THE
EFFECTS OF ENVIRONMENT CHANGES
ON
HUMA LIVING WITH IN THE CONCERN OF EU POLICY:
THE
CASE OF CYPRUS MINES
University
of Ege, Dept.of Sociology And Environment Research Centre, Turkey
After
industrial revolution, in a world where financial markets continue to “go
global”, developing countries need to work towards becoming good homes for
long-term foreign investment.
Just
as countries economy can be swamped by global economic forces that it has little
power to control or deflect, its environment can be threatened by activities
such as mining taking place beyond its borders and its control. In some low
income countries the threats may be severe enough to jeopardize further
sustainable development. Soil, ground water changes, coast and sea pollution,
for example could effect agriculture forest and fishing forced to villagers
leave from their homeland. Such a like Cyprus as it is known surface and
underground mining have caused environmental problems due to acidic discharges
(commonly referred to as “acid mine drainage”). Here exposed sulfide
minerals react with oxygen and water to produce an acidic solution that
dissolves metals and contains sulfate. Further reactions may occur resulting in
a wide range of water quality characteristics. Additionally, sediment discharge
due to inevitable erosion of the denuded soil hinders future land uses and
degrades water quality.
An
American mining company called Cyprus Mine Cooperation (CMS), which operated
copper mining industry in Cyprus between the years 1914-1974. According to some
expert reports, mine and its waste was left in Lefke region caused very serious
environmental problems such as soil, air and water pollution which is usually
defined as the resource of “global environmental problem”. The area has been
still faced by environmental pollution with the mine waste left behind alone
after the firm leaving the country in 1974. In this sense, it is understood that
CMC had never been concerned their waste pollutions effects on environment on
their mine closure procedures after 1974.
Governments acting alone, and even regional organizations cannot respond affectively to this kind of environmental problems. The response must be global. Industrial countries have been thought to be responsible for the most of the these kinds existing global environmental problems. In this case, not only Cyprus has been face to face with Cyprus mine problem such as like a local problem, but also all the east Mediterranean countries standing near by Cyprus island could be in the same station in this case.
In
brief, special attention going to be given in accordance with global environment
approach and also European Union’s understanding of environment procedures and
acts. And also in this case going to be discussed European Union-Amsterdam
Treaty and Copenhagen summit approach among the member countries and the
countries going to be member like Cyprus and the countries nearby the European
Union.
As
one can easily see that European Union develops, in which a growing number of
decision has been taken on the everyday lives of its citizens. All these
decisions should be taking account in democratic society. The peoples of Europe
creating an over closer union among them, are resolved to share a peaceful
future based on common values. According charter of fundamental Rights of the EU
Article
1 says: Human dignity is invioble. It must be respected and protected. Article 2
says: Everyone has the right to life. Also Article 41 consists of right to good
anministration. From this respect EU decisions on living of citizens taking
account to environmental cases. As Article 37 mentions environmental protection,
and also in article 35: states that a high level of human health protection
shall be ensured in the definition and implementation of all union policies and
activities.
-A
high level of environmental protection and the improvement of the quality of the
environment must be integrated into the policies of the union an ensured in
accordance with the principle of sustainable development (European parliament,
charter…Dec.2000, p.6-11).
In
accordance with the social summit of 1995 in Copenhagen commitments were (EESC.;
Apr. 2000, p.1-2).
Commitment
1: We commit ourselves to creating an economic, political, social, cultural and
legal environment that will enable people to achieve social development.
Commitment
3: We commit ourselves to promoting the goal of full employment as a basic
priority of our economic and social policies, and to enabling man and woman to
attain secure and sustainable livelihoods through freely chosen productive
employment and work.
Commitment
9: We commit ourselves to increasing significantly and/or utilizing more
efficiently the sources allocated to social development in order to achieve the
goals of the summit through national action and regional and international
cooperation.
20
and 21 September 2000 Economic and Social Committee adopted the fallowing
opinion in the topic of over all political objectives (EESC., Sept.2000, p.1-2).
-Economic
Objectives; maintaining low-cost raw materials for private and public users,
securing long-term resources availability guaranteeing energy supply on a lastin
basis, ensuring that everyone has a share in overall rising income and
prosperity
-Ecological
Objectives; conserving natural resources and protecting the climate, preserving
and developing the natural environment safeguarding natural resources in the
long term through the use of renewable resources, maintaining biodiversitiy.
