I stand with the Sepik Peoples in calling for a Ban on the Frieda River Mine and in calling for the Upper Sepik River Basin to receive formal World Heritage Listing.
The Mighty Sepik River is of international significance, a biodiversity hotspot, and one of the most culturally diverse places on earth.

SEPIK RIVER UNDER THREAT

The Sepik River is now under threat by the proposed Frieda River copper and gold mining project. It would be like nothing Papua New Guinea has seen before – the size of all of PNG’s mining industry combined, and one of the largest mines in the world.

The Project would include one of the largest dams in the world which would be required to safely store toxic tailings forever in a seismically active area. If the dam collapsed it would be catastrophic, killing thousands of villagers and destroying the Sepik River. Up to 30 villages would be affected.

There is no secure way of storing the massive amount of mine waste (tailings) safely without damaging the river.

NO SOCIAL LICENCE TO OPERATE
There is no social licence for the mine to operate. There is no evidence of Free, Prior and Informed Consent of all impacted Customary Landowners including communities on the mine site and along the Frieda and Sepik Rivers. This evidence is essential for the Project to proceed.

The Sepik people have been the Guardians of the River for thousands of years, and for generations upon generations.

In May 2020, a total ban on the mine was unanimously proclaimed by the Traditional Clan Leaders of 28 Haus Tambarans along more than 1,000 kilometres of the Sepik River – from Swagap in Upper Sepik near the Frieda River to Kopar at the mouth of the Sepik River.

The Haus Tambarans issued the Supreme Sukundimi Declaration representing approximately 78,000 people across 25 villages, a powerful document that is a first-ever in PNG, which would be admissible in a court of law.

PROTECTING CULTURAL HERITAGE
The Peoples of the Sepik maintain a strong spiritual connection with the River, waterways, forests and animals of the Sepik: the River is their source of life and the River and its surrounds must be protected as a whole. The area is also the site of the Karawari caves, which host possibly the greatest example of rock art in the whole of Melanesia. The mine could devastate all this forever.

‘This Project poses unacceptable risks to our ancestors, ourselves and that of our unborn children. It risks the spirit of all plants and animals of the river, the lakes, the tributaries and streams.’
– Project Sepik

NATIONAL HERITAGE
“The Upper Sepik is the heart of one of the least modified landscapes in the Asia Pacific. A major river runs free without dams, weirs or industrial development … There are few places in Melanesia where cultural heritage is as diverse, dramatically displayed or proudly protected”
– Government of Papua New Guinea submission to UNESCO, tentatively listing the Upper Sepik River Basin for World Heritage Status in 2006.

The Upper Sepik River Basin, which covers an area of 7.7 million hectares, was listed by Papua New Guinean Government on its ‘Tentative List’ for nominations for World Heritage Status in 2006.

Over 1,500 lakes and other wetlands associated with the basin support populations of important waterbirds and crocodile populations. Rare Papua New Guinean plants and animals are under threat, including New Guinea Harpy Eagle, Victoria Crowned Pigeon and the Northern Cassowary.

INTERNATIONAL SIGNIFICANCE
With the converging crises, we face globally, now more than ever we have to protect and defend the last pristine places on earth like the Sepik River. The diverse habitats of the Sepik River are globally significant for biodiversity. The area contains two Global 200 eco-regions, three endemic bird areas and three centres of plant diversity.

Globally, there is an increasing call for acknowledgement that nature in all its life forms has the right to ‘exist, persist, maintain and regenerate’ its vital cycles and for the legal authority to enforce these rights on behalf of ecosystems. This is consistent with the Sepik Peoples’ relationship to the River.

The international significance of the River and the threats posed by the Frieda River mine have been recognised by ten United Nations Special Rapporteurs, including on Toxic Wastes, the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and Human Rights and the Environment, plus the Chair of the Working Group on Human Rights and Transnational Corporations, in powerful joint statements to the Chinese Government, Australian Government, Canadian Government, PNG Government, Frieda River Limited and Highlands Frieda Limited.

For these reasons, I stand with the Sepik People and future generations in calling for the protection of one of the last pristine river systems on earth.

I call for a Ban on the Frieda River Mine. And I call for the Upper Sepik River Basin to be formally nominated for protection as a World Heritage site.