided that the country's economic
growth must be stable without any interruption. Therefore, reducing greenhouse gas emissions
by 40 to 45 percent per unit of GDP by 2020 (Bodansky, 2010: 2), as requested by the
meeting, is considered a stumbling block to China's target. However, at COP 16 held in
Cancun at the end of 2010, China had already shown its good faith. The country, along with
the United States, which is known as the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gases, has
agreed to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases. This means that both China and America
are obliged to reduce their economic activities. It will be interesting to see how China will
implement its new commitment.
Like China, the Papua New Guinea government is also taking half-hearted steps.
Although the country is known to be quite keen on campaigning for the reduction of global
carbon emissions and was one of the leaders in campaigning for the Reduce Carbon Emission
from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) program with Costa Rica at COP 11 in 2005
Mellick (2010: 359), Papua New Guinea does not seem to really want to fight environmental
degradation in its territory, but is only eyeing financial benefits from the program. Papua New
Guinea is considered to have no legal instruments that truly support the implementation of
REDD, in addition to the absence of a clear implementation mechanism and qualified human
resources to implement the program. As a result, instead of getting benefits, the Papua New
Guinea government has to be disappointed because until now it has not received any benefits.
It is interesting to see what Papua New Guinea's environmental laws actually look like.
The country has several laws including the Environmental Planning Act 1978, Conservation
Area Act 1978, Water Resource Act 1982, and National Parks Act 1982. Furthermore, in
1993, the Papua New Guinea government created a policy called the National Sustainable
Development Strategy after attending the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. Finally, in
2000, Papua New Guinea created a new set of laws (the New Environment Act). This law
combines the laws that came before it (Mowbray & Duguman 2006). The aim is to balance
environmental management and conservation in the country.
Despite the many laws protecting the environment, the Papua New Guinea government
has been unable to withstand the onslaught of multinational corporations. Kinley and Tadaki
(2003), notes how Papua New Guinea's parliament had to pass another legal instrument, the
Ok Tedi Mine Continuation Act in 2001, to restore the good name of BHP Billiton, which had
previously been accused of environmental destruction and human rights abuses in the region.
For Kinley and Tadaki, this shows how the country continues to be in the shadow of
multinational corporations. It also signifies that a multitude of laws and regulations do not
guarantee the preservation of a country's environment if they are only half-heartedly
implemented.
Conclusion
Globalization, which is marked by the movement of ideas, goods, people and technology, on
the one hand has brought blessings to many people from various nations and countries.
However, it cannot be denied that globalization also brings threats to them. As this paper
shows, globalization, especially in the mining sector, tends to have a negative impact on
environmental sustainability. Taking the case of the mining sector in two Asia Pacific
countries, namely China and Papua New Guinea, the expansion and exploitation of nature has
resulted in environmental degradation and in turn threatens human security in the two
countries.
Historically, on the one hand, environmental degradation in China and Papua New
Guinea began with the influx of foreign capital from developed countries to developing
countries, characterized by the presence of multinational companies that aim to seek
maximum profit. On the other hand, the governments of the countries concerned welcomed
the arrival of these multinational companies. In the mining sector, for example, the arrival of
multinational companies is even facilitated by state policies such as in China known as the
open door policy and in Papua New Guinea with the national development strategy.
Gradually, the number of multinational companies is increasing. As a result, environmental
damage is increasingly inevitable. Some of the forms of damage found include deforestation,
desertification, soil, water and air pollution.
In turn, this environmental destruction threatens human security. So far, there has been
some evidence of this threat. In China, the activities of multinational mining companies have
resulted in the destruction of forests, contamination of rivers, soil and air, which has led to
respiratory and digestive diseases, and reduced food availability for local communities. In
addition, there have been reports of social conflicts in the areas where these multinationals
operate. The same is true in Papua New Guinea. Mining activities have contaminated the land
and water where local people live depend on for their livelihoods. Furthermore, the presence
of the mining company threatens the food security of the population and ignites conflicts
between local residents there.
Actually, this problem can be solved through government policy. Unfortunately, existing
policies are half-heartedly implemented. To this day, there is no seriousness from the
governments of the two countries. Both China and Papua New Guinea actually have quite a
lot of legal instruments that regulate the relationship between economic activity and
environmental conservation. However, these tools are not enough to overcome the problems
of environmental degradation in their respective countries. Therefore, the commitment to
implement existing environmental policies needs to be wholehearted. Otherwise,
environmental degradation and threats to human security in the two countries will continue to
occur.
Globalization of Mining: The Case of China and Papua New Guinea
This section will focus on the globalization of the mining sector in two Asia-Pacific countries,
China and Papua New Guinea. It is believed that these sectors have a negative impact on the
environment and threaten human security in their respective regions.
Since Deng Xiao Ping became the number one person in China, the country immediately
implemented an open door policy for foreign investors and ended the era of China's economic
closure for 300 years (Tantri, 2006: 50). Since then, China has undergone a rapid economic
transformation. Starting from government policies that opened up opportunities for
multinational companies to carry out economic activities in the country, China then recorded
itself as a country with the third largest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the world (Liu and
Diamond 2005: 1180). Not only that, according to Walley and Xin (2007), China is even
listed as the highest-ranked country with Foreign Direct Investment, leaving the United States
in second place. This illustrates how China is very open to globalization by providing
opportunities for global economic agents to invest in the country.
One of the most attractive sectors for multinational companies is mining. Based on a
study conducted by Nolan and Zhang (2002), some of the multinational mining companies
investing in China are Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton, and Anglo-American. Later came the names
Eldorado Gold Mining, Jingshan and Sino Gold Mining. Eldorado and Jingshan are Canadian-
owned corporations. Eldorado operates in Tanjiangshan and Jinfeng, while Jingshan has
operated in Inner Mongolia and Ganshu Province since 2007. The corporation has two
business concentrations, namely gold and diamonds. Meanwhile, Sino, an Australian
company, concentrates its operations in Jiling, Heliongjian, Guizou, and Shaanxi Provinces on
gold exploration. In addition, domestic government-owned corporations have also begun to
proliferate with exploration mechanisms no different from multinational companies.
In Papua New Guinea, multinational corporations only arrived in the early 20th century.
However, exploration of the country's natural resources had been going on since the late 19th
century by European miners (Banks, 1993: 315), albeit in a simple form. Rio Tinto was the
first company to conduct mining activities in the country, especially on Bouganville Island
and later on Lihir Island. In the following years, several other multinational companies such
as BHP Billiton and Newmont also entered Papua New Guinea and concentrated their
exploration in Ok Tedi, Woodlark and Tolukuma. The presence of these multinationals
showed how close the government was to them. Recognizing this closeness, the government
prepared policy tools to perpetuate the entry of these corporations through the National
Development Strategy.
This strategy contains instructions on how to bring multinational companies on the
economic stage of Papua New Guinea as it is believed that their presence will generate huge
profits for the country. Evidently, more and more multinational companies have since
invested in Papua New Guinea. As a result, since 1986, two-thirds of the country's economy
has been supported by foreign investment (Daniel and Sims in Banks, 1993: 318-319) with
mining being the most reliable sector. It would not be wrong to say that Papua New Guinea's
economy is highly dependent on the presence of these multinational mining companies.
Environmental degradation
Miracles are happening in China thanks to Deng Xiao Ping's leadership touch. Since the last
30 years, the country's economic growth has almost always been above 8 percent. This is due
to the tremendous pace of industry and trade in China after integrating with the world
economy. However, it seems that the country has to pay a heavy price for its economic
achievements with its impact on the environment. Based on a study conducted by Duan
Yonghou et al (1998 in Wang, 2004), it was stated that the cost of environmental damage due
to industrial activities in China reached 283 trillion yuan per year. According to Wang (2004),
one of the biggest contributors to the damage is from the mining sector which causes damage
to soil, water, air and forests.
Based on a study conducted by Liu et al (2002) in Shaanxi province, mining activities
have damaged soil conditions in several areas namely Yulin, Shenmu, Fugu, Hengshan,
Jingbian, and Dingbian. As a result, the land in these areas has been desertified, which has led
to increasingly limited land use. In addition, desertification also results in the fragile condition
of the ecosystem in the area. Not only in Shaanxi, this kind of condition also occurs in other
Chinese provinces. Actually, mining does not only lead to desertification, but also
deforestation. This deforestation then spurs an increase in the frequency of floods and
landslides, especially in the western part of the country (Wang, 2004:166). While many
debate the relationship between deforestation and flooding, Wang remains convinced that
there is a strong causal relationship between the two.
The activities of mining corporations also pollute water. Evidently, in China, the
industrial waste of mining corporations has poisoned the water there, including that in the
river. According to Li (2006), in 2002 alone, mining waste in China had reached 265.4
million tons. This number is predicted to continue to grow if the mining industry, along with
other industries, continues to boost its activities. Later, due to the large demand for energy
from this industrial sector, China was building a mega hydroelectric power project at Lancang
Jiang. This has drawn protests from neighboring countries because it is considered to damage
the environment in their countries, especially countries around the Mekong river basin (Goh,
2009).
Furthermore, China's air and forests are also threatened by mining activities. In addition
to holding the record for the highest GDP in the world, China also holds the record for being a
major producer of gas greenhouse gases in the world. The country recorded 2.8 million metric
tons of carbon dioxide emissions in 2000 (Liu & Diamond, 2005: 1181). The mining industry
has been blamed as one of the main contributors to air pollution. In the forestry sector, mining
activities have cut down millions of trees and deforested several mountain ranges. With the
damage in these two sectors, China is considered to have accelerated the rise of the earth's
temperature, which also means causing extreme climate change.
In Papua New Guinea, environmental damage from mining also occurs and tends to be
even more severe. According to information obtained by Evans et al (2002), in Ok Tedi, BHP
Billiton has disposed of 80,000 tons of waste per day. This has been going on since the
corporation first started its activities. As a result, the Ok Tedi river changed its color from
clear to brownish, and many animals died from the toxic waste. In fact, before the arrival of
the corporation, the river was filled with fish that became the source of livelihood for the local
community. However, as the river became polluted, the fish disappeared. In addition, on-site
mining activities also eroded the forest to the riverbank (Kirsch, 1996: 1-3).
The environmental damage on Bougainville Island is no less severe. There are around
4000 hectares of land damaged by mining waste. As a result, forests, rivers, bays, and even
the air on the island have been affected. Chemical mining waste is believed to be the main
factor that caused the forests around the mining site to die, the rivers (Jaba and Kawarong)
and Empress Augusta Bay to be polluted, and the air on the island to become dirty. Based on
a study conducted by Gillespie (1996), there are at least 300 hectares of forest damaged by
Bougainville mining activities. The polluted air is caused by a mixture of dust and carbon
emissions from machinery.
Some Threats to Human Security
As described in the literature review, the behavior of multinational corporations in the era of
globalization has now had a serious impact on the environment, which in turn threatens the
security of many people. It is believed that the increase in the earth's temperature to 6 degrees
over the next 100 years will reduce world food production by 60 percent (History, 2010).
According to some scientists, in addition to scarcity of food resources, social conflicts and
chronic diseases are also cited as real threats from environmental degradation.
Based on data from the Food Agricultural Organization (2010), the increasing frequency
of floods has resulted in the destruction of 13 million hectares of crop land in China. The
areas most affected by the floods are Yunnan, Sichuan, Guizhou, Hubei, Chongqing, Anhui,
Jiangxi, Guanxi, Guangdong, Hunnan, Gansu, and Shaanxi. In the next few years, China is
predicted to continue experiencing similar disasters given the country's rapid economic
growth. In addition, climate change has also begun to show its threat. Although food
production in China as a whole is predicted to remain relatively stable until the end of 2010,
wheat production shows otherwise. By the end of 2010, there will be a one percent decline in
wheat production from 115,121 tons to 114,000 tons.
In addition, social conflicts are also threatening China. As Ho (2006) points out, as the
country's forests are depleted by economic activity, social conflicts have begun to emerge
everywhere. China's rural communities are often involved in disputes over forest ownership
with certain companies. The Chinese government is struggling to deal with this. Rules have
been made regarding the relationship between the government, companies and communities.
However, these regulations do not work well in the field. Furthermore, conflicts do not only
occur among the Chinese people but also involve other surrounding countries. Laos, Thailand,
Cambodia and Vietnam are among those affected by the construction of a hydroelectric power
plant in Lancangjiang, Yunnan (Goh, 2009: 1). This power plant is planned to be used to
supply industrial needs in China.
Another impact is disease. As a result of the high levels of air pollution in China, the
population develops respiratory, heart and lung cancer. It has even been reported that
pollution in China has resulted in thousands of deaths in the country each year. The same goes
for water pollution. Notably, around 500 million China's population no longer has access to
clean water. Although the government has launched the construction of giant dams to obtain
clean water, China, especially in the north, still suffers from pollution and lack of clean water.
According to Kahn and Yardley (2007), it has been approximately 60,000 people died from
diarrheal diseases due to this water pollution.
Meanwhile, in Papua New Guinea, resource depletion due to mining activities is also
evident. As stated by Bhavnani (2009), based on the results of his study in the Porgera area,
water contaminated by mining company toxins and waste has resulted in the loss of some
agricultural land in the area. This was followed by a reduction in agricultural production,
leading to food shortages in the country. In addition, the climate change that was predicted to
threaten the country has so far become a reality. Evidently, the existing rainfall has affected
the amount of agricultural production. In the future, as predicted by Bourke and Harwood
(2009), climate conditions will be much more extreme, characterized by rising sea levels and
increasingly erratic rainfall.
The country's problems are exacerbated by social conflict. Local communities in Porgera,
for example, oppose the existence of mining corporations because they destroy the
environment in which they live. Not only that, the existence of these corporations has also
sparked conflicts among the local communities themselves. According to Banks (2008), the
cause is that on the one hand there are community groups that receive benefits from the
company and on the other hand there are those who only receive losses from the activities of
the mining company. Although there are other views on this issue, it cannot be denied that the
presence of the company increases the possibility of conflict.
Like China, Papua New Guinea is also threatened with chronic disease. So far, mining
company waste in the country has caused a variety of diseases including lung and bladder
disease. According to Kepore et al (2008:12), pollution from the company's waste is the main
cause of these diseases, as in their study of local communities in Ok Tedi. Communities are
also fearful of other diseases in the future. As in Ok Tedi, the people of Lihirian also
experience the same fear. They suffer from diseases caused by multinational mining
companies in their area (McIntyre et al 2005: 88).
Government Policy
There is an impression that these two countries tend not to be serious or half-hearted when
addressing environmental issues and their threats. This impression is quite reasonable given
the absence of a meaningful response from the governments of the two countries in resolving
these issues. The Chinese government, for example, with its fantastic economic growth rate, is
not necessarily willing to reduce pollution, such as greenhouse gas emissions, due to
economic activity in the country. Meanwhile, Papua New Guinea tends to play it safe by
implementing half-hearted environmental policies. It will be interesting to see how the
governments of these two countries show their commitment to the environmental problems
faced by their respective countries.
In China, almost every state policy is linked to the economy. In other words, if it is not
economically oriented, it is almost impossible to become a state policy. As a result, these
policies tend to ignore other aspects of life such as environmental sustainability. One example
is the Environmental Protection Law (EPL) created in 1979. Although environmental in
nature, it is actually not used to preserve the environment, but to carry out what is referred to
as 'decollectivization' which means the revocation of common property rights to resources
(Muldavin, 2000: 253-254). 'Decollectivization' marks a shift in the status of resource
ownership rights from the collective to the individual. Instead of aiming for environmental
sustainability, the existing legal instruments open up opportunities for the operation of market
mechanisms in resource management, which in turn damage the country's environment in the
future.
In addition to the EPL, there are several other sets of laws. Some of them are the Water
Pollution Prevention Law of 1982, Forest Law 1984, Grassland Law 1985, and Air Pollution
Law 1987. Unfortunately, these legal instruments are only a mere formality in order to create
the impression that the Chinese government is very committed to protecting the environment
and in line with global commitments to preserve the environment. In reality, the Chinese
government cannot resist the ambition to continuously drive the country's economic sector by
utilizing as many economic opportunities as possible, including the influx of foreign
investment. As a result, despite having a fairly comprehensive set of laws, the country has
proven unable to control the environmental damage that arises from these economic activities
(Beyer, 2006: 209).
Until the 2009 Copenhagen Summit (COP 15), the Chinese government showed its lack
of seriousness towards environmental conservation by not signing the agreement at the
meeting. The reason is, for China, economic growth is the main target. With an average
growth of eight percent each year, China is optimistic that it will become the only global
economic power in the future, beating the United States, provided that the country's economic
growth must be stable without any interruption. Therefore, reducing greenhouse gas emissions
by 40 to 45 percent per unit of GDP by 2020 (Bodansky, 2010: 2), as requested by the
meeting, is considered a stumbling block to China's target. However, at COP 16 held in
Cancun at the end of 2010, China had already shown its good faith. The country, along with
the United States, which is known as the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gases, has
agreed to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases. This means that both China and America
are obliged to reduce their economic activities. It will be interesting to see how China will
implement its new commitment.
Like China, the Papua New Guinea government is also taking half-hearted steps.
Although the country is known to be quite keen on campaigning for the reduction of global
carbon emissions and was one of the leaders in campaigning for the Reduce Carbon Emission
from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) program with Costa Rica at COP 11 in 2005
Mellick (2010: 359), Papua New Guinea does not seem to really want to fight environmental
degradation in its territory, but is only eyeing financial benefits from the program. Papua New
Guinea is considered to have no legal instruments that truly support the implementation of
REDD, in addition to the absence of a clear implementation mechanism and qualified human
resources to implement the program. As a result, instead of getting benefits, the Papua New
Guinea government has to be disappointed because until now it has not received any benefits.
It is interesting to see what Papua New Guinea's environmental laws actually look like.
The country has several laws including the Environmental Planning Act 1978, Conservation
Area Act 1978, Water Resource Act 1982, and National Parks Act 1982. Furthermore, in
1993, the Papua New Guinea government created a policy called the National Sustainable
Development Strategy after attending the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. Finally, in
2000, Papua New Guinea created a new set of laws (the New Environment Act). This law
combines the laws that came before it (Mowbray & Duguman 2006). The aim is to balance
environmental management and conservation in the country.
Despite the many laws protecting the environment, the Papua New Guinea government
has been unable to withstand the onslaught of multinational corporations. Kinley and Tadaki
(2003), notes how Papua New Guinea's parliament had to pass another legal instrument, the
Ok Tedi Mine Continuation Act in 2001, to restore the good name of BHP Billiton, which had
previously been accused of environmental destruction and human rights abuses in the region.
For Kinley and Tadaki, this shows how the country continues to be in the shadow of
multinational corporations. It also signifies that a multitude of laws and regulations do not
guarantee the preservation of a country's environment if they are only half-heartedly
implemented.
Conclusion
Globalization, which is marked by the movement of ideas, goods, people and technology, on
the one hand has brought blessings to many people from various nations and countries.
However, it cannot be denied that globalization also brings threats to them. As this paper
shows, globalization, especially in the mining sector, tends to have a negative impact on
environmental sustainability. Taking the case of the mining sector in two Asia Pacific
countries, namely China and Papua New Guinea, the expansion and exploitation of nature has
resulted in environmental degradation and in turn threatens human security in the two
countries.
Historically, on the one hand, environmental degradation in China and Papua New
Guinea began with the influx of foreign capital from developed countries to developing
countries, characterized by the presence of multinational companies that aim to seek
maximum profit. On the other hand, the governments of the countries concerned welcomed
the arrival of these multinational companies. In the mining sector, for example, the arrival of
multinational companies is even facilitated by state policies such as in China known as the
open door policy and in Papua New Guinea with the national development strategy.
Gradually, the number of multinational companies is increasing. As a result, environmental
damage is increasingly inevitable. Some of the forms of damage found include deforestation,
desertification, soil, water and air pollution.
In turn, this environmental destruction threatens human security. So far, there has been
some evidence of this threat. In China, the activities of multinational mining companies have
resulted in the destruction of forests, contamination of rivers, soil and air, which has led to
respiratory and digestive diseases, and reduced food availability for local communities. In
addition, there have been reports of social conflicts in the areas where these multinationals
operate. The same is true in Papua New Guinea. Mining activities have contaminated the land
and water where local people live depend on for their livelihoods. Furthermore, the presence
of the mining company threatens the food security of the population and ignites conflicts
between local residents there.
Actually, this problem can be solved through government policy. Unfortunately, existing
policies are half-heartedly implemented. To this day, there is no seriousness from the
governments of the two countries. Both China and Papua New Guinea actually have quite a
lot of legal instruments that regulate the relationship between economic activity and
environmental conservation. However, these tools are not enough to overcome the problems
of environmental degradation in their respective countries. Therefore, the commitment to
implement existing environmental policies needs to be wholehearted. Otherwise,
environmental degradation and threats to human security in the two countries will continue to
occur.
Globalization of Mining: The Case of China and Papua New Guinea
This section will focus on the globalization of the mining sector in two Asia-Pacific countries,
China and Papua New Guinea. It is believed that these sectors have a negative impact on the
environment and threaten human security in their respective regions.
Since Deng Xiao Ping became the number one person in China, the country immediately
implemented an open door policy for foreign investors and ended the era of China's economic
closure for 300 years (Tantri, 2006: 50). Since then, China has undergone a rapid economic
transformation. Starting from government policies that opened up opportunities for
multinational companies to carry out economic activities in the country, China then recorded
itself as a country with the third largest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the world (Liu and
Diamond 2005: 1180). Not only that, according to Walley and Xin (2007), China is even
listed as the highest-ranked country with Foreign Direct Investment, leaving the United States
in second place. This illustrates how China is very open to globalization by providing
opportunities for global economic agents to invest in the country.
One of the most attractive sectors for multinational companies is mining. Based on a
study conducted by Nolan and Zhang (2002), some of the multinational mining companies
investing in China are Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton, and Anglo-American. Later came the names
Eldorado Gold Mining, Jingshan and Sino Gold Mining. Eldorado and Jingshan are Canadian-
owned corporations. Eldorado operates in Tanjiangshan and Jinfeng, while Jingshan has
operated in Inner Mongolia and Ganshu Province since 2007. The corporation has two
business concentrations, namely gold and diamonds. Meanwhile, Sino, an Australian
company, concentrates its operations in Jiling, Heliongjian, Guizou, and Shaanxi Provinces on
gold exploration. In addition, domestic government-owned corporations have also begun to
proliferate with exploration mechanisms no different from multinational companies.
In Papua New Guinea, multinational corporations only arrived in the early 20th century.
However, exploration of the country's natural resources had been going on since the late 19th
century by European miners (Banks, 1993: 315), albeit in a simple form. Rio Tinto was the
first company to conduct mining activities in the country, especially on Bouganville Island
and later on Lihir Island. In the following years, several other multinational companies such
as BHP Billiton and Newmont also entered Papua New Guinea and concentrated their
exploration in Ok Tedi, Woodlark and Tolukuma. The presence of these multinationals
showed how close the government was to them. Recognizing this closeness, the government
prepared policy tools to perpetuate the entry of these corporations through the National
Development Strategy.
This strategy contains instructions on how to bring multinational companies on the
economic stage of Papua New Guinea as it is believed that their presence will generate huge
profits for the country. Evidently, more and more multinational companies have since
invested in Papua New Guinea. As a result, since 1986, two-thirds of the country's economy
has been supported by foreign investment (Daniel and Sims in Banks, 1993: 318-319) with
mining being the most reliable sector. It would not be wrong to say that Papua New Guinea's
economy is highly dependent on the presence of these multinational mining companies.
Environmental degradation
Miracles are happening in China thanks to Deng Xiao Ping's leadership touch. Since the last
30 years, the country's economic growth has almost always been above 8 percent. This is due
to the tremendous pace of industry and trade in China after integrating with the world
economy. However, it seems that the country has to pay a heavy price for its economic
achievements with its impact on the environment. Based on a study conducted by Duan
Yonghou et al (1998 in Wang, 2004), it was stated that the cost of environmental damage due
to industrial activities in China reached 283 trillion yuan per year. According to Wang (2004),
one of the biggest contributors to the damage is from the mining sector which causes damage
to soil, water, air and forests.
Based on a study conducted by Liu et al (2002) in Shaanxi province, mining activities
have damaged soil conditions in several areas namely Yulin, Shenmu, Fugu, Hengshan,
Jingbian, and Dingbian. As a result, the land in these areas has been desertified, which has led
to increasingly limited land use. In addition, desertification also results in the fragile condition
of the ecosystem in the area. Not only in Shaanxi, this kind of condition also occurs in other
Chinese provinces. Actually, mining does not only lead to desertification, but also
deforestation. This deforestation then spurs an increase in the frequency of floods and
landslides, especially in the western part of the country (Wang, 2004:166). While many
debate the relationship between deforestation and flooding, Wang remains convinced that
there is a strong causal relationship between the two.
The activities of mining corporations also pollute water. Evidently, in China, the
industrial waste of mining corporations has poisoned the water there, including that in the
river. According to Li (2006), in 2002 alone, mining waste in China had reached 265.4
million tons. This number is predicted to continue to grow if the mining industry, along with
other industries, continues to boost its activities. Later, due to the large demand for energy
from this industrial sector, China was building a mega hydroelectric power project at Lancang
Jiang. This has drawn protests from neighboring countries because it is considered to damage
the environment in their countries, especially countries around the Mekong river basin (Goh,
2009).
Furthermore, China's air and forests are also threatened by mining activities. In addition
to holding the record for the highest GDP in the world, China also holds the record for being a
major producer of gas greenhouse gases in the world. The country recorded 2.8 million metric
tons of carbon dioxide emissions in 2000 (Liu & Diamond, 2005: 1181). The mining industry
has been blamed as one of the main contributors to air pollution. In the forestry sector, mining
activities have cut down millions of trees and deforested several mountain ranges. With the
damage in these two sectors, China is considered to have accelerated the rise of the earth's
temperature, which also means causing extreme climate change.
In Papua New Guinea, environmental damage from mining also occurs and tends to be
even more severe. According to information obtained by Evans et al (2002), in Ok Tedi, BHP
Billiton has disposed of 80,000 tons of waste per day. This has been going on since the
corporation first started its activities. As a result, the Ok Tedi river changed its color from
clear to brownish, and many animals died from the toxic waste. In fact, before the arrival of
the corporation, the river was filled with fish that became the source of livelihood for the local
community. However, as the river became polluted, the fish disappeared. In addition, on-site
mining activities also eroded the forest to the riverbank (Kirsch, 1996: 1-3).
The environmental damage on Bougainville Island is no less severe. There are around
4000 hectares of land damaged by mining waste. As a result, forests, rivers, bays, and even
the air on the island have been affected. Chemical mining waste is believed to be the main
factor that caused the forests around the mining site to die, the rivers (Jaba and Kawarong)
and Empress Augusta Bay to be polluted, and the air on the island to become dirty. Based on
a study conducted by Gillespie (1996), there are at least 300 hectares of forest damaged by
Bougainville mining activities. The polluted air is caused by a mixture of dust and carbon
emissions from machinery.
Some Threats to Human Security
As described in the literature review, the behavior of multinational corporations in the era of
globalization has now had a serious impact on the environment, which in turn threatens the
security of many people. It is believed that the increase in the earth's temperature to 6 degrees
over the next 100 years will reduce world food production by 60 percent (History, 2010).
According to some scientists, in addition to scarcity of food resources, social conflicts and
chronic diseases are also cited as real threats from environmental degradation.
Based on data from the Food Agricultural Organization (2010), the increasing frequency
of floods has resulted in the destruction of 13 million hectares of crop land in China. The
areas most affected by the floods are Yunnan, Sichuan, Guizhou, Hubei, Chongqing, Anhui,
Jiangxi, Guanxi, Guangdong, Hunnan, Gansu, and Shaanxi. In the next few years, China is
predicted to continue experiencing similar disasters given the country's rapid economic
growth. In addition, climate change has also begun to show its threat. Although food
production in China as a whole is predicted to remain relatively stable until the end of 2010,
wheat production shows otherwise. By the end of 2010, there will be a one percent decline in
wheat production from 115,121 tons to 114,000 tons.
In addition, social conflicts are also threatening China. As Ho (2006) points out, as the
country's forests are depleted by economic activity, social conflicts have begun to emerge
everywhere. China's rural communities are often involved in disputes over forest ownership
with certain companies. The Chinese government is struggling to deal with this. Rules have
been made regarding the relationship between the government, companies and communities.
However, these regulations do not work well in the field. Furthermore, conflicts do not only
occur among the Chinese people but also involve other surrounding countries. Laos, Thailand,
Cambodia and Vietnam are among those affected by the construction of a hydroelectric power
plant in Lancangjiang, Yunnan (Goh, 2009: 1). This power plant is planned to be used to
supply industrial needs in China.
Another impact is disease. As a result of the high levels of air pollution in China, the
population develops respiratory, heart and lung cancer. It has even been reported that
pollution in China has resulted in thousands of deaths in the country each year. The same goes
for water pollution. Notably, around 500 million China's population no longer has access to
clean water. Although the government has launched the construction of giant dams to obtain
clean water, China, especially in the north, still suffers from pollution and lack of clean water.
According to Kahn and Yardley (2007), it has been approximately 60,000 people died from
diarrheal diseases due to this water pollution.
Meanwhile, in Papua New Guinea, resource depletion due to mining activities is also
evident. As stated by Bhavnani (2009), based on the results of his study in the Porgera area,
water contaminated by mining company toxins and waste has resulted in the loss of some
agricultural land in the area. This was followed by a reduction in agricultural production,
leading to food shortages in the country. In addition, the climate change that was predicted to
threaten the country has so far become a reality. Evidently, the existing rainfall has affected
the amount of agricultural production. In the future, as predicted by Bourke and Harwood
(2009), climate conditions will be much more extreme, characterized by rising sea levels and
increasingly erratic rainfall.
The country's problems are exacerbated by social conflict. Local communities in Porgera,
for example, oppose the existence of mining corporations because they destroy the
environment in which they live. Not only that, the existence of these corporations has also
sparked conflicts among the local communities themselves. According to Banks (2008), the
cause is that on the one hand there are community groups that receive benefits from the
company and on the other hand there are those who only receive losses from the activities of
the mining company. Although there are other views on this issue, it cannot be denied that the
presence of the company increases the possibility of conflict.
Like China, Papua New Guinea is also threatened with chronic disease. So far, mining
company waste in the country has caused a variety of diseases including lung and bladder
disease. According to Kepore et al (2008:12), pollution from the company's waste is the main
cause of these diseases, as in their study of local communities in Ok Tedi. Communities are
also fearful of other diseases in the future. As in Ok Tedi, the people of Lihirian also
experience the same fear. They suffer from diseases caused by multinational mining
companies in their area (McIntyre et al 2005: 88).
Government Policy
There is an impression that these two countries tend not to be serious or half-hearted when
addressing environmental issues and their threats. This impression is quite reasonable given
the absence of a meaningful response from the governments of the two countries in resolving
these issues. The Chinese government, for example, with its fantastic economic growth rate, is
not necessarily willing to reduce pollution, such as greenhouse gas emissions, due to
economic activity in the country. Meanwhile, Papua New Guinea tends to play it safe by
implementing half-hearted environmental policies. It will be interesting to see how the
governments of these two countries show their commitment to the environmental problems
faced by their respective countries.
In China, almost every state policy is linked to the economy. In other words, if it is not
economically oriented, it is almost impossible to become a state policy. As a result, these
policies tend to ignore other aspects of life such as environmental sustainability. One example
is the Environmental Protection Law (EPL) created in 1979. Although environmental in
nature, it is actually not used to preserve the environment, but to carry out what is referred to
as 'decollectivization' which means the revocation of common property rights to resources
(Muldavin, 2000: 253-254). 'Decollectivization' marks a shift in the status of resource
ownership rights from the collective to the individual. Instead of aiming for environmental
sustainability, the existing legal instruments open up opportunities for the operation of market
mechanisms in resource management, which in turn damage the country's environment in the
future.
In addition to the EPL, there are several other sets of laws. Some of them are the Water
Pollution Prevention Law of 1982, Forest Law 1984, Grassland Law 1985, and Air Pollution
Law 1987. Unfortunately, these legal instruments are only a mere formality in order to create
the impression that the Chinese government is very committed to protecting the environment
and in line with global commitments to preserve the environment. In reality, the Chinese
government cannot resist the ambition to continuously drive the country's economic sector by
utilizing as many economic opportunities as possible, including the influx of foreign
investment. As a result, despite having a fairly comprehensive set of laws, the country has
proven unable to control the environmental damage that arises from these economic activities
(Beyer, 2006: 209).
Until the 2009 Copenhagen Summit (COP 15), the Chinese government showed its lack
of seriousness towards environmental conservation by not signing the agreement at the
meeting. The reason is, for China, economic growth is the main target. With an average
growth of eight percent each year, China is optimistic that it will become the only global
economic power in the future, beating the United States, provided that the country's economic
growth must be stable without any interruption. Therefore, reducing greenhouse gas emissions
by 40 to 45 percent per unit of GDP by 2020 (Bodansky, 2010: 2), as requested by the
meeting, is considered a stumbling block to China's target. However, at COP 16 held in
Cancun at the end of 2010, China had already shown its good faith. The country, along with
the United States, which is known as the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gases, has
agreed to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases. This means that both China and America
are obliged to reduce their economic activities. It will be interesting to see how China will
implement its new commitment.
Like China, the Papua New Guinea government is also taking half-hearted steps.