-Social
Objectives; preserving and developing recreational areas, creating jobs,
protecting social and cultural resorces, ensuring equity for a
“fair”distribution of income.
The
European union participetd actively in the deliberations on the right to the
development in various bodies of the United Nations concerned with human rights
and development.
According
to the UN general assembly; human beign is the central subject of development
and should be the active participant and beneficiary of right to development.
The right to development is based on the understanding that development is a
process targeted at the realisation of civil, cultural, economic, political and
social rights meeting equitably the developmental and environmental needs of
present and future generations. (EU annual report on human rights 1988-99, p.47)
All
over EU Treaty communication from the commission on the global assesment of the
European Community program of policy and action in relation to the environment
and sustainable development concerns European citizens living conditions and
related to human kind social, economic, cultural situations. From all these
points, European Community and European Parliament always taking account the
citizens believes and understanding of living.
Understanding
of living nowadays becomes global. For that most of the European citizens
thinking of the environmental problems not only consisted of European community
political borders, but the neighboring and/or the other countries in this world,
may create global environmental problems for themselves. This idea after
“Chernobil nuclear disaster” awaked world citizens. The committee was
affected from the public opinion of the EU that commission became more
influenced with their citizen’s attitudes. Therefore EU Committee of the
Regions, June 2000 Brussels, stated that:
-The
committee believe, that the European Commission should pay more attention to the
threats arising from outside the EU, such as nucleer waste, the dumping of
chemical and other weapons and waste water which is polluting rivers and oceans,
particularly the Baltic and Mediterranean.
In
a number of earlier opinions the committee called for stimulating a more active
role for regonal and local authorities in formulating and implementing
environmental policy in the regions and municipalities of the applicant states.
The Committee would reiterate this urgent recommendation in the context of the
present Global Assessment and with a view to the preparation of the sixth Action
Programme. The European Commission should strongly promote cooperation and the
exchange of experience and expertise through twinning arrangements between
regions and municipalities in the EU and the applicant states.
Cyprus
as an applicant should widely stimulate the exchange of information, good
practices and experiences in the environmental field with the EU and its
institutions.
The
world has already seen one genuine environmental success story in the Montreal
Protocol of 1987, which brought all countries together to address a common
environmental threat. The Montreal Protocol attempts to solve the problem of
chlorofluorocarbon emissions, which reduce ozone concentrations in the upper
atmosphere. As it has been seen in the 1980s scientists realized that allowing
these emissions to continue unchecked would dangerously increase ultraviolet
radiation in the higher latitudes, rising rates of skin cancer and cataracts and
damaging the environment (The World Bank, 1999-2000 p, 8)
The
world faces a number of other pressing environmental problems that threaten the
global commons. Perhaps the best known is the climate change, which is
associated with increasing emissions of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
Others include biodiversing loss, which is occurring at an alarming rate;
desertification; the depletion of fish stocks; the spread of persistent organic
pollutants.
In
global levels environmental policy become one of the greatest social challenges
facing the public authorities and all sectors of the economy today. It is also a
subject of whom the public is acutely aware, since it is directly affects its
welfare and health. May be after a Montreal Protocol and Rio Treaty, which
brought all the countries together to address a common environmental threat.
In
the early days of building Europe, environmental issues were not a top priority
for the public authorities and economic circles.
It
was not until the 1970’s, the emergence of environmental concerns triggered
moves in this area at Community level. At the July 1972 Paris Summit the Heads
of State and Government recognized that in the quality of life, particular
attention should be paid to the environment.
Consequently,
the signal was given and the first action programme setting out the framework
for community environment policy was adopted, covering the period from 1973 to
1976.This was followed by other multiannual programmes of the same type which
led to the adoption of a series of directives on protection of natural resources
(air and water) noise abatement, nature conservation and waste management.
However,
from the single European Act in 1987, the community measures had a legal basis
explicitly defining the objectives and guiding principles for action by the
European community relating to the environmental protection requirements to
become a component of the community’s other policies.
The
entry into force of the EU Treaty in November 1993 brought further progress on
several fronts. First it added the concept of ‘’ sustainable growth
respecting the environment ‘’ to the European Community’s task and wrote
the precautionary principle into the article on which environment policy is
founded
The
Treaty of Amsterdam should resolve these problems and respond to the need to
make Community environment policy clearer and more efficient.
