ACT NOW!, Bismarck Ramu Group, Pacific Network on Globilization

A new animated cartoon released on YouTube highlights the high risks of experimental seabed mining for the Pacific region.

View the video at www.actnowpng.org or on YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHPaFKw_oLQ

"Papua New Guinea has already suffered some of the worlds worst mining disasters. Foreign companies have polluted our rivers, destroyed communities and caused a violent civil war", says John Chitoa, from the Bismarck Ramu Group (BRG).

"Now Nautilus Minerals wants to dig up the seafloor in a new experimental mining operation. But, as the government has already acknowledged, communities all across PNG are saying they do not want to be part of this experiment".

BRG is one of three NGOs that have funded the new video together with the Pacific Network on Globalization (PANG) and ACT NOW!

Maureen Penjueli from PANG says this issue is of much wider significance than just Solwara 1 and Papua New Guinea.

"There is already exploration for similar mines all across the Pacific region and in the Indian ocean. Numerous countries have sanctioned the exploration without understanding the full potential environmental impacts and how it could impact on local communities".

"We are calling for a moratorium on this type of mining, like those already in place in Vanuatu and Cook Islands, until there are proper studies on the environmental and social costs."

The timing of the video is very poignant as the PNG government struggles with the issue of whether to put $118 million of tax payers money into the Solwara 1 mine: money the NGOs say could be better spent on improving health and education facilities for communities in PNG.

"The government needs to do the right thing for the people of PNG rather than looking after these foreign companies that destroy and impoverish us", says John Chitoa.

"The government must reject seabed mining and invest instead in health, education and agriculture for the long-term benefit of our communities and our Nation".