Sumgilbar people in PNG triumph over foreign mining company southeastasiapost.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from southeastasiapost.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
RNZ
Sea front in Madang, Papua New Guinea. Photo: RNZI/ Johnny Blades
After successfully stopping one sand mining project, Papua New Guinea environmentalists now want the government to tighten the rules around the industry.
A Singaporean company, Niugini Sands, last week dropped plans to mine the black sands along the Madang coast, with director, Marcus Ong, saying bad publicity was pivotal in their decision.
The environmental group, Mas Kagin Tapani, advocated for the more than 10,000 who lived in communities along a 38 kilometre stretch of the shoreline in Madang province.
They also wanted to ensure breeding grounds for endangered Leatherback Turtles weren’t threatened.
Sea front in Madang, Papua New Guinea.
Photo: RNZI/ Johnny Blades
A Singaporean company, Niugini Sands, last week dropped plans to mine the black sands along the Madang coast, with director, Marcus Ong, saying bad publicity was pivotal in their decision.
The environmental group, Mas Kagin Tapani, advocated for the more than 10,000 who lived in communities along a 38 kilometre stretch of the shoreline in Madang province.
They also wanted to ensure breeding grounds for endangered Leatherback Turtles weren t threatened.
Spokesman, Wenceslaus Magun, said people were delighted but their job was still not done.
He said there was an insatiable demand for sand around the world but PNG had no relevant laws to govern the practice and the government s Mineral Resources Authority, the MRA, must develop new policies and rules to govern the sector.
FAIRFIELD-SUISUN, CALIFORNIA
6 scientists in Singapore who have pivoted to Covid-19 related work [The Straits Times, Singapore / Asia News Network]
Dec. 14 SINGAPORE (The Straits Times/ANN) Meet six scientists in Singapore who have pivoted away from their areas of expertise to Covid-19 related work.
Prof Stephan Schuster: Analysing air and surface samples to find virus traces
Professor Stephan Schuster is an environmental detective. Like his crime-solving counterparts, the professor at the Nanyang Technological University’s (NTU) School of Biological Sciences looks for what is unseen to the naked eye.
This has come in useful during the Covid-19 pandemic, as humanity battles an invisible foe.