December 7, 2023, by Redacción
Written by Lucía Vijil Saybe
The municipality of Tocoa is at the center of the debate for the open town hall that will be held on December 9, 2023. Citizens are called upon to make decisions about the installation of the ECOTEK – Tocoa Energy power plant. However, with the high levels of conflict and the impacts at the community, political and ecological levels in the region, it is important to ask: in what context will the open town hall be held? And, finally, what reflections can be made from the approaches of socio-territorial conflict?
Context
The conflict in this region began in the communities of Guapinol and Sector San Pedro. The Honduran National Congress established the conditions for granting the mining right, through the repeal of Legislative Decree 252-2013, which modified the core area of the Carlos Escalera Mountain of Botaderos National Park. Through this Decree, 217.34 hectares of the core zone were reduced, which coincides with the request of two non-metallic mining projects (ASP and ASP 1), in a water recharge zone for the departments of Olancho and Colón[1].
But, until now, the conflict over the illegal delivery of mining projects has resulted in a process of judicial persecution that began with the lifting of arrest warrants against 31 environmentalists and a trial that took place in two processes. The first, was against the territorial leadership of the San Pedro Sector and the Guapinol Sector (ended with the definitive dismissal of 13 environmental leaders). The second, which involved 8 human rights defenders and an arbitrary detention of 914 days (Guapinol Resiste 2022), ended with a criminal process annulled by the Supreme Court of Justice (CSJ).
At the time, the extractive intentions in the area were completely unknown. With the investigations carried out by the Municipal Committee of Common and Public Goods of Tocoa, information was revealed about the extraction megaproject led by Grupo EMPO (it includes Inversiones Los Pinares and ECOTEK)[2].
The mining project began to draw a much broader framework that also involved: a) a pelletizing plant (without an operating license since June 18, 2019), b) a water contract in the San Pedro River, c) a water contract in the Guapinol River, d) a water contract in the Guapinol River and Quebrada Ceibita and, e) ECOTEK – Tocoa Energy power plant. Adding the two mining concessions, this megaproject involves 7 components.
Beyond the mining concessions (ASP and ASP 2), it is the extractive enclave and its supporting basins and connecting networks that make the final extractive action possible, as Gudynas states: «Extractive enclaves require connecting networks that allow the transport of inputs as well as appropriate resources. These networks respond to roads, railways, waterways, seaports, and airports, including sites such as warehouses, refineries or silos that allow the links of these enterprises with globalization»[3]. In Guapinol, specifically, the opening of access roads, the removal of material debris and the construction of a campus have been documented as supports for extractive action[4]”.
Source: EMCO Group.
For the operation of the extractive enclave, it is essential that the supply of energy, water or any other input is ensured. These support basins fully enable the extraction action. At this time, the discussion about the ECOTEK – Tocoa Energy power plant becomes relevant because with its electricity generation, it would operate and sustain the action of the entire extraction, conversion, and commercialization project.
What about the information about the ECOTEK – Tocoa Energy power plant project?
Tocoa, like most municipalities in the northern region of the country, has historically denounced blackouts or lack of power[5]. Some of the information circulating in Tocoa indicates that Adán Fúnez has promoted the plant claiming that it will solve the energy crisis[6]. Community organizations and defenders of the commons agree that the Mayor’s Office of Tocoa has promoted a misconception of the energy project and has ignored important information.
Adilia Castro, a community leader, says that[7]:
«25 megabytes are requested for this first stage of the project. Of these, at least 18 will be for the operation of the plant – and if they manage to produce what they say, and the plant does not require more – there will be about 7 megabytes left. With this surplus, is it true that they will solve the energy demand of Tocoa and the Aguan region? It is a trap; the council seeks to approve the mega project with its seven components illegally operating. The energy project is just the bait to trap the population that believes it will receive energy.»
Tocoa – Energy’s file SLAS-00000-76-2020 indicates that it only has an operating environmental license issued on May 4, 2020, and that it expired on September 4, 2020. Likewise, documents in the possession of the Municipal Committee for the Defense of Common and Public Goods of Tocoa, establish that for the operation of this power plant, petcoke or petroleum coke, a product of the crude oil refining process, is required.
Additional fractions of gasoline, kerosene and diesel and petcoke are obtained in the coking process. The composition and characteristics of petcoke depend on the technology of the refinery and the crude oil processed, which is used as a fuel for heat generation[8]. However, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency warns of the human health risks of fugitive dust, which comes from storage and other petcoke operations. In particular, the entry into the lungs of particulate matter less than PM10 (derived from petcoke)[9].
In an interview with Criterio HN[10], leader Juana Esquivel claimed that ECOTEK has lied about the intentions of the electricity project.
«They have been very untruthful. The first lie they tell is that this project has nothing to do with any other mining project. And yes, it is established in the file, and we can give the pages in which it is established that the project is the basis for supplying electricity to the iron oxide pelletizing plant. In addition, (…) although there is a regulation for the use of petroleum coke, this refers specifically to its use in cement production plants, but not in thermoelectric plants (…) The manager of Ecotek, Raúl Doblado, and the environmental advisor, Fernando Manassés, is untruthful when they talk about the permitted amounts of petroleum coke in the environment, as well as the damage of this petroleum by-product to the lungs and heart.»
With this context of opacity and concealment of information about the project (which is not transferred promptly by the communities), Tocoa will attend an open town hall.
Castro states that[11]:
«We have decided to participate, and we call on the entire population to participate, but in an informed way so that they can make conscious decisions about whether or not they should endorse this uninformed consultation. We have everything against us; At this moment, all the machinery of Pinares and the government are working together to deceive the communities and thus obtain validation for the mega project. There is a media siege that does not allow the population to have access to information other than that which the company has imposed. Even so, we believe that we should make use of the few mechanisms of citizen participation in which we can participate. Our position is to say no to the polluting energy project and no to the misleading consultation because it seeks to approve the Pinares/Ecotek megaproject without previously informing the population.»
Reflections
- Addressing socio-territorial conflict
- It is important that, in any dynamic installation of extractive projects, the competent authorities provide timely, quality information with all the required elements. However, it is unfortunate that the Municipality convenes a citizen participation instance without guaranteeing the fundamental right to information. Due to these situations, the adhesion of the Government of Honduras to the Escazú Agreement, which guarantees communities access to information on these processes, becomes relevant and important.
- Understanding the relations of production in the context of conflict is very important. The impact of the operation of the megaproject in the communities of Guapinol and Sector San Pedro and others in the surrounding area, has shown that the framework of the extractive enclave responds to an international dynamic of consumption and transformation that is sustained by the raw material. And although the extractive dynamic aims to promote a narrative towards the generation of employment and the satisfaction of needs (energy), the relations of production, which must also be put at the center of the discussion, converge in the commodