Myth of Economic Benefits
Mining is an important source of revenue for many countries. However, translating natural resources into public welfare is far from automatic. Countries in the Global South are increasingly realizing that mining often does not lead to generational wealth, but can decimate fragile ecosystems and destroy alternative livelihoods. In Haiti, the potential scant economic benefits of mining are unlikely to justify the known risks to public health, the environment, local communities, and human rights.
We have selected three of the most common statements asserted by proponents of mining about how mining will benefit Haiti’s economy. Research by academics, non-profit organizations, and directly impacted communities and decades of global experience with the consequences of mining and other extractive industries show that mining in Haiti will not result in economic benefits.
Myth:
Mining will provide a steady source of revenue for Haiti.
Reality:
Mining is a high-risk investment that may harm other industries.
Mining is not an appropriate industry for Haiti. Given the environmental and governance challenges that Haiti faces as well as the government’s history of low revenue collection, mining is unlikely to generate revenue long-term. For mining to generate steady revenue, the Haitian government must impose sufficient taxes, royalties, and other charges in order to adequately compensate local communities for the harms they may experience, and remediate environmental harms. A 2015 report by Oxfam American, Ready for Gold?, concludes that the government of Haiti does not have the capacity to sufficiently collect money from mining companies.
Gold mining often displaces agriculture and can make tourism projects less likely or even impossible. Haitian people and the government of Haiti must consider if the risks of mining–destroying small-scale and large-scale agriculture, rendering tourist projects in the North of the country unlikely, and the environmental harms in a country that sits upon a fault line–outweigh the potential benefits.
Myth:
Revenue from mining will benefit communities.
Reality:
Mining often makes nearby communities poorer.
Mining often leaves communities in proximity worse off economically than before mining began. Gold mining, in particular, may damage and destroy the livelihoods of farmers by stripping their land, making it infertile, and polluting the water necessary for fishing and raising livestock. For example, communities near the Pueblo Viejo mine in the Dominican Republic report that their animals have died and crops have not grown since mining began.
Even if the Haitian government collected revenue from gold mining, widespread corruption among government officials and business actors and the absence of government fiscal transparency likely means that the public has no say in and may even be unable to track how revenues are spent.
Myth:
Mining companies bring jobs.
Reality:
Mining companies offer short-term jobs and mining may make agriculture impossible.
Experiences of gold mining around the world show that mining companies fail to create sustainable jobs for local communities. For example, at the Ahafo mine in Ghana, Newmont failed to fulfill its promise to employ 50% of its workers from the surrounding communities. Such a percentage was never achieved, spurring grievances since the construction phase of the mine. Furthermore, Newmont also claimed to have assisted 7,175 displaced farmers through land-access programs but “acknowledged that there are no farmers currently taking part in the program.” At the Pueblo Viejo mine in the Dominican Republic, jobs lost in the agricultural sector – the main economic activity – have not been replaced by the mining company, rather many communities members felt coerced into approving the project.