A rare win for quarry locals

Arecent ruling by the Supreme Administrative Court to revoke a renewed concession for a quarry in Suwan Khuha of Nong Bua Lam Phu province was a rare victory for local villagers who for years have sought to protect an area that has immense archeological and environment value, as well as save their own livelihoods.

Over the years, the Khao Laoyao-Pha Chandai villagers’ complaints against the operations of a factory located in tambon Dong Mafai had been ignored by state agencies.

But the villagers finally brought the case to the Administrative Court.

In their petition, the villagers alleged that part of the concession area is a national forest reserve. In spite of this, the factory managed to acquire a new permit from the Forest Department after it expired on Sept 3, while the concession expired on Sept 24.

Both the forest and industry authorities gave the green-light to the factory’s request.

While awaiting the court ruling, the angry villagers took matters into their own hands and in mid-August laid siege to the factory, forcing the operators to suspend all operations.

Villagers complained that as the fight went on, their leaders including Lertsak Kamkongsak, leader of Commoners Party who acted as their adviser, faced death threats.

At least four local heroes were gunned down during the conflict between 1995 and 1999. No culprits were ever punished. But the villagers were not daunted by the violence, and fearlessly fought on.

So the court on Aug 18 turned down the factory’s request for the concession to be renewed even though the factory had received approval from the Forest Department to use the forest area.

The court said the approval by the Forest Department should be nullified since it was issued on the basis that the quarry’s operations had been carried out without an environmental impact assessment (EIA) study.

Such a historic ruling could benefit a large number of communities that have fought for similar causes in environmental justice. The case should be considered as giving guidelines for other projects that have such immense environmental impacts.

Over the years, the villagers have complained that the Dong Mafai authorities did not pay heed to their complaints. They were finally able to rejoice upon receiving the court ruling.

Sunee Anuvate, a female leader, said it was a big relief that that the court gave its ruling in their favour.

“We have fought against this quarry with our bare hands,” she said. Her statement suggested the difficulties of local people in protecting the environment and their quality of life. The problem appears to be that local state mechanisms seem to support businesses, some of which are very harmful.

Despite the court victory, the villagers said they do not trust the state’s mechanisms and they have decided to prolong the siege of the area for at least one year, while studying the possibility of turning the area into an eco-tourism site.

Mr Lertsak, the villagers’ adviser, noted that existing laws contain loopholes that could enable the operator to renew concessions.

The villagers are aware of this as they kick off the restoration of the abandoned quarry site, he said.

The fight may not be over yet, but the Aug 18 court ruling against the quarry set a precedent. It also comes as good news for villagers seeking environmental justice elsewhere.