Although the country is known to be quite keen on campaigning for the reduction of global
carbon emissions and was one of the leaders in campaigning for the Reduce Carbon Emission
from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) program with Costa Rica at COP 11 in 2005
Mellick (2010: 359), Papua New Guinea does not seem to really want to fight environmental
degradation in its territory, but is only eyeing financial benefits from the program. Papua New
Guinea is considered to have no legal instruments that truly support the implementation of
REDD, in addition to the absence of a clear implementation mechanism and qualified human
resources to implement the program. As a result, instead of getting benefits, the Papua New
Guinea government has to be disappointed because until now it has not received any benefits.
It is interesting to see what Papua New Guinea's environmental laws actually look like.
The country has several laws including the Environmental Planning Act 1978, Conservation
Area Act 1978, Water Resource Act 1982, and National Parks Act 1982. Furthermore, in
1993, the Papua New Guinea government created a policy called the National Sustainable
Development Strategy after attending the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. Finally, in
2000, Papua New Guinea created a new set of laws (the New Environment Act). This law
combines the laws that came before it (Mowbray & Duguman 2006). The aim is to balance
environmental management and conservation in the country.
Despite the many laws protecting the environment, the Papua New Guinea government
has been unable to withstand the onslaught of multinational corporations. Kinley and Tadaki
(2003), notes how Papua New Guinea's parliament had to pass another legal instrument, the
Ok Tedi Mine Continuation Act in 2001, to restore the good name of BHP Billiton, which had
previously been accused of environmental destruction and human rights abuses in the region.
For Kinley and Tadaki, this shows how the country continues to be in the shadow of
multinational corporations. It also signifies that a multitude of laws and regulations do not
guarantee the preservation of a country's environment if they are only half-heartedly
implemented.
Conclusion
Globalization, which is marked by the movement of ideas, goods, people and technology, on
the one hand has brought blessings to many people from various nations and countries.
However, it cannot be denied that globalization also brings threats to them. As this paper
shows, globalization, especially in the mining sector, tends to have a negative impact on
environmental sustainability. Taking the case of the mining sector in two Asia Pacific
countries, namely China and Papua New Guinea, the expansion and exploitation of nature has
resulted in environmental degradation and in turn threatens human security in the two
countries.
Historically, on the one hand, environmental degradation in China and Papua New
Guinea began with the influx of foreign capital from developed countries to developing
countries, characterized by the presence of multinational companies that aim to seek
maximum profit. On the other hand, the governments of the countries concerned welcomed
the arrival of these multinational companies. In the mining sector, for example, the arrival of
multinational companies is even facilitated by state policies such as in China known as the
open door policy and in Papua New Guinea with the national development strategy.
Gradually, the number of multinational companies is increasing. As a result, environmental
damage is increasingly inevitable. Some of the forms of damage found include deforestation,
desertification, soil, water and air pollution.
In turn, this environmental destruction threatens human security. So far, there has been
some evidence of this threat. In China, the activities of multinational mining companies have
resulted in the destruction of forests, contamination of rivers, soil and air, which has led to
respiratory and digestive diseases, and reduced food availability for local communities. In
addition, there have been reports of social conflicts in the areas where these multinationals
operate. The same is true in Papua New Guinea. Mining activities have contaminated the land
and water where local people live depend on for their livelihoods. Furthermore, the presence
of the mining company threatens the food security of the population and ignites conflicts
between local residents there.
Actually, this problem can be solved through government policy. Unfortunately, existing
policies are half-heartedly implemented. To this day, there is no seriousness from the
governments of the two countries. Both China and Papua New Guinea actually have quite a
lot of legal instruments that regulate the relationship between economic activity and
environmental conservation. However, these tools are not enough to overcome the problems
of environmental degradation in their respective countries. Therefore, the commitment to
implement existing environmental policies needs to be wholehearted. Otherwise,
environmental degradation and threats to human security in the two countries will continue to
occur.
Globalization of Mining: The Case of China and Papua New Guinea
This section will focus on the globalization of the mining sector in two Asia-Pacific countries,
China and Papua New Guinea. It is believed that these sectors have a negative impact on the
environment and threaten human security in their respective regions.
Since Deng Xiao Ping became the number one person in China, the country immediately
implemented an open door policy for foreign investors and ended the era of China's economic
closure for 300 years (Tantri, 2006: 50). Since then, China has undergone a rapid economic
transformation. Starting from government policies that opened up opportunities for
multinational companies to carry out economic activities in the country, China then recorded
itself as a country with the third largest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the world (Liu and
Diamond 2005: 1180). Not only that, according to Walley and Xin (2007), China is even
listed as the highest-ranked country with Foreign Direct Investment, leaving the United States
in second place. This illustrates how China is very open to globalization by providing
opportunities for global economic agents to invest in the country.
One of the most attractive sectors for multinational companies is mining. Based on a
study conducted by Nolan and Zhang (2002), some of the multinational mining companies
investing in China are Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton, and Anglo-American. Later came the names
Eldorado Gold Mining, Jingshan and Sino Gold Mining. Eldorado and Jingshan are Canadian-
owned corporations. Eldorado operates in Tanjiangshan and Jinfeng, while Jingshan has
operated in Inner Mongolia and Ganshu Province since 2007. The corporation has two
business concentrations, namely gold and diamonds. Meanwhile, Sino, an Australian
company, concentrates its operations in Jiling, Heliongjian, Guizou, and Shaanxi Provinces on
gold exploration. In addition, domestic government-owned corporations have also begun to
proliferate with exploration mechanisms no different from multinational companies.
In Papua New Guinea, multinational corporations only arrived in the early 20th century.
However, exploration of the country's natural resources had been going on since the late 19th
century by European miners (Banks, 1993: 315), albeit in a simple form. Rio Tinto was the
first company to conduct mining activities in the country, especially on Bouganville Island
and later on Lihir Island. In the following years, several other multinational companies such
as BHP Billiton and Newmont also entered Papua New Guinea and concentrated their
exploration in Ok Tedi, Woodlark and Tolukuma. The presence of these multinationals
showed how close the government was to them. Recognizing this closeness, the government
prepared policy tools to perpetuate the entry of these corporations through the National
Development Strategy.
This strategy contains instructions on how to bring multinational companies on the
economic stage of Papua New Guinea as it is believed that their presence will generate huge
profits for the country. Evidently, more and more multinational companies have since
invested in Papua New Guinea. As a result, since 1986, two-thirds of the country's economy
has been supported by foreign investment (Daniel and Sims in Banks, 1993: 318-319) with
mining being the most reliable sector. It would not be wrong to say that Papua New Guinea's
economy is highly dependent on the presence of these multinational mining companies.
Environmental degradation
Miracles are happening in China thanks to Deng Xiao Ping's leadership touch. Since the last
30 years, the country's economic growth has almost always been above 8 percent. This is due
to the tremendous pace of industry and trade in China after integrating with the world
economy. However, it seems that the country has to pay a heavy price for its economic
achievements with its impact on the environment. Based on a study conducted by Duan
Yonghou et al (1998 in Wang, 2004), it was stated that the cost of environmental damage due
to industrial activities in China reached 283 trillion yuan per year. According to Wang (2004),
one of the biggest contributors to the damage is from the mining sector which causes damage
to soil, water, air and forests.
Based on a study conducted by Liu et al (2002) in Shaanxi province, mining activities
have damaged soil conditions in several areas namely Yulin, Shenmu, Fugu, Hengshan,
Jingbian, and Dingbian. As a result, the land in these areas has been desertified, which has led
to increasingly limited land use. In addition, desertification also results in the fragile condition
of the ecosystem in the area. Not only in Shaanxi, this kind of condition also occurs in other
Chinese provinces. Actually, mining does not only lead to desertification, but also
deforestation. This deforestation then spurs an increase in the frequency of floods and
landslides, especially in the western part of the country (Wang, 2004:166). While many
debate the relationship between deforestation and flooding, Wang remains convinced that
there is a strong causal relationship between the two.
The activities of mining corporations also pollute water. Evidently, in China, the
industrial waste of mining corporations has poisoned the water there, including that in the
river. According to Li (2006), in 2002 alone, mining waste in China had reached 265.4
million tons. This number is predicted to continue to grow if the mining industry, along with
other industries, continues to boost its activities. Later, due to the large demand for energy
from this industrial sector, China was building a mega hydroelectric power project at Lancang
Jiang. This has drawn protests from neighboring countries because it is considered to damage
the environment in their countries, especially countries around the Mekong river basin (Goh,
2009).
Furthermore, China's air and forests are also threatened by mining activities. In addition
to holding the record for the highest GDP in the world, China also holds the record for being a
major producer of gas greenhouse gases in the world. The country recorded 2.8 million metric
tons of carbon dioxide emissions in 2000 (Liu & Diamond, 2005: 1181). The mining industry
has been blamed as one of the main contributors to air pollution. In the forestry sector, mining
activities have cut down millions of trees and deforested several mountain ranges. With the
damage in these two sectors, China is considered to have accelerated the rise of the earth's
temperature, which also means causing extreme climate change.
In Papua New Guinea, environmental damage from mining also occurs and tends to be
even more severe. According to information obtained by Evans et al (2002), in Ok Tedi, BHP
Billiton has disposed of 80,000 tons of waste per day. This has been going on since the
corporation first started its activities. As a result, the Ok Tedi river changed its color from
clear to brownish, and many animals died from the toxic waste. In fact, before the arrival of
the corporation, the river was filled with fish that became the source of livelihood for the local
community. However, as the river became polluted, the fish disappeared. In addition, on-site
mining activities also eroded the forest to the riverbank (Kirsch, 1996: 1-3).
The environmental damage on Bougainville Island is no less severe. There are around
4000 hectares of land damaged by mining waste. As a result, forests, rivers, bays, and even
the air on the island have been affected. Chemical mining waste is believed to be the main
factor that caused the forests around the mining site to die, the rivers (Jaba and Kawarong)
and Empress Augusta Bay to be polluted, and the air on the island to become dirty. Based on
a study conducted by Gillespie (1996), there are at least 300 hectares of forest damaged by
Bougainville mining activities. The polluted air is caused by a mixture of dust and carbon
emissions from machinery.
Some Threats to Human Security
As described in the literature review, the behavior of multinational corporations in the era of
globalization has now had a serious impact on the environment, which in turn threatens the
security of many people. It is believed that the increase in the earth's temperature to 6 degrees
over the next 100 years will reduce world food production by 60 percent (History, 2010).
According to some scientists, in addition to scarcity of food resources, social conflicts and
chronic diseases are also cited as real threats from environmental degradation.
Based on data from the Food Agricultural Organization (2010), the increasing frequency
of floods has resulted in the destruction of 13 million hectares of crop land in China. The
areas most affected by the floods are Yunnan, Sichuan, Guizhou, Hubei, Chongqing, Anhui,
Jiangxi, Guanxi, Guangdong, Hunnan, Gansu, and Shaanxi. In the next few years, China is
predicted to continue experiencing similar disasters given the country's rapid economic
growth. In addition, climate change has also begun to show its threat. Although food
production in China as a whole is predicted to remain relatively stable until the end of 2010,
wheat production shows otherwise. By the end of 2010, there will be a one percent decline in
wheat production from 115,121 tons to 114,000 tons.
In addition, social conflicts are also threatening China. As Ho (2006) points out, as the
country's forests are depleted by economic activity, social conflicts have begun to emerge
everywhere. China's rural communities are often involved in disputes over forest ownership
with certain companies. The Chinese government is struggling to deal with this. Rules have
been made regarding the relationship between the government, companies and communities.
However, these regulations do not work well in the field. Furthermore, conflicts do not only
occur among the Chinese people but also involve other surrounding countries. Laos, Thailand,
Cambodia and Vietnam are among those affected by the construction of a hydroelectric power
plant in Lancangjiang, Yunnan (Goh, 2009: 1). This power plant is planned to be used to
supply industrial needs in China.
Another impact is disease. As a result of the high levels of air pollution in China, the
population develops respiratory, heart and lung cancer. It has even been reported that
pollution in China has resulted in thousands of deaths in the country each year. The same goes
for water pollution. Notably, around 500 million China's population no longer has access to
clean water. Although the government has launched the construction of giant dams to obtain
clean water, China, especially in the north, still suffers from pollution and lack of clean water.
According to Kahn and Yardley (2007), it has been approximately 60,000 people died from
diarrheal diseases due to this water pollution.
Meanwhile, in Papua New Guinea, resource depletion due to mining activities is also
evident. As stated by Bhavnani (2009), based on the results of his study in the Porgera area,
water contaminated by mining company toxins and waste has resulted in the loss of some
agricultural land in the area. This was followed by a reduction in agricultural production,
leading to food shortages in the country. In addition, the climate change that was predicted to
threaten the country has so far become a reality. Evidently, the existing rainfall has affected
the amount of agricultural production. In the future, as predicted by Bourke and Harwood
(2009), climate conditions will be much more extreme, characterized by rising sea levels and
increasingly erratic rainfall.
The country's problems are exacerbated by social conflict. Local communities in Porgera,
for example, oppose the existence of mining corporations because they destroy the
environment in which they live. Not only that, the existence of these corporations has also
sparked conflicts among the local communities themselves. According to Banks (2008), the
cause is that on the one hand there are community groups that receive benefits from the
company and on the other hand there are those who only receive losses from the activities of
the mining company. Although there are other views on this issue, it cannot be denied that the
presence of the company increases the possibility of conflict.
Like China, Papua New Guinea is also threatened with chronic disease. So far, mining
company waste in the country has caused a variety of diseases including lung and bladder
disease. According to Kepore et al (2008:12), pollution from the company's waste is the main
cause of these diseases, as in their study of local communities in Ok Tedi. Communities are
also fearful of other diseases in the future. As in Ok Tedi, the people of Lihirian also
experience the same fear. They suffer from diseases caused by multinational mining
companies in their area (McIntyre et al 2005: 88).
Government Policy
There is an impression that these two countries tend not to be serious or half-hearted when
addressing environmental issues and their threats. This impression is quite reasonable given
the absence of a meaningful response from the governments of the two countries in resolving
these issues. The Chinese government, for example, with its fantastic economic growth rate, is
not necessarily willing to reduce pollution, such as greenhouse gas emissions, due to
economic activity in the country. Meanwhile, Papua New Guinea tends to play it safe by
implementing half-hearted environmental policies. It will be interesting to see how the
governments of these two countries show their commitment to the environmental problems
faced by their respective countries.
In China, almost every state policy is linked to the economy. In other words, if it is not
economically oriented, it is almost impossible to become a state policy. As a result, these
policies tend to ignore other aspects of life such as environmental sustainability. One example
is the Environmental Protection Law (EPL) created in 1979. Although environmental in
nature, it is actually not used to preserve the environment, but to carry out what is referred to
as 'decollectivization' which means the revocation of common property rights to resources
(Muldavin, 2000: 253-254). 'Decollectivization' marks a shift in the status of resource
ownership rights from the collective to the individual. Instead of aiming for environmental
sustainability, the existing legal instruments open up opportunities for the operation of market
mechanisms in resource management, which in turn damage the country's environment in the
future.
In addition to the EPL, there are several other sets of laws. Some of them are the Water
Pollution Prevention Law of 1982, Forest Law 1984, Grassland Law 1985, and Air Pollution
Law 1987. Unfortunately, these legal instruments are only a mere formality in order to create
the impression that the Chinese government is very committed to protecting the environment
and in line with global commitments to preserve the environment. In reality, the Chinese
government cannot resist the ambition to continuously drive the country's economic sector by
utilizing as many economic opportunities as possible, including the influx of foreign
investment. As a result, despite having a fairly comprehensive set of laws, the country has
proven unable to control the environmental damage that arises from these economic activities
(Beyer, 2006: 209).
Until the 2009 Copenhagen Summit (COP 15), the Chinese government showed its lack
of seriousness towards environmental conservation by not signing the agreement at the
meeting. The reason is, for China, economic growth is the main target. With an average
growth of eight percent each year, China is optimistic that it will become the only global
economic power in the future, beating the United States, provided that the country's economic
growth must be stable without any interruption. Therefore, reducing greenhouse gas emissions
by 40 to 45 percent per unit of GDP by 2020 (Bodansky, 2010: 2), as requested by the
meeting, is considered a stumbling block to China's target. However, at COP 16 held in
Cancun at the end of 2010, China had already shown its good faith. The country, along with
the United States, which is known as the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gases, has
agreed to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases. This means that both China and America
are obliged to reduce their economic activities. It will be interesting to see how China will
implement its new commitment.
Like China, the Papua New Guinea government is also taking half-hearted steps.
Although the country is known to be quite keen on campaigning for the reduction of global
carbon emissions and was one of the leaders in campaigning for the Reduce Carbon Emission
from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) program with Costa Rica at COP 11 in 2005
Mellick (2010: 359), Papua New Guinea does not seem to really want to fight environmental
degradation in its territory, but is only eyeing financial benefits from the program. Papua New
Guinea is considered to have no legal instruments that truly support the implementation of
REDD, in addition to the absence of a clear implementation mechanism and qualified human
resources to implement the program. As a result, instead of getting benefits, the Papua New
Guinea government has to be disappointed because until now it has not received any benefits.
It is interesting to see what Papua New Guinea's environmental laws actually look like.
The country has several laws including the Environmental Planning Act 1978, Conservation
Area Act 1978, Water Resource Act 1982, and National Parks Act 1982. Furthermore, in
1993, the Papua New Guinea government created a policy called the National Sustainable
Development Strategy after attending the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. Finally, in
2000, Papua New Guinea created a new set of laws (the New Environment Act). This law
combines the laws that came before it (Mowbray & Duguman 2006). The aim is to balance
environmental management and conservation in the country.
Despite the many laws protecting the environment, the Papua New Guinea government
has been unable to withstand the onslaught of multinational corporations. Kinley and Tadaki
(2003), notes how Papua New Guinea's parliament had to pass another legal instrument, the
Ok Tedi Mine Continuation Act in 2001, to restore the good name of BHP Billiton, which had
previously been accused of environmental destruction and human rights abuses in the region.
For Kinley and Tadaki, this shows how the country continues to be in the shadow of
multinational corporations. It also signifies that a multitude of laws and regulations do not
guarantee the preservation of a country's environment if they are only half-heartedly
implemented.
Conclusion
Globalization, which is marked by the movement of ideas, goods, people and technology, on
the one hand has brought blessings to many people from various nations and countries.
However, it cannot be denied that globalization also brings threats to them. As this paper
shows, globalization, especially in the mining sector, tends to have a negative impact on
environmental sustainability. Taking the case of the mining sector in two Asia Pacific
countries, namely China and Papua New Guinea, the expansion and exploitation of nature has
resulted in environmental degradation and in turn threatens human security in the two
countries.
Historically, on the one hand, environmental degradation in China and Papua New
Guinea began with the influx of foreign capital from developed countries to developing
countries, characterized by the presence of multinational companies that aim to seek
maximum profit. On the other hand, the governments of the countries concerned welcomed
the arrival of these multinational companies. In the mining sector, for example, the arrival of
multinational companies is even facilitated by state policies such as in China known as the
open door policy and in Papua New Guinea with the national development strategy.
Gradually, the number of multinational companies is increasing. As a result, environmental
damage is increasingly inevitable. Some of the forms of damage found include deforestation,
desertification, soil, water and air pollution.
In turn, this environmental destruction threatens human security. So far, there has been
some evidence of this threat. In China, the activities of multinational mining companies have
resulted in the destruction of forests, contamination of rivers, soil and air, which has led to
respiratory and digestive diseases, and reduced food availability for local communities. In
addition, there have been reports of social conflicts in the areas where these multinationals
operate. The same is true in Papua New Guinea. Mining activities have contaminated the land
and water where local people live depend on for their livelihoods. Furthermore, the presence
of the mining company threatens the food security of the population and ignites conflicts
between local residents there.
Actually, this problem can be solved through government policy. Unfortunately, existing
policies are half-heartedly implemented. To this day, there is no seriousness from the
governments of the two countries. Both China and Papua New Guinea actually have quite a
lot of legal instruments that regulate the relationship between economic activity and
environmental conservation. However, these tools are not enough to overcome the problems
of environmental degradation in their respective countries. Therefore, the commitment to
implement existing environmental policies needs to be wholehearted. Otherwise,
environmental degradation and threats to human security in the two countries will continue to
occur.
Globalization of Mining: The Case of China and Papua New Guinea
This section will focus on the globalization of the mining sector in two Asia-Pacific countries,
China and Papua New Guinea. It is believed that these sectors have a negative impact on the
environment and threaten human security in their respective regions.
Since Deng Xiao Ping became the number one person in China, the country immediately
implemented an open door policy for foreign investors and ended the era of China's economic
closure for 300 years (Tantri, 2006: 50). Since then, China has undergone a rapid economic
transformation. Starting from government policies that opened up opportunities for
multinational companies to carry out economic activities in the country, China then recorded
itself as a country with the third largest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the world (Liu and
Diamond 2005: 1180). Not only that, according to Walley and Xin (2007), China is even
listed as the highest-ranked country with Foreign Direct Investment, leaving the United States
in second place. This illustrates how China is very open to globalization by providing
opportunities for global economic agents to invest in the country.
One of the most attractive sectors for multinational companies is mining. Based on a
study conducted by Nolan and Zhang (2002), some of the multinational mining companies
investing in China are Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton, and Anglo-American. Later came the names
Eldorado Gold Mining, Jingshan and Sino Gold Mining. Eldorado and Jingshan are Canadian-
owned corporations. Eldorado operates in Tanjiangshan and Jinfeng, while Jingshan has
operated in Inner Mongolia and Ganshu Province since 2007. The corporation has two
business concentrations, namely gold and diamonds. Meanwhile, Sino, an Australian
company, concentrates its operations in Jiling, Heliongjian, Guizou, and Shaanxi Provinces on
gold exploration. In addition, domestic government-owned corporations have also begun to
proliferate with exploration mechanisms no different from multinational companies.
In Papua New Guinea, multinational corporations only arrived in the early 20th century.
However, exploration of the country's natural resources had been going on since the late 19th
century by European miners (Banks, 1993: 315), albeit in a simple form. Rio Tinto was the
first company to conduct mining activities in the country, especially on Bouganville Island
and later on Lihir Island. In the following years, several other multinational companies such
as BHP Billiton and Newmont also entered Papua New Guinea and concentrated their
exploration in Ok Tedi, Woodlark and Tolukuma. The presence of these multinationals
showed how close the government was to them. Recognizing this closeness, the government
prepared policy tools to perpetuate the entry of these corporations through the National
Development Strategy.
This strategy contains instructions on how to bring multinational companies on the
economic stage of Papua New Guinea as it is believed that their presence will generate huge
profits for the country. Evidently, more and more multinational companies have since
invested in Papua New Guinea. As a result, since 1986, two-thirds of the country's economy
has been supported by foreign investment (Daniel and Sims in Banks, 1993: 318-319) with
mining being the most reliable sector. It would not be wrong to say that Papua New Guinea's
economy is highly dependent on the presence of these multinational mining companies.
Environmental degradation
Miracles are happening in China thanks to Deng Xiao Ping's leadership touch. Since the last
30 years, the country's economic growth has almost always been above 8 percent. This is due
to the tremendous pace of industry and trade in China after integrating with the world
economy. However, it seems that the country has to pay a heavy price for its economic
achievements with its impact on the environment. Based on a study conducted by Duan
Yonghou et al (1998 in Wang, 2004), it was stated that the cost of environmental damage due
to industrial activities in China reached 283 trillion yuan per year. According to Wang (2004),
one of the biggest contributors to the damage is from the mining sector which causes damage
to soil, water, air and forests.
Based on a study conducted by Liu et al (2002) in Shaanxi province, mining activities
have damaged soil conditions in several areas namely Yulin, Shenmu, Fugu, Hengshan,
Jingbian, and Dingbian. As a result, the land in these areas has been desertified, which has led
to increasingly limited land use. In addition, desertification also results in the fragile condition
of the ecosystem in the area. Not only in Shaanxi, this kind of condition also occurs in other
Chinese provinces. Actually, mining does not only lead to desertification, but also
deforestation. This deforestation then spurs an increase in the frequency of floods and
landslides, especially in the western part of the country (Wang, 2004:166). While many
debate the relationship between deforestation and flooding, Wang remains convinced that
there is a strong causal relationship between the two.
The activities of mining corporations also pollute water. Evidently, in China, the
industrial waste of mining corporations has poisoned the water there, including that in the
river. According to Li (2006), in 2002 alone, mining waste in China had reached 265.4
million tons. This number is predicted to continue to grow if the mining industry, along with
other industries, continues to boost its activities. Later, due to the large demand for energy
from this industrial sector, China was building a mega hydroelectric power project at Lancang
Jiang. This has drawn protests from neighboring countries because it is considered to damage
the environment in their countries, especially countries around the Mekong river basin (Goh,
2009).
Furthermore, China's air and forests are also threatened by mining activities. In addition
to holding the record for the highest GDP in the world, China also holds the record for being a
major producer of gas greenhouse gases in the world. The country recorded 2.8 million metric
tons of carbon dioxide emissions in 2000 (Liu & Diamond, 2005: 1181). The mining industry
has been blamed as one of the main contributors to air pollution. In the forestry sector, mining
activities have cut down millions of trees and deforested several mountain ranges. With the
damage in these two sectors, China is considered to have accelerated the rise of the earth's
temperature, which also means causing extreme climate change.
In Papua New Guinea, environmental damage from mining also occurs and tends to be
even more severe. According to information obtained by Evans et al (2002), in Ok Tedi, BHP
Billiton has disposed of 80,000 tons of waste per day. This has been going on since the
corporation first started its activities. As a result, the Ok Tedi river changed its color from
clear to brownish, and many animals died from the toxic waste. In fact, before the arrival of
the corporation, the river was filled with fish that became the source of livelihood for the local
community. However, as the river became polluted, the fish disappeared. In addition, on-site
mining activities also eroded the forest to the riverbank (Kirsch, 1996: 1-3).
The environmental damage on Bougainville Island is no less severe. There are around
4000 hectares of land damaged by mining waste. As a result, forests, rivers, bays, and even
the air on the island have been affected. Chemical mining waste is believed to be the main
factor that caused the forests around the mining site to die, the rivers (Jaba and Kawarong)
and Empress Augusta Bay to be polluted, and the air on the island to become dirty. Based on
a study conducted by Gillespie (1996), there are at least 300 hectares of forest damaged by
Bougainville mining activities. The polluted air is caused by a mixture of dust and carbon
emissions from machinery.
Some Threats to Human Security
As described in the literature review, the behavior of multinational corporations in the era of
globalization has now had a serious impact on the environment, which in turn threatens the
security of many people. It is believed that the increase in the earth's temperature to 6 degrees
over the next 100 years will reduce world food production by 60 percent (History, 2010).
According to some scientists, in addition to scarcity of food resources, social conflicts and
chronic diseases are also cited as real threats from environmental degradation.
Based on data from the Food Agricultural Organization (2010), the increasing frequency
of floods has resulted in the destruction of 13 million hectares of crop land in China. The
areas most affected by the floods are Yunnan, Sichuan, Guizhou, Hubei, Chongqing, Anhui,
Jiangxi, Guanxi, Guangdong, Hunnan, Gansu, and Shaanxi. In the next few years, China is
predicted to continue experiencing similar disasters given the country's rapid economic
growth. In addition, climate change has also begun to show its threat. Although food
production in China as a whole is predicted to remain relatively stable until the end of 2010,
wheat production shows otherwise. By the end of 2010, there will be a one percent decline in
wheat production from 115,121 tons to 114,000 tons.
In addition, social conflicts are also threatening China. As Ho (2006) points out, as the
country's forests are depleted by economic activity, social conflicts have begun to emerge
everywhere. China's rural communities are often involved in disputes over forest ownership
with certain companies. The Chinese government is struggling to deal with this. Rules have
been made regarding the relationship between the government, companies and communities.
However, these regulations do not work well in the field. Furthermore, conflicts do not only
occur among the Chinese people but also involve other surrounding countries. Laos, Thailand,
Cambodia and Vietnam are among those affected by the construction of a hydroelectric power
plant in Lancangjiang, Yunnan (Goh, 2009: 1). This power plant is planned to be used to
supply industrial needs in China.
Another impact is disease. As a result of the high levels of air pollution in China, the
population develops respiratory, heart and lung cancer. It has even been reported that
pollution in China has resulted in thousands of deaths in the country each year. The same goes
for water pollution. Notably, around 500 million China's population no longer has access to
clean water. Although the government has launched the construction of giant dams to obtain
clean water, China, especially in the north, still suffers from pollution and lack of clean water.
According to Kahn and Yardley (2007), it has been approximately 60,000 people died from
diarrheal diseases due to this water pollution.
Meanwhile, in Papua New Guinea, resource depletion due to mining activities is also
evident. As stated by Bhavnani (2009), based on the results of his study in the Porgera area,
water contaminated by mining company toxins and waste has resulted in the loss of some
agricultural land in the area. This was followed by a reduction in agricultural production,
leading to food shortages in the country. In addition, the climate change that was predicted to
threaten the country has so far become a reality. Evidently, the existing rainfall has affected
the amount of agricultural production. In the future, as predicted by Bourke and Harwood
(2009), climate conditions will be much more extreme, characterized by rising sea levels and
increasingly erratic rainfall.
The country's problems are exacerbated by social conflict. Local communities in Porgera,
for example, oppose the existence of mining corporations because they destroy the
environment in which they live. Not only that, the existence of these corporations has also
sparked conflicts among the local communities themselves. According to Banks (2008), the
cause is that on the one hand there are community groups that receive benefits from the
company and on the other hand there are those who only receive losses from the activities of
the mining company. Although there are other views on this issue, it cannot be denied that the
presence of the company increases the possibility of conflict.
Like China, Papua New Guinea is also threatened with chronic disease. So far, mining
company waste in the country has caused a variety of diseases including lung and bladder
disease. According to Kepore et al (2008:12), pollution from the company's waste is the main
cause of these diseases, as in their study of local communities in Ok Tedi. Communities are
also fearful of other diseases in the future. As in Ok Tedi, the people of Lihirian also
experience the same fear. They suffer from diseases caused by multinational mining
companies in their area (McIntyre et al 2005: 88).
Government Policy
There is an impression that these two countries tend not to be serious or half-hearted when
addressing environmental issues and their threats. This impression is quite reasonable given
the absence of a meaningful response from the governments of the two countries in resolving
these issues. The Chinese government, for example, with its fantastic economic growth rate, is
not necessarily willing to reduce pollution, such as greenhouse gas emissions, due to
economic activity in the country. Meanwhile, Papua New Guinea tends to play it safe by
implementing half-hearted environmental policies. It will be interesting to see how the
governments of these two countries show their commitment to the environmental problems
faced by their respective countries.
In China, almost every state policy is linked to the economy. In other words, if it is not
economically oriented, it is almost impossible to become a state policy. As a result, these
policies tend to ignore other aspects of life such as environmental sustainability. One example
is the Environmental Protection Law (EPL) created in 1979. Although environmental in
nature, it is actually not used to preserve the environment, but to carry out what is referred to
as 'decollectivization' which means the revocation of common property rights to resources
(Muldavin, 2000: 253-254). 'Decollectivization' marks a shift in the status of resource
ownership rights from the collective to the individual. Instead of aiming for environmental
sustainability, the existing legal instruments open up opportunities for the operation of market
mechanisms in resource management, which in turn damage the country's environment in the
future.
In addition to the EPL, there are several other sets of laws. Some of them are the Water
Pollution Prevention Law of 1982, Forest Law 1984, Grassland Law 1985, and Air Pollution
Law 1987. Unfortunately, these legal instruments are only a mere formality in order to create
the impression that the Chinese government is very committed to protecting the environment
and in line with global commitments to preserve the environment. In reality, the Chinese
government cannot resist the ambition to continuously drive the country's economic sector by
utilizing as many economic opportunities as possible, including the influx of foreign
investment. As a result, despite having a fairly comprehensive set of laws, the country has
proven unable to control the environmental damage that arises from these economic activities
(Beyer, 2006: 209).
Until the 2009 Copenhagen Summit (COP 15), the Chinese government showed its lack
of seriousness towards environmental conservation by not signing the agreement at the
meeting. The reason is, for China, economic growth is the main target. With an average
growth of eight percent each year, China is optimistic that it will become the only global
economic power in the future, beating the United States, provided that the country's economic
growth must be stable without any interruption. Therefore, reducing greenhouse gas emissions
by 40 to 45 percent per unit of GDP by 2020 (Bodansky, 2010: 2), as requested by the
meeting, is considered a stumbling block to China's target. However, at COP 16 held in
Cancun at the end of 2010, China had already shown its good faith. The country, along with
the United States, which is known as the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gases, has
agreed to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases. This means that both China and America
are obliged to reduce their economic activities. It will be interesting to see how China will
implement its new commitment.
Like China, the Papua New Guinea government is also taking half-hearted steps.
Although the country is known to be quite keen on campaigning for the reduction of global
carbon emissions and was one of the leaders in campaigning for the Reduce Carbon Emission
from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) program with Costa Rica at COP 11 in 2005
Mellick (2010: 359), Papua New Guinea does not seem to really want to fight environmental
degradation in its territory, but is only eyeing financial benefits from the program. Papua New
Guinea is considered to have no legal instruments that truly support the implementation of
REDD, in addition to the absence of a clear implementation mechanism and qualified human
resources to implement the program. As a result, instead of getting benefits, the Papua New
Guinea government has to be disappointed because until now it has not received any benefits.
