Mining, Climate Change and Human Rights in the Philippines
Event details
The third talk in our 'Learning from Human Rights Defenders' series will be from anti-mining advocate, Marilou Verano.
The Philippines is one of the world’s most richly endowed mineral resource countries. From its total land area of 30 million hectares, 9 million hectares has high mineral deposit potential. The current administration of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. is aggressively pushing for the revitalization of the mining industry despite strong opposition from mining-affected communities. Human rights violations against the host communities and environmental defenders have been documented and Global Witness has recently reported that the Philippines is the most dangerous place in Asia for environmental activists.
The government’s push for mining is being done in the context of climate change and the need for green minerals. Anti-mining advocate Marilou will discuss the interconnectedness of mining, climate change and human rights. She will talk about the impacts of mining and climate change, the vulnerability of communities, including indigenous people’s groups, and the human rights violations. As a Leader of Council she will also tackle the interventions and advocacies of Alyansa Tigil Mina, a national alliance fighting against destructive mining.
About the speaker
Marilou Verano
Marilou Verano is an environmental human rights defender, community leader, church servant, women and indigenous people’s rights advocate who is at the forefront of fighting against destructive mining and the human rights violations in the Philippines. She is currently a fellow at the Centre for Applied Human Rights at the University of York.