USCCB - Global Poverty l Issues

Natural Resources and our Catholic Response

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What is the issue? From jewelry and coins to electronics and energy, the global mining and oil industries touch every part of our lives. The extraction of natural resources, such as oil, gas, copper, coal, lumber and diamonds, is a central feature of modern economies. Globalization both creates new opportunities and imposes new burdens on poor and marginalized communities where people struggle to protect their families, live in dignity and improve their lives. But all too often, countries get caught in the “resource curse,” in which the exploitation of their natural resources does not lead to equitable development, but actually leaves people even poorer than before. Conflict areas, poorly-governed regions, indigenous lands, and untouched environments have been opened up for exploitation. These industries can bring progress, but when poorly managed, they can also bring social conflict, feed corruption, displace people from their homes and lands, pollute rivers and seas, destroy people’s health, and cause irreversible biodiversity loss. The contributions of mining and other extractive industries to human development and the common good depend on employing practices that respect local communities and the environment. Why should people of faith care? Catholic social teaching calls on Catholics to uphold the dignity and sacredness of every human person, be in solidarity with our brothers and sisters worldwide, and care for God’s creation. Therefore, natural resources should be used in ways that sustain the natural environment and contribute to human development. Since the extraction of oil, gas, minerals, and timber affects the poor most acutely, the Church has been closely involved in addressing issues with extractive industries around the world. Catholic agencies and affected populations are engaged in advocacy with their own governments, international financial institutions, and extractive companies, urging changes to reduce the negative impacts of resource extraction and increase benefits for the poor. In the 2001 pastoral statement A Call to Solidarity with Africa, the Catholic bishops of the United States addressed growing concerns about the activities of extractive industries in Africa, saying foreign corporations “too often demonstrate[e] little concern for the negative impact their activities may have on peace, stability, human rights, and the environment.” The bishops of Latin America and the Caribbean expressed increased concern regarding extractive industries in 2007, when they wrote Today the natural wealth of Latin America and the Caribbean is being subjected to an irrational exploitation that is leaving ruin and even death in its wake, throughout our region. The devastation of our forests and biodiversity through a selfish predatory attitude, involves the moral responsibility of those who promote it because they are jeopardizing the life of millions of people, and particularly the milieu of peasants and indigenous, who are pushed out toward hillside lands and into large cities where they live overcrowded in the encircling rings of poverty. (Concluding Document of the Fifth Conference of the Bishops of Latin America and the Caribbean (2007), no. 473) What response is needed? To protect the lives and dignity of poor people, and to assure that the potential benefits of natural resource extraction are realized, all parties involved in the extractive industry sector— producers and consumers—need to change some of their practices and work together. USCCB and CRS urge the U.S. government to Support development assistance that improves the ability of governments to manage extractives revenues in ways that reduce corruption and promote human development, through investments in areas such as education and health Support transparency, by requiring extractives companies to disclose what they pay to governments for access to natural resources Work with governments and civil society in developing countries to promote human rights, democracy, and transparent, responsive government Put in place social and environmental standards that ensure respect for communities, workers, and all of God’s creation. USCCB and CRS urge extractive industry companies to Support the international “Publish What You Pay” campaign that asks extractive industries to disclose in a regular and timely manner all payments made to foreign governments or to local communities. Allowing people at the local level to have this type of control (known in Catholic social teaching as subsidiarity) can help reduce corruption, and help people hold their government accountable for how revenues are used. Fully respect human rights and the environment.		How does National Resources affect real people? Photo by CRS Staff Yolanda Zurita is a resident of La Oroya, a mining town of 35,000 in the Andes mountains of Peru. Her community has experienced a high rate of cancers, lead poisoning, and problems of the nervous system—illnesses which many believe are related to the Doe Run mining and smelting operation nearby. Yolanda’s own father, who worked in the smelting plant for most of his life, died of complications of the nervous system. In the late 1990s, Yolanda began to lead an effort to call for testing of the air, water, and soil in the community and to scientifically measure the impact of the mining on residents and the environment. The Public Health Department of the Jesuit-run St. Louis University conducted an independent study two years ago that found that 97% of children had elevated levels of lead in their blood. High concentrations of other heavy metals were also found in the blood of La Oroya residents. Now the local Archdiocese, with support from CRS, educates local people about the contaminants and advocates with the local and national government for changes in environmental policies and mining practices to reduce pollution. Cardinal McCarrick stands with children affected by Doe Run
Photo by Francisca Vigaud-Walsh for CRS The Democratic Republic of Congo has proved a fertile ground for natural resource extraction-with few of the benefits seen by the local populations. In the eastern Congo, over a million people have been displaced by violence, much of which is centered on-and funded with-control of valuable natural resources. Many of these displaced people live in spontaneous camps, like the one pictured here, with no formal provision for services. USCCB and CRS invite all U.S. Catholics to Respond to action alerts to help support policies promoting resource use that contribute to human development and reduce conflict. Be thoughtful consumers, by reducing, reusing, and recycling, to lessen the need for extraction of natural resources explore ways to reduce your use of gasoline, and donate or recycle old phones, computers, and computer games purchasing diamonds that are certified “conflict free” and jewelry made of “clean” gold, silver, and precious stones that were mined with respect for the environment and human rights asking companies involved in extractive industries to publish what they pay writing to companies to ensure the metals used in their products were produced in ways that did not contribute to conflict or environmental contamination.