It is interesting to see what Papua New Guinea's environmental laws actually look like.
The country has several laws including the Environmental Planning Act 1978, Conservation
Area Act 1978, Water Resource Act 1982, and National Parks Act 1982. Furthermore, in
1993, the Papua New Guinea government created a policy called the National Sustainable
Development Strategy after attending the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. Finally, in
2000, Papua New Guinea created a new set of laws (the New Environment Act). This law
combines the laws that came before it (Mowbray & Duguman 2006). The aim is to balance
environmental management and conservation in the country.
Despite the many laws protecting the environment, the Papua New Guinea government
has been unable to withstand the onslaught of multinational corporations. Kinley and Tadaki
(2003), notes how Papua New Guinea's parliament had to pass another legal instrument, the
Ok Tedi Mine Continuation Act in 2001, to restore the good name of BHP Billiton, which had
previously been accused of environmental destruction and human rights abuses in the region.
For Kinley and Tadaki, this shows how the country continues to be in the shadow of
multinational corporations. It also signifies that a multitude of laws and regulations do not
guarantee the preservation of a country's environment if they are only half-heartedly
implemented.
Conclusion
Globalization, which is marked by the movement of ideas, goods, people and technology, on
the one hand has brought blessings to many people from various nations and countries.
However, it cannot be denied that globalization also brings threats to them. As this paper
shows, globalization, especially in the mining sector, tends to have a negative impact on
environmental sustainability. Taking the case of the mining sector in two Asia Pacific
countries, namely China and Papua New Guinea, the expansion and exploitation of nature has
resulted in environmental degradation and in turn threatens human security in the two
countries.
Historically, on the one hand, environmental degradation in China and Papua New
Guinea began with the influx of foreign capital from developed countries to developing
countries, characterized by the presence of multinational companies that aim to seek
maximum profit. On the other hand, the governments of the countries concerned welcomed
the arrival of these multinational companies. In the mining sector, for example, the arrival of
multinational companies is even facilitated by state policies such as in China known as the
open door policy and in Papua New Guinea with the national development strategy.
Gradually, the number of multinational companies is increasing. As a result, environmental
damage is increasingly inevitable. Some of the forms of damage found include deforestation,
desertification, soil, water and air pollution.
In turn, this environmental destruction threatens human security. So far, there has been
some evidence of this threat. In China, the activities of multinational mining companies have
resulted in the destruction of forests, contamination of rivers, soil and air, which has led to
respiratory and digestive diseases, and reduced food availability for local communities. In
addition, there have been reports of social conflicts in the areas where these multinationals
operate. The same is true in Papua New Guinea. Mining activities have contaminated the land
and water where local people live depend on for their livelihoods. Furthermore, the presence
of the mining company threatens the food security of the population and ignites conflicts
between local residents there.
Actually, this problem can be solved through government policy. Unfortunately, existing
policies are half-heartedly implemented. To this day, there is no seriousness from the
governments of the two countries. Both China and Papua New Guinea actually have quite a
lot of legal instruments that regulate the relationship between economic activity and
environmental conservation. However, these tools are not enough to overcome the problems
of environmental degradation in their respective countries. Therefore, the commitment to
implement existing environmental policies needs to be wholehearted. Otherwise,
environmental degradation and threats to human security in the two countries will continue to
occur.
Globalization of Mining: The Case of China and Papua New Guinea
This section will focus on the globalization of the mining sector in two Asia-Pacific countries,
China and Papua New Guinea. It is believed that these sectors have a negative impact on the
environment and threaten human security in their respective regions.
Since Deng Xiao Ping became the number one person in China, the country immediately
implemented an open door policy for foreign investors and ended the era of China's economic
closure for 300 years (Tantri, 2006: 50). Since then, China has undergone a rapid economic
transformation. Starting from government policies that opened up opportunities for
multinational companies to carry out economic activities in the country, China then recorded
itself as a country with the third largest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the world (Liu and
Diamond 2005: 1180). Not only that, according to Walley and Xin (2007), China is even
listed as the highest-ranked country with Foreign Direct Investment, leaving the United States
in second place. This illustrates how China is very open to globalization by providing
opportunities for global economic agents to invest in the country.
One of the most attractive sectors for multinational companies is mining. Based on a
study conducted by Nolan and Zhang (2002), some of the multinational mining companies
investing in China are Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton, and Anglo-American. Later came the names
Eldorado Gold Mining, Jingshan and Sino Gold Mining. Eldorado and Jingshan are Canadian-
owned corporations. Eldorado operates in Tanjiangshan and Jinfeng, while Jingshan has
operated in Inner Mongolia and Ganshu Province since 2007. The corporation has two
business concentrations, namely gold and diamonds. Meanwhile, Sino, an Australian
company, concentrates its operations in Jiling, Heliongjian, Guizou, and Shaanxi Provinces on
gold exploration. In addition, domestic government-owned corporations have also begun to
proliferate with exploration mechanisms no different from multinational companies.
In Papua New Guinea, multinational corporations only arrived in the early 20th century.
However, exploration of the country's natural resources had been going on since the late 19th
century by European miners (Banks, 1993: 315), albeit in a simple form. Rio Tinto was the
first company to conduct mining activities in the country, especially on Bouganville Island
and later on Lihir Island. In the following years, several other multinational companies such
as BHP Billiton and Newmont also entered Papua New Guinea and concentrated their
exploration in Ok Tedi, Woodlark and Tolukuma. The presence of these multinationals
showed how close the government was to them. Recognizing this closeness, the government
prepared policy tools to perpetuate the entry of these corporations through the National
Development Strategy.
This strategy contains instructions on how to bring multinational companies on the
economic stage of Papua New Guinea as it is believed that their presence will generate huge
profits for the country. Evidently, more and more multinational companies have since
invested in Papua New Guinea. As a result, since 1986, two-thirds of the country's economy
has been supported by foreign investment (Daniel and Sims in Banks, 1993: 318-319) with
mining being the most reliable sector. It would not be wrong to say that Papua New Guinea's
economy is highly dependent on the presence of these multinational mining companies.
Environmental degradation
Miracles are happening in China thanks to Deng Xiao Ping's leadership touch. Since the last
30 years, the country's economic growth has almost always been above 8 percent. This is due
to the tremendous pace of industry and trade in China after integrating with the world
economy. However, it seems that the country has to pay a heavy price for its economic
achievements with its impact on the environment. Based on a study conducted by Duan
Yonghou et al (1998 in Wang, 2004), it was stated that the cost of environmental damage due
to industrial activities in China reached 283 trillion yuan per year. According to Wang (2004),
one of the biggest contributors to the damage is from the mining sector which causes damage
to soil, water, air and forests.
Based on a study conducted by Liu et al (2002) in Shaanxi province, mining activities
have damaged soil conditions in several areas namely Yulin, Shenmu, Fugu, Hengshan,
Jingbian, and Dingbian. As a result, the land in these areas has been desertified, which has led
to increasingly limited land use. In addition, desertification also results in the fragile condition
of the ecosystem in the area. Not only in Shaanxi, this kind of condition also occurs in other
Chinese provinces. Actually, mining does not only lead to desertification, but also
deforestation. This deforestation then spurs an increase in the frequency of floods and
landslides, especially in the western part of the country (Wang, 2004:166). While many
debate the relationship between deforestation and flooding, Wang remains convinced that
there is a strong causal relationship between the two.
The activities of mining corporations also pollute water. Evidently, in China, the
industrial waste of mining corporations has poisoned the water there, including that in the
river. According to Li (2006), in 2002 alone, mining waste in China had reached 265.4
million tons. This number is predicted to continue to grow if the mining industry, along with
other industries, continues to boost its activities. Later, due to the large demand for energy
from this industrial sector, China was building a mega hydroelectric power project at Lancang
Jiang. This has drawn protests from neighboring countries because it is considered to damage
the environment in their countries, especially countries around the Mekong river basin (Goh,
2009).
Furthermore, China's air and forests are also threatened by mining activities. In addition
to holding the record for the highest GDP in the world, China also holds the record for being a
major producer of gas greenhouse gases in the world. The country recorded 2.8 million metric
tons of carbon dioxide emissions in 2000 (Liu & Diamond, 2005: 1181). The mining industry
has been blamed as one of the main contributors to air pollution. In the forestry sector, mining
activities have cut down millions of trees and deforested several mountain ranges. With the
damage in these two sectors, China is considered to have accelerated the rise of the earth's
temperature, which also means causing extreme climate change.
In Papua New Guinea, environmental damage from mining also occurs and tends to be
even more severe. According to information obtained by Evans et al (2002), in Ok Tedi, BHP
Billiton has disposed of 80,000 tons of waste per day. This has been going on since the
corporation first started its activities. As a result, the Ok Tedi river changed its color from
clear to brownish, and many animals died from the toxic waste. In fact, before the arrival of
the corporation, the river was filled with fish that became the source of livelihood for the local
community. However, as the river became polluted, the fish disappeared. In addition, on-site
mining activities also eroded the forest to the riverbank (Kirsch, 1996: 1-3).
The environmental damage on Bougainville Island is no less severe. There are around
4000 hectares of land damaged by mining waste. As a result, forests, rivers, bays, and even
the air on the island have been affected. Chemical mining waste is believed to be the main
factor that caused the forests around the mining site to die, the rivers (Jaba and Kawarong)
and Empress Augusta Bay to be polluted, and the air on the island to become dirty. Based on
a study conducted by Gillespie (1996), there are at least 300 hectares of forest damaged by
Bougainville mining activities. The polluted air is caused by a mixture of dust and carbon
emissions from machinery.
Some Threats to Human Security
As described in the literature review, the behavior of multinational corporations in the era of
globalization has now had a serious impact on the environment, which in turn threatens the
security of many people. It is believed that the increase in the earth's temperature to 6 degrees
over the next 100 years will reduce world food production by 60 percent (History, 2010).
According to some scientists, in addition to scarcity of food resources, social conflicts and
chronic diseases are also cited as real threats from environmental degradation.
Based on data from the Food Agricultural Organization (2010), the increasing frequency
of floods has resulted in the destruction of 13 million hectares of crop land in China. The
areas most affected by the floods are Yunnan, Sichuan, Guizhou, Hubei, Chongqing, Anhui,
Jiangxi, Guanxi, Guangdong, Hunnan, Gansu, and Shaanxi. In the next few years, China is
predicted to continue experiencing similar disasters given the country's rapid economic
growth. In addition, climate change has also begun to show its threat. Although food
production in China as a whole is predicted to remain relatively stable until the end of 2010,
wheat production shows otherwise. By the end of 2010, there will be a one percent decline in
wheat production from 115,121 tons to 114,000 tons.
In addition, social conflicts are also threatening China. As Ho (2006) points out, as the
country's forests are depleted by economic activity, social conflicts have begun to emerge
everywhere. China's rural communities are often involved in disputes over forest ownership
with certain companies. The Chinese government is struggling to deal with this. Rules have
been made regarding the relationship between the government, companies and communities.
However, these regulations do not work well in the field. Furthermore, conflicts do not only
occur among the Chinese people but also involve other surrounding countries. Laos, Thailand,
Cambodia and Vietnam are among those affected by the construction of a hydroelectric power
plant in Lancangjiang, Yunnan (Goh, 2009: 1). This power plant is planned to be used to
supply industrial needs in China.
Another impact is disease. As a result of the high levels of air pollution in China, the
population develops respiratory, heart and lung cancer. It has even been reported that
pollution in China has resulted in thousands of deaths in the country each year. The same goes
for water pollution. Notably, around 500 million China's population no longer has access to
clean water. Although the government has launched the construction of giant dams to obtain
clean water, China, especially in the north, still suffers from pollution and lack of clean water.
According to Kahn and Yardley (2007), it has been approximately 60,000 people died from
diarrheal diseases due to this water pollution.
Meanwhile, in Papua New Guinea, resource depletion due to mining activities is also
evident. As stated by Bhavnani (2009), based on the results of his study in the Porgera area,
water contaminated by mining company toxins and waste has resulted in the loss of some
agricultural land in the area. This was followed by a reduction in agricultural production,
leading to food shortages in the country. In addition, the climate change that was predicted to
threaten the country has so far become a reality. Evidently, the existing rainfall has affected
the amount of agricultural production. In the future, as predicted by Bourke and Harwood
(2009), climate conditions will be much more extreme, characterized by rising sea levels and
increasingly erratic rainfall.
The country's problems are exacerbated by social conflict. Local communities in Porgera,
for example, oppose the existence of mining corporations because they destroy the
environment in which they live. Not only that, the existence of these corporations has also
sparked conflicts among the local communities themselves. According to Banks (2008), the
cause is that on the one hand there are community groups that receive benefits from the
company and on the other hand there are those who only receive losses from the activities of
the mining company. Although there are other views on this issue, it cannot be denied that the
presence of the company increases the possibility of conflict.
Like China, Papua New Guinea is also threatened with chronic disease. So far, mining
company waste in the country has caused a variety of diseases including lung and bladder
disease. According to Kepore et al (2008:12), pollution from the company's waste is the main
cause of these diseases, as in their study of local communities in Ok Tedi. Communities are
also fearful of other diseases in the future. As in Ok Tedi, the people of Lihirian also
experience the same fear. They suffer from diseases caused by multinational mining
companies in their area (McIntyre et al 2005: 88).
Government Policy
There is an impression that these two countries tend not to be serious or half-hearted when
addressing environmental issues and their threats. This impression is quite reasonable given
the absence of a meaningful response from the governments of the two countries in resolving
these issues. The Chinese government, for example, with its fantastic economic growth rate, is
not necessarily willing to reduce pollution, such as greenhouse gas emissions, due to
economic activity in the country. Meanwhile, Papua New Guinea tends to play it safe by
implementing half-hearted environmental policies. It will be interesting to see how the
governments of these two countries show their commitment to the environmental problems
faced by their respective countries.
In China, almost every state policy is linked to the economy. In other words, if it is not
economically oriented, it is almost impossible to become a state policy. As a result, these
policies tend to ignore other aspects of life such as environmental sustainability. One example
is the Environmental Protection Law (EPL) created in 1979. Although environmental in
nature, it is actually not used to preserve the environment, but to carry out what is referred to
as 'decollectivization' which means the revocation of common property rights to resources
(Muldavin, 2000: 253-254). 'Decollectivization' marks a shift in the status of resource
ownership rights from the collective to the individual. Instead of aiming for environmental
sustainability, the existing legal instruments open up opportunities for the operation of market
mechanisms in resource management, which in turn damage the country's environment in the
future.
In addition to the EPL, there are several other sets of laws. Some of them are the Water
Pollution Prevention Law of 1982, Forest Law 1984, Grassland Law 1985, and Air Pollution
Law 1987. Unfortunately, these legal instruments are only a mere formality in order to create
the impression that the Chinese government is very committed to protecting the environment
and in line with global commitments to preserve the environment. In reality, the Chinese
government cannot resist the ambition to continuously drive the country's economic sector by
utilizing as many economic opportunities as possible, including the influx of foreign
investment. As a result, despite having a fairly comprehensive set of laws, the country has
proven unable to control the environmental damage that arises from these economic activities
(Beyer, 2006: 209).
Until the 2009 Copenhagen Summit (COP 15), the Chinese government showed its lack
of seriousness towards environmental conservation by not signing the agreement at the
meeting. The reason is, for China, economic growth is the main target. With an average
growth of eight percent each year, China is optimistic that it will become the only global
economic power in the future, beating the United States, provided that the country's economic
growth must be stable without any interruption. Therefore, reducing greenhouse gas emissions
by 40 to 45 percent per unit of GDP by 2020 (Bodansky, 2010: 2), as requested by the
meeting, is considered a stumbling block to China's target. However, at COP 16 held in
Cancun at the end of 2010, China had already shown its good faith. The country, along with
the United States, which is known as the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gases, has
agreed to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases. This means that both China and America
are obliged to reduce their economic activities. It will be interesting to see how China will
implement its new commitment.
Like China, the Papua New Guinea government is also taking half-hearted steps.
Although the country is known to be quite keen on campaigning for the reduction of global
carbon emissions and was one of the leaders in campaigning for the Reduce Carbon Emission
from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) program with Costa Rica at COP 11 in 2005
Mellick (2010: 359), Papua New Guinea does not seem to really want to fight environmental
degradation in its territory, but is only eyeing financial benefits from the program. Papua New
Guinea is considered to have no legal instruments that truly support the implementation of
REDD, in addition to the absence of a clear implementation mechanism and qualified human
resources to implement the program. As a result, instead of getting benefits, the Papua New
Guinea government has to be disappointed because until now it has not received any benefits.
It is interesting to see what Papua New Guinea's environmental laws actually look like.
The country has several laws including the Environmental Planning Act 1978, Conservation
Area Act 1978, Water Resource Act 1982, and National Parks Act 1982. Furthermore, in
1993, the Papua New Guinea government created a policy called the National Sustainable
Development Strategy after attending the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. Finally, in
2000, Papua New Guinea created a new set of laws (the New Environment Act). This law
combines the laws that came before it (Mowbray & Duguman 2006). The aim is to balance
environmental management and conservation in the country.
Despite the many laws protecting the environment, the Papua New Guinea government
has been unable to withstand the onslaught of multinational corporations. Kinley and Tadaki
(2003), notes how Papua New Guinea's parliament had to pass another legal instrument, the
Ok Tedi Mine Continuation Act in 2001, to restore the good name of BHP Billiton, which had
previously been accused of environmental destruction and human rights abuses in the region.
For Kinley and Tadaki, this shows how the country continues to be in the shadow of
multinational corporations. It also signifies that a multitude of laws and regulations do not
guarantee the preservation of a country's environment if they are only half-heartedly
implemented.
Conclusion
Globalization, which is marked by the movement of ideas, goods, people and technology, on
the one hand has brought blessings to many people from various nations and countries.
However, it cannot be denied that globalization also brings threats to them. As this paper
shows, globalization, especially in the mining sector, tends to have a negative impact on
environmental sustainability. Taking the case of the mining sector in two Asia Pacific
countries, namely China and Papua New Guinea, the expansion and exploitation of nature has
resulted in environmental degradation and in turn threatens human security in the two
countries.
Historically, on the one hand, environmental degradation in China and Papua New
Guinea began with the influx of foreign capital from developed countries to developing
countries, characterized by the presence of multinational companies that aim to seek
maximum profit. On the other hand, the governments of the countries concerned welcomed
the arrival of these multinational companies. In the mining sector, for example, the arrival of
multinational companies is even facilitated by state policies such as in China known as the
open door policy and in Papua New Guinea with the national development strategy.
Gradually, the number of multinational companies is increasing. As a result, environmental
damage is increasingly inevitable. Some of the forms of damage found include deforestation,
desertification, soil, water and air pollution.
In turn, this environmental destruction threatens human security. So far, there has been
some evidence of this threat. In China, the activities of multinational mining companies have
resulted in the destruction of forests, contamination of rivers, soil and air, which has led to
respiratory and digestive diseases, and reduced food availability for local communities. In
addition, there have been reports of social conflicts in the areas where these multinationals
operate. The same is true in Papua New Guinea. Mining activities have contaminated the land
and water where local people live depend on for their livelihoods. Furthermore, the presence
of the mining company threatens the food security of the population and ignites conflicts
between local residents there.
Actually, this problem can be solved through government policy. Unfortunately, existing
policies are half-heartedly implemented. To this day, there is no seriousness from the
governments of the two countries. Both China and Papua New Guinea actually have quite a
lot of legal instruments that regulate the relationship between economic activity and
environmental conservation. However, these tools are not enough to overcome the problems
of environmental degradation in their respective countries. Therefore, the commitment to
implement existing environmental policies needs to be wholehearted. Otherwise,
environmental degradation and threats to human security in the two countries will continue to
occur.
Globalization of Mining: The Case of China and Papua New Guinea
This section will focus on the globalization of the mining sector in two Asia-Pacific countries,
China and Papua New Guinea. It is believed that these sectors have a negative impact on the
environment and threaten human security in their respective regions.
Since Deng Xiao Ping became the number one person in China, the country immediately
implemented an open door policy for foreign investors and ended the era of China's economic
closure for 300 years (Tantri, 2006: 50). Since then, China has undergone a rapid economic
transformation. Starting from government policies that opened up opportunities for
multinational companies to carry out economic activities in the country, China then recorded
itself as a country with the third largest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the world (Liu and
Diamond 2005: 1180). Not only that, according to Walley and Xin (2007), China is even
listed as the highest-ranked country with Foreign Direct Investment, leaving the United States
in second place. This illustrates how China is very open to globalization by providing
opportunities for global economic agents to invest in the country.
One of the most attractive sectors for multinational companies is mining. Based on a
study conducted by Nolan and Zhang (2002), some of the multinational mining companies
investing in China are Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton, and Anglo-American. Later came the names
Eldorado Gold Mining, Jingshan and Sino Gold Mining. Eldorado and Jingshan are Canadian-
owned corporations. Eldorado operates in Tanjiangshan and Jinfeng, while Jingshan has
operated in Inner Mongolia and Ganshu Province since 2007. The corporation has two
business concentrations, namely gold and diamonds. Meanwhile, Sino, an Australian
company, concentrates its operations in Jiling, Heliongjian, Guizou, and Shaanxi Provinces on
gold exploration. In addition, domestic government-owned corporations have also begun to
proliferate with exploration mechanisms no different from multinational companies.
In Papua New Guinea, multinational corporations only arrived in the early 20th century.
However, exploration of the country's natural resources had been going on since the late 19th
century by European miners (Banks, 1993: 315), albeit in a simple form. Rio Tinto was the
first company to conduct mining activities in the country, especially on Bouganville Island
and later on Lihir Island. In the following years, several other multinational companies such
as BHP Billiton and Newmont also entered Papua New Guinea and concentrated their
exploration in Ok Tedi, Woodlark and Tolukuma. The presence of these multinationals
showed how close the government was to them. Recognizing this closeness, the government
prepared policy tools to perpetuate the entry of these corporations through the National
Development Strategy.
This strategy contains instructions on how to bring multinational companies on the
economic stage of Papua New Guinea as it is believed that their presence will generate huge
profits for the country. Evidently, more and more multinational companies have since
invested in Papua New Guinea. As a result, since 1986, two-thirds of the country's economy
has been supported by foreign investment (Daniel and Sims in Banks, 1993: 318-319) with
mining being the most reliable sector. It would not be wrong to say that Papua New Guinea's
economy is highly dependent on the presence of these multinational mining companies.
Environmental degradation
Miracles are happening in China thanks to Deng Xiao Ping's leadership touch. Since the last
30 years, the country's economic growth has almost always been above 8 percent. This is due
to the tremendous pace of industry and trade in China after integrating with the world
economy. However, it seems that the country has to pay a heavy price for its economic
achievements with its impact on the environment. Based on a study conducted by Duan
Yonghou et al (1998 in Wang, 2004), it was stated that the cost of environmental damage due
to industrial activities in China reached 283 trillion yuan per year. According to Wang (2004),
one of the biggest contributors to the damage is from the mining sector which causes damage
to soil, water, air and forests.
Based on a study conducted by Liu et al (2002) in Shaanxi province, mining activities
have damaged soil conditions in several areas namely Yulin, Shenmu, Fugu, Hengshan,
Jingbian, and Dingbian. As a result, the land in these areas has been desertified, which has led
to increasingly limited land use. In addition, desertification also results in the fragile condition
of the ecosystem in the area. Not only in Shaanxi, this kind of condition also occurs in other
Chinese provinces. Actually, mining does not only lead to desertification, but also
deforestation. This deforestation then spurs an increase in the frequency of floods and
landslides, especially in the western part of the country (Wang, 2004:166). While many
debate the relationship between deforestation and flooding, Wang remains convinced that
there is a strong causal relationship between the two.
The activities of mining corporations also pollute water. Evidently, in China, the
industrial waste of mining corporations has poisoned the water there, including that in the
river. According to Li (2006), in 2002 alone, mining waste in China had reached 265.4
million tons. This number is predicted to continue to grow if the mining industry, along with
other industries, continues to boost its activities. Later, due to the large demand for energy
from this industrial sector, China was building a mega hydroelectric power project at Lancang
Jiang. This has drawn protests from neighboring countries because it is considered to damage
the environment in their countries, especially countries around the Mekong river basin (Goh,
2009).
Furthermore, China's air and forests are also threatened by mining activities. In addition
to holding the record for the highest GDP in the world, China also holds the record for being a
major producer of gas greenhouse gases in the world. The country recorded 2.8 million metric
tons of carbon dioxide emissions in 2000 (Liu & Diamond, 2005: 1181). The mining industry
has been blamed as one of the main contributors to air pollution. In the forestry sector, mining
activities have cut down millions of trees and deforested several mountain ranges. With the
damage in these two sectors, China is considered to have accelerated the rise of the earth's
temperature, which also means causing extreme climate change.
In Papua New Guinea, environmental damage from mining also occurs and tends to be
even more severe. According to information obtained by Evans et al (2002), in Ok Tedi, BHP
Billiton has disposed of 80,000 tons of waste per day. This has been going on since the
corporation first started its activities. As a result, the Ok Tedi river changed its color from
clear to brownish, and many animals died from the toxic waste. In fact, before the arrival of
the corporation, the river was filled with fish that became the source of livelihood for the local
community. However, as the river became polluted, the fish disappeared. In addition, on-site
mining activities also eroded the forest to the riverbank (Kirsch, 1996: 1-3).
The environmental damage on Bougainville Island is no less severe. There are around
4000 hectares of land damaged by mining waste. As a result, forests, rivers, bays, and even
the air on the island have been affected. Chemical mining waste is believed to be the main
factor that caused the forests around the mining site to die, the rivers (Jaba and Kawarong)
and Empress Augusta Bay to be polluted, and the air on the island to become dirty. Based on
a study conducted by Gillespie (1996), there are at least 300 hectares of forest damaged by
Bougainville mining activities. The polluted air is caused by a mixture of dust and carbon
emissions from machinery.
Some Threats to Human Security
As described in the literature review, the behavior of multinational corporations in the era of
globalization has now had a serious impact on the environment, which in turn threatens the
security of many people. It is believed that the increase in the earth's temperature to 6 degrees
over the next 100 years will reduce world food production by 60 percent (History, 2010).
According to some scientists, in addition to scarcity of food resources, social conflicts and
chronic diseases are also cited as real threats from environmental degradation.
Based on data from the Food Agricultural Organization (2010), the increasing frequency
of floods has resulted in the destruction of 13 million hectares of crop land in China. The
areas most affected by the floods are Yunnan, Sichuan, Guizhou, Hubei, Chongqing, Anhui,
Jiangxi, Guanxi, Guangdong, Hunnan, Gansu, and Shaanxi. In the next few years, China is
predicted to continue experiencing similar disasters given the country's rapid economic
growth. In addition, climate change has also begun to show its threat. Although food
production in China as a whole is predicted to remain relatively stable until the end of 2010,
wheat production shows otherwise. By the end of 2010, there will be a one percent decline in
wheat production from 115,121 tons to 114,000 tons.
In addition, social conflicts are also threatening China. As Ho (2006) points out, as the
country's forests are depleted by economic activity, social conflicts have begun to emerge
everywhere. China's rural communities are often involved in disputes over forest ownership
with certain companies. The Chinese government is struggling to deal with this. Rules have
been made regarding the relationship between the government, companies and communities.
However, these regulations do not work well in the field. Furthermore, conflicts do not only
occur among the Chinese people but also involve other surrounding countries. Laos, Thailand,
Cambodia and Vietnam are among those affected by the construction of a hydroelectric power
plant in Lancangjiang, Yunnan (Goh, 2009: 1). This power plant is planned to be used to
supply industrial needs in China.
Another impact is disease. As a result of the high levels of air pollution in China, the
population develops respiratory, heart and lung cancer. It has even been reported that
pollution in China has resulted in thousands of deaths in the country each year. The same goes
for water pollution. Notably, around 500 million China's population no longer has access to
clean water. Although the government has launched the construction of giant dams to obtain
clean water, China, especially in the north, still suffers from pollution and lack of clean water.
According to Kahn and Yardley (2007), it has been approximately 60,000 people died from
diarrheal diseases due to this water pollution.
Meanwhile, in Papua New Guinea, resource depletion due to mining activities is also
evident. As stated by Bhavnani (2009), based on the results of his study in the Porgera area,
water contaminated by mining company toxins and waste has resulted in the loss of some
agricultural land in the area. This was followed by a reduction in agricultural production,
leading to food shortages in the country. In addition, the climate change that was predicted to
threaten the country has so far become a reality. Evidently, the existing rainfall has affected
the amount of agricultural production. In the future, as predicted by Bourke and Harwood
(2009), climate conditions will be much more extreme, characterized by rising sea levels and
increasingly erratic rainfall.
The country's problems are exacerbated by social conflict. Local communities in Porgera,
for example, oppose the existence of mining corporations because they destroy the
environment in which they live. Not only that, the existence of these corporations has also
sparked conflicts among the local communities themselves. According to Banks (2008), the
cause is that on the one hand there are community groups that receive benefits from the
company and on the other hand there are those who only receive losses from the activities of
the mining company. Although there are other views on this issue, it cannot be denied that the
presence of the company increases the possibility of conflict.
Like China, Papua New Guinea is also threatened with chronic disease. So far, mining
company waste in the country has caused a variety of diseases including lung and bladder
disease. According to Kepore et al (2008:12), pollution from the company's waste is the main
cause of these diseases, as in their study of local communities in Ok Tedi. Communities are
also fearful of other diseases in the future. As in Ok Tedi, the people of Lihirian also
experience the same fear. They suffer from diseases caused by multinational mining
companies in their area (McIntyre et al 2005: 88).
Government Policy
There is an impression that these two countries tend not to be serious or half-hearted when
addressing environmental issues and their threats. This impression is quite reasonable given
the absence of a meaningful response from the governments of the two countries in resolving
these issues. The Chinese government, for example, with its fantastic economic growth rate, is
not necessarily willing to reduce pollution, such as greenhouse gas emissions, due to
economic activity in the country. Meanwhile, Papua New Guinea tends to play it safe by
implementing half-hearted environmental policies. It will be interesting to see how the
governments of these two countries show their commitment to the environmental problems
faced by their respective countries.
In China, almost every state policy is linked to the economy. In other words, if it is not
economically oriented, it is almost impossible to become a state policy. As a result, these
policies tend to ignore other aspects of life such as environmental sustainability. One example
is the Environmental Protection Law (EPL) created in 1979. Although environmental in
nature, it is actually not used to preserve the environment, but to carry out what is referred to
as 'decollectivization' which means the revocation of common property rights to resources
(Muldavin, 2000: 253-254). 'Decollectivization' marks a shift in the status of resource
ownership rights from the collective to the individual. Instead of aiming for environmental
sustainability, the existing legal instruments open up opportunities for the operation of market
mechanisms in resource management, which in turn damage the country's environment in the
future.
In addition to the EPL, there are several other sets of laws. Some of them are the Water
Pollution Prevention Law of 1982, Forest Law 1984, Grassland Law 1985, and Air Pollution
Law 1987. Unfortunately, these legal instruments are only a mere formality in order to create
the impression that the Chinese government is very committed to protecting the environment
and in line with global commitments to preserve the environment. In reality, the Chinese
government cannot resist the ambition to continuously drive the country's economic sector by
utilizing as many economic opportunities as possible, including the influx of foreign
investment. As a result, despite having a fairly comprehensive set of laws, the country has
proven unable to control the environmental damage that arises from these economic activities
(Beyer, 2006: 209).
Until the 2009 Copenhagen Summit (COP 15), the Chinese government showed its lack
of seriousness towards environmental conservation by not signing the agreement at the
meeting. The reason is, for China, economic growth is the main target. With an average
growth of eight percent each year, China is optimistic that it will become the only global
economic power in the future, beating the United States, provided that the country's economic
growth must be stable without any interruption. Therefore, reducing greenhouse gas emissions
by 40 to 45 percent per unit of GDP by 2020 (Bodansky, 2010: 2), as requested by the
meeting, is considered a stumbling block to China's target. However, at COP 16 held in
Cancun at the end of 2010, China had already shown its good faith. The country, along with
the United States, which is known as the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gases, has
agreed to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases. This means that both China and America
are obliged to reduce their economic activities. It will be interesting to see how China will
implement its new commitment.
Like China, the Papua New Guinea government is also taking half-hearted steps.
Although the country is known to be quite keen on campaigning for the reduction of global
carbon emissions and was one of the leaders in campaigning for the Reduce Carbon Emission
from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) program with Costa Rica at COP 11 in 2005
Mellick (2010: 359), Papua New Guinea does not seem to really want to fight environmental
degradation in its territory, but is only eyeing financial benefits from the program. Papua New
Guinea is considered to have no legal instruments that truly support the implementation of
REDD, in addition to the absence of a clear implementation mechanism and qualified human
resources to implement the program. As a result, instead of getting benefits, the Papua New
Guinea government has to be disappointed because until now it has not received any benefits.
It is interesting to see what Papua New Guinea's environmental laws actually look like.
The country has several laws including the Environmental Planning Act 1978, Conservation
Area Act 1978, Water Resource Act 1982, and National Parks Act 1982. Furthermore, in
1993, the Papua New Guinea government created a policy called the National Sustainable
Development Strategy after attending the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. Finally, in
2000, Papua New Guinea created a new set of laws (the New Environment Act). This law
combines the laws that came before it (Mowbray & Duguman 2006). The aim is to balance
environmental management and conservation in the country.