The
Treaty of Amsterdam seeks to provide stranger guarantees than given by inserting
concept of sustainable development plus a new article in the Treaty establishing
the European community.
The
new article 6 puts at the start of the Treaty the clause calling for
environmental protection requirement to be integrated into the definition and
implementation of other policies. This was already contained in Article 174. The
new article also cites such integration as one means of promoting sustainable
development.
This
new article must be seen in conjunction with the declaration on environmental
impact assessment, annexed to the Final Act of the Intergovernmental Conference,
which drafted the Treaty of Amsterdam. In other words Amsterdam Treaty pointed
out that sustainable development and taking the environment into account in all
policies, should be realized (European Commission, The Amsterdam Treaty, p.42).
In
accordance with the Commission of the European Communities, “2000 Regular
Report from the Commission on Cyprus Progress Towards Accession” (This report
is excluded North Cyprus-KKTC) “Cyprus continues to fulfill the Copenhagen
political criteria. The pre dominant political problem is the continued division
of the island, but over the last year important efforts have been made in the
search for a political settlement in line with the Accession Partnership”.
Cyprus
is a functioning market economy and should be able to cope with competitive
pressure and market forces within the Union. However as regards alignment with
the environment acquise, several laws and orders have been adopted, but the
emphasis lay on preparatory work. Although more attention has been paid to the
allocation of sufficient budgetary and administrative resources to the
environmental sector to ensure the implementation of the acquis, given the size
of the alignment task in this area, this sector still remains a high priority.
(includes only south Cyprus)
Cyprus
as a Mediterranean country has “Mediterranean climate”, is characterized by
hot, dry summers, and mild and wetter winters, with run off from infrequent but
often massive rain fall causing soil erosion. However Mediterranean regions of
Europe have witnessed rapid changes over the past thirty years, in particular in
the last decade, affecting all aspects of society. For a number of countries,
accession to the European Union has led to major socio-economic change. These
upheavals have disrupted the special relationship between man and environment in
these areas with highly specific climate. At the same time, landscape it self
has undergone rapid change. As a result, Southern Europe is facing a process
desertification, which is evident in the cultivated land, pasture grounds and
forests, and in the substantial loss of biological diversity. Paulo Mairota,
John Thornes and Nichola Greeson pointed out that vast rural areas are
temporarily and permanently abandoned, urban sprawl is rampant, agriculture is
intensifying and water shortage, accentuated by the droughts of the 1980s and
1990s has become the main problem in the terms of resources and environment (5)
In
this sense Cyprus is a Mediterranean country not excluded from this typical
Mediterranean climate conditions. For that reason badly influenced agricultural
production and biological diversity in accordance with Regular Report of
European Commission on Cyprus:
-Over
the years the contribution of agriculture has garually fallen to 4.2% of GDP
(Gross Domestic Product) and 9.3% of employment. Due to the fall in agricultural
production, which was particularly badly affected by the recent drought, the
primary sector declined by almost 7% in 2000. Also in the same report declared
that no concrete development in rural development and forestry could be reported
in this area since last regular report. Even if this report concerning with the
south Cyprus, the same stuation can be seen in North Cyprus as well.
As
regards Rural Development and Forestry, Cyprus has already some experiences in
these areas also comprising agri-environmental measures. However the necessary
contol bodies for the environmental scheme will have to put in place.
Furthermore, a code of good agricultural practice needs to be established. (CEC,
2000 Regular…p.49-52)
An
American mining company called Cyprus Mine Corporation (CMS), which operated
copper mining industry in Cyprus between the years 1914-1974. According to some
expert reports (Ümit Erdem, 1999), mine and its waste was left in Lefke region
caused very serious environmental problems such as soil, air and water pollution
which is usually defined as the resource of “global environmental problem”
The areas has been still faced by environmental pollution with the mine waste
left behind alone after the firm leaving the country in 1974. In this sense, it
is understood that CMC had never been concerned their waste pollutions effects
on environment on their mine closure procedures after 1974.
