Green Vs green: Jade Industry threatens environment

http://www.mizzima.com/edop/photo-essay/1801-green-vs-green-jade-industry-threatens-environment.html

by Phyusin Linn
Wednesday, 04 March 2009 18:39

Rangoon (Mizzima) - Hundred years ago, Phar Kant used to be a very quiet city nestled among the forests in northern Burma before someone found the great treasure lying beneath it.

Now Phar Kant is one of the most important and dynamic cities in the country's economic landscape. It is one of a few major places on earth that produce green gems – jade. Phar Kant always is a popular place in international gems market for its quality jade.



British people were noted to be the first explorers who started massively taking the green stones out in Phar Kant. Since then, that small city never had a chance to rest peacefully again. Since the country's independence in 1948, governments and rebels always had been trying to get control over it for their budget supports. During the socialist era, it was one of a few financial sources that allowed the government in Rangoon to keep marching on their dream road of so called Burmese way to socialism. But Phar Kant never forgot to support native Kachin ethnic rebels fighting for self-determination with its green treasure. Civil war in northern Burma was fuelled by Phar Kant for decades. It is a place where one can see both sides of Burmese Army officials and ethnic rebels digging stones out in the same place.

It is 100 miles north-west of Myitkyina, capital of Kachin State and is under control of Burma Armed Forces' Northern Command. It always is a place where every Commander who was appointed as the commander of Northern Command never missed to put their one eye on.

Nation wide uprising calling for multi party democratic system in 1988's changed the nation's political and economical features. Military government that promised to hold a free and fair election said that the country was opening its doors for market economy. And the new economic policy brought a new wave to the places like Phar Kant. New investors appeared and productivity was increased.

In early 1990s, government in Rangoon achieved a cease fire with Kachin rebels. And Kachin leaders into a new newly cease fire were meant to be accommodated in region's new economy with prosperous incentives. The military government strategically accommodated the Kachin rebels by giving plots in Phar Kant. Kachin rebels who once were well known for their guerrilla tactics have become businessmen. Since then Burma Army and Kachin rebels have been digging the soil together in Phar Kant.

But they are not alone in Phar Kant but many groups out of a total 18 cease fired groups in the nation are involved in the jade industry.

China's economic miracle was escalating the production speed in Phar Kant and the buyers from China's Yunnan Province were behind everyone who was running business in Phar Kant. Appetites of Chinese people who always believe that those green stones bring good luck are met by Phar Kant's support. Phar Kant's stones go not only to the people in mainland China but to Taiwan and Chinese Diaspora across the world via merchants in Yunnan. The more people want to decorate themselves with the jades, the more diggers Phar Kant receive orders. The environment in the region has changed.

Miners sliced the mountains and the lakes became plain fields. Trees were removed from the ground and forests were swept away. Since every acre in the region could be having gems beneath, every piece of land becomes precious. Government issues the license to the companies at 40 million Kyat per acre and anyone who wants to mine the jade has to buy the licence from the licence holder at 150 million Kyat per acre. Cronies who got the license from the government easily earn big profit by selling their licence back to others without doing anything.

Whenever authorities and the companies have no place left to start a new site, villages were moved from their place where they had been living for generations. Those villages can stay in near by areas until they are asked again to move to another place.

U-Ru Creek has been flowing through Phar Kant for centuries. Until early 1990s, U-Ru was a clean and a green creek, said a man who migrated to Phar Kant 15 years ago. Its water was clear as crystal and even the fish under the water could be seen. And the environment also was still green with trees, he continued.

But now the classic creek has been threatened by miners. (As shown in the pictures) Miners impatiently are trying to block the Wai Khar Creek that flows into the U-Ru Creek since they want to have a short cut road between the mining site and the city. Since the water way is cut, water could not flow naturally and flood spread to the villages. The more the miners dig, the more soil comes out and blocks both of U-Ru and Wai Khar Creeks.

Seikmu Village in Phar Kant, along the Wai Khar Creek was flooded and buried deep under the mud. (As shown in the pictures) Local people simply had to leave their homeland without benefiting from the jade industry.

Once one of the greenest regions has become a plain field with a man made landscape.

Phar Kant is the mayhem of a nature where human beings are cutting the parts of the earth with their knives.