Despite the many laws protecting the environment, the Papua New Guinea government
has been unable to withstand the onslaught of multinational corporations. Kinley and Tadaki
(2003), notes how Papua New Guinea's parliament had to pass another legal instrument, the
Ok Tedi Mine Continuation Act in 2001, to restore the good name of BHP Billiton, which had
previously been accused of environmental destruction and human rights abuses in the region.
For Kinley and Tadaki, this shows how the country continues to be in the shadow of
multinational corporations. It also signifies that a multitude of laws and regulations do not
guarantee the preservation of a country's environment if they are only half-heartedly
implemented.
Conclusion
Globalization, which is marked by the movement of ideas, goods, people and technology, on
the one hand has brought blessings to many people from various nations and countries.
However, it cannot be denied that globalization also brings threats to them. As this paper
shows, globalization, especially in the mining sector, tends to have a negative impact on
environmental sustainability. Taking the case of the mining sector in two Asia Pacific
countries, namely China and Papua New Guinea, the expansion and exploitation of nature has
resulted in environmental degradation and in turn threatens human security in the two
countries.
Historically, on the one hand, environmental degradation in China and Papua New
Guinea began with the influx of foreign capital from developed countries to developing
countries, characterized by the presence of multinational companies that aim to seek
maximum profit. On the other hand, the governments of the countries concerned welcomed
the arrival of these multinational companies. In the mining sector, for example, the arrival of
multinational companies is even facilitated by state policies such as in China known as the
open door policy and in Papua New Guinea with the national development strategy.
Gradually, the number of multinational companies is increasing. As a result, environmental
damage is increasingly inevitable. Some of the forms of damage found include deforestation,
desertification, soil, water and air pollution.
In turn, this environmental destruction threatens human security. So far, there has been
some evidence of this threat. In China, the activities of multinational mining companies have
resulted in the destruction of forests, contamination of rivers, soil and air, which has led to
respiratory and digestive diseases, and reduced food availability for local communities. In
addition, there have been reports of social conflicts in the areas where these multinationals
operate. The same is true in Papua New Guinea. Mining activities have contaminated the land
and water where local people live depend on for their livelihoods. Furthermore, the presence
of the mining company threatens the food security of the population and ignites conflicts
between local residents there.
Actually, this problem can be solved through government policy. Unfortunately, existing
policies are half-heartedly implemented. To this day, there is no seriousness from the
governments of the two countries. Both China and Papua New Guinea actually have quite a
lot of legal instruments that regulate the relationship between economic activity and
environmental conservation. However, these tools are not enough to overcome the problems
of environmental degradation in their respective countries. Therefore, the commitment to
implement existing environmental policies needs to be wholehearted. Otherwise,
environmental degradation and threats to human security in the two countries will continue to
occur.
Globalization of Mining: The Case of China and Papua New Guinea
This section will focus on the globalization of the mining sector in two Asia-Pacific countries,
China and Papua New Guinea. It is believed that these sectors have a negative impact on the
environment and threaten human security in their respective regions.
Since Deng Xiao Ping became the number one person in China, the country immediately
implemented an open door policy for foreign investors and ended the era of China's economic
closure for 300 years (Tantri, 2006: 50). Since then, China has undergone a rapid economic
transformation. Starting from government policies that opened up opportunities for
multinational companies to carry out economic activities in the country, China then recorded
itself as a country with the third largest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the world (Liu and
Diamond 2005: 1180). Not only that, according to Walley and Xin (2007), China is even
listed as the highest-ranked country with Foreign Direct Investment, leaving the United States
in second place. This illustrates how China is very open to globalization by providing
opportunities for global economic agents to invest in the country.
One of the most attractive sectors for multinational companies is mining. Based on a
study conducted by Nolan and Zhang (2002), some of the multinational mining companies
investing in China are Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton, and Anglo-American. Later came the names
Eldorado Gold Mining, Jingshan and Sino Gold Mining. Eldorado and Jingshan are Canadian-
owned corporations. Eldorado operates in Tanjiangshan and Jinfeng, while Jingshan has
operated in Inner Mongolia and Ganshu Province since 2007. The corporation has two
business concentrations, namely gold and diamonds. Meanwhile, Sino, an Australian
company, concentrates its operations in Jiling, Heliongjian, Guizou, and Shaanxi Provinces on
gold exploration. In addition, domestic government-owned corporations have also begun to
proliferate with exploration mechanisms no different from multinational companies.
In Papua New Guinea, multinational corporations only arrived in the early 20th century.
However, exploration of the country's natural resources had been going on since the late 19th
century by European miners (Banks, 1993: 315), albeit in a simple form. Rio Tinto was the
first company to conduct mining activities in the country, especially on Bouganville Island
and later on Lihir Island. In the following years, several other multinational companies such
as BHP Billiton and Newmont also entered Papua New Guinea and concentrated their
exploration in Ok Tedi, Woodlark and Tolukuma. The presence of these multinationals
showed how close the government was to them. Recognizing this closeness, the government
prepared policy tools to perpetuate the entry of these corporations through the National
Development Strategy.
This strategy contains instructions on how to bring multinational companies on the
economic stage of Papua New Guinea as it is believed that their presence will generate huge
profits for the country. Evidently, more and more multinational companies have since
invested in Papua New Guinea. As a result, since 1986, two-thirds of the country's economy
has been supported by foreign investment (Daniel and Sims in Banks, 1993: 318-319) with
mining being the most reliable sector. It would not be wrong to say that Papua New Guinea's
economy is highly dependent on the presence of these multinational mining companies.
Environmental degradation
Miracles are happening in China thanks to Deng Xiao Ping's leadership touch. Since the last
30 years, the country's economic growth has almost always been above 8 percent. This is due
to the tremendous pace of industry and trade in China after integrating with the world
economy. However, it seems that the country has to pay a heavy price for its economic
achievements with its impact on the environment. Based on a study conducted by Duan
Yonghou et al (1998 in Wang, 2004), it was stated that the cost of environmental damage due
to industrial activities in China reached 283 trillion yuan per year. According to Wang (2004),
one of the biggest contributors to the damage is from the mining sector which causes damage
to soil, water, air and forests.
Based on a study conducted by Liu et al (2002) in Shaanxi province, mining activities
have damaged soil conditions in several areas namely Yulin, Shenmu, Fugu, Hengshan,
Jingbian, and Dingbian. As a result, the land in these areas has been desertified, which has led
to increasingly limited land use. In addition, desertification also results in the fragile condition
of the ecosystem in the area. Not only in Shaanxi, this kind of condition also occurs in other
Chinese provinces. Actually, mining does not only lead to desertification, but also
deforestation. This deforestation then spurs an increase in the frequency of floods and
landslides, especially in the western part of the country (Wang, 2004:166). While many
debate the relationship between deforestation and flooding, Wang remains convinced that
there is a strong causal relationship between the two.
The activities of mining corporations also pollute water. Evidently, in China, the
industrial waste of mining corporations has poisoned the water there, including that in the
river. According to Li (2006), in 2002 alone, mining waste in China had reached 265.4
million tons. This number is predicted to continue to grow if the mining industry, along with
other industries, continues to boost its activities. Later, due to the large demand for energy
from this industrial sector, China was building a mega hydroelectric power project at Lancang
Jiang. This has drawn protests from neighboring countries because it is considered to damage
the environment in their countries, especially countries around the Mekong river basin (Goh,
2009).
Furthermore, China's air and forests are also threatened by mining activities. In addition
to holding the record for the highest GDP in the world, China also holds the record for being a
major producer of gas greenhouse gases in the world. The country recorded 2.8 million metric
tons of carbon dioxide emissions in 2000 (Liu & Diamond, 2005: 1181). The mining industry
has been blamed as one of the main contributors to air pollution. In the forestry sector, mining
activities have cut down millions of trees and deforested several mountain ranges. With the
damage in these two sectors, China is considered to have accelerated the rise of the earth's
temperature, which also means causing extreme climate change.
In Papua New Guinea, environmental damage from mining also occurs and tends to be
even more severe. According to information obtained by Evans et al (2002), in Ok Tedi, BHP
Billiton has disposed of 80,000 tons of waste per day. This has been going on since the
corporation first started its activities. As a result, the Ok Tedi river changed its color from
clear to brownish, and many animals died from the toxic waste. In fact, before the arrival of
the corporation, the river was filled with fish that became the source of livelihood for the local
community. However, as the river became polluted, the fish disappeared. In addition, on-site
mining activities also eroded the forest to the riverbank (Kirsch, 1996: 1-3).
The environmental damage on Bougainville Island is no less severe. There are around
4000 hectares of land damaged by mining waste. As a result, forests, rivers, bays, and even
the air on the island have been affected. Chemical mining waste is believed to be the main
factor that caused the forests around the mining site to die, the rivers (Jaba and Kawarong)
and Empress Augusta Bay to be polluted, and the air on the island to become dirty. Based on
a study conducted by Gillespie (1996), there are at least 300 hectares of forest damaged by
Bougainville mining activities. The polluted air is caused by a mixture of dust and carbon
emissions from machinery.
Some Threats to Human Security
As described in the literature review, the behavior of multinational corporations in the era of
globalization has now had a serious impact on the environment, which in turn threatens the
security of many people. It is believed that the increase in the earth's temperature to 6 degrees
over the next 100 years will reduce world food production by 60 percent (History, 2010).
According to some scientists, in addition to scarcity of food resources, social conflicts and
chronic diseases are also cited as real threats from environmental degradation.
Based on data from the Food Agricultural Organization (2010), the increasing frequency
of floods has resulted in the destruction of 13 million hectares of crop land in China. The
areas most affected by the floods are Yunnan, Sichuan, Guizhou, Hubei, Chongqing, Anhui,
Jiangxi, Guanxi, Guangdong, Hunnan, Gansu, and Shaanxi. In the next few years, China is
predicted to continue experiencing similar disasters given the country's rapid economic
growth. In addition, climate change has also begun to show its threat. Although food
production in China as a whole is predicted to remain relatively stable until the end of 2010,
wheat production shows otherwise. By the end of 2010, there will be a one percent decline in
wheat production from 115,121 tons to 114,000 tons.
In addition, social conflicts are also threatening China. As Ho (2006) points out, as the
country's forests are depleted by economic activity, social conflicts have begun to emerge
everywhere. China's rural communities are often involved in disputes over forest ownership
with certain companies. The Chinese government is struggling to deal with this. Rules have
been made regarding the relationship between the government, companies and communities.
However, these regulations do not work well in the field. Furthermore, conflicts do not only
occur among the Chinese people but also involve other surrounding countries. Laos, Thailand,
Cambodia and Vietnam are among those affected by the construction of a hydroelectric power
plant in Lancangjiang, Yunnan (Goh, 2009: 1). This power plant is planned to be used to
supply industrial needs in China.
Another impact is disease. As a result of the high levels of air pollution in China, the
population develops respiratory, heart and lung cancer. It has even been reported that
pollution in China has resulted in thousands of deaths in the country each year. The same goes
for water pollution. Notably, around 500 million China's population no longer has access to
clean water. Although the government has launched the construction of giant dams to obtain
clean water, China, especially in the north, still suffers from pollution and lack of clean water.
According to Kahn and Yardley (2007), it has been approximately 60,000 people died from
diarrheal diseases due to this water pollution.
Meanwhile, in Papua New Guinea, resource depletion due to mining activities is also
evident. As stated by Bhavnani (2009), based on the results of his study in the Porgera area,
water contaminated by mining company toxins and waste has resulted in the loss of some
agricultural land in the area. This was followed by a reduction in agricultural production,
leading to food shortages in the country. In addition, the climate change that was predicted to
threaten the country has so far become a reality. Evidently, the existing rainfall has affected
the amount of agricultural production. In the future, as predicted by Bourke and Harwood
(2009), climate conditions will be much more extreme, characterized by rising sea levels and
increasingly erratic rainfall.
The country's problems are exacerbated by social conflict. Local communities in Porgera,
for example, oppose the existence of mining corporations because they destroy the
environment in which they live. Not only that, the existence of these corporations has also
sparked conflicts among the local communities themselves. According to Banks (2008), the
cause is that on the one hand there are community groups that receive benefits from the
company and on the other hand there are those who only receive losses from the activities of
the mining company. Although there are other views on this issue, it cannot be denied that the
presence of the company increases the possibility of conflict.
Like China, Papua New Guinea is also threatened with chronic disease. So far, mining
company waste in the country has caused a variety of diseases including lung and bladder
disease. According to Kepore et al (2008:12), pollution from the company's waste is the main
cause of these diseases, as in their study of local communities in Ok Tedi. Communities are
also fearful of other diseases in the future. As in Ok Tedi, the people of Lihirian also
experience the same fear. They suffer from diseases caused by multinational mining
companies in their area (McIntyre et al 2005: 88).
Government Policy
There is an impression that these two countries tend not to be serious or half-hearted when
addressing environmental issues and their threats. This impression is quite reasonable given
the absence of a meaningful response from the governments of the two countries in resolving
these issues. The Chinese government, for example, with its fantastic economic growth rate, is
not necessarily willing to reduce pollution, such as greenhouse gas emissions, due to
economic activity in the country. Meanwhile, Papua New Guinea tends to play it safe by
implementing half-hearted environmental policies. It will be interesting to see how the
governments of these two countries show their commitment to the environmental problems
faced by their respective countries.
In China, almost every state policy is linked to the economy. In other words, if it is not
economically oriented, it is almost impossible to become a state policy. As a result, these
policies tend to ignore other aspects of life such as environmental sustainability. One example
is the Environmental Protection Law (EPL) created in 1979. Although environmental in
nature, it is actually not used to preserve the environment, but to carry out what is referred to
as 'decollectivization' which means the revocation of common property rights to resources
(Muldavin, 2000: 253-254). 'Decollectivization' marks a shift in the status of resource
ownership rights from the collective to the individual. Instead of aiming for environmental
sustainability, the existing legal instruments open up opportunities for the operation of market
mechanisms in resource management, which in turn damage the country's environment in the
future.
In addition to the EPL, there are several other sets of laws. Some of them are the Water
Pollution Prevention Law of 1982, Forest Law 1984, Grassland Law 1985, and Air Pollution
Law 1987. Unfortunately, these legal instruments are only a mere formality in order to create
the impression that the Chinese government is very committed to protecting the environment
and in line with global commitments to preserve the environment. In reality, the Chinese
government cannot resist the ambition to continuously drive the country's economic sector by
utilizing as many economic opportunities as possible, including the influx of foreign
investment. As a result, despite having a fairly comprehensive set of laws, the country has
proven unable to control the environmental damage that arises from these economic activities
(Beyer, 2006: 209).
Until the 2009 Copenhagen Summit (COP 15), the Chinese government showed its lack
of seriousness towards environmental conservation by not signing the agreement at the
meeting. The reason is, for China, economic growth is the main target. With an average
growth of eight percent each year, China is optimistic that it will become the only global
economic power in the future, beating the United States, provided that the country's economic
growth must be stable without any interruption. Therefore, reducing greenhouse gas emissions
by 40 to 45 percent per unit of GDP by 2020 (Bodansky, 2010: 2), as requested by the
meeting, is considered a stumbling block to China's target. However, at COP 16 held in
Cancun at the end of 2010, China had already shown its good faith. The country, along with
the United States, which is known as the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gases, has
agreed to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases. This means that both China and America
are obliged to reduce their economic activities. It will be interesting to see how China will
implement its new commitment.
Like China, the Papua New Guinea government is also taking half-hearted steps.
Although the country is known to be quite keen on campaigning for the reduction of global
carbon emissions and was one of the leaders in campaigning for the Reduce Carbon Emission
from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) program with Costa Rica at COP 11 in 2005
Mellick (2010: 359), Papua New Guinea does not seem to really want to fight environmental
degradation in its territory, but is only eyeing financial benefits from the program. Papua New
Guinea is considered to have no legal instruments that truly support the implementation of
REDD, in addition to the absence of a clear implementation mechanism and qualified human
resources to implement the program. As a result, instead of getting benefits, the Papua New
Guinea government has to be disappointed because until now it has not received any benefits.
It is interesting to see what Papua New Guinea's environmental laws actually look like.
The country has several laws including the Environmental Planning Act 1978, Conservation
Area Act 1978, Water Resource Act 1982, and National Parks Act 1982. Furthermore, in
1993, the Papua New Guinea government created a policy called the National Sustainable
Development Strategy after attending the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. Finally, in
2000, Papua New Guinea created a new set of laws (the New Environment Act). This law
combines the laws that came before it (Mowbray & Duguman 2006). The aim is to balance
environmental management and conservation in the country.
Despite the many laws protecting the environment, the Papua New Guinea government
has been unable to withstand the onslaught of multinational corporations. Kinley and Tadaki
(2003), notes how Papua New Guinea's parliament had to pass another legal instrument, the
Ok Tedi Mine Continuation Act in 2001, to restore the good name of BHP Billiton, which had
previously been accused of environmental destruction and human rights abuses in the region.
For Kinley and Tadaki, this shows how the country continues to be in the shadow of
multinational corporations. It also signifies that a multitude of laws and regulations do not
guarantee the preservation of a country's environment if they are only half-heartedly
implemented.
Conclusion
Globalization, which is marked by the movement of ideas, goods, people and technology, on
the one hand has brought blessings to many people from various nations and countries.
However, it cannot be denied that globalization also brings threats to them. As this paper
shows, globalization, especially in the mining sector, tends to have a negative impact on
environmental sustainability. Taking the case of the mining sector in two Asia Pacific
countries, namely China and Papua New Guinea, the expansion and exploitation of nature has
resulted in environmental degradation and in turn threatens human security in the two
countries.
Historically, on the one hand, environmental degradation in China and Papua New
Guinea began with the influx of foreign capital from developed countries to developing
countries, characterized by the presence of multinational companies that aim to seek
maximum profit. On the other hand, the governments of the countries concerned welcomed
the arrival of these multinational companies. In the mining sector, for example, the arrival of
multinational companies is even facilitated by state policies such as in China known as the
open door policy and in Papua New Guinea with the national development strategy.
Gradually, the number of multinational companies is increasing. As a result, environmental
damage is increasingly inevitable. Some of the forms of damage found include deforestation,
desertification, soil, water and air pollution.
In turn, this environmental destruction threatens human security. So far, there has been
some evidence of this threat. In China, the activities of multinational mining companies have
resulted in the destruction of forests, contamination of rivers, soil and air, which has led to
respiratory and digestive diseases, and reduced food availability for local communities. In
addition, there have been reports of social conflicts in the areas where these multinationals
operate. The same is true in Papua New Guinea. Mining activities have contaminated the land
and water where local people live depend on for their livelihoods. Furthermore, the presence
of the mining company threatens the food security of the population and ignites conflicts
between local residents there.
Actually, this problem can be solved through government policy. Unfortunately, existing
policies are half-heartedly implemented. To this day, there is no seriousness from the
governments of the two countries. Both China and Papua New Guinea actually have quite a
lot of legal instruments that regulate the relationship between economic activity and
environmental conservation. However, these tools are not enough to overcome the problems
of environmental degradation in their respective countries. Therefore, the commitment to
implement existing environmental policies needs to be wholehearted. Otherwise,
environmental degradation and threats to human security in the two countries will continue to
occur.
Globalization of Mining: The Case of China and Papua New Guinea
This section will focus on the globalization of the mining sector in two Asia-Pacific countries,
China and Papua New Guinea. It is believed that these sectors have a negative impact on the
environment and threaten human security in their respective regions.
Since Deng Xiao Ping became the number one person in China, the country immediately
implemented an open door policy for foreign investors and ended the era of China's economic
closure for 300 years (Tantri, 2006: 50). Since then, China has undergone a rapid economic
transformation. Starting from government policies that opened up opportunities for
multinational companies to carry out economic activities in the country, China then recorded
itself as a country with the third largest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the world (Liu and
Diamond 2005: 1180). Not only that, according to Walley and Xin (2007), China is even
listed as the highest-ranked country with Foreign Direct Investment, leaving the United States
in second place. This illustrates how China is very open to globalization by providing
opportunities for global economic agents to invest in the country.
One of the most attractive sectors for multinational companies is mining. Based on a
study conducted by Nolan and Zhang (2002), some of the multinational mining companies
investing in China are Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton, and Anglo-American. Later came the names
Eldorado Gold Mining, Jingshan and Sino Gold Mining. Eldorado and Jingshan are Canadian-
owned corporations. Eldorado operates in Tanjiangshan and Jinfeng, while Jingshan has
operated in Inner Mongolia and Ganshu Province since 2007. The corporation has two
business concentrations, namely gold and diamonds. Meanwhile, Sino, an Australian
company, concentrates its operations in Jiling, Heliongjian, Guizou, and Shaanxi Provinces on
gold exploration. In addition, domestic government-owned corporations have also begun to
proliferate with exploration mechanisms no different from multinational companies.
In Papua New Guinea, multinational corporations only arrived in the early 20th century.
However, exploration of the country's natural resources had been going on since the late 19th
century by European miners (Banks, 1993: 315), albeit in a simple form. Rio Tinto was the
first company to conduct mining activities in the country, especially on Bouganville Island
and later on Lihir Island. In the following years, several other multinational companies such
as BHP Billiton and Newmont also entered Papua New Guinea and concentrated their
exploration in Ok Tedi, Woodlark and Tolukuma. The presence of these multinationals
showed how close the government was to them. Recognizing this closeness, the government
prepared policy tools to perpetuate the entry of these corporations through the National
Development Strategy.
This strategy contains instructions on how to bring multinational companies on the
economic stage of Papua New Guinea as it is believed that their presence will generate huge
profits for the country. Evidently, more and more multinational companies have since
invested in Papua New Guinea. As a result, since 1986, two-thirds of the country's economy
has been supported by foreign investment (Daniel and Sims in Banks, 1993: 318-319) with
mining being the most reliable sector. It would not be wrong to say that Papua New Guinea's
economy is highly dependent on the presence of these multinational mining companies.
Environmental degradation
Miracles are happening in China thanks to Deng Xiao Ping's leadership touch. Since the last
30 years, the country's economic growth has almost always been above 8 percent. This is due
to the tremendous pace of industry and trade in China after integrating with the world
economy. However, it seems that the country has to pay a heavy price for its economic
achievements with its impact on the environment. Based on a study conducted by Duan
Yonghou et al (1998 in Wang, 2004), it was stated that the cost of environmental damage due
to industrial activities in China reached 283 trillion yuan per year. According to Wang (2004),
one of the biggest contributors to the damage is from the mining sector which causes damage
to soil, water, air and forests.
Based on a study conducted by Liu et al (2002) in Shaanxi province, mining activities
have damaged soil conditions in several areas namely Yulin, Shenmu, Fugu, Hengshan,
Jingbian, and Dingbian. As a result, the land in these areas has been desertified, which has led
to increasingly limited land use. In addition, desertification also results in the fragile condition
of the ecosystem in the area. Not only in Shaanxi, this kind of condition also occurs in other
Chinese provinces. Actually, mining does not only lead to desertification, but also
deforestation. This deforestation then spurs an increase in the frequency of floods and
landslides, especially in the western part of the country (Wang, 2004:166). While many
debate the relationship between deforestation and flooding, Wang remains convinced that
there is a strong causal relationship between the two.
The activities of mining corporations also pollute water. Evidently, in China, the
industrial waste of mining corporations has poisoned the water there, including that in the
river. According to Li (2006), in 2002 alone, mining waste in China had reached 265.4
million tons. This number is predicted to continue to grow if the mining industry, along with
other industries, continues to boost its activities. Later, due to the large demand for energy
from this industrial sector, China was building a mega hydroelectric power project at Lancang
Jiang. This has drawn protests from neighboring countries because it is considered to damage
the environment in their countries, especially countries around the Mekong river basin (Goh,
2009).
Furthermore, China's air and forests are also threatened by mining activities. In addition
to holding the record for the highest GDP in the world, China also holds the record for being a
major producer of gas greenhouse gases in the world. The country recorded 2.8 million metric
tons of carbon dioxide emissions in 2000 (Liu & Diamond, 2005: 1181). The mining industry
has been blamed as one of the main contributors to air pollution. In the forestry sector, mining
activities have cut down millions of trees and deforested several mountain ranges. With the
damage in these two sectors, China is considered to have accelerated the rise of the earth's
temperature, which also means causing extreme climate change.
In Papua New Guinea, environmental damage from mining also occurs and tends to be
even more severe. According to information obtained by Evans et al (2002), in Ok Tedi, BHP
Billiton has disposed of 80,000 tons of waste per day. This has been going on since the
corporation first started its activities. As a result, the Ok Tedi river changed its color from
clear to brownish, and many animals died from the toxic waste. In fact, before the arrival of
the corporation, the river was filled with fish that became the source of livelihood for the local
community. However, as the river became polluted, the fish disappeared. In addition, on-site
mining activities also eroded the forest to the riverbank (Kirsch, 1996: 1-3).
The environmental damage on Bougainville Island is no less severe. There are around
4000 hectares of land damaged by mining waste. As a result, forests, rivers, bays, and even
the air on the island have been affected. Chemical mining waste is believed to be the main
factor that caused the forests around the mining site to die, the rivers (Jaba and Kawarong)
and Empress Augusta Bay to be polluted, and the air on the island to become dirty. Based on
a study conducted by Gillespie (1996), there are at least 300 hectares of forest damaged by
Bougainville mining activities. The polluted air is caused by a mixture of dust and carbon
emissions from machinery.
Some Threats to Human Security
As described in the literature review, the behavior of multinational corporations in the era of
globalization has now had a serious impact on the environment, which in turn threatens the
security of many people. It is believed that the increase in the earth's temperature to 6 degrees
over the next 100 years will reduce world food production by 60 percent (History, 2010).
According to some scientists, in addition to scarcity of food resources, social conflicts and
chronic diseases are also cited as real threats from environmental degradation.
Based on data from the Food Agricultural Organization (2010), the increasing frequency
of floods has resulted in the destruction of 13 million hectares of crop land in China. The
areas most affected by the floods are Yunnan, Sichuan, Guizhou, Hubei, Chongqing, Anhui,
Jiangxi, Guanxi, Guangdong, Hunnan, Gansu, and Shaanxi. In the next few years, China is
predicted to continue experiencing similar disasters given the country's rapid economic
growth. In addition, climate change has also begun to show its threat. Although food
production in China as a whole is predicted to remain relatively stable until the end of 2010,
wheat production shows otherwise. By the end of 2010, there will be a one percent decline in
wheat production from 115,121 tons to 114,000 tons.
In addition, social conflicts are also threatening China. As Ho (2006) points out, as the
country's forests are depleted by economic activity, social conflicts have begun to emerge
everywhere. China's rural communities are often involved in disputes over forest ownership
with certain companies. The Chinese government is struggling to deal with this. Rules have
been made regarding the relationship between the government, companies and communities.
However, these regulations do not work well in the field. Furthermore, conflicts do not only
occur among the Chinese people but also involve other surrounding countries. Laos, Thailand,
Cambodia and Vietnam are among those affected by the construction of a hydroelectric power
plant in Lancangjiang, Yunnan (Goh, 2009: 1). This power plant is planned to be used to
supply industrial needs in China.
Another impact is disease. As a result of the high levels of air pollution in China, the
population develops respiratory, heart and lung cancer. It has even been reported that
pollution in China has resulted in thousands of deaths in the country each year. The same goes
for water pollution. Notably, around 500 million China's population no longer has access to
clean water. Although the government has launched the construction of giant dams to obtain
clean water, China, especially in the north, still suffers from pollution and lack of clean water.
According to Kahn and Yardley (2007), it has been approximately 60,000 people died from
diarrheal diseases due to this water pollution.
Meanwhile, in Papua New Guinea, resource depletion due to mining activities is also
evident. As stated by Bhavnani (2009), based on the results of his study in the Porgera area,
water contaminated by mining company toxins and waste has resulted in the loss of some
agricultural land in the area. This was followed by a reduction in agricultural production,
leading to food shortages in the country. In addition, the climate change that was predicted to
threaten the country has so far become a reality. Evidently, the existing rainfall has affected
the amount of agricultural production. In the future, as predicted by Bourke and Harwood
(2009), climate conditions will be much more extreme, characterized by rising sea levels and
increasingly erratic rainfall.
The country's problems are exacerbated by social conflict. Local communities in Porgera,
for example, oppose the existence of mining corporations because they destroy the
environment in which they live. Not only that, the existence of these corporations has also
sparked conflicts among the local communities themselves. According to Banks (2008), the
cause is that on the one hand there are community groups that receive benefits from the
company and on the other hand there are those who only receive losses from the activities of
the mining company. Although there are other views on this issue, it cannot be denied that the
presence of the company increases the possibility of conflict.
Like China, Papua New Guinea is also threatened with chronic disease. So far, mining
company waste in the country has caused a variety of diseases including lung and bladder
disease. According to Kepore et al (2008:12), pollution from the company's waste is the main
cause of these diseases, as in their study of local communities in Ok Tedi. Communities are
also fearful of other diseases in the future. As in Ok Tedi, the people of Lihirian also
experience the same fear. They suffer from diseases caused by multinational mining
companies in their area (McIntyre et al 2005: 88).
Government Policy
There is an impression that these two countries tend not to be serious or half-hearted when
addressing environmental issues and their threats. This impression is quite reasonable given
the absence of a meaningful response from the governments of the two countries in resolving
these issues. The Chinese government, for example, with its fantastic economic growth rate, is
not necessarily willing to reduce pollution, such as greenhouse gas emissions, due to
economic activity in the country. Meanwhile, Papua New Guinea tends to play it safe by
implementing half-hearted environmental policies. It will be interesting to see how the
governments of these two countries show their commitment to the environmental problems
faced by their respective countries.
In China, almost every state policy is linked to the economy. In other words, if it is not
economically oriented, it is almost impossible to become a state policy. As a result, these
policies tend to ignore other aspects of life such as environmental sustainability. One example
is the Environmental Protection Law (EPL) created in 1979. Although environmental in
nature, it is actually not used to preserve the environment, but to carry out what is referred to
as 'decollectivization' which means the revocation of common property rights to resources
(Muldavin, 2000: 253-254). 'Decollectivization' marks a shift in the status of resource
ownership rights from the collective to the individual. Instead of aiming for environmental
sustainability, the existing legal instruments open up opportunities for the operation of market
mechanisms in resource management, which in turn damage the country's environment in the
future.
In addition to the EPL, there are several other sets of laws. Some of them are the Water
Pollution Prevention Law of 1982, Forest Law 1984, Grassland Law 1985, and Air Pollution
Law 1987. Unfortunately, these legal instruments are only a mere formality in order to create
the impression that the Chinese government is very committed to protecting the environment
and in line with global commitments to preserve the environment. In reality, the Chinese
government cannot resist the ambition to continuously drive the country's economic sector by
utilizing as many economic opportunities as possible, including the influx of foreign
investment. As a result, despite having a fairly comprehensive set of laws, the country has
proven unable to control the environmental damage that arises from these economic activities
(Beyer, 2006: 209).
Until the 2009 Copenhagen Summit (COP 15), the Chinese government showed its lack
of seriousness towards environmental conservation by not signing the agreement at the
meeting. The reason is, for China, economic growth is the main target. With an average
growth of eight percent each year, China is optimistic that it will become the only global
economic power in the future, beating the United States, provided that the country's economic
growth must be stable without any interruption. Therefore, reducing greenhouse gas emissions
by 40 to 45 percent per unit of GDP by 2020 (Bodansky, 2010: 2), as requested by the
meeting, is considered a stumbling block to China's target. However, at COP 16 held in
Cancun at the end of 2010, China had already shown its good faith. The country, along with
the United States, which is known as the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gases, has
agreed to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases. This means that both China and America
are obliged to reduce their economic activities. It will be interesting to see how China will
implement its new commitment.
Like China, the Papua New Guinea government is also taking half-hearted steps.
Although the country is known to be quite keen on campaigning for the reduction of global
carbon emissions and was one of the leaders in campaigning for the Reduce Carbon Emission
from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) program with Costa Rica at COP 11 in 2005
Mellick (2010: 359), Papua New Guinea does not seem to really want to fight environmental
degradation in its territory, but is only eyeing financial benefits from the program. Papua New
Guinea is considered to have no legal instruments that truly support the implementation of
REDD, in addition to the absence of a clear implementation mechanism and qualified human
resources to implement the program. As a result, instead of getting benefits, the Papua New
Guinea government has to be disappointed because until now it has not received any benefits.
It is interesting to see what Papua New Guinea's environmental laws actually look like.
The country has several laws including the Environmental Planning Act 1978, Conservation
Area Act 1978, Water Resource Act 1982, and National Parks Act 1982. Furthermore, in
1993, the Papua New Guinea government created a policy called the National Sustainable
Development Strategy after attending the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. Finally, in
2000, Papua New Guinea created a new set of laws (the New Environment Act). This law
combines the laws that came before it (Mowbray & Duguman 2006). The aim is to balance
environmental management and conservation in the country.
Despite the many laws protecting the environment, the Papua New Guinea government
has been unable to withstand the onslaught of multinational corporations. Kinley and Tadaki
(2003), notes how Papua New Guinea's parliament had to pass another legal instrument, the
Ok Tedi Mine Continuation Act in 2001, to restore the good name of BHP Billiton, which had
previously been accused of environmental destruction and human rights abuses in the region.
For Kinley and Tadaki, this shows how the country continues to be in the shadow of
multinational corporations. It also signifies that a multitude of laws and regulations do not
guarantee the preservation of a country's environment if they are only half-heartedly
implemented.