Pollution
through erosion and sediment control should be in a significant part of every
mining waste management strategy. It means every effort should be made to
control the sediment at, or near to, and its source (as opposed to relying on
one or more large sediment settling basins opposite and in the major drainage
ways). It is more desirable to segragate sediment laden waters from the rest of
the surface flow. However it is understood from expert reports that Cyprus mine
Corporation had not been taken available waste management techniques in this
area. In accordance with EPA (United States Environmental Protection Agency)
reports to Congress: The report provides in depth information on mining process,
the wastes produced an associated health and environmental effects, ways to
minimize waste production and the means of treat and dispose of the wastes as
well as mine closure procedures and costs.
Several
management alternatives such as prevantation and chemical, physical and
biological treatment are available to minimize the impact of mine drainage on
the environment. In this sense it is understood that CMC had been never taken
account in their mine operation these basic rules or they had not concerned
their waste pollutions on environment in account on their mine closure
procedures after 1974. In this case an example can be given; beginning of the
1970s the Court of Lefke punished CMC due to cause of polluting the agricultural
cultivated areas. Also according to expertise reports water, soil, air, costs
and sea pollution comes from ex CMC mines areas. In this region all these
expertise reports say, environmental pollution during the period of 1914 and
1974 responsible firm is the only one private sector CMC. It means environmental
pollution with its legal administration and ethic dimensions caused by an
American mining company operated copper mining industry in Cyprus in Lefke
region between the years 1914-1974.
As
it is understood nowadays ex-mining wastes still working polluting water, soil,
air, costs and sea, and also it’s wastes produced and associated with health
and cultivated effects.
According
to the some expert reports mines and its wastes was left in Lefke region caused
a very serious problem such as soil, air and water pollution which is usually
defined as the resources of ‘’ global environment problem ‘’ .The areas
faced by environmental pollution and the mining waste is left and their storage
are in the frontiers in KKTC since 1974.
Therefore
in this region approximately 7000 people are living and working in cultivated
areas under the effects of environmental pollution directly or indirectly in the
mean time circus fruit, vegetables corps and sea foods growth in this region are
distributed to the other regions in KKTC for consumption by the way this means
that environmental pollution is also exported to the other regions in Cyprus.
Mining
operations in this region has been gone for a long time in this period
authorized politicians were changed who were responsible for copper mining
industry, mining business, using poisoned materials during the operations,
storage of waste and legal-administrative regulations concerning the mine
export.
Cyprus
was a British Colony during the standating period of mining operations. Between
the years 1960-1974 CMC continued its operation according to regulations of
Cyprus Republic. In 1974 Intervention of Turkish Armed Forces to the island
under the rights of Guarantee Agreement, Turkish political authorities started
to control these mining area, mining plants and waste storage. For this reason
environmental pollution in this region should be examined with historical and
legal framework
CONCLUSION
An
American mining company called Cyprus Mine Cooperation (CMC) which operated
copper mining industry in Cyprus between the years 1914-1974 under the rule of
different authorities and environmental laws. According to some expertise
reports, mine and its waste was left in Lefke region caused very serious
environmental problems such as soil, air, water coasts and sea pollution which
is usually defined as the resource of “ global environmental problem”. It is
also understood that CMC had never been concerned their waste pollution effects
on environment on their closure procedures after 1974.
As
it is understood nowadays ex-mining wastes still working polluting environment.
Governments acting alone, and even regional organizations cannot respond
effectively to this kind of environmental problems. The response must be global.
In
other case, according to the opinion on the White Paper on environmental
liability, (COR, Opinion...., 14-15 June 2000, p.1 and 4) proposed European
regime should be comprehensive and help to improve implementation of key
environmental principles such as the “polluter pays”. The costs of
preventing and restoring environmental damage will be paid by the parties
responsible for the damage, rather than being financed by the tax payer. It
means that CMC is responsible for this case.
In
other sense, the establishment of a European environmental liability regime will
accompany the introduction in the common Agricultural Policy of compulsory
Agri-Environment schemes, which will play a complementary role in
protecting the habitats of the European Union: It believes that the
establishment of an effective European environmental liability regime will help
to facilitate candidate countries efforts to adopted the EU environmental acquis
and help to ensure the protection of biodiversity, landscape, diversity and the
environment of Europe as a whole.
In
accordance with the environmental policy of EU, Cyprus Governments (North and
South acting together) and non-government organizations and other civil agencies
have a chance to apply to EU institutions within the
several funds cleaning up and restoring the environment which was caused
environmental damage by the Cyprus Mines.
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