That kind of forensic detail is not yet available on the damage done by last weekend’s disaster but the long-term consequences for the habitat and the affected communities are likely to be great.
Vale CEO, Fabio Schvartsman, has said that the company has created a working group to raise the safety standard of the company’s dams.
This will not satisfy public opinion. Inadequate risk governance is a key driver and enabler of disasters and until there is proper and adequate regulatory oversight of these facilities, public confidence in their safety will not be restored.
It is time that the recommendations made in 2001 were implemented. Further recommendations from the UN Environment Programme should also be taken into account, including a safety first approach regardless of cost.
The global plan for reducing disaster losses, the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, seeks to not only establish concrete ways in which critical infrastructure can be risk-proofed, but also exert influence with both governments and the private sector to banish complacency around the technological and environmental threats posed by such facilities.
I would urge the thousands of communities living with this potential threat to ensure their voices are heard and concerns are captured in both national and local strategies for reducing disaster risk.
One way the mining industry could facilitate this would be by helping to establish an open database of mine sites and tailings storage facilities.
This would be a fitting and lasting way for all concerned to remember those who have lost their lives in such disasters and to demonstrate that the mining industry is not just paying lip service to a zero casualty policy.
*Mami Mizutori is the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Disaster Risk Reduction. This opinion piece was first published in the leading Brazilian daily newspaper Folha de S. Paulo.
Date:
15 Feb 2019
Sources:
United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR)
Themes:
Advocacy & Media, Critical Infrastructure
Hazards:
Technical Disaster
Countries:
Brazil