Conclusion
Globalization, which is marked by the movement of ideas, goods, people and technology, on
the one hand has brought blessings to many people from various nations and countries.
However, it cannot be denied that globalization also brings threats to them. As this paper
shows, globalization, especially in the mining sector, tends to have a negative impact on
environmental sustainability. Taking the case of the mining sector in two Asia Pacific
countries, namely China and Papua New Guinea, the expansion and exploitation of nature has
resulted in environmental degradation and in turn threatens human security in the two
countries.
Historically, on the one hand, environmental degradation in China and Papua New
Guinea began with the influx of foreign capital from developed countries to developing
countries, characterized by the presence of multinational companies that aim to seek
maximum profit. On the other hand, the governments of the countries concerned welcomed
the arrival of these multinational companies. In the mining sector, for example, the arrival of
multinational companies is even facilitated by state policies such as in China known as the
open door policy and in Papua New Guinea with the national development strategy.
Gradually, the number of multinational companies is increasing. As a result, environmental
damage is increasingly inevitable. Some of the forms of damage found include deforestation,
desertification, soil, water and air pollution.
In turn, this environmental destruction threatens human security. So far, there has been
some evidence of this threat. In China, the activities of multinational mining companies have
resulted in the destruction of forests, contamination of rivers, soil and air, which has led to
respiratory and digestive diseases, and reduced food availability for local communities. In
addition, there have been reports of social conflicts in the areas where these multinationals
operate. The same is true in Papua New Guinea. Mining activities have contaminated the land
and water where local people live depend on for their livelihoods. Furthermore, the presence
of the mining company threatens the food security of the population and ignites conflicts
between local residents there.
Actually, this problem can be solved through government policy. Unfortunately, existing
policies are half-heartedly implemented. To this day, there is no seriousness from the
governments of the two countries. Both China and Papua New Guinea actually have quite a
lot of legal instruments that regulate the relationship between economic activity and
environmental conservation. However, these tools are not enough to overcome the problems
of environmental degradation in their respective countries. Therefore, the commitment to
implement existing environmental policies needs to be wholehearted. Otherwise,
environmental degradation and threats to human security in the two countries will continue to
occur.
Globalization of Mining: The Case of China and Papua New Guinea
This section will focus on the globalization of the mining sector in two Asia-Pacific countries,
China and Papua New Guinea. It is believed that these sectors have a negative impact on the
environment and threaten human security in their respective regions.
Since Deng Xiao Ping became the number one person in China, the country immediately
implemented an open door policy for foreign investors and ended the era of China's economic
closure for 300 years (Tantri, 2006: 50). Since then, China has undergone a rapid economic
transformation. Starting from government policies that opened up opportunities for
multinational companies to carry out economic activities in the country, China then recorded
itself as a country with the third largest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the world (Liu and
Diamond 2005: 1180). Not only that, according to Walley and Xin (2007), China is even
listed as the highest-ranked country with Foreign Direct Investment, leaving the United States
in second place. This illustrates how China is very open to globalization by providing
opportunities for global economic agents to invest in the country.
One of the most attractive sectors for multinational companies is mining. Based on a
study conducted by Nolan and Zhang (2002), some of the multinational mining companies
investing in China are Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton, and Anglo-American. Later came the names
Eldorado Gold Mining, Jingshan and Sino Gold Mining. Eldorado and Jingshan are Canadian-
owned corporations. Eldorado operates in Tanjiangshan and Jinfeng, while Jingshan has
operated in Inner Mongolia and Ganshu Province since 2007. The corporation has two
business concentrations, namely gold and diamonds. Meanwhile, Sino, an Australian
company, concentrates its operations in Jiling, Heliongjian, Guizou, and Shaanxi Provinces on
gold exploration. In addition, domestic government-owned corporations have also begun to
proliferate with exploration mechanisms no different from multinational companies.
In Papua New Guinea, multinational corporations only arrived in the early 20th century.
However, exploration of the country's natural resources had been going on since the late 19th
century by European miners (Banks, 1993: 315), albeit in a simple form. Rio Tinto was the
first company to conduct mining activities in the country, especially on Bouganville Island
and later on Lihir Island. In the following years, several other multinational companies such
as BHP Billiton and Newmont also entered Papua New Guinea and concentrated their
exploration in Ok Tedi, Woodlark and Tolukuma. The presence of these multinationals
showed how close the government was to them. Recognizing this closeness, the government
prepared policy tools to perpetuate the entry of these corporations through the National
Development Strategy.
This strategy contains instructions on how to bring multinational companies on the
economic stage of Papua New Guinea as it is believed that their presence will generate huge
profits for the country. Evidently, more and more multinational companies have since
invested in Papua New Guinea. As a result, since 1986, two-thirds of the country's economy
has been supported by foreign investment (Daniel and Sims in Banks, 1993: 318-319) with
mining being the most reliable sector. It would not be wrong to say that Papua New Guinea's
economy is highly dependent on the presence of these multinational mining companies.
Environmental degradation
Miracles are happening in China thanks to Deng Xiao Ping's leadership touch. Since the last
30 years, the country's economic growth has almost always been above 8 percent. This is due
to the tremendous pace of industry and trade in China after integrating with the world
economy. However, it seems that the country has to pay a heavy price for its economic
achievements with its impact on the environment. Based on a study conducted by Duan
Yonghou et al (1998 in Wang, 2004), it was stated that the cost of environmental damage due
to industrial activities in China reached 283 trillion yuan per year. According to Wang (2004),
one of the biggest contributors to the damage is from the mining sector which causes damage
to soil, water, air and forests.
Based on a study conducted by Liu et al (2002) in Shaanxi province, mining activities
have damaged soil conditions in several areas namely Yulin, Shenmu, Fugu, Hengshan,
Jingbian, and Dingbian. As a result, the land in these areas has been desertified, which has led
to increasingly limited land use. In addition, desertification also results in the fragile condition
of the ecosystem in the area. Not only in Shaanxi, this kind of condition also occurs in other
Chinese provinces. Actually, mining does not only lead to desertification, but also
deforestation. This deforestation then spurs an increase in the frequency of floods and
landslides, especially in the western part of the country (Wang, 2004:166). While many
debate the relationship between deforestation and flooding, Wang remains convinced that
there is a strong causal relationship between the two.
The activities of mining corporations also pollute water. Evidently, in China, the
industrial waste of mining corporations has poisoned the water there, including that in the
river. According to Li (2006), in 2002 alone, mining waste in China had reached 265.4
million tons. This number is predicted to continue to grow if the mining industry, along with
other industries, continues to boost its activities. Later, due to the large demand for energy
from this industrial sector, China was building a mega hydroelectric power project at Lancang
Jiang. This has drawn protests from neighboring countries because it is considered to damage
the environment in their countries, especially countries around the Mekong river basin (Goh,
2009).
Furthermore, China's air and forests are also threatened by mining activities. In addition
to holding the record for the highest GDP in the world, China also holds the record for being a
major producer of gas greenhouse gases in the world. The country recorded 2.8 million metric
tons of carbon dioxide emissions in 2000 (Liu & Diamond, 2005: 1181). The mining industry
has been blamed as one of the main contributors to air pollution. In the forestry sector, mining
activities have cut down millions of trees and deforested several mountain ranges. With the
damage in these two sectors, China is considered to have accelerated the rise of the earth's
temperature, which also means causing extreme climate change.
In Papua New Guinea, environmental damage from mining also occurs and tends to be
even more severe. According to information obtained by Evans et al (2002), in Ok Tedi, BHP
Billiton has disposed of 80,000 tons of waste per day. This has been going on since the
corporation first started its activities. As a result, the Ok Tedi river changed its color from
clear to brownish, and many animals died from the toxic waste. In fact, before the arrival of
the corporation, the river was filled with fish that became the source of livelihood for the local
community. However, as the river became polluted, the fish disappeared. In addition, on-site
mining activities also eroded the forest to the riverbank (Kirsch, 1996: 1-3).
The environmental damage on Bougainville Island is no less severe. There are around
4000 hectares of land damaged by mining waste. As a result, forests, rivers, bays, and even
the air on the island have been affected. Chemical mining waste is believed to be the main
factor that caused the forests around the mining site to die, the rivers (Jaba and Kawarong)
and Empress Augusta Bay to be polluted, and the air on the island to become dirty. Based on
a study conducted by Gillespie (1996), there are at least 300 hectares of forest damaged by
Bougainville mining activities. The polluted air is caused by a mixture of dust and carbon
emissions from machinery.
Some Threats to Human Security
As described in the literature review, the behavior of multinational corporations in the era of
globalization has now had a serious impact on the environment, which in turn threatens the
security of many people. It is believed that the increase in the earth's temperature to 6 degrees
over the next 100 years will reduce world food production by 60 percent (History, 2010).
According to some scientists, in addition to scarcity of food resources, social conflicts and
chronic diseases are also cited as real threats from environmental degradation.
Based on data from the Food Agricultural Organization (2010), the increasing frequency
of floods has resulted in the destruction of 13 million hectares of crop land in China. The
areas most affected by the floods are Yunnan, Sichuan, Guizhou, Hubei, Chongqing, Anhui,
Jiangxi, Guanxi, Guangdong, Hunnan, Gansu, and Shaanxi. In the next few years, China is
predicted to continue experiencing similar disasters given the country's rapid economic
growth. In addition, climate change has also begun to show its threat. Although food
production in China as a whole is predicted to remain relatively stable until the end of 2010,
wheat production shows otherwise. By the end of 2010, there will be a one percent decline in
wheat production from 115,121 tons to 114,000 tons.
In addition, social conflicts are also threatening China. As Ho (2006) points out, as the
country's forests are depleted by economic activity, social conflicts have begun to emerge
everywhere. China's rural communities are often involved in disputes over forest ownership
with certain companies. The Chinese government is struggling to deal with this. Rules have
been made regarding the relationship between the government, companies and communities.
However, these regulations do not work well in the field. Furthermore, conflicts do not only
occur among the Chinese people but also involve other surrounding countries. Laos, Thailand,
Cambodia and Vietnam are among those affected by the construction of a hydroelectric power
plant in Lancangjiang, Yunnan (Goh, 2009: 1). This power plant is planned to be used to
supply industrial needs in China.
Another impact is disease. As a result of the high levels of air pollution in China, the
population develops respiratory, heart and lung cancer. It has even been reported that
pollution in China has resulted in thousands of deaths in the country each year. The same goes
for water pollution. Notably, around 500 million China's population no longer has access to
clean water. Although the government has launched the construction of giant dams to obtain
clean water, China, especially in the north, still suffers from pollution and lack of clean water.
According to Kahn and Yardley (2007), it has been approximately 60,000 people died from
diarrheal diseases due to this water pollution.
Meanwhile, in Papua New Guinea, resource depletion due to mining activities is also
evident. As stated by Bhavnani (2009), based on the results of his study in the Porgera area,
water contaminated by mining company toxins and waste has resulted in the loss of some
agricultural land in the area. This was followed by a reduction in agricultural production,
leading to food shortages in the country. In addition, the climate change that was predicted to
threaten the country has so far become a reality. Evidently, the existing rainfall has affected
the amount of agricultural production. In the future, as predicted by Bourke and Harwood
(2009), climate conditions will be much more extreme, characterized by rising sea levels and
increasingly erratic rainfall.
The country's problems are exacerbated by social conflict. Local communities in Porgera,
for example, oppose the existence of mining corporations because they destroy the
environment in which they live. Not only that, the existence of these corporations has also
sparked conflicts among the local communities themselves. According to Banks (2008), the
cause is that on the one hand there are community groups that receive benefits from the
company and on the other hand there are those who only receive losses from the activities of
the mining company. Although there are other views on this issue, it cannot be denied that the
presence of the company increases the possibility of conflict.
Like China, Papua New Guinea is also threatened with chronic disease. So far, mining
company waste in the country has caused a variety of diseases including lung and bladder
disease. According to Kepore et al (2008:12), pollution from the company's waste is the main
cause of these diseases, as in their study of local communities in Ok Tedi. Communities are
also fearful of other diseases in the future. As in Ok Tedi, the people of Lihirian also
experience the same fear. They suffer from diseases caused by multinational mining
companies in their area (McIntyre et al 2005: 88).
Government Policy
There is an impression that these two countries tend not to be serious or half-hearted when
addressing environmental issues and their threats. This impression is quite reasonable given
the absence of a meaningful response from the governments of the two countries in resolving
these issues. The Chinese government, for example, with its fantastic economic growth rate, is
not necessarily willing to reduce pollution, such as greenhouse gas emissions, due to
economic activity in the country. Meanwhile, Papua New Guinea tends to play it safe by
implementing half-hearted environmental policies. It will be interesting to see how the
governments of these two countries show their commitment to the environmental problems
faced by their respective countries.
In China, almost every state policy is linked to the economy. In other words, if it is not
economically oriented, it is almost impossible to become a state policy. As a result, these
policies tend to ignore other aspects of life such as environmental sustainability. One example
is the Environmental Protection Law (EPL) created in 1979. Although environmental in
nature, it is actually not used to preserve the environment, but to carry out what is referred to
as 'decollectivization' which means the revocation of common property rights to resources
(Muldavin, 2000: 253-254). 'Decollectivization' marks a shift in the status of resource
ownership rights from the collective to the individual. Instead of aiming for environmental
sustainability, the existing legal instruments open up opportunities for the operation of market
mechanisms in resource management, which in turn damage the country's environment in the
future.
In addition to the EPL, there are several other sets of laws. Some of them are the Water
Pollution Prevention Law of 1982, Forest Law 1984, Grassland Law 1985, and Air Pollution
Law 1987. Unfortunately, these legal instruments are only a mere formality in order to create
the impression that the Chinese government is very committed to protecting the environment
and in line with global commitments to preserve the environment. In reality, the Chinese
government cannot resist the ambition to continuously drive the country's economic sector by
utilizing as many economic opportunities as possible, including the influx of foreign
investment. As a result, despite having a fairly comprehensive set of laws, the country has
proven unable to control the environmental damage that arises from these economic activities
(Beyer, 2006: 209).
Until the 2009 Copenhagen Summit (COP 15), the Chinese government showed its lack
of seriousness towards environmental conservation by not signing the agreement at the
meeting. The reason is, for China, economic growth is the main target. With an average
growth of eight percent each year, China is optimistic that it will become the only global
economic power in the future, beating the United States, provided that the country's economic
growth must be stable without any interruption. Therefore, reducing greenhouse gas emissions
by 40 to 45 percent per unit of GDP by 2020 (Bodansky, 2010: 2), as requested by the
meeting, is considered a stumbling block to China's target. However, at COP 16 held in
Cancun at the end of 2010, China had already shown its good faith. The country, along with
the United States, which is known as the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gases, has
agreed to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases. This means that both China and America
are obliged to reduce their economic activities. It will be interesting to see how China will
implement its new commitment.
Like China, the Papua New Guinea government is also taking half-hearted steps.
Although the country is known to be quite keen on campaigning for the reduction of global
carbon emissions and was one of the leaders in campaigning for the Reduce Carbon Emission
from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) program with Costa Rica at COP 11 in 2005
Mellick (2010: 359), Papua New Guinea does not seem to really want to fight environmental
degradation in its territory, but is only eyeing financial benefits from the program. Papua New
Guinea is considered to have no legal instruments that truly support the implementation of
REDD, in addition to the absence of a clear implementation mechanism and qualified human
resources to implement the program. As a result, instead of getting benefits, the Papua New
Guinea government has to be disappointed because until now it has not received any benefits.
It is interesting to see what Papua New Guinea's environmental laws actually look like.
The country has several laws including the Environmental Planning Act 1978, Conservation
Area Act 1978, Water Resource Act 1982, and National Parks Act 1982. Furthermore, in
1993, the Papua New Guinea government created a policy called the National Sustainable
Development Strategy after attending the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. Finally, in
2000, Papua New Guinea created a new set of laws (the New Environment Act). This law
combines the laws that came before it (Mowbray & Duguman 2006). The aim is to balance
environmental management and conservation in the country.
Despite the many laws protecting the environment, the Papua New Guinea government
has been unable to withstand the onslaught of multinational corporations. Kinley and Tadaki
(2003), notes how Papua New Guinea's parliament had to pass another legal instrument, the
Ok Tedi Mine Continuation Act in 2001, to restore the good name of BHP Billiton, which had
previously been accused of environmental destruction and human rights abuses in the region.
For Kinley and Tadaki, this shows how the country continues to be in the shadow of
multinational corporations. It also signifies that a multitude of laws and regulations do not
guarantee the preservation of a country's environment if they are only half-heartedly
implemented.
Conclusion
Globalization, which is marked by the movement of ideas, goods, people and technology, on
the one hand has brought blessings to many people from various nations and countries.
However, it cannot be denied that globalization also brings threats to them. As this paper
shows, globalization, especially in the mining sector, tends to have a negative impact on
environmental sustainability. Taking the case of the mining sector in two Asia Pacific
countries, namely China and Papua New Guinea, the expansion and exploitation of nature has
resulted in environmental degradation and in turn threatens human security in the two
countries.
Historically, on the one hand, environmental degradation in China and Papua New
Guinea began with the influx of foreign capital from developed countries to developing
countries, characterized by the presence of multinational companies that aim to seek
maximum profit. On the other hand, the governments of the countries concerned welcomed
the arrival of these multinational companies. In the mining sector, for example, the arrival of
multinational companies is even facilitated by state policies such as in China known as the
open door policy and in Papua New Guinea with the national development strategy.
Gradually, the number of multinational companies is increasing. As a result, environmental
damage is increasingly inevitable. Some of the forms of damage found include deforestation,
desertification, soil, water and air pollution.
In turn, this environmental destruction threatens human security. So far, there has been
some evidence of this threat. In China, the activities of multinational mining companies have
resulted in the destruction of forests, contamination of rivers, soil and air, which has led to
respiratory and digestive diseases, and reduced food availability for local communities. In
addition, there have been reports of social conflicts in the areas where these multinationals
operate. The same is true in Papua New Guinea. Mining activities have contaminated the land
and water where local people live depend on for their livelihoods. Furthermore, the presence
of the mining company threatens the food security of the population and ignites conflicts
between local residents there.
Actually, this problem can be solved through government policy. Unfortunately, existing
policies are half-heartedly implemented. To this day, there is no seriousness from the
governments of the two countries. Both China and Papua New Guinea actually have quite a
lot of legal instruments that regulate the relationship between economic activity and
environmental conservation. However, these tools are not enough to overcome the problems
of environmental degradation in their respective countries. Therefore, the commitment to
implement existing environmental policies needs to be wholehearted. Otherwise,
environmental degradation and threats to human security in the two countries will continue to
occur.
Globalization of Mining: The Case of China and Papua New Guinea
This section will focus on the globalization of the mining sector in two Asia-Pacific countries,
China and Papua New Guinea. It is believed that these sectors have a negative impact on the
environment and threaten human security in their respective regions.
Since Deng Xiao Ping became the number one person in China, the country immediately
implemented an open door policy for foreign investors and ended the era of China's economic
closure for 300 years (Tantri, 2006: 50). Since then, China has undergone a rapid economic
transformation. Starting from government policies that opened up opportunities for
multinational companies to carry out economic activities in the country, China then recorded
itself as a country with the third largest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the world (Liu and
Diamond 2005: 1180). Not only that, according to Walley and Xin (2007), China is even
listed as the highest-ranked country with Foreign Direct Investment, leaving the United States
in second place. This illustrates how China is very open to globalization by providing
opportunities for global economic agents to invest in the country.
One of the most attractive sectors for multinational companies is mining. Based on a
study conducted by Nolan and Zhang (2002), some of the multinational mining companies
investing in China are Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton, and Anglo-American. Later came the names
Eldorado Gold Mining, Jingshan and Sino Gold Mining. Eldorado and Jingshan are Canadian-
owned corporations. Eldorado operates in Tanjiangshan and Jinfeng, while Jingshan has
operated in Inner Mongolia and Ganshu Province since 2007. The corporation has two
business concentrations, namely gold and diamonds. Meanwhile, Sino, an Australian
company, concentrates its operations in Jiling, Heliongjian, Guizou, and Shaanxi Provinces on
gold exploration. In addition, domestic government-owned corporations have also begun to
proliferate with exploration mechanisms no different from multinational companies.
In Papua New Guinea, multinational corporations only arrived in the early 20th century.
However, exploration of the country's natural resources had been going on since the late 19th
century by European miners (Banks, 1993: 315), albeit in a simple form. Rio Tinto was the
first company to conduct mining activities in the country, especially on Bouganville Island
and later on Lihir Island. In the following years, several other multinational companies such
as BHP Billiton and Newmont also entered Papua New Guinea and concentrated their
exploration in Ok Tedi, Woodlark and Tolukuma. The presence of these multinationals
showed how close the government was to them. Recognizing this closeness, the government
prepared policy tools to perpetuate the entry of these corporations through the National
Development Strategy.
This strategy contains instructions on how to bring multinational companies on the
economic stage of Papua New Guinea as it is believed that their presence will generate huge
profits for the country. Evidently, more and more multinational companies have since
invested in Papua New Guinea. As a result, since 1986, two-thirds of the country's economy
has been supported by foreign investment (Daniel and Sims in Banks, 1993: 318-319) with
mining being the most reliable sector. It would not be wrong to say that Papua New Guinea's
economy is highly dependent on the presence of these multinational mining companies.
Environmental degradation
Miracles are happening in China thanks to Deng Xiao Ping's leadership touch. Since the last
30 years, the country's economic growth has almost always been above 8 percent. This is due
to the tremendous pace of industry and trade in China after integrating with the world
economy. However, it seems that the country has to pay a heavy price for its economic
achievements with its impact on the environment. Based on a study conducted by Duan
Yonghou et al (1998 in Wang, 2004), it was stated that the cost of environmental damage due
to industrial activities in China reached 283 trillion yuan per year. According to Wang (2004),
one of the biggest contributors to the damage is from the mining sector which causes damage
to soil, water, air and forests.
Based on a study conducted by Liu et al (2002) in Shaanxi province, mining activities
have damaged soil conditions in several areas namely Yulin, Shenmu, Fugu, Hengshan,
Jingbian, and Dingbian. As a result, the land in these areas has been desertified, which has led
to increasingly limited land use. In addition, desertification also results in the fragile condition
of the ecosystem in the area. Not only in Shaanxi, this kind of condition also occurs in other
Chinese provinces. Actually, mining does not only lead to desertification, but also
deforestation. This deforestation then spurs an increase in the frequency of floods and
landslides, especially in the western part of the country (Wang, 2004:166). While many
debate the relationship between deforestation and flooding, Wang remains convinced that
there is a strong causal relationship between the two.
The activities of mining corporations also pollute water. Evidently, in China, the
industrial waste of mining corporations has poisoned the water there, including that in the
river. According to Li (2006), in 2002 alone, mining waste in China had reached 265.4
million tons. This number is predicted to continue to grow if the mining industry, along with
other industries, continues to boost its activities. Later, due to the large demand for energy
from this industrial sector, China was building a mega hydroelectric power project at Lancang
Jiang. This has drawn protests from neighboring countries because it is considered to damage
the environment in their countries, especially countries around the Mekong river basin (Goh,
2009).
Furthermore, China's air and forests are also threatened by mining activities. In addition
to holding the record for the highest GDP in the world, China also holds the record for being a
major producer of gas greenhouse gases in the world. The country recorded 2.8 million metric
tons of carbon dioxide emissions in 2000 (Liu & Diamond, 2005: 1181). The mining industry
has been blamed as one of the main contributors to air pollution. In the forestry sector, mining
activities have cut down millions of trees and deforested several mountain ranges. With the
damage in these two sectors, China is considered to have accelerated the rise of the earth's
temperature, which also means causing extreme climate change.
In Papua New Guinea, environmental damage from mining also occurs and tends to be
even more severe. According to information obtained by Evans et al (2002), in Ok Tedi, BHP
Billiton has disposed of 80,000 tons of waste per day. This has been going on since the
corporation first started its activities. As a result, the Ok Tedi river changed its color from
clear to brownish, and many animals died from the toxic waste. In fact, before the arrival of
the corporation, the river was filled with fish that became the source of livelihood for the local
community. However, as the river became polluted, the fish disappeared. In addition, on-site
mining activities also eroded the forest to the riverbank (Kirsch, 1996: 1-3).
The environmental damage on Bougainville Island is no less severe. There are around
4000 hectares of land damaged by mining waste. As a result, forests, rivers, bays, and even
the air on the island have been affected. Chemical mining waste is believed to be the main
factor that caused the forests around the mining site to die, the rivers (Jaba and Kawarong)
and Empress Augusta Bay to be polluted, and the air on the island to become dirty. Based on
a study conducted by Gillespie (1996), there are at least 300 hectares of forest damaged by
Bougainville mining activities. The polluted air is caused by a mixture of dust and carbon
emissions from machinery.
Some Threats to Human Security
As described in the literature review, the behavior of multinational corporations in the era of
globalization has now had a serious impact on the environment, which in turn threatens the
security of many people. It is believed that the increase in the earth's temperature to 6 degrees
over the next 100 years will reduce world food production by 60 percent (History, 2010).
According to some scientists, in addition to scarcity of food resources, social conflicts and
chronic diseases are also cited as real threats from environmental degradation.
Based on data from the Food Agricultural Organization (2010), the increasing frequency
of floods has resulted in the destruction of 13 million hectares of crop land in China. The
areas most affected by the floods are Yunnan, Sichuan, Guizhou, Hubei, Chongqing, Anhui,
Jiangxi, Guanxi, Guangdong, Hunnan, Gansu, and Shaanxi. In the next few years, China is
predicted to continue experiencing similar disasters given the country's rapid economic
growth. In addition, climate change has also begun to show its threat. Although food
production in China as a whole is predicted to remain relatively stable until the end of 2010,
wheat production shows otherwise. By the end of 2010, there will be a one percent decline in
wheat production from 115,121 tons to 114,000 tons.
In addition, social conflicts are also threatening China. As Ho (2006) points out, as the
country's forests are depleted by economic activity, social conflicts have begun to emerge
everywhere. China's rural communities are often involved in disputes over forest ownership
with certain companies. The Chinese government is struggling to deal with this. Rules have
been made regarding the relationship between the government, companies and communities.
However, these regulations do not work well in the field. Furthermore, conflicts do not only
occur among the Chinese people but also involve other surrounding countries. Laos, Thailand,
Cambodia and Vietnam are among those affected by the construction of a hydroelectric power
plant in Lancangjiang, Yunnan (Goh, 2009: 1). This power plant is planned to be used to
supply industrial needs in China.
Another impact is disease. As a result of the high levels of air pollution in China, the
population develops respiratory, heart and lung cancer. It has even been reported that
pollution in China has resulted in thousands of deaths in the country each year. The same goes
for water pollution. Notably, around 500 million China's population no longer has access to
clean water. Although the government has launched the construction of giant dams to obtain
clean water, China, especially in the north, still suffers from pollution and lack of clean water.
According to Kahn and Yardley (2007), it has been approximately 60,000 people died from
diarrheal diseases due to this water pollution.
Meanwhile, in Papua New Guinea, resource depletion due to mining activities is also
evident. As stated by Bhavnani (2009), based on the results of his study in the Porgera area,
water contaminated by mining company toxins and waste has resulted in the loss of some
agricultural land in the area. This was followed by a reduction in agricultural production,
leading to food shortages in the country. In addition, the climate change that was predicted to
threaten the country has so far become a reality. Evidently, the existing rainfall has affected
the amount of agricultural production. In the future, as predicted by Bourke and Harwood
(2009), climate conditions will be much more extreme, characterized by rising sea levels and
increasingly erratic rainfall.
The country's problems are exacerbated by social conflict. Local communities in Porgera,
for example, oppose the existence of mining corporations because they destroy the
environment in which they live. Not only that, the existence of these corporations has also
sparked conflicts among the local communities themselves. According to Banks (2008), the
cause is that on the one hand there are community groups that receive benefits from the
company and on the other hand there are those who only receive losses from the activities of
the mining company. Although there are other views on this issue, it cannot be denied that the
presence of the company increases the possibility of conflict.
Like China, Papua New Guinea is also threatened with chronic disease. So far, mining
company waste in the country has caused a variety of diseases including lung and bladder
disease. According to Kepore et al (2008:12), pollution from the company's waste is the main
cause of these diseases, as in their study of local communities in Ok Tedi. Communities are
also fearful of other diseases in the future. As in Ok Tedi, the people of Lihirian also
experience the same fear. They suffer from diseases caused by multinational mining
companies in their area (McIntyre et al 2005: 88).
Government Policy
There is an impression that these two countries tend not to be serious or half-hearted when
addressing environmental issues and their threats. This impression is quite reasonable given
the absence of a meaningful response from the governments of the two countries in resolving
these issues. The Chinese government, for example, with its fantastic economic growth rate, is
not necessarily willing to reduce pollution, such as greenhouse gas emissions, due to
economic activity in the country. Meanwhile, Papua New Guinea tends to play it safe by
implementing half-hearted environmental policies. It will be interesting to see how the
governments of these two countries show their commitment to the environmental problems
faced by their respective countries.
In China, almost every state policy is linked to the economy. In other words, if it is not
economically oriented, it is almost impossible to become a state policy. As a result, these
policies tend to ignore other aspects of life such as environmental sustainability. One example
is the Environmental Protection Law (EPL) created in 1979. Although environmental in
nature, it is actually not used to preserve the environment, but to carry out what is referred to
as 'decollectivization' which means the revocation of common property rights to resources
(Muldavin, 2000: 253-254). 'Decollectivization' marks a shift in the status of resource
ownership rights from the collective to the individual. Instead of aiming for environmental
sustainability, the existing legal instruments open up opportunities for the operation of market
mechanisms in resource management, which in turn damage the country's environment in the
future.
In addition to the EPL, there are several other sets of laws. Some of them are the Water
Pollution Prevention Law of 1982, Forest Law 1984, Grassland Law 1985, and Air Pollution
Law 1987. Unfortunately, these legal instruments are only a mere formality in order to create
the impression that the Chinese government is very committed to protecting the environment
and in line with global commitments to preserve the environment. In reality, the Chinese
government cannot resist the ambition to continuously drive the country's economic sector by
utilizing as many economic opportunities as possible, including the influx of foreign
investment. As a result, despite having a fairly comprehensive set of laws, the country has
proven unable to control the environmental damage that arises from these economic activities
(Beyer, 2006: 209).
Until the 2009 Copenhagen Summit (COP 15), the Chinese government showed its lack
of seriousness towards environmental conservation by not signing the agreement at the
meeting. The reason is, for China, economic growth is the main target. With an average
growth of eight percent each year, China is optimistic that it will become the only global
economic power in the future, beating the United States, provided that the country's economic
growth must be stable without any interruption. Therefore, reducing greenhouse gas emissions
by 40 to 45 percent per unit of GDP by 2020 (Bodansky, 2010: 2), as requested by the
meeting, is considered a stumbling block to China's target. However, at COP 16 held in
Cancun at the end of 2010, China had already shown its good faith. The country, along with
the United States, which is known as the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gases, has
agreed to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases. This means that both China and America
are obliged to reduce their economic activities. It will be interesting to see how China will
implement its new commitment.
Like China, the Papua New Guinea government is also taking half-hearted steps.
Although the country is known to be quite keen on campaigning for the reduction of global
carbon emissions and was one of the leaders in campaigning for the Reduce Carbon Emission
from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) program with Costa Rica at COP 11 in 2005
Mellick (2010: 359), Papua New Guinea does not seem to really want to fight environmental
degradation in its territory, but is only eyeing financial benefits from the program. Papua New
Guinea is considered to have no legal instruments that truly support the implementation of
REDD, in addition to the absence of a clear implementation mechanism and qualified human
resources to implement the program. As a result, instead of getting benefits, the Papua New
Guinea government has to be disappointed because until now it has not received any benefits.
It is interesting to see what Papua New Guinea's environmental laws actually look like.
The country has several laws including the Environmental Planning Act 1978, Conservation
Area Act 1978, Water Resource Act 1982, and National Parks Act 1982. Furthermore, in
1993, the Papua New Guinea government created a policy called the National Sustainable
Development Strategy after attending the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. Finally, in
2000, Papua New Guinea created a new set of laws (the New Environment Act). This law
combines the laws that came before it (Mowbray & Duguman 2006). The aim is to balance
environmental management and conservation in the country.
Despite the many laws protecting the environment, the Papua New Guinea government
has been unable to withstand the onslaught of multinational corporations. Kinley and Tadaki
(2003), notes how Papua New Guinea's parliament had to pass another legal instrument, the
Ok Tedi Mine Continuation Act in 2001, to restore the good name of BHP Billiton, which had
previously been accused of environmental destruction and human rights abuses in the region.
For Kinley and Tadaki, this shows how the country continues to be in the shadow of
multinational corporations. It also signifies that a multitude of laws and regulations do not
guarantee the preservation of a country's environment if they are only half-heartedly
implemented.
Conclusion
Globalization, which is marked by the movement of ideas, goods, people and technology, on
the one hand has brought blessings to many people from various nations and countries.
However, it cannot be denied that globalization also brings threats to them. As this paper
shows, globalization, especially in the mining sector, tends to have a negative impact on
environmental sustainability. Taking the case of the mining sector in two Asia Pacific
countries, namely China and Papua New Guinea, the expansion and exploitation of nature has
resulted in environmental degradation and in turn threatens human security in the two
countries.
