Trying to save their way of life

Most of the population of Macambol rely on fishing or farming to make a living. [CAFOD/Simon Rawles]

Meet the community of Macambol in the Philippines - the environment they rely on to make a living is under threat from a large mining development

Like most people in the beautiful coastal community of Macambol, Philippines, 36-year-old Manu needs farmland and clean water to make a living.

A little bit of farming puts food on the table for himself, his wife and their three children. He rears a goat or two for extra cash, but his main source of income is the 12 hours a day he spends fishing in the Pujada Bay.

In a good week, Manu earns around PhP800 (£10) from fishing. He says: "I am a fisherman, so it’s fishing that I know. I enjoy fishing. I love the sea, it’s a source of food, a source of my livelihood."

Depend on the environment

Manu is just one of around 5,000 people living in Macambol, approximately 25 per cent of whom are indigenous Mandaya people.

Most of the population depend on the natural environment for survival, making a living by fishing and farming mango, coconut and root crops.

Now, the world's largest mining company plans to develop a nickel processing plant and operate a mine for around 30 years in the area - called the Hallmark project.

The Philippines has an estimated 5.2 million tonnes of nickel reserves, the ninth biggest in the world and the largest in South-East Asia. Most of the nickel is difficult to extract and, until recently, mining has not been economically viable.

But new hydrometallurgy technology - which will be used at the Hallmark project - has changed all this. But its use is still experimental, and risks have not been fully assessed.

It poses significant risks to the environment, particularly because of the large amounts of water required, the transportation and containment of acid, air emissions, and the storage, treatment and disposal of mine waste.

The community are worried about the impact that the proposed mine could have, but feel they have not been properly consulted about it.

José, a local farmer and community leader, has attended at least two community meetings about the proposed mine, and says: "I feel that I have the right [to be heard] because I will be affected.

"The government should hear what people like me think about things that they are pursuing.

"People do not have much information about mining. People are not being consulted the way they should be."

Maria, 39, was born in Macambol and has a big stake in its future. She is concerned about the welfare of her own seven children, as well as those she teaches in a school near the proposed mine site.

"I am really afraid what will happen in Macambol if mining pulls through. We are on a fault line. We are rich in fishes, marine resources, forest.

"I am afraid that the next generation won’t be able to eat any more fish from the sea."

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