Historically, on the one hand, environmental degradation in China and Papua New
Guinea began with the influx of foreign capital from developed countries to developing
countries, characterized by the presence of multinational companies that aim to seek
maximum profit. On the other hand, the governments of the countries concerned welcomed
the arrival of these multinational companies. In the mining sector, for example, the arrival of
multinational companies is even facilitated by state policies such as in China known as the
open door policy and in Papua New Guinea with the national development strategy.
Gradually, the number of multinational companies is increasing. As a result, environmental
damage is increasingly inevitable. Some of the forms of damage found include deforestation,
desertification, soil, water and air pollution.
In turn, this environmental destruction threatens human security. So far, there has been
some evidence of this threat. In China, the activities of multinational mining companies have
resulted in the destruction of forests, contamination of rivers, soil and air, which has led to
respiratory and digestive diseases, and reduced food availability for local communities. In
addition, there have been reports of social conflicts in the areas where these multinationals
operate. The same is true in Papua New Guinea. Mining activities have contaminated the land
and water where local people live depend on for their livelihoods. Furthermore, the presence
of the mining company threatens the food security of the population and ignites conflicts
between local residents there.
Actually, this problem can be solved through government policy. Unfortunately, existing
policies are half-heartedly implemented. To this day, there is no seriousness from the
governments of the two countries. Both China and Papua New Guinea actually have quite a
lot of legal instruments that regulate the relationship between economic activity and
environmental conservation. However, these tools are not enough to overcome the problems
of environmental degradation in their respective countries. Therefore, the commitment to
implement existing environmental policies needs to be wholehearted. Otherwise,
environmental degradation and threats to human security in the two countries will continue to
occur.
Globalization of Mining: The Case of China and Papua New Guinea
This section will focus on the globalization of the mining sector in two Asia-Pacific countries,
China and Papua New Guinea. It is believed that these sectors have a negative impact on the
environment and threaten human security in their respective regions.
Since Deng Xiao Ping became the number one person in China, the country immediately
implemented an open door policy for foreign investors and ended the era of China's economic
closure for 300 years (Tantri, 2006: 50). Since then, China has undergone a rapid economic
transformation. Starting from government policies that opened up opportunities for
multinational companies to carry out economic activities in the country, China then recorded
itself as a country with the third largest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the world (Liu and
Diamond 2005: 1180). Not only that, according to Walley and Xin (2007), China is even
listed as the highest-ranked country with Foreign Direct Investment, leaving the United States
in second place. This illustrates how China is very open to globalization by providing
opportunities for global economic agents to invest in the country.
One of the most attractive sectors for multinational companies is mining. Based on a
study conducted by Nolan and Zhang (2002), some of the multinational mining companies
investing in China are Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton, and Anglo-American. Later came the names
Eldorado Gold Mining, Jingshan and Sino Gold Mining. Eldorado and Jingshan are Canadian-
owned corporations. Eldorado operates in Tanjiangshan and Jinfeng, while Jingshan has
operated in Inner Mongolia and Ganshu Province since 2007. The corporation has two
business concentrations, namely gold and diamonds. Meanwhile, Sino, an Australian
company, concentrates its operations in Jiling, Heliongjian, Guizou, and Shaanxi Provinces on
gold exploration. In addition, domestic government-owned corporations have also begun to
proliferate with exploration mechanisms no different from multinational companies.
In Papua New Guinea, multinational corporations only arrived in the early 20th century.
However, exploration of the country's natural resources had been going on since the late 19th
century by European miners (Banks, 1993: 315), albeit in a simple form. Rio Tinto was the
first company to conduct mining activities in the country, especially on Bouganville Island
and later on Lihir Island. In the following years, several other multinational companies such
as BHP Billiton and Newmont also entered Papua New Guinea and concentrated their
exploration in Ok Tedi, Woodlark and Tolukuma. The presence of these multinationals
showed how close the government was to them. Recognizing this closeness, the government
prepared policy tools to perpetuate the entry of these corporations through the National
Development Strategy.
This strategy contains instructions on how to bring multinational companies on the
economic stage of Papua New Guinea as it is believed that their presence will generate huge
profits for the country. Evidently, more and more multinational companies have since
invested in Papua New Guinea. As a result, since 1986, two-thirds of the country's economy
has been supported by foreign investment (Daniel and Sims in Banks, 1993: 318-319) with
mining being the most reliable sector. It would not be wrong to say that Papua New Guinea's
economy is highly dependent on the presence of these multinational mining companies.
Environmental degradation
Miracles are happening in China thanks to Deng Xiao Ping's leadership touch. Since the last
30 years, the country's economic growth has almost always been above 8 percent. This is due
to the tremendous pace of industry and trade in China after integrating with the world
economy. However, it seems that the country has to pay a heavy price for its economic
achievements with its impact on the environment. Based on a study conducted by Duan
Yonghou et al (1998 in Wang, 2004), it was stated that the cost of environmental damage due
to industrial activities in China reached 283 trillion yuan per year. According to Wang (2004),
one of the biggest contributors to the damage is from the mining sector which causes damage
to soil, water, air and forests.
Based on a study conducted by Liu et al (2002) in Shaanxi province, mining activities
have damaged soil conditions in several areas namely Yulin, Shenmu, Fugu, Hengshan,
Jingbian, and Dingbian. As a result, the land in these areas has been desertified, which has led
to increasingly limited land use. In addition, desertification also results in the fragile condition
of the ecosystem in the area. Not only in Shaanxi, this kind of condition also occurs in other
Chinese provinces. Actually, mining does not only lead to desertification, but also
deforestation. This deforestation then spurs an increase in the frequency of floods and
landslides, especially in the western part of the country (Wang, 2004:166). While many
debate the relationship between deforestation and flooding, Wang remains convinced that
there is a strong causal relationship between the two.
The activities of mining corporations also pollute water. Evidently, in China, the
industrial waste of mining corporations has poisoned the water there, including that in the
river. According to Li (2006), in 2002 alone, mining waste in China had reached 265.4
million tons. This number is predicted to continue to grow if the mining industry, along with
other industries, continues to boost its activities. Later, due to the large demand for energy
from this industrial sector, China was building a mega hydroelectric power project at Lancang
Jiang. This has drawn protests from neighboring countries because it is considered to damage
the environment in their countries, especially countries around the Mekong river basin (Goh,
2009).
Furthermore, China's air and forests are also threatened by mining activities. In addition
to holding the record for the highest GDP in the world, China also holds the record for being a
major producer of gas greenhouse gases in the world. The country recorded 2.8 million metric
tons of carbon dioxide emissions in 2000 (Liu & Diamond, 2005: 1181). The mining industry
has been blamed as one of the main contributors to air pollution. In the forestry sector, mining
activities have cut down millions of trees and deforested several mountain ranges. With the
damage in these two sectors, China is considered to have accelerated the rise of the earth's
temperature, which also means causing extreme climate change.
In Papua New Guinea, environmental damage from mining also occurs and tends to be
even more severe. According to information obtained by Evans et al (2002), in Ok Tedi, BHP
Billiton has disposed of 80,000 tons of waste per day. This has been going on since the
corporation first started its activities. As a result, the Ok Tedi river changed its color from
clear to brownish, and many animals died from the toxic waste. In fact, before the arrival of
the corporation, the river was filled with fish that became the source of livelihood for the local
community. However, as the river became polluted, the fish disappeared. In addition, on-site
mining activities also eroded the forest to the riverbank (Kirsch, 1996: 1-3).
The environmental damage on Bougainville Island is no less severe. There are around
4000 hectares of land damaged by mining waste. As a result, forests, rivers, bays, and even
the air on the island have been affected. Chemical mining waste is believed to be the main
factor that caused the forests around the mining site to die, the rivers (Jaba and Kawarong)
and Empress Augusta Bay to be polluted, and the air on the island to become dirty. Based on
a study conducted by Gillespie (1996), there are at least 300 hectares of forest damaged by
Bougainville mining activities. The polluted air is caused by a mixture of dust and carbon
emissions from machinery.
Some Threats to Human Security
As described in the literature review, the behavior of multinational corporations in the era of
globalization has now had a serious impact on the environment, which in turn threatens the
security of many people. It is believed that the increase in the earth's temperature to 6 degrees
over the next 100 years will reduce world food production by 60 percent (History, 2010).
According to some scientists, in addition to scarcity of food resources, social conflicts and
chronic diseases are also cited as real threats from environmental degradation.
Based on data from the Food Agricultural Organization (2010), the increasing frequency
of floods has resulted in the destruction of 13 million hectares of crop land in China. The
areas most affected by the floods are Yunnan, Sichuan, Guizhou, Hubei, Chongqing, Anhui,
Jiangxi, Guanxi, Guangdong, Hunnan, Gansu, and Shaanxi. In the next few years, China is
predicted to continue experiencing similar disasters given the country's rapid economic
growth. In addition, climate change has also begun to show its threat. Although food
production in China as a whole is predicted to remain relatively stable until the end of 2010,
wheat production shows otherwise. By the end of 2010, there will be a one percent decline in
wheat production from 115,121 tons to 114,000 tons.
In addition, social conflicts are also threatening China. As Ho (2006) points out, as the
country's forests are depleted by economic activity, social conflicts have begun to emerge
everywhere. China's rural communities are often involved in disputes over forest ownership
with certain companies. The Chinese government is struggling to deal with this. Rules have
been made regarding the relationship between the government, companies and communities.
However, these regulations do not work well in the field. Furthermore, conflicts do not only
occur among the Chinese people but also involve other surrounding countries. Laos, Thailand,
Cambodia and Vietnam are among those affected by the construction of a hydroelectric power
plant in Lancangjiang, Yunnan (Goh, 2009: 1). This power plant is planned to be used to
supply industrial needs in China.
Another impact is disease. As a result of the high levels of air pollution in China, the
population develops respiratory, heart and lung cancer. It has even been reported that
pollution in China has resulted in thousands of deaths in the country each year. The same goes
for water pollution. Notably, around 500 million China's population no longer has access to
clean water. Although the government has launched the construction of giant dams to obtain
clean water, China, especially in the north, still suffers from pollution and lack of clean water.
According to Kahn and Yardley (2007), it has been approximately 60,000 people died from
diarrheal diseases due to this water pollution.
Meanwhile, in Papua New Guinea, resource depletion due to mining activities is also
evident. As stated by Bhavnani (2009), based on the results of his study in the Porgera area,
water contaminated by mining company toxins and waste has resulted in the loss of some
agricultural land in the area. This was followed by a reduction in agricultural production,
leading to food shortages in the country. In addition, the climate change that was predicted to
threaten the country has so far become a reality. Evidently, the existing rainfall has affected
the amount of agricultural production. In the future, as predicted by Bourke and Harwood
(2009), climate conditions will be much more extreme, characterized by rising sea levels and
increasingly erratic rainfall.
The country's problems are exacerbated by social conflict. Local communities in Porgera,
for example, oppose the existence of mining corporations because they destroy the
environment in which they live. Not only that, the existence of these corporations has also
sparked conflicts among the local communities themselves. According to Banks (2008), the
cause is that on the one hand there are community groups that receive benefits from the
company and on the other hand there are those who only receive losses from the activities of
the mining company. Although there are other views on this issue, it cannot be denied that the
presence of the company increases the possibility of conflict.
Like China, Papua New Guinea is also threatened with chronic disease. So far, mining
company waste in the country has caused a variety of diseases including lung and bladder
disease. According to Kepore et al (2008:12), pollution from the company's waste is the main
cause of these diseases, as in their study of local communities in Ok Tedi. Communities are
also fearful of other diseases in the future. As in Ok Tedi, the people of Lihirian also
experience the same fear. They suffer from diseases caused by multinational mining
companies in their area (McIntyre et al 2005: 88).
Government Policy
There is an impression that these two countries tend not to be serious or half-hearted when
addressing environmental issues and their threats. This impression is quite reasonable given
the absence of a meaningful response from the governments of the two countries in resolving
these issues. The Chinese government, for example, with its fantastic economic growth rate, is
not necessarily willing to reduce pollution, such as greenhouse gas emissions, due to
economic activity in the country. Meanwhile, Papua New Guinea tends to play it safe by
implementing half-hearted environmental policies. It will be interesting to see how the
governments of these two countries show their commitment to the environmental problems
faced by their respective countries.
In China, almost every state policy is linked to the economy. In other words, if it is not
economically oriented, it is almost impossible to become a state policy. As a result, these
policies tend to ignore other aspects of life such as environmental sustainability. One example
is the Environmental Protection Law (EPL) created in 1979. Although environmental in
nature, it is actually not used to preserve the environment, but to carry out what is referred to
as 'decollectivization' which means the revocation of common property rights to resources
(Muldavin, 2000: 253-254). 'Decollectivization' marks a shift in the status of resource
ownership rights from the collective to the individual. Instead of aiming for environmental
sustainability, the existing legal instruments open up opportunities for the operation of market
mechanisms in resource management, which in turn damage the country's environment in the
future.
In addition to the EPL, there are several other sets of laws. Some of them are the Water
Pollution Prevention Law of 1982, Forest Law 1984, Grassland Law 1985, and Air Pollution
Law 1987. Unfortunately, these legal instruments are only a mere formality in order to create
the impression that the Chinese government is very committed to protecting the environment
and in line with global commitments to preserve the environment. In reality, the Chinese
government cannot resist the ambition to continuously drive the country's economic sector by
utilizing as many economic opportunities as possible, including the influx of foreign
investment. As a result, despite having a fairly comprehensive set of laws, the country has
proven unable to control the environmental damage that arises from these economic activities
(Beyer, 2006: 209).
Until the 2009 Copenhagen Summit (COP 15), the Chinese government showed its lack
of seriousness towards environmental conservation by not signing the agreement at the
meeting. The reason is, for China, economic growth is the main target. With an average
growth of eight percent each year, China is optimistic that it will become the only global
economic power in the future, beating the United States, provided that the country's economic
growth must be stable without any interruption. Therefore, reducing greenhouse gas emissions
by 40 to 45 percent per unit of GDP by 2020 (Bodansky, 2010: 2), as requested by the
meeting, is considered a stumbling block to China's target. However, at COP 16 held in
Cancun at the end of 2010, China had already shown its good faith. The country, along with
the United States, which is known as the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gases, has
agreed to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases. This means that both China and America
are obliged to reduce their economic activities. It will be interesting to see how China will
implement its new commitment.
Like China, the Papua New Guinea government is also taking half-hearted steps.
Although the country is known to be quite keen on campaigning for the reduction of global
carbon emissions and was one of the leaders in campaigning for the Reduce Carbon Emission
from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) program with Costa Rica at COP 11 in 2005
Mellick (2010: 359), Papua New Guinea does not seem to really want to fight environmental
degradation in its territory, but is only eyeing financial benefits from the program. Papua New
Guinea is considered to have no legal instruments that truly support the implementation of
REDD, in addition to the absence of a clear implementation mechanism and qualified human
resources to implement the program. As a result, instead of getting benefits, the Papua New
Guinea government has to be disappointed because until now it has not received any benefits.
It is interesting to see what Papua New Guinea's environmental laws actually look like.
The country has several laws including the Environmental Planning Act 1978, Conservation
Area Act 1978, Water Resource Act 1982, and National Parks Act 1982. Furthermore, in
1993, the Papua New Guinea government created a policy called the National Sustainable
Development Strategy after attending the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. Finally, in
2000, Papua New Guinea created a new set of laws (the New Environment Act). This law
combines the laws that came before it (Mowbray & Duguman 2006). The aim is to balance
environmental management and conservation in the country.
Despite the many laws protecting the environment, the Papua New Guinea government
has been unable to withstand the onslaught of multinational corporations. Kinley and Tadaki
(2003), notes how Papua New Guinea's parliament had to pass another legal instrument, the
Ok Tedi Mine Continuation Act in 2001, to restore the good name of BHP Billiton, which had
previously been accused of environmental destruction and human rights abuses in the region.
For Kinley and Tadaki, this shows how the country continues to be in the shadow of
multinational corporations. It also signifies that a multitude of laws and regulations do not
guarantee the preservation of a country's environment if they are only half-heartedly
implemented.
Conclusion
Globalization, which is marked by the movement of ideas, goods, people and technology, on
the one hand has brought blessings to many people from various nations and countries.
However, it cannot be denied that globalization also brings threats to them. As this paper
shows, globalization, especially in the mining sector, tends to have a negative impact on
environmental sustainability. Taking the case of the mining sector in two Asia Pacific
countries, namely China and Papua New Guinea, the expansion and exploitation of nature has
resulted in environmental degradation and in turn threatens human security in the two
countries.
Historically, on the one hand, environmental degradation in China and Papua New
Guinea began with the influx of foreign capital from developed countries to developing
countries, characterized by the presence of multinational companies that aim to seek
maximum profit. On the other hand, the governments of the countries concerned welcomed
the arrival of these multinational companies. In the mining sector, for example, the arrival of
multinational companies is even facilitated by state policies such as in China known as the
open door policy and in Papua New Guinea with the national development strategy.
Gradually, the number of multinational companies is increasing. As a result, environmental
damage is increasingly inevitable. Some of the forms of damage found include deforestation,
desertification, soil, water and air pollution.
In turn, this environmental destruction threatens human security. So far, there has been
some evidence of this threat. In China, the activities of multinational mining companies have
resulted in the destruction of forests, contamination of rivers, soil and air, which has led to
respiratory and digestive diseases, and reduced food availability for local communities. In
addition, there have been reports of social conflicts in the areas where these multinationals
operate. The same is true in Papua New Guinea. Mining activities have contaminated the land
and water where local people live depend on for their livelihoods. Furthermore, the presence
of the mining company threatens the food security of the population and ignites conflicts
between local residents there.
Actually, this problem can be solved through government policy. Unfortunately, existing
policies are half-heartedly implemented. To this day, there is no seriousness from the
governments of the two countries. Both China and Papua New Guinea actually have quite a
lot of legal instruments that regulate the relationship between economic activity and
environmental conservation. However, these tools are not enough to overcome the problems
of environmental degradation in their respective countries. Therefore, the commitment to
implement existing environmental policies needs to be wholehearted. Otherwise,
environmental degradation and threats to human security in the two countries will continue to
occur.
Globalization of Mining: The Case of China and Papua New Guinea
This section will focus on the globalization of the mining sector in two Asia-Pacific countries,
China and Papua New Guinea. It is believed that these sectors have a negative impact on the
environment and threaten human security in their respective regions.
Since Deng Xiao Ping became the number one person in China, the country immediately
implemented an open door policy for foreign investors and ended the era of China's economic
closure for 300 years (Tantri, 2006: 50). Since then, China has undergone a rapid economic
transformation. Starting from government policies that opened up opportunities for
multinational companies to carry out economic activities in the country, China then recorded
itself as a country with the third largest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the world (Liu and
Diamond 2005: 1180). Not only that, according to Walley and Xin (2007), China is even
listed as the highest-ranked country with Foreign Direct Investment, leaving the United States
in second place. This illustrates how China is very open to globalization by providing
opportunities for global economic agents to invest in the country.
One of the most attractive sectors for multinational companies is mining. Based on a
study conducted by Nolan and Zhang (2002), some of the multinational mining companies
investing in China are Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton, and Anglo-American. Later came the names
Eldorado Gold Mining, Jingshan and Sino Gold Mining. Eldorado and Jingshan are Canadian-
owned corporations. Eldorado operates in Tanjiangshan and Jinfeng, while Jingshan has
operated in Inner Mongolia and Ganshu Province since 2007. The corporation has two
business concentrations, namely gold and diamonds. Meanwhile, Sino, an Australian
company, concentrates its operations in Jiling, Heliongjian, Guizou, and Shaanxi Provinces on
gold exploration. In addition, domestic government-owned corporations have also begun to
proliferate with exploration mechanisms no different from multinational companies.
In Papua New Guinea, multinational corporations only arrived in the early 20th century.
However, exploration of the country's natural resources had been going on since the late 19th
century by European miners (Banks, 1993: 315), albeit in a simple form. Rio Tinto was the
first company to conduct mining activities in the country, especially on Bouganville Island
and later on Lihir Island. In the following years, several other multinational companies such
as BHP Billiton and Newmont also entered Papua New Guinea and concentrated their
exploration in Ok Tedi, Woodlark and Tolukuma. The presence of these multinationals
showed how close the government was to them. Recognizing this closeness, the government
prepared policy tools to perpetuate the entry of these corporations through the National
Development Strategy.
This strategy contains instructions on how to bring multinational companies on the
economic stage of Papua New Guinea as it is believed that their presence will generate huge
profits for the country. Evidently, more and more multinational companies have since
invested in Papua New Guinea. As a result, since 1986, two-thirds of the country's economy
has been supported by foreign investment (Daniel and Sims in Banks, 1993: 318-319) with
mining being the most reliable sector. It would not be wrong to say that Papua New Guinea's
economy is highly dependent on the presence of these multinational mining companies.
Environmental degradation
Miracles are happening in China thanks to Deng Xiao Ping's leadership touch. Since the last
30 years, the country's economic growth has almost always been above 8 percent. This is due
to the tremendous pace of industry and trade in China after integrating with the world
economy. However, it seems that the country has to pay a heavy price for its economic
achievements with its impact on the environment. Based on a study conducted by Duan
Yonghou et al (1998 in Wang, 2004), it was stated that the cost of environmental damage due
to industrial activities in China reached 283 trillion yuan per year. According to Wang (2004),
one of the biggest contributors to the damage is from the mining sector which causes damage
to soil, water, air and forests.
Based on a study conducted by Liu et al (2002) in Shaanxi province, mining activities
have damaged soil conditions in several areas namely Yulin, Shenmu, Fugu, Hengshan,
Jingbian, and Dingbian. As a result, the land in these areas has been desertified, which has led
to increasingly limited land use. In addition, desertification also results in the fragile condition
of the ecosystem in the area. Not only in Shaanxi, this kind of condition also occurs in other
Chinese provinces. Actually, mining does not only lead to desertification, but also
deforestation. This deforestation then spurs an increase in the frequency of floods and
landslides, especially in the western part of the country (Wang, 2004:166). While many
debate the relationship between deforestation and flooding, Wang remains convinced that
there is a strong causal relationship between the two.
The activities of mining corporations also pollute water. Evidently, in China, the
industrial waste of mining corporations has poisoned the water there, including that in the
river. According to Li (2006), in 2002 alone, mining waste in China had reached 265.4
million tons. This number is predicted to continue to grow if the mining industry, along with
other industries, continues to boost its activities. Later, due to the large demand for energy
from this industrial sector, China was building a mega hydroelectric power project at Lancang
Jiang. This has drawn protests from neighboring countries because it is considered to damage
the environment in their countries, especially countries around the Mekong river basin (Goh,
2009).
Furthermore, China's air and forests are also threatened by mining activities. In addition
to holding the record for the highest GDP in the world, China also holds the record for being a
major producer of gas greenhouse gases in the world. The country recorded 2.8 million metric
tons of carbon dioxide emissions in 2000 (Liu & Diamond, 2005: 1181). The mining industry
has been blamed as one of the main contributors to air pollution. In the forestry sector, mining
activities have cut down millions of trees and deforested several mountain ranges. With the
damage in these two sectors, China is considered to have accelerated the rise of the earth's
temperature, which also means causing extreme climate change.
In Papua New Guinea, environmental damage from mining also occurs and tends to be
even more severe. According to information obtained by Evans et al (2002), in Ok Tedi, BHP
Billiton has disposed of 80,000 tons of waste per day. This has been going on since the
corporation first started its activities. As a result, the Ok Tedi river changed its color from
clear to brownish, and many animals died from the toxic waste. In fact, before the arrival of
the corporation, the river was filled with fish that became the source of livelihood for the local
community. However, as the river became polluted, the fish disappeared. In addition, on-site
mining activities also eroded the forest to the riverbank (Kirsch, 1996: 1-3).
The environmental damage on Bougainville Island is no less severe. There are around
4000 hectares of land damaged by mining waste. As a result, forests, rivers, bays, and even
the air on the island have been affected. Chemical mining waste is believed to be the main
factor that caused the forests around the mining site to die, the rivers (Jaba and Kawarong)
and Empress Augusta Bay to be polluted, and the air on the island to become dirty. Based on
a study conducted by Gillespie (1996), there are at least 300 hectares of forest damaged by
Bougainville mining activities. The polluted air is caused by a mixture of dust and carbon
emissions from machinery.
Some Threats to Human Security
As described in the literature review, the behavior of multinational corporations in the era of
globalization has now had a serious impact on the environment, which in turn threatens the
security of many people. It is believed that the increase in the earth's temperature to 6 degrees
over the next 100 years will reduce world food production by 60 percent (History, 2010).
According to some scientists, in addition to scarcity of food resources, social conflicts and
chronic diseases are also cited as real threats from environmental degradation.
Based on data from the Food Agricultural Organization (2010), the increasing frequency
of floods has resulted in the destruction of 13 million hectares of crop land in China. The
areas most affected by the floods are Yunnan, Sichuan, Guizhou, Hubei, Chongqing, Anhui,
Jiangxi, Guanxi, Guangdong, Hunnan, Gansu, and Shaanxi. In the next few years, China is
predicted to continue experiencing similar disasters given the country's rapid economic
growth. In addition, climate change has also begun to show its threat. Although food
production in China as a whole is predicted to remain relatively stable until the end of 2010,
wheat production shows otherwise. By the end of 2010, there will be a one percent decline in
wheat production from 115,121 tons to 114,000 tons.
In addition, social conflicts are also threatening China. As Ho (2006) points out, as the
country's forests are depleted by economic activity, social conflicts have begun to emerge
everywhere. China's rural communities are often involved in disputes over forest ownership
with certain companies. The Chinese government is struggling to deal with this. Rules have
been made regarding the relationship between the government, companies and communities.
However, these regulations do not work well in the field. Furthermore, conflicts do not only
occur among the Chinese people but also involve other surrounding countries. Laos, Thailand,
Cambodia and Vietnam are among those affected by the construction of a hydroelectric power
plant in Lancangjiang, Yunnan (Goh, 2009: 1). This power plant is planned to be used to
supply industrial needs in China.
Another impact is disease. As a result of the high levels of air pollution in China, the
population develops respiratory, heart and lung cancer. It has even been reported that
pollution in China has resulted in thousands of deaths in the country each year. The same goes
for water pollution. Notably, around 500 million China's population no longer has access to
clean water. Although the government has launched the construction of giant dams to obtain
clean water, China, especially in the north, still suffers from pollution and lack of clean water.
According to Kahn and Yardley (2007), it has been approximately 60,000 people died from
diarrheal diseases due to this water pollution.
Meanwhile, in Papua New Guinea, resource depletion due to mining activities is also
evident. As stated by Bhavnani (2009), based on the results of his study in the Porgera area,
water contaminated by mining company toxins and waste has resulted in the loss of some
agricultural land in the area. This was followed by a reduction in agricultural production,
leading to food shortages in the country. In addition, the climate change that was predicted to
threaten the country has so far become a reality. Evidently, the existing rainfall has affected
the amount of agricultural production. In the future, as predicted by Bourke and Harwood
(2009), climate conditions will be much more extreme, characterized by rising sea levels and
increasingly erratic rainfall.
The country's problems are exacerbated by social conflict. Local communities in Porgera,
for example, oppose the existence of mining corporations because they destroy the
environment in which they live. Not only that, the existence of these corporations has also
sparked conflicts among the local communities themselves. According to Banks (2008), the
cause is that on the one hand there are community groups that receive benefits from the
company and on the other hand there are those who only receive losses from the activities of
the mining company. Although there are other views on this issue, it cannot be denied that the
presence of the company increases the possibility of conflict.
Like China, Papua New Guinea is also threatened with chronic disease. So far, mining
company waste in the country has caused a variety of diseases including lung and bladder
disease. According to Kepore et al (2008:12), pollution from the company's waste is the main
cause of these diseases, as in their study of local communities in Ok Tedi. Communities are
also fearful of other diseases in the future. As in Ok Tedi, the people of Lihirian also
experience the same fear. They suffer from diseases caused by multinational mining
companies in their area (McIntyre et al 2005: 88).
Government Policy
There is an impression that these two countries tend not to be serious or half-hearted when
addressing environmental issues and their threats. This impression is quite reasonable given
the absence of a meaningful response from the governments of the two countries in resolving
these issues. The Chinese government, for example, with its fantastic economic growth rate, is
not necessarily willing to reduce pollution, such as greenhouse gas emissions, due to
economic activity in the country. Meanwhile, Papua New Guinea tends to play it safe by
implementing half-hearted environmental policies. It will be interesting to see how the
governments of these two countries show their commitment to the environmental problems
faced by their respective countries.
In China, almost every state policy is linked to the economy. In other words, if it is not
economically oriented, it is almost impossible to become a state policy. As a result, these
policies tend to ignore other aspects of life such as environmental sustainability. One example
is the Environmental Protection Law (EPL) created in 1979. Although environmental in
nature, it is actually not used to preserve the environment, but to carry out what is referred to
as 'decollectivization' which means the revocation of common property rights to resources
(Muldavin, 2000: 253-254). 'Decollectivization' marks a shift in the status of resource
ownership rights from the collective to the individual. Instead of aiming for environmental
sustainability, the existing legal instruments open up opportunities for the operation of market
mechanisms in resource management, which in turn damage the country's environment in the
future.
In addition to the EPL, there are several other sets of laws. Some of them are the Water
Pollution Prevention Law of 1982, Forest Law 1984, Grassland Law 1985, and Air Pollution
Law 1987. Unfortunately, these legal instruments are only a mere formality in order to create
the impression that the Chinese government is very committed to protecting the environment
and in line with global commitments to preserve the environment. In reality, the Chinese
government cannot resist the ambition to continuously drive the country's economic sector by
utilizing as many economic opportunities as possible, including the influx of foreign
investment. As a result, despite having a fairly comprehensive set of laws, the country has
proven unable to control the environmental damage that arises from these economic activities
(Beyer, 2006: 209).
Until the 2009 Copenhagen Summit (COP 15), the Chinese government showed its lack
of seriousness towards environmental conservation by not signing the agreement at the
meeting. The reason is, for China, economic growth is the main target. With an average
growth of eight percent each year, China is optimistic that it will become the only global
economic power in the future, beating the United States, provided that the country's economic
growth must be stable without any interruption. Therefore, reducing greenhouse gas emissions
by 40 to 45 percent per unit of GDP by 2020 (Bodansky, 2010: 2), as requested by the
meeting, is considered a stumbling block to China's target. However, at COP 16 held in
Cancun at the end of 2010, China had already shown its good faith. The country, along with
the United States, which is known as the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gases, has
agreed to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases. This means that both China and America
are obliged to reduce their economic activities. It will be interesting to see how China will
implement its new commitment.
Like China, the Papua New Guinea government is also taking half-hearted steps.
Although the country is known to be quite keen on campaigning for the reduction of global
carbon emissions and was one of the leaders in campaigning for the Reduce Carbon Emission
from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) program with Costa Rica at COP 11 in 2005
Mellick (2010: 359), Papua New Guinea does not seem to really want to fight environmental
degradation in its territory, but is only eyeing financial benefits from the program. Papua New
Guinea is considered to have no legal instruments that truly support the implementation of
REDD, in addition to the absence of a clear implementation mechanism and qualified human
resources to implement the program. As a result, instead of getting benefits, the Papua New
Guinea government has to be disappointed because until now it has not received any benefits.
It is interesting to see what Papua New Guinea's environmental laws actually look like.
The country has several laws including the Environmental Planning Act 1978, Conservation
Area Act 1978, Water Resource Act 1982, and National Parks Act 1982. Furthermore, in
1993, the Papua New Guinea government created a policy called the National Sustainable
Development Strategy after attending the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. Finally, in
2000, Papua New Guinea created a new set of laws (the New Environment Act). This law
combines the laws that came before it (Mowbray & Duguman 2006). The aim is to balance
environmental management and conservation in the country.
Despite the many laws protecting the environment, the Papua New Guinea government
has been unable to withstand the onslaught of multinational corporations. Kinley and Tadaki
(2003), notes how Papua New Guinea's parliament had to pass another legal instrument, the
Ok Tedi Mine Continuation Act in 2001, to restore the good name of BHP Billiton, which had
previously been accused of environmental destruction and human rights abuses in the region.
For Kinley and Tadaki, this shows how the country continues to be in the shadow of
multinational corporations. It also signifies that a multitude of laws and regulations do not
guarantee the preservation of a country's environment if they are only half-heartedly
implemented.
Conclusion
Globalization, which is marked by the movement of ideas, goods, people and technology, on
the one hand has brought blessings to many people from various nations and countries.
However, it cannot be denied that globalization also brings threats to them. As this paper
shows, globalization, especially in the mining sector, tends to have a negative impact on
environmental sustainability. Taking the case of the mining sector in two Asia Pacific
countries, namely China and Papua New Guinea, the expansion and exploitation of nature has
resulted in environmental degradation and in turn threatens human security in the two
countries.
Historically, on the one hand, environmental degradation in China and Papua New
Guinea began with the influx of foreign capital from developed countries to developing
countries, characterized by the presence of multinational companies that aim to seek
maximum profit. On the other hand, the governments of the countries concerned welcomed
the arrival of these multinational companies. In the mining sector, for example, the arrival of
multinational companies is even facilitated by state policies such as in China known as the
open door policy and in Papua New Guinea with the national development strategy.
Gradually, the number of multinational companies is increasing. As a result, environmental
damage is increasingly inevitable. Some of the forms of damage found include deforestation,
desertification, soil, water and air pollution.
In turn, this environmental destruction threatens human security. So far, there has been
some evidence of this threat. In China, the activities of multinational mining companies have
resulted in the destruction of forests, contamination of rivers, soil and air, which has led to
respiratory and digestive diseases, and reduced food availability for local communities. In
addition, there have been reports of social conflicts in the areas where these multinationals
operate. The same is true in Papua New Guinea. Mining activities have contaminated the land
and water where local people live depend on for their livelihoods. Furthermore, the presence
of the mining company threatens the food security of the population and ignites conflicts
between local residents there.
Actually, this problem can be solved through government policy. Unfortunately, existing
policies are half-heartedly implemented. To this day, there is no seriousness from the
governments of the two countries. Both China and Papua New Guinea actually have quite a
lot of legal instruments that regulate the relationship between economic activity and
environmental conservation. However, these tools are not enough to overcome the problems
of environmental degradation in their respective countries. Therefore, the commitment to
implement existing environmental policies needs to be wholehearted. Otherwise,
environmental degradation and threats to human security in the two countries will continue to
occur.
Globalization of Mining: The Case of China and Papua New Guinea
This section will focus on the globalization of the mining sector in two Asia-Pacific countries,
China and Papua New Guinea. It is believed that these sectors have a negative impact on the
environment and threaten human security in their respective regions.
Since Deng Xiao Ping became the number one person in China, the country immediately
implemented an open door policy for foreign investors and ended the era of China's economic
closure for 300 years (Tantri, 2006: 50). Since then, China has undergone a rapid economic
transformation. Starting from government policies that opened up opportunities for
multinational companies to carry out economic activities in the country, China then recorded
itself as a country with the third largest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the world (Liu and
Diamond 2005: 1180). Not only that, according to Walley and Xin (2007), China is even
listed as the highest-ranked country with Foreign Direct Investment, leaving the United States
in second place. This illustrates how China is very open to globalization by providing
opportunities for global economic agents to invest in the country.
One of the most attractive sectors for multinational companies is mining. Based on a
study conducted by Nolan and Zhang (2002), some of the multinational mining companies
investing in China are Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton, and Anglo-American. Later came the names
Eldorado Gold Mining, Jingshan and Sino Gold Mining. Eldorado and Jingshan are Canadian-
owned corporations. Eldorado operates in Tanjiangshan and Jinfeng, while Jingshan has
operated in Inner Mongolia and Ganshu Province since 2007. The corporation has two
business concentrations, namely gold and diamonds. Meanwhile, Sino, an Australian
company, concentrates its operations in Jiling, Heliongjian, Guizou, and Shaanxi Provinces on
gold exploration. In addition, domestic government-owned corporations have also begun to
proliferate with exploration mechanisms no different from multinational companies.
In Papua New Guinea, multinational corporations only arrived in the early 20th century.
However, exploration of the country's natural resources had been going on since the late 19th
century by European miners (Banks, 1993: 315), albeit in a simple form. Rio Tinto was the
first company to conduct mining activities in the country, especially on Bouganville Island
and later on Lihir Island. In the following years, several other multinational companies such
as BHP Billiton and Newmont also entered Papua New Guinea and concentrated their
exploration in Ok Tedi, Woodlark and Tolukuma. The presence of these multinationals
showed how close the government was to them. Recognizing this closeness, the government
prepared policy tools to perpetuate the entry of these corporations through the National
Development Strategy.
This strategy contains instructions on how to bring multinational companies on the
economic stage of Papua New Guinea as it is believed that their presence will generate huge
profits for the country. Evidently, more and more multinational companies have since
invested in Papua New Guinea. As a result, since 1986, two-thirds of the country's economy
has been supported by foreign investment (Daniel and Sims in Banks, 1993: 318-319) with
mining being the most reliable sector. It would not be wrong to say that Papua New Guinea's
economy is highly dependent on the presence of these multinational mining companies.
Environmental degradation
Miracles are happening in China thanks to Deng Xiao Ping's leadership touch. Since the last
30 years, the country's economic growth has almost always been above 8 percent. This is due
to the tremendous pace of industry and trade in China after integrating with the world
economy. However, it seems that the country has to pay a heavy price for its economic
achievements with its impact on the environment. Based on a study conducted by Duan
Yonghou et al (1998 in Wang, 2004), it was stated that the cost of environmental damage due
to industrial activities in China reached 283 trillion yuan per year. According to Wang (2004),
one of the biggest contributors to the damage is from the mining sector which causes damage
to soil, water, air and forests.
Based on a study conducted by Liu et al (2002) in Shaanxi province, mining activities
have damaged soil conditions in several areas namely Yulin, Shenmu, Fugu, Hengshan,
Jingbian, and Dingbian. As a result, the land in these areas has been desertified, which has led
to increasingly limited land use. In addition, desertification also results in the fragile condition
of the ecosystem in the area. Not only in Shaanxi, this kind of condition also occurs in other
Chinese provinces. Actually, mining does not only lead to desertification, but also
deforestation. This deforestation then spurs an increase in the frequency of floods and
landslides, especially in the western part of the country (Wang, 2004:166). While many
debate the relationship between deforestation and flooding, Wang remains convinced that
there is a strong causal relationship between the two.
The activities of mining corporations also pollute water. Evidently, in China, the
industrial waste of mining corporations has poisoned the water there, including that in the
river. According to Li (2006), in 2002 alone, mining waste in China had reached 265.4
million tons. This number is predicted to continue to grow if the mining industry, along with
other industries, continues to boost its activities. Later, due to the large demand for energy
from this industrial sector, China was building a mega hydroelectric power project at Lancang
Jiang. This has drawn protests from neighboring countries because it is considered to damage
the environment in their countries, especially countries around the Mekong river basin (Goh,
2009).
Furthermore, China's air and forests are also threatened by mining activities. In addition
to holding the record for the highest GDP in the world, China also holds the record for being a
major producer of gas greenhouse gases in the world. The country recorded 2.8 million metric
tons of carbon dioxide emissions in 2000 (Liu & Diamond, 2005: 1181). The mining industry
has been blamed as one of the main contributors to air pollution. In the forestry sector, mining
activities have cut down millions of trees and deforested several mountain ranges. With the
damage in these two sectors, China is considered to have accelerated the rise of the earth's
temperature, which also means causing extreme climate change.
In Papua New Guinea, environmental damage from mining also occurs and tends to be
even more severe. According to information obtained by Evans et al (2002), in Ok Tedi, BHP
Billiton has disposed of 80,000 tons of waste per day. This has been going on since the
corporation first started its activities. As a result, the Ok Tedi river changed its color from
clear to brownish, and many animals died from the toxic waste. In fact, before the arrival of
the corporation, the river was filled with fish that became the source of livelihood for the local
community. However, as the river became polluted, the fish disappeared. In addition, on-site
mining activities also eroded the forest to the riverbank (Kirsch, 1996: 1-3).
The environmental damage on Bougainville Island is no less severe. There are around
4000 hectares of land damaged by mining waste. As a result, forests, rivers, bays, and even
the air on the island have been affected. Chemical mining waste is believed to be the main
factor that caused the forests around the mining site to die, the rivers (Jaba and Kawarong)
and Empress Augusta Bay to be polluted, and the air on the island to become dirty. Based on
a study conducted by Gillespie (1996), there are at least 300 hectares of forest damaged by
Bougainville mining activities. The polluted air is caused by a mixture of dust and carbon
emissions from machinery.
Some Threats to Human Security
As described in the literature review, the behavior of multinational corporations in the era of
globalization has now had a serious impact on the environment, which in turn threatens the
security of many people. It is believed that the increase in the earth's temperature to 6 degrees
over the next 100 years will reduce world food production by 60 percent (History, 2010).
According to some scientists, in addition to scarcity of food resources, social conflicts and
chronic diseases are also cited as real threats from environmental degradation.
Based on data from the Food Agricultural Organization (2010), the increasing frequency
of floods has resulted in the destruction of 13 million hectares of crop land in China. The
areas most affected by the floods are Yunnan, Sichuan, Guizhou, Hubei, Chongqing, Anhui,
Jiangxi, Guanxi, Guangdong, Hunnan, Gansu, and Shaanxi. In the next few years, China is
predicted to continue experiencing similar disasters given the country's rapid economic
growth. In addition, climate change has also begun to show its threat. Although food
production in China as a whole is predicted to remain relatively stable until the end of 2010,
wheat production shows otherwise. By the end of 2010, there will be a one percent decline in
wheat production from 115,121 tons to 114,000 tons.
In addition, social conflicts are also threatening China. As Ho (2006) points out, as the
country's forests are depleted by economic activity, social conflicts have begun to emerge
everywhere. China's rural communities are often involved in disputes over forest ownership
with certain companies. The Chinese government is struggling to deal with this. Rules have
been made regarding the relationship between the government, companies and communities.
However, these regulations do not work well in the field. Furthermore, conflicts do not only
occur among the Chinese people but also involve other surrounding countries. Laos, Thailand,
Cambodia and Vietnam are among those affected by the construction of a hydroelectric power
plant in Lancangjiang, Yunnan (Goh, 2009: 1). This power plant is planned to be used to
supply industrial needs in China.
Another impact is disease. As a result of the high levels of air pollution in China, the
population develops respiratory, heart and lung cancer. It has even been reported that
pollution in China has resulted in thousands of deaths in the country each year. The same goes
for water pollution. Notably, around 500 million China's population no longer has access to
clean water. Although the government has launched the construction of giant dams to obtain
clean water, China, especially in the north, still suffers from pollution and lack of clean water.
According to Kahn and Yardley (2007), it has been approximately 60,000 people died from
diarrheal diseases due to this water pollution.
Meanwhile, in Papua New Guinea, resource depletion due to mining activities is also
evident. As stated by Bhavnani (2009), based on the results of his study in the Porgera area,
water contaminated by mining company toxins and waste has resulted in the loss of some
agricultural land in the area. This was followed by a reduction in agricultural production,
leading to food shortages in the country. In addition, the climate change that was predicted to
threaten the country has so far become a reality. Evidently, the existing rainfall has affected
the amount of agricultural production. In the future, as predicted by Bourke and Harwood
(2009), climate conditions will be much more extreme, characterized by rising sea levels and
increasingly erratic rainfall.
The country's problems are exacerbated by social conflict. Local communities in Porgera,
for example, oppose the existence of mining corporations because they destroy the
environment in which they live. Not only that, the existence of these corporations has also
sparked conflicts among the local communities themselves. According to Banks (2008), the
cause is that on the one hand there are community groups that receive benefits from the
company and on the other hand there are those who only receive losses from the activities of
the mining company. Although there are other views on this issue, it cannot be denied that the
presence of the company increases the possibility of conflict.
Like China, Papua New Guinea is also threatened with chronic disease. So far, mining
company waste in the country has caused a variety of diseases including lung and bladder
disease. According to Kepore et al (2008:12), pollution from the company's waste is the main
cause of these diseases, as in their study of local communities in Ok Tedi. Communities are
also fearful of other diseases in the future. As in Ok Tedi, the people of Lihirian also
experience the same fear. They suffer from diseases caused by multinational mining
companies in their area (McIntyre et al 2005: 88).
Government Policy
There is an impression that these two countries tend not to be serious or half-hearted when
addressing environmental issues and their threats. This impression is quite reasonable given
the absence of a meaningful response from the governments of the two countries in resolving
these issues. The Chinese government, for example, with its fantastic economic growth rate, is
not necessarily willing to reduce pollution, such as greenhouse gas emissions, due to
economic activity in the country. Meanwhile, Papua New Guinea tends to play it safe by
implementing half-hearted environmental policies. It will be interesting to see how the
governments of these two countries show their commitment to the environmental problems
faced by their respective countries.
In China, almost every state policy is linked to the economy. In other words, if it is not
economically oriented, it is almost impossible to become a state policy. As a result, these
policies tend to ignore other aspects of life such as environmental sustainability. One example
is the Environmental Protection Law (EPL) created in 1979. Although environmental in
nature, it is actually not used to preserve the environment, but to carry out what is referred to
as 'decollectivization' which means the revocation of common property rights to resources
(Muldavin, 2000: 253-254). 'Decollectivization' marks a shift in the status of resource
ownership rights from the collective to the individual. Instead of aiming for environmental
sustainability, the existing legal instruments open up opportunities for the operation of market
mechanisms in resource management, which in turn damage the country's environment in the
future.
In addition to the EPL, there are several other sets of laws. Some of them are the Water
Pollution Prevention Law of 1982, Forest Law 1984, Grassland Law 1985, and Air Pollution
Law 1987. Unfortunately, these legal instruments are only a mere formality in order to create
the impression that the Chinese government is very committed to protecting the environment
and in line with global commitments to preserve the environment. In reality, the Chinese
government cannot resist the ambition to continuously drive the country's economic sector by
utilizing as many economic opportunities as possible, including the influx of foreign
investment. As a result, despite having a fairly comprehensive set of laws, the country has
proven unable to control the environmental damage that arises from these economic activities
(Beyer, 2006: 209).
Until the 2009 Copenhagen Summit (COP 15), the Chinese government showed its lack
of seriousness towards environmental conservation by not signing the agreement at the
meeting. The reason is, for China, economic growth is the main target. With an average
growth of eight percent each year, China is optimistic that it will become the only global
economic power in the future, beating the United States, provided that the country's economic
growth must be stable without any interruption. Therefore, reducing greenhouse gas emissions
by 40 to 45 percent per unit of GDP by 2020 (Bodansky, 2010: 2), as requested by the
meeting, is considered a stumbling block to China's target. However, at COP 16 held in
Cancun at the end of 2010, China had already shown its good faith. The country, along with
the United States, which is known as the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gases, has
agreed to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases. This means that both China and America
are obliged to reduce their economic activities. It will be interesting to see how China will
implement its new commitment.
Like China, the Papua New Guinea government is also taking half-hearted steps.
Although the country is known to be quite keen on campaigning for the reduction of global
carbon emissions and was one of the leaders in campaigning for the Reduce Carbon Emission
from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) program with Costa Rica at COP 11 in 2005
Mellick (2010: 359), Papua New Guinea does not seem to really want to fight environmental
degradation in its territory, but is only eyeing financial benefits from the program. Papua New
Guinea is considered to have no legal instruments that truly support the implementation of
REDD, in addition to the absence of a clear implementation mechanism and qualified human
resources to implement the program. As a result, instead of getting benefits, the Papua New
Guinea government has to be disappointed because until now it has not received any benefits.
It is interesting to see what Papua New Guinea's environmental laws actually look like.
The country has several laws including the Environmental Planning Act 1978, Conservation
Area Act 1978, Water Resource Act 1982, and National Parks Act 1982. Furthermore, in
1993, the Papua New Guinea government created a policy called the National Sustainable
Development Strategy after attending the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. Finally, in
2000, Papua New Guinea created a new set of laws (the New Environment Act). This law
combines the laws that came before it (Mowbray & Duguman 2006). The aim is to balance
environmental management and conservation in the country.
Despite the many laws protecting the environment, the Papua New Guinea government
has been unable to withstand the onslaught of multinational corporations. Kinley and Tadaki
(2003), notes how Papua New Guinea's parliament had to pass another legal instrument, the
Ok Tedi Mine Continuation Act in 2001, to restore the good name of BHP Billiton, which had
previously been accused of environmental destruction and human rights abuses in the region.
For Kinley and Tadaki, this shows how the country continues to be in the shadow of
multinational corporations. It also signifies that a multitude of laws and regulations do not
guarantee the preservation of a country's environment if they are only half-heartedly
implemented.
Conclusion
Globalization, which is marked by the movement of ideas, goods, people and technology, on
the one hand has brought blessings to many people from various nations and countries.
However, it cannot be denied that globalization also brings threats to them. As this paper
shows, globalization, especially in the mining sector, tends to have a negative impact on
environmental sustainability. Taking the case of the mining sector in two Asia Pacific
countries, namely China and Papua New Guinea, the expansion and exploitation of nature has
resulted in environmental degradation and in turn threatens human security in the two
countries.
Historically, on the one hand, environmental degradation in China and Papua New
Guinea began with the influx of foreign capital from developed countries to developing
countries, characterized by the presence of multinational companies that aim to seek
maximum profit. On the other hand, the governments of the countries concerned welcomed
the arrival of these multinational companies. In the mining sector, for example, the arrival of
multinational companies is even facilitated by state policies such as in China known as the
open door policy and in Papua New Guinea with the national development strategy.
Gradually, the number of multinational companies is increasing. As a result, environmental
damage is increasingly inevitable. Some of the forms of damage found include deforestation,
desertification, soil, water and air pollution.
In turn, this environmental destruction threatens human security. So far, there has been
some evidence of this threat. In China, the activities of multinational mining companies have
resulted in the destruction of forests, contamination of rivers, soil and air, which has led to
respiratory and digestive diseases, and reduced food availability for local communities. In
addition, there have been reports of social conflicts in the areas where these multinationals
operate. The same is true in Papua New Guinea. Mining activities have contaminated the land
and water where local people live depend on for their livelihoods. Furthermore, the presence
of the mining company threatens the food security of the population and ignites conflicts
between local residents there.
Actually, this problem can be solved through government policy. Unfortunately, existing
policies are half-heartedly implemented. To this day, there is no seriousness from the
governments of the two countries. Both China and Papua New Guinea actually have quite a
lot of legal instruments that regulate the relationship between economic activity and
environmental conservation. However, these tools are not enough to overcome the problems
of environmental degradation in their respective countries. Therefore, the commitment to
implement existing environmental policies needs to be wholehearted. Otherwise,
environmental degradation and threats to human security in the two countries will continue to
occur.
Globalization of Mining: The Case of China and Papua New Guinea
This section will focus on the globalization of the mining sector in two Asia-Pacific countries,
China and Papua New Guinea. It is believed that these sectors have a negative impact on the
environment and threaten human security in their respective regions.
Since Deng Xiao Ping became the number one person in China, the country immediately
implemented an open door policy for foreign investors and ended the era of China's economic
closure for 300 years (Tantri, 2006: 50). Since then, China has undergone a rapid economic
transformation. Starting from government policies that opened up opportunities for
multinational companies to carry out economic activities in the country, China then recorded
itself as a country with the third largest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the world (Liu and
Diamond 2005: 1180). Not only that, according to Walley and Xin (2007), China is even
listed as the highest-ranked country with Foreign Direct Investment, leaving the United States
in second place. This illustrates how China is very open to globalization by providing
opportunities for global economic agents to invest in the country.
One of the most attractive sectors for multinational companies is mining. Based on a
study conducted by Nolan and Zhang (2002), some of the multinational mining companies
investing in China are Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton, and Anglo-American. Later came the names
Eldorado Gold Mining, Jingshan and Sino Gold Mining. Eldorado and Jingshan are Canadian-
owned corporations. Eldorado operates in Tanjiangshan and Jinfeng, while Jingshan has
operated in Inner Mongolia and Ganshu Province since 2007. The corporation has two
business concentrations, namely gold and diamonds. Meanwhile, Sino, an Australian
company, concentrates its operations in Jiling, Heliongjian, Guizou, and Shaanxi Provinces on
gold exploration. In addition, domestic government-owned corporations have also begun to
proliferate with exploration mechanisms no different from multinational companies.
In Papua New Guinea, multinational corporations only arrived in the early 20th century.
However, exploration of the country's natural resources had been going on since the late 19th
century by European miners (Banks, 1993: 315), albeit in a simple form. Rio Tinto was the
first company to conduct mining activities in the country, especially on Bouganville Island
and later on Lihir Island. In the following years, several other multinational companies such
as BHP Billiton and Newmont also entered Papua New Guinea and concentrated their
exploration in Ok Tedi, Woodlark and Tolukuma. The presence of these multinationals
showed how close the government was to them. Recognizing this closeness, the government
prepared policy tools to perpetuate the entry of these corporations through the National
Development Strategy.
This strategy contains instructions on how to bring multinational companies on the
economic stage of Papua New Guinea as it is believed that their presence will generate huge
profits for the country. Evidently, more and more multinational companies have since
invested in Papua New Guinea. As a result, since 1986, two-thirds of the country's economy
has been supported by foreign investment (Daniel and Sims in Banks, 1993: 318-319) with
mining being the most reliable sector. It would not be wrong to say that Papua New Guinea's
economy is highly dependent on the presence of these multinational mining companies.
Environmental degradation
Miracles are happening in China thanks to Deng Xiao Ping's leadership touch. Since the last
30 years, the country's economic growth has almost always been above 8 percent. This is due
to the tremendous pace of industry and trade in China after integrating with the world
economy. However, it seems that the country has to pay a heavy price for its economic
achievements with its impact on the environment. Based on a study conducted by Duan
Yonghou et al (1998 in Wang, 2004), it was stated that the cost of environmental damage due
to industrial activities in China reached 283 trillion yuan per year. According to Wang (2004),
one of the biggest contributors to the damage is from the mining sector which causes damage
to soil, water, air and forests.
Based on a study conducted by Liu et al (2002) in Shaanxi province, mining activities
have damaged soil conditions in several areas namely Yulin, Shenmu, Fugu, Hengshan,
Jingbian, and Dingbian. As a result, the land in these areas has been desertified, which has led
to increasingly limited land use. In addition, desertification also results in the fragile condition
of the ecosystem in the area. Not only in Shaanxi, this kind of condition also occurs in other
Chinese provinces. Actually, mining does not only lead to desertification, but also
deforestation. This deforestation then spurs an increase in the frequency of floods and
landslides, especially in the western part of the country (Wang, 2004:166). While many
debate the relationship between deforestation and flooding, Wang remains convinced that
there is a strong causal relationship between the two.
The activities of mining corporations also pollute water. Evidently, in China, the
industrial waste of mining corporations has poisoned the water there, including that in the
river. According to Li (2006), in 2002 alone, mining waste in China had reached 265.4
million tons. This number is predicted to continue to grow if the mining industry, along with
other industries, continues to boost its activities. Later, due to the large demand for energy
from this industrial sector, China was building a mega hydroelectric power project at Lancang
Jiang. This has drawn protests from neighboring countries because it is considered to damage
the environment in their countries, especially countries around the Mekong river basin (Goh,
2009).
Furthermore, China's air and forests are also threatened by mining activities. In addition
to holding the record for the highest GDP in the world, China also holds the record for being a
major producer of gas greenhouse gases in the world. The country recorded 2.8 million metric
tons of carbon dioxide emissions in 2000 (Liu & Diamond, 2005: 1181). The mining industry
has been blamed as one of the main contributors to air pollution. In the forestry sector, mining
activities have cut down millions of trees and deforested several mountain ranges. With the
damage in these two sectors, China is considered to have accelerated the rise of the earth's
temperature, which also means causing extreme climate change.
In Papua New Guinea, environmental damage from mining also occurs and tends to be
even more severe. According to information obtained by Evans et al (2002), in Ok Tedi, BHP
Billiton has disposed of 80,000 tons of waste per day. This has been going on since the
corporation first started its activities. As a result, the Ok Tedi river changed its color from
clear to brownish, and many animals died from the toxic waste. In fact, before the arrival of
the corporation, the river was filled with fish that became the source of livelihood for the local
community. However, as the river became polluted, the fish disappeared. In addition, on-site
mining activities also eroded the forest to the riverbank (Kirsch, 1996: 1-3).
The environmental damage on Bougainville Island is no less severe. There are around
4000 hectares of land damaged by mining waste. As a result, forests, rivers, bays, and even
the air on the island have been affected. Chemical mining waste is believed to be the main
factor that caused the forests around the mining site to die, the rivers (Jaba and Kawarong)
and Empress Augusta Bay to be polluted, and the air on the island to become dirty. Based on
a study conducted by Gillespie (1996), there are at least 300 hectares of forest damaged by
Bougainville mining activities. The polluted air is caused by a mixture of dust and carbon
emissions from machinery.
Some Threats to Human Security
As described in the literature review, the behavior of multinational corporations in the era of
globalization has now had a serious impact on the environment, which in turn threatens the
security of many people. It is believed that the increase in the earth's temperature to 6 degrees
over the next 100 years will reduce world food production by 60 percent (History, 2010).
According to some scientists, in addition to scarcity of food resources, social conflicts and
chronic diseases are also cited as real threats from environmental degradation.
Based on data from the Food Agricultural Organization (2010), the increasing frequency
of floods has resulted in the destruction of 13 million hectares of crop land in China. The
areas most affected by the floods are Yunnan, Sichuan, Guizhou, Hubei, Chongqing, Anhui,
Jiangxi, Guanxi, Guangdong, Hunnan, Gansu, and Shaanxi. In the next few years, China is
predicted to continue experiencing similar disasters given the country's rapid economic
growth. In addition, climate change has also begun to show its threat. Although food
production in China as a whole is predicted to remain relatively stable until the end of 2010,
wheat production shows otherwise. By the end of 2010, there will be a one percent decline in
wheat production from 115,121 tons to 114,000 tons.
In addition, social conflicts are also threatening China. As Ho (2006) points out, as the
country's forests are depleted by economic activity, social conflicts have begun to emerge
everywhere. China's rural communities are often involved in disputes over forest ownership
with certain companies. The Chinese government is struggling to deal with this. Rules have
been made regarding the relationship between the government, companies and communities.
However, these regulations do not work well in the field. Furthermore, conflicts do not only
occur among the Chinese people but also involve other surrounding countries. Laos, Thailand,
Cambodia and Vietnam are among those affected by the construction of a hydroelectric power
plant in Lancangjiang, Yunnan (Goh, 2009: 1). This power plant is planned to be used to
supply industrial needs in China.
Another impact is disease. As a result of the high levels of air pollution in China, the
population develops respiratory, heart and lung cancer. It has even been reported that
pollution in China has resulted in thousands of deaths in the country each year. The same goes
for water pollution. Notably, around 500 million China's population no longer has access to
clean water. Although the government has launched the construction of giant dams to obtain
clean water, China, especially in the north, still suffers from pollution and lack of clean water.
According to Kahn and Yardley (2007), it has been approximately 60,000 people died from
diarrheal diseases due to this water pollution.
Meanwhile, in Papua New Guinea, resource depletion due to mining activities is also
evident. As stated by Bhavnani (2009), based on the results of his study in the Porgera area,
water contaminated by mining company toxins and waste has resulted in the loss of some
agricultural land in the area. This was followed by a reduction in agricultural production,
leading to food shortages in the country. In addition, the climate change that was predicted to
threaten the country has so far become a reality. Evidently, the existing rainfall has affected
the amount of agricultural production. In the future, as predicted by Bourke and Harwood
(2009), climate conditions will be much more extreme, characterized by rising sea levels and
increasingly erratic rainfall.
The country's problems are exacerbated by social conflict. Local communities in Porgera,
for example, oppose the existence of mining corporations because they destroy the
environment in which they live. Not only that, the existence of these corporations has also
sparked conflicts among the local communities themselves. According to Banks (2008), the
cause is that on the one hand there are community groups that receive benefits from the
company and on the other hand there are those who only receive losses from the activities of
the mining company. Although there are other views on this issue, it cannot be denied that the
presence of the company increases the possibility of conflict.
Like China, Papua New Guinea is also threatened with chronic disease. So far, mining
company waste in the country has caused a variety of diseases including lung and bladder
disease. According to Kepore et al (2008:12), pollution from the company's waste is the main
cause of these diseases, as in their study of local communities in Ok Tedi. Communities are
also fearful of other diseases in the future. As in Ok Tedi, the people of Lihirian also
experience the same fear. They suffer from diseases caused by multinational mining
companies in their area (McIntyre et al 2005: 88).
Government Policy
There is an impression that these two countries tend not to be serious or half-hearted when
addressing environmental issues and their threats. This impression is quite reasonable given
the absence of a meaningful response from the governments of the two countries in resolving
these issues. The Chinese government, for example, with its fantastic economic growth rate, is
not necessarily willing to reduce pollution, such as greenhouse gas emissions, due to
economic activity in the country. Meanwhile, Papua New Guinea tends to play it safe by
implementing half-hearted environmental policies. It will be interesting to see how the
governments of these two countries show their commitment to the environmental problems
faced by their respective countries.
In China, almost every state policy is linked to the economy. In other words, if it is not
economically oriented, it is almost impossible to become a state policy. As a result, these
policies tend to ignore other aspects of life such as environmental sustainability. One example
is the Environmental Protection Law (EPL) created in 1979. Although environmental in
nature, it is actually not used to preserve the environment, but to carry out what is referred to
as 'decollectivization' which means the revocation of common property rights to resources
(Muldavin, 2000: 253-254). 'Decollectivization' marks a shift in the status of resource
ownership rights from the collective to the individual. Instead of aiming for environmental
sustainability, the existing legal instruments open up opportunities for the operation of market
mechanisms in resource management, which in turn damage the country's environment in the
future.
In addition to the EPL, there are several other sets of laws. Some of them are the Water
Pollution Prevention Law of 1982, Forest Law 1984, Grassland Law 1985, and Air Pollution
Law 1987. Unfortunately, these legal instruments are only a mere formality in order to create
the impression that the Chinese government is very committed to protecting the environment
and in line with global commitments to preserve the environment. In reality, the Chinese
government cannot resist the ambition to continuously drive the country's economic sector by
utilizing as many economic opportunities as possible, including the influx of foreign
investment. As a result, despite having a fairly comprehensive set of laws, the country has
proven unable to control the environmental damage that arises from these economic activities
(Beyer, 2006: 209).
Until the 2009 Copenhagen Summit (COP 15), the Chinese government showed its lack
of seriousness towards environmental conservation by not signing the agreement at the
meeting. The reason is, for China, economic growth is the main target. With an average
growth of eight percent each year, China is optimistic that it will become the only global
economic power in the future, beating the United States, provided that the country's economic
growth must be stable without any interruption. Therefore, reducing greenhouse gas emissions
by 40 to 45 percent per unit of GDP by 2020 (Bodansky, 2010: 2), as requested by the
meeting, is considered a stumbling block to China's target. However, at COP 16 held in
Cancun at the end of 2010, China had already shown its good faith. The country, along with
the United States, which is known as the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gases, has
agreed to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases. This means that both China and America
are obliged to reduce their economic activities. It will be interesting to see how China will
implement its new commitment.
Like China, the Papua New Guinea government is also taking half-hearted steps.
Although the country is known to be quite keen on campaigning for the reduction of global
carbon emissions and was one of the leaders in campaigning for the Reduce Carbon Emission
from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) program with Costa Rica at COP 11 in 2005
Mellick (2010: 359), Papua New Guinea does not seem to really want to fight environmental
degradation in its territory, but is only eyeing financial benefits from the program. Papua New
Guinea is considered to have no legal instruments that truly support the implementation of
REDD, in addition to the absence of a clear implementation mechanism and qualified human
resources to implement the program. As a result, instead of getting benefits, the Papua New
Guinea government has to be disappointed because until now it has not received any benefits.
It is interesting to see what Papua New Guinea's environmental laws actually look like.
The country has several laws including the Environmental Planning Act 1978, Conservation
Area Act 1978, Water Resource Act 1982, and National Parks Act 1982. Furthermore, in
1993, the Papua New Guinea government created a policy called the National Sustainable
Development Strategy after attending the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. Finally, in
2000, Papua New Guinea created a new set of laws (the New Environment Act). This law
combines the laws that came before it (Mowbray & Duguman 2006). The aim is to balance
environmental management and conservation in the country.
Despite the many laws protecting the environment, the Papua New Guinea government
has been unable to withstand the onslaught of multinational corporations. Kinley and Tadaki
(2003), notes how Papua New Guinea's parliament had to pass another legal instrument, the
Ok Tedi Mine Continuation Act in 2001, to restore the good name of BHP Billiton, which had
previously been accused of environmental destruction and human rights abuses in the region.
For Kinley and Tadaki, this shows how the country continues to be in the shadow of
multinational corporations. It also signifies that a multitude of laws and regulations do not
guarantee the preservation of a country's environment if they are only half-heartedly
implemented.
Conclusion
Globalization, which is marked by the movement of ideas, goods, people and technology, on
the one hand has brought blessings to many people from various nations and countries.
However, it cannot be denied that globalization also brings threats to them. As this paper
shows, globalization, especially in the mining sector, tends to have a negative impact on
environmental sustainability. Taking the case of the mining sector in two Asia Pacific
countries, namely China and Papua New Guinea, the expansion and exploitation of nature has
resulted in environmental degradation and in turn threatens human security in the two
countries.
Historically, on the one hand, environmental degradation in China and Papua New
Guinea began with the influx of foreign capital from developed countries to developing
countries, characterized by the presence of multinational companies that aim to seek
maximum profit. On the other hand, the governments of the countries concerned welcomed
the arrival of these multinational companies. In the mining sector, for example, the arrival of
multinational companies is even facilitated by state policies such as in China known as the
open door policy and in Papua New Guinea with the national development strategy.
Gradually, the number of multinational companies is increasing. As a result, environmental
damage is increasingly inevitable. Some of the forms of damage found include deforestation,
desertification, soil, water and air pollution.
In turn, this environmental destruction threatens human security. So far, there has been
some evidence of this threat. In China, the activities of multinational mining companies have
resulted in the destruction of forests, contamination of rivers, soil and air, which has led to
respiratory and digestive diseases, and reduced food availability for local communities. In
addition, there have been reports of social conflicts in the areas where these multinationals
operate. The same is true in Papua New Guinea. Mining activities have contaminated the land
and water where local people live depend on for their livelihoods. Furthermore, the presence
of the mining company threatens the food security of the population and ignites conflicts
between local residents there.
Actually, this problem can be solved through government policy. Unfortunately, existing
policies are half-heartedly implemented. To this day, there is no seriousness from the
governments of the two countries. Both China and Papua New Guinea actually have quite a
lot of legal instruments that regulate the relationship between economic activity and
environmental conservation. However, these tools are not enough to overcome the problems
of environmental degradation in their respective countries. Therefore, the commitment to
implement existing environmental policies needs to be wholehearted. Otherwise,
environmental degradation and threats to human security in the two countries will continue to
occur.
Globalization of Mining: The Case of China and Papua New Guinea
This section will focus on the globalization of the mining sector in two Asia-Pacific countries,
China and Papua New Guinea. It is believed that these sectors have a negative impact on the
environment and threaten human security in their respective regions.
Since Deng Xiao Ping became the number one person in China, the country immediately
implemented an open door policy for foreign investors and ended the era of China's economic
closure for 300 years (Tantri, 2006: 50). Since then, China has undergone a rapid economic
transformation. Starting from government policies that opened up opportunities for
multinational companies to carry out economic activities in the country, China then recorded
itself as a country with the third largest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the world (Liu and
Diamond 2005: 1180). Not only that, according to Walley and Xin (2007), China is even
listed as the highest-ranked country with Foreign Direct Investment, leaving the United States
in second place. This illustrates how China is very open to globalization by providing
opportunities for global economic agents to invest in the country.
One of the most attractive sectors for multinational companies is mining. Based on a
study conducted by Nolan and Zhang (2002), some of the multinational mining companies
investing in China are Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton, and Anglo-American. Later came the names
Eldorado Gold Mining, Jingshan and Sino Gold Mining. Eldorado and Jingshan are Canadian-
owned corporations. Eldorado operates in Tanjiangshan and Jinfeng, while Jingshan has
operated in Inner Mongolia and Ganshu Province since 2007. The corporation has two
business concentrations, namely gold and diamonds. Meanwhile, Sino, an Australian
company, concentrates its operations in Jiling, Heliongjian, Guizou, and Shaanxi Provinces on
gold exploration. In addition, domestic government-owned corporations have also begun to
proliferate with exploration mechanisms no different from multinational companies.
In Papua New Guinea, multinational corporations only arrived in the early 20th century.
However, exploration of the country's natural resources had been going on since the late 19th
century by European miners (Banks, 1993: 315), albeit in a simple form. Rio Tinto was the
first company to conduct mining activities in the country, especially on Bouganville Island
and later on Lihir Island. In the following years, several other multinational companies such
as BHP Billiton and Newmont also entered Papua New Guinea and concentrated their
exploration in Ok Tedi, Woodlark and Tolukuma. The presence of these multinationals
showed how close the government was to them. Recognizing this closeness, the government
prepared policy tools to perpetuate the entry of these corporations through the National
Development Strategy.
This strategy contains instructions on how to bring multinational companies on the
economic stage of Papua New Guinea as it is believed that their presence will generate huge
profits for the country. Evidently, more and more multinational companies have since
invested in Papua New Guinea. As a result, since 1986, two-thirds of the country's economy
has been supported by foreign investment (Daniel and Sims in Banks, 1993: 318-319) with
mining being the most reliable sector. It would not be wrong to say that Papua New Guinea's
economy is highly dependent on the presence of these multinational mining companies.
Environmental degradation
Miracles are happening in China thanks to Deng Xiao Ping's leadership touch. Since the last
30 years, the country's economic growth has almost always been above 8 percent. This is due
to the tremendous pace of industry and trade in China after integrating with the world
economy. However, it seems that the country has to pay a heavy price for its economic
achievements with its impact on the environment. Based on a study conducted by Duan
Yonghou et al (1998 in Wang, 2004), it was stated that the cost of environmental damage due
to industrial activities in China reached 283 trillion yuan per year. According to Wang (2004),
one of the biggest contributors to the damage is from the mining sector which causes damage
to soil, water, air and forests.
Based on a study conducted by Liu et al (2002) in Shaanxi province, mining activities
have damaged soil conditions in several areas namely Yulin, Shenmu, Fugu, Hengshan,
Jingbian, and Dingbian. As a result, the land in these areas has been desertified, which has led
to increasingly limited land use. In addition, desertification also results in the fragile condition
of the ecosystem in the area. Not only in Shaanxi, this kind of condition also occurs in other
Chinese provinces. Actually, mining does not only lead to desertification, but also
deforestation. This deforestation then spurs an increase in the frequency of floods and
landslides, especially in the western part of the country (Wang, 2004:166). While many
debate the relationship between deforestation and flooding, Wang remains convinced that
there is a strong causal relationship between the two.
The activities of mining corporations also pollute water. Evidently, in China, the
industrial waste of mining corporations has poisoned the water there, including that in the
river. According to Li (2006), in 2002 alone, mining waste in China had reached 265.4
million tons. This number is predicted to continue to grow if the mining industry, along with
other industries, continues to boost its activities. Later, due to the large demand for energy
from this industrial sector, China was building a mega hydroelectric power project at Lancang
Jiang. This has drawn protests from neighboring countries because it is considered to damage
the environment in their countries, especially countries around the Mekong river basin (Goh,
2009).
Furthermore, China's air and forests are also threatened by mining activities. In addition
to holding the record for the highest GDP in the world, China also holds the record for being a
major producer of gas greenhouse gases in the world. The country recorded 2.8 million metric
tons of carbon dioxide emissions in 2000 (Liu & Diamond, 2005: 1181). The mining industry
has been blamed as one of the main contributors to air pollution. In the forestry sector, mining
activities have cut down millions of trees and deforested several mountain ranges. With the
damage in these two sectors, China is considered to have accelerated the rise of the earth's
temperature, which also means causing extreme climate change.
In Papua New Guinea, environmental damage from mining also occurs and tends to be
even more severe. According to information obtained by Evans et al (2002), in Ok Tedi, BHP
Billiton has disposed of 80,000 tons of waste per day. This has been going on since the
corporation first started its activities. As a result, the Ok Tedi river changed its color from
clear to brownish, and many animals died from the toxic waste. In fact, before the arrival of
the corporation, the river was filled with fish that became the source of livelihood for the local
community. However, as the river became polluted, the fish disappeared. In addition, on-site
mining activities also eroded the forest to the riverbank (Kirsch, 1996: 1-3).
The environmental damage on Bougainville Island is no less severe. There are around
4000 hectares of land damaged by mining waste. As a result, forests, rivers, bays, and even
the air on the island have been affected. Chemical mining waste is believed to be the main
factor that caused the forests around the mining site to die, the rivers (Jaba and Kawarong)
and Empress Augusta Bay to be polluted, and the air on the island to become dirty. Based on
a study conducted by Gillespie (1996), there are at least 300 hectares of forest damaged by
Bougainville mining activities. The polluted air is caused by a mixture of dust and carbon
emissions from machinery.
Some Threats to Human Security
As described in the literature review, the behavior of multinational corporations in the era of
globalization has now had a serious impact on the environment, which in turn threatens the
security of many people. It is believed that the increase in the earth's temperature to 6 degrees
over the next 100 years will reduce world food production by 60 percent (History, 2010).
According to some scientists, in addition to scarcity of food resources, social conflicts and
chronic diseases are also cited as real threats from environmental degradation.
Based on data from the Food Agricultural Organization (2010), the increasing frequency
of floods has resulted in the destruction of 13 million hectares of crop land in China. The
areas most affected by the floods are Yunnan, Sichuan, Guizhou, Hubei, Chongqing, Anhui,
Jiangxi, Guanxi, Guangdong, Hunnan, Gansu, and Shaanxi. In the next few years, China is
predicted to continue experiencing similar disasters given the country's rapid economic
growth. In addition, climate change has also begun to show its threat. Although food
production in China as a whole is predicted to remain relatively stable until the end of 2010,
wheat production shows otherwise. By the end of 2010, there will be a one percent decline in
wheat production from 115,121 tons to 114,000 tons.
In addition, social conflicts are also threatening China. As Ho (2006) points out, as the
country's forests are depleted by economic activity, social conflicts have begun to emerge
everywhere. China's rural communities are often involved in disputes over forest ownership
with certain companies. The Chinese government is struggling to deal with this. Rules have
been made regarding the relationship between the government, companies and communities.
However, these regulations do not work well in the field. Furthermore, conflicts do not only
occur among the Chinese people but also involve other surrounding countries. Laos, Thailand,
Cambodia and Vietnam are among those affected by the construction of a hydroelectric power
plant in Lancangjiang, Yunnan (Goh, 2009: 1). This power plant is planned to be used to
supply industrial needs in China.
Another impact is disease. As a result of the high levels of air pollution in China, the
population develops respiratory, heart and lung cancer. It has even been reported that
pollution in China has resulted in thousands of deaths in the country each year. The same goes
for water pollution. Notably, around 500 million China's population no longer has access to
clean water. Although the government has launched the construction of giant dams to obtain
clean water, China, especially in the north, still suffers from pollution and lack of clean water.
According to Kahn and Yardley (2007), it has been approximately 60,000 people died from
diarrheal diseases due to this water pollution.
Meanwhile, in Papua New Guinea, resource depletion due to mining activities is also
evident. As stated by Bhavnani (2009), based on the results of his study in the Porgera area,
water contaminated by mining company toxins and waste has resulted in the loss of some
agricultural land in the area. This was followed by a reduction in agricultural production,
leading to food shortages in the country. In addition, the climate change that was predicted to
threaten the country has so far become a reality. Evidently, the existing rainfall has affected
the amount of agricultural production. In the future, as predicted by Bourke and Harwood
(2009), climate conditions will be much more extreme, characterized by rising sea levels and
increasingly erratic rainfall.
The country's problems are exacerbated by social conflict. Local communities in Porgera,
for example, oppose the existence of mining corporations because they destroy the
environment in which they live. Not only that, the existence of these corporations has also
sparked conflicts among the local communities themselves. According to Banks (2008), the
cause is that on the one hand there are community groups that receive benefits from the
company and on the other hand there are those who only receive losses from the activities of
the mining company. Although there are other views on this issue, it cannot be denied that the
presence of the company increases the possibility of conflict.
Like China, Papua New Guinea is also threatened with chronic disease. So far, mining
company waste in the country has caused a variety of diseases including lung and bladder
disease. According to Kepore et al (2008:12), pollution from the company's waste is the main
cause of these diseases, as in their study of local communities in Ok Tedi. Communities are
also fearful of other diseases in the future. As in Ok Tedi, the people of Lihirian also
experience the same fear. They suffer from diseases caused by multinational mining
companies in their area (McIntyre et al 2005: 88).
Government Policy
There is an impression that these two countries tend not to be serious or half-hearted when
addressing environmental issues and their threats. This impression is quite reasonable given
the absence of a meaningful response from the governments of the two countries in resolving
these issues. The Chinese government, for example, with its fantastic economic growth rate, is
not necessarily willing to reduce pollution, such as greenhouse gas emissions, due to
economic activity in the country. Meanwhile, Papua New Guinea tends to play it safe by
implementing half-hearted environmental policies. It will be interesting to see how the
governments of these two countries show their commitment to the environmental problems
faced by their respective countries.
In China, almost every state policy is linked to the economy. In other words, if it is not
economically oriented, it is almost impossible to become a state policy. As a result, these
policies tend to ignore other aspects of life such as environmental sustainability. One example
is the Environmental Protection Law (EPL) created in 1979. Although environmental in
nature, it is actually not used to preserve the environment, but to carry out what is referred to
as 'decollectivization' which means the revocation of common property rights to resources
(Muldavin, 2000: 253-254). 'Decollectivization' marks a shift in the status of resource
ownership rights from the collective to the individual. Instead of aiming for environmental
sustainability, the existing legal instruments open up opportunities for the operation of market
mechanisms in resource management, which in turn damage the country's environment in the
future.
In addition to the EPL, there are several other sets of laws. Some of them are the Water
Pollution Prevention Law of 1982, Forest Law 1984, Grassland Law 1985, and Air Pollution
Law 1987. Unfortunately, these legal instruments are only a mere formality in order to create
the impression that the Chinese government is very committed to protecting the environment
and in line with global commitments to preserve the environment. In reality, the Chinese
government cannot resist the ambition to continuously drive the country's economic sector by
utilizing as many economic opportunities as possible, including the influx of foreign
investment. As a result, despite having a fairly comprehensive set of laws, the country has
proven unable to control the environmental damage that arises from these economic activities
(Beyer, 2006: 209).
Until the 2009 Copenhagen Summit (COP 15), the Chinese government showed its lack
of seriousness towards environmental conservation by not signing the agreement at the
meeting. The reason is, for China, economic growth is the main target. With an average
growth of eight percent each year, China is optimistic that it will become the only global
economic power in the future, beating the United States, provided that the country's economic
growth must be stable without any interruption. Therefore, reducing greenhouse gas emissions
by 40 to 45 percent per unit of GDP by 2020 (Bodansky, 2010: 2), as requested by the
meeting, is considered a stumbling block to China's target. However, at COP 16 held in
Cancun at the end of 2010, China had already shown its good faith. The country, along with
the United States, which is known as the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gases, has
agreed to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases. This means that both China and America
are obliged to reduce their economic activities. It will be interesting to see how China will
implement its new commitment.
Like China, the Papua New Guinea government is also taking half-hearted steps.
Although the country is known to be quite keen on campaigning for the reduction of global
carbon emissions and was one of the leaders in campaigning for the Reduce Carbon Emission
from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) program with Costa Rica at COP 11 in 2005
Mellick (2010: 359), Papua New Guinea does not seem to really want to fight environmental
degradation in its territory, but is only eyeing financial benefits from the program. Papua New
Guinea is considered to have no legal instruments that truly support the implementation of
REDD, in addition to the absence of a clear implementation mechanism and qualified human
resources to implement the program. As a result, instead of getting benefits, the Papua New
Guinea government has to be disappointed because until now it has not received any benefits.
It is interesting to see what Papua New Guinea's environmental laws actually look like.
The country has several laws including the Environmental Planning Act 1978, Conservation
Area Act 1978, Water Resource Act 1982, and National Parks Act 1982. Furthermore, in
1993, the Papua New Guinea government created a policy called the National Sustainable
Development Strategy after attending the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. Finally, in
2000, Papua New Guinea created a new set of laws (the New Environment Act). This law
combines the laws that came before it (Mowbray & Duguman 2006). The aim is to balance
environmental management and conservation in the country.
Despite the many laws protecting the environment, the Papua New Guinea government
has been unable to withstand the onslaught of multinational corporations. Kinley and Tadaki
(2003), notes how Papua New Guinea's parliament had to pass another legal instrument, the
Ok Tedi Mine Continuation Act in 2001, to restore the good name of BHP Billiton, which had
previously been accused of environmental destruction and human rights abuses in the region.
For Kinley and Tadaki, this shows how the country continues to be in the shadow of
multinational corporations. It also signifies that a multitude of laws and regulations do not
guarantee the preservation of a country's environment if they are only half-heartedly
implemented.
Conclusion
Globalization, which is marked by the movement of ideas, goods, people and technology, on
the one hand has brought blessings to many people from various nations and countries.
However, it cannot be denied that globalization also brings threats to them. As this paper
shows, globalization, especially in the mining sector, tends to have a negative impact on
environmental sustainability. Taking the case of the mining sector in two Asia Pacific
countries, namely China and Papua New Guinea, the expansion and exploitation of nature has
resulted in environmental degradation and in turn threatens human security in the two
countries.
Historically, on the one hand, environmental degradation in China and Papua New
Guinea began with the influx of foreign capital from developed countries to developing
countries, characterized by the presence of multinational companies that aim to seek
maximum profit. On the other hand, the governments of the countries concerned welcomed
the arrival of these multinational companies. In the mining sector, for example, the arrival of
multinational companies is even facilitated by state policies such as in China known as the
open door policy and in Papua New Guinea with the national development strategy.
Gradually, the number of multinational companies is increasing. As a result, environmental
damage is increasingly inevitable. Some of the forms of damage found include deforestation,
desertification, soil, water and air pollution.
In turn, this environmental destruction threatens human security. So far, there has been
some evidence of this threat. In China, the activities of multinational mining companies have
resulted in the destruction of forests, contamination of rivers, soil and air, which has led to
respiratory and digestive diseases, and reduced food availability for local communities. In
addition, there have been reports of social conflicts in the areas where these multinationals
operate. The same is true in Papua New Guinea. Mining activities have contaminated the land
and water where local people live depend on for their livelihoods. Furthermore, the presence
of the mining company threatens the food security of the population and ignites conflicts
between local residents there.
Actually, this problem can be solved through government policy. Unfortunately, existing
policies are half-heartedly implemented. To this day, there is no seriousness from the
governments of the two countries. Both China and Papua New Guinea actually have quite a
lot of legal instruments that regulate the relationship between economic activity and
environmental conservation. However, these tools are not enough to overcome the problems
of environmental degradation in their respective countries. Therefore, the commitment to
implement existing environmental policies needs to be wholehearted. Otherwise,
environmental degradation and threats to human security in the two countries will continue to
occur.
Globalization of Mining: The Case of China and Papua New Guinea
This section will focus on the globalization of the mining sector in two Asia-Pacific countries,
China and Papua New Guinea. It is believed that these sectors have a negative impact on the
environment and threaten human security in their respective regions.
Since Deng Xiao Ping became the number one person in China, the country immediately
implemented an open door policy for foreign investors and ended the era of China's economic
closure for 300 years (Tantri, 2006: 50). Since then, China has undergone a rapid economic
transformation. Starting from government policies that opened up opportunities for
multinational companies to carry out economic activities in the country, China then recorded
itself as a country with the third largest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the world (Liu and
Diamond 2005: 1180). Not only that, according to Walley and Xin (2007), China is even
listed as the highest-ranked country with Foreign Direct Investment, leaving the United States
in second place. This illustrates how China is very open to globalization by providing
opportunities for global economic agents to invest in the country.
One of the most attractive sectors for multinational companies is mining. Based on a
study conducted by Nolan and Zhang (2002), some of the multinational mining companies
investing in China are Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton, and Anglo-American. Later came the names
Eldorado Gold Mining, Jingshan and Sino Gold Mining. Eldorado and Jingshan are Canadian-
owned corporations. Eldorado operates in Tanjiangshan and Jinfeng, while Jingshan has
operated in Inner Mongolia and Ganshu Province since 2007. The corporation has two
business concentrations, namely gold and diamonds. Meanwhile, Sino, an Australian
company, concentrates its operations in Jiling, Heliongjian, Guizou, and Shaanxi Provinces on
gold exploration. In addition, domestic government-owned corporations have also begun to
proliferate with exploration mechanisms no different from multinational companies.
In Papua New Guinea, multinational corporations only arrived in the early 20th century.
However, exploration of the country's natural resources had been going on since the late 19th
century by European miners (Banks, 1993: 315), albeit in a simple form. Rio Tinto was the
first company to conduct mining activities in the country, especially on Bouganville Island
and later on Lihir Island. In the following years, several other multinational companies such
as BHP Billiton and Newmont also entered Papua New Guinea and concentrated their
exploration in Ok Tedi, Woodlark and Tolukuma. The presence of these multinationals
showed how close the government was to them. Recognizing this closeness, the government
prepared policy tools to perpetuate the entry of these corporations through the National
Development Strategy.
This strategy contains instructions on how to bring multinational companies on the
economic stage of Papua New Guinea as it is believed that their presence will generate huge
profits for the country. Evidently, more and more multinational companies have since
invested in Papua New Guinea. As a result, since 1986, two-thirds of the country's economy
has been supported by foreign investment (Daniel and Sims in Banks, 1993: 318-319) with
mining being the most reliable sector. It would not be wrong to say that Papua New Guinea's
economy is highly dependent on the presence of these multinational mining companies.
Environmental degradation
Miracles are happening in China thanks to Deng Xiao Ping's leadership touch. Since the last
30 years, the country's economic growth has almost always been above 8 percent. This is due
to the tremendous pace of industry and trade in China after integrating with the world
economy. However, it seems that the country has to pay a heavy price for its economic
achievements with its impact on the environment. Based on a study conducted by Duan
Yonghou et al (1998 in Wang, 2004), it was stated that the cost of environmental damage due
to industrial activities in China reached 283 trillion yuan per year. According to Wang (2004),
one of the biggest contributors to the damage is from the mining sector which causes damage
to soil, water, air and forests.
Based on a study conducted by Liu et al (2002) in Shaanxi province, mining activities
have damaged soil conditions in several areas namely Yulin, Shenmu, Fugu, Hengshan,
Jingbian, and Dingbian. As a result, the land in these areas has been desertified, which has led
to increasingly limited land use. In addition, desertification also results in the fragile condition
of the ecosystem in the area. Not only in Shaanxi, this kind of condition also occurs in other
Chinese provinces. Actually, mining does not only lead to desertification, but also
deforestation. This deforestation then spurs an increase in the frequency of floods and
landslides, especially in the western part of the country (Wang, 2004:166). While many
debate the relationship between deforestation and flooding, Wang remains convinced that
there is a strong causal relationship between the two.
The activities of mining corporations also pollute water. Evidently, in China, the
industrial waste of mining corporations has poisoned the water there, including that in the
river. According to Li (2006), in 2002 alone, mining waste in China had reached 265.4
million tons. This number is predicted to continue to grow if the mining industry, along with
other industries, continues to boost its activities. Later, due to the large demand for energy
from this industrial sector, China was building a mega hydroelectric power project at Lancang
Jiang. This has drawn protests from neighboring countries because it is considered to damage
the environment in their countries, especially countries around the Mekong river basin (Goh,
2009).
Furthermore, China's air and forests are also threatened by mining activities. In addition
to holding the record for the highest GDP in the world, China also holds the record for being a
major producer of gas greenhouse gases in the world. The country recorded 2.8 million metric
tons of carbon dioxide emissions in 2000 (Liu & Diamond, 2005: 1181). The mining industry
has been blamed as one of the main contributors to air pollution. In the forestry sector, mining
activities have cut down millions of trees and deforested several mountain ranges. With the
damage in these two sectors, China is considered to have accelerated the rise of the earth's
temperature, which also means causing extreme climate change.
In Papua New Guinea, environmental damage from mining also occurs and tends to be
even more severe. According to information obtained by Evans et al (2002), in Ok Tedi, BHP
Billiton has disposed of 80,000 tons of waste per day. This has been going on since the
corporation first started its activities. As a result, the Ok Tedi river changed its color from
clear to brownish, and many animals died from the toxic waste. In fact, before the arrival of
the corporation, the river was filled with fish that became the source of livelihood for the local
community. However, as the river became polluted, the fish disappeared. In addition, on-site
mining activities also eroded the forest to the riverbank (Kirsch, 1996: 1-3).
The environmental damage on Bougainville Island is no less severe. There are around
4000 hectares of land damaged by mining waste. As a result, forests, rivers, bays, and even
the air on the island have been affected. Chemical mining waste is believed to be the main
factor that caused the forests around the mining site to die, the rivers (Jaba and Kawarong)
and Empress Augusta Bay to be polluted, and the air on the island to become dirty. Based on
a study conducted by Gillespie (1996), there are at least 300 hectares of forest damaged by
Bougainville mining activities. The polluted air is caused by a mixture of dust and carbon
emissions from machinery.
Some Threats to Human Security
As described in the literature review, the behavior of multinational corporations in the era of
globalization has now had a serious impact on the environment, which in turn threatens the
security of many people. It is believed that the increase in the earth's temperature to 6 degrees
over the next 100 years will reduce world food production by 60 percent (History, 2010).
According to some scientists, in addition to scarcity of food resources, social conflicts and
chronic diseases are also cited as real threats from environmental degradation.
Based on data from the Food Agricultural Organization (2010), the increasing frequency
of floods has resulted in the destruction of 13 million hectares of crop land in China. The
areas most affected by the floods are Yunnan, Sichuan, Guizhou, Hubei, Chongqing, Anhui,
Jiangxi, Guanxi, Guangdong, Hunnan, Gansu, and Shaanxi. In the next few years, China is
predicted to continue experiencing similar disasters given the country's rapid economic
growth. In addition, climate change has also begun to show its threat. Although food
production in China as a whole is predicted to remain relatively stable until the end of 2010,
wheat production shows otherwise. By the end of 2010, there will be a one percent decline in
wheat production from 115,121 tons to 114,000 tons.
In addition, social conflicts are also threatening China. As Ho (2006) points out, as the
country's forests are depleted by economic activity, social conflicts have begun to emerge
everywhere. China's rural communities are often involved in disputes over forest ownership
with certain companies. The Chinese government is struggling to deal with this. Rules have
been made regarding the relationship between the government, companies and communities.
However, these regulations do not work well in the field. Furthermore, conflicts do not only
occur among the Chinese people but also involve other surrounding countries. Laos, Thailand,
Cambodia and Vietnam are among those affected by the construction of a hydroelectric power
plant in Lancangjiang, Yunnan (Goh, 2009: 1). This power plant is planned to be used to
supply industrial needs in China.
Another impact is disease. As a result of the high levels of air pollution in China, the
population develops respiratory, heart and lung cancer. It has even been reported that
pollution in China has resulted in thousands of deaths in the country each year. The same goes
for water pollution. Notably, around 500 million China's population no longer has access to
clean water. Although the government has launched the construction of giant dams to obtain
clean water, China, especially in the north, still suffers from pollution and lack of clean water.
According to Kahn and Yardley (2007), it has been approximately 60,000 people died from
diarrheal diseases due to this water pollution.
Meanwhile, in Papua New Guinea, resource depletion due to mining activities is also
evident. As stated by Bhavnani (2009), based on the results of his study in the Porgera area,
water contaminated by mining company toxins and waste has resulted in the loss of some
agricultural land in the area. This was followed by a reduction in agricultural production,
leading to food shortages in the country. In addition, the climate change that was predicted to
threaten the country has so far become a reality. Evidently, the existing rainfall has affected
the amount of agricultural production. In the future, as predicted by Bourke and Harwood
(2009), climate conditions will be much more extreme, characterized by rising sea levels and
increasingly erratic rainfall.
The country's problems are exacerbated by social conflict. Local communities in Porgera,
for example, oppose the existence of mining corporations because they destroy the
environment in which they live. Not only that, the existence of these corporations has also
sparked conflicts among the local communities themselves. According to Banks (2008), the
cause is that on the one hand there are community groups that receive benefits from the
company and on the other hand there are those who only receive losses from the activities of
the mining company. Although there are other views on this issue, it cannot be denied that the
presence of the company increases the possibility of conflict.
Like China, Papua New Guinea is also threatened with chronic disease. So far, mining
company waste in the country has caused a variety of diseases including lung and bladder
disease. According to Kepore et al (2008:12), pollution from the company's waste is the main
cause of these diseases, as in their study of local communities in Ok Tedi. Communities are
also fearful of other diseases in the future. As in Ok Tedi, the people of Lihirian also
experience the same fear. They suffer from diseases caused by multinational mining
companies in their area (McIntyre et al 2005: 88).
Government Policy
There is an impression that these two countries tend not to be serious or half-hearted when
addressing environmental issues and their threats. This impression is quite reasonable given
the absence of a meaningful response from the governments of the two countries in resolving
these issues. The Chinese government, for example, with its fantastic economic growth rate, is
not necessarily willing to reduce pollution, such as greenhouse gas emissions, due to
economic activity in the country. Meanwhile, Papua New Guinea tends to play it safe by
implementing half-hearted environmental policies. It will be interesting to see how the
governments of these two countries show their commitment to the environmental problems
faced by their respective countries.
In China, almost every state policy is linked to the economy. In other words, if it is not
economically oriented, it is almost impossible to become a state policy. As a result, these
policies tend to ignore other aspects of life such as environmental sustainability. One example
is the Environmental Protection Law (EPL) created in 1979. Although environmental in
nature, it is actually not used to preserve the environment, but to carry out what is referred to
as 'decollectivization' which means the revocation of common property rights to resources
(Muldavin, 2000: 253-254). 'Decollectivization' marks a shift in the status of resource
ownership rights from the collective to the individual. Instead of aiming for environmental
sustainability, the existing legal instruments open up opportunities for the operation of market
mechanisms in resource management, which in turn damage the country's environment in the
future.
In addition to the EPL, there are several other sets of laws. Some of them are the Water
Pollution Prevention Law of 1982, Forest Law 1984, Grassland Law 1985, and Air Pollution
Law 1987. Unfortunately, these legal instruments are only a mere formality in order to create
the impression that the Chinese government is very committed to protecting the environment
and in line with global commitments to preserve the environment. In reality, the Chinese
government cannot resist the ambition to continuously drive the country's economic sector by
utilizing as many economic opportunities as possible, including the influx of foreign
investment. As a result, despite having a fairly comprehensive set of laws, the country has
proven unable to control the environmental damage that arises from these economic activities
(Beyer, 2006: 209).
Until the 2009 Copenhagen Summit (COP 15), the Chinese government showed its lack
of seriousness towards environmental conservation by not signing the agreement at the
meeting. The reason is, for China, economic growth is the main target. With an average
growth of eight percent each year, China is optimistic that it will become the only global
economic power in the future, beating the United States, provided that the country's economic
growth must be stable without any interruption. Therefore, reducing greenhouse gas emissions
by 40 to 45 percent per unit of GDP by 2020 (Bodansky, 2010: 2), as requested by the
meeting, is considered a stumbling block to China's target. However, at COP 16 held in
Cancun at the end of 2010, China had already shown its good faith. The country, along with
the United States, which is known as the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gases, has
agreed to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases. This means that both China and America
are obliged to reduce their economic activities. It will be interesting to see how China will
implement its new commitment.
Like China, the Papua New Guinea government is also taking half-hearted steps.
Although the country is known to be quite keen on campaigning for the reduction of global
carbon emissions and was one of the leaders in campaigning for the Reduce Carbon Emission
from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) program with Costa Rica at COP 11 in 2005
Mellick (2010: 359), Papua New Guinea does not seem to really want to fight environmental
degradation in its territory, but is only eyeing financial benefits from the program. Papua New
Guinea is considered to have no legal instruments that truly support the implementation of
REDD, in addition to the absence of a clear implementation mechanism and qualified human
resources to implement the program. As a result, instead of getting benefits, the Papua New
Guinea government has to be disappointed because until now it has not received any benefits.
It is interesting to see what Papua New Guinea's environmental laws actually look like.
The country has several laws including the Environmental Planning Act 1978, Conservation
Area Act 1978, Water Resource Act 1982, and National Parks Act 1982. Furthermore, in
1993, the Papua New Guinea government created a policy called the National Sustainable
Development Strategy after attending the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. Finally, in
2000, Papua New Guinea created a new set of laws (the New Environment Act). This law
combines the laws that came before it (Mowbray & Duguman 2006). The aim is to balance
environmental management and conservation in the country.
Despite the many laws protecting the environment, the Papua New Guinea government
has been unable to withstand the onslaught of multinational corporations. Kinley and Tadaki
(2003), notes how Papua New Guinea's parliament had to pass another legal instrument, the
Ok Tedi Mine Continuation Act in 2001, to restore the good name of BHP Billiton, which had
previously been accused of environmental destruction and human rights abuses in the region.
For Kinley and Tadaki, this shows how the country continues to be in the shadow of
multinational corporations. It also signifies that a multitude of laws and regulations do not
guarantee the preservation of a country's environment if they are only half-heartedly
implemented.
Conclusion
Globalization, which is marked by the movement of ideas, goods, people and technology, on
the one hand has brought blessings to many people from various nations and countries.
However, it cannot be denied that globalization also brings threats to them. As this paper
shows, globalization, especially in the mining sector, tends to have a negative impact on
environmental sustainability. Taking the case of the mining sector in two Asia Pacific
countries, namely China and Papua New Guinea, the expansion and exploitation of nature has
resulted in environmental degradation and in turn threatens human security in the two
countries.
Historically, on the one hand, environmental degradation in China and Papua New
Guinea began with the influx of foreign capital from developed countries to developing
countries, characterized by the presence of multinational companies that aim to seek
maximum profit. On the other hand, the governments of the countries concerned welcomed
the arrival of these multinational companies. In the mining sector, for example, the arrival of
multinational companies is even facilitated by state policies such as in China known as the
open door policy and in Papua New Guinea with the national development strategy.
Gradually, the number of multinational companies is increasing. As a result, environmental
damage is increasingly inevitable. Some of the forms of damage found include deforestation,
desertification, soil, water and air pollution.
In turn, this environmental destruction threatens human security. So far, there has been
some evidence of this threat. In China, the activities of multinational mining companies have
resulted in the destruction of forests, contamination of rivers, soil and air, which has led to
respiratory and digestive diseases, and reduced food availability for local communities. In
addition, there have been reports of social conflicts in the areas where these multinationals
operate. The same is true in Papua New Guinea. Mining activities have contaminated the land
and water where local people live depend on for their livelihoods. Furthermore, the presence
of the mining company threatens the food security of the population and ignites conflicts
between local residents there.
Actually, this problem can be solved through government policy. Unfortunately, existing
policies are half-heartedly implemented. To this day, there is no seriousness from the
governments of the two countries. Both China and Papua New Guinea actually have quite a
lot of legal instruments that regulate the relationship between economic activity and
environmental conservation. However, these tools are not enough to overcome the problems
of environmental degradation in their respective countries. Therefore, the commitment to
implement existing environmental policies needs to be wholehearted. Otherwise,
environmental degradation and threats to human security in the two countries will continue to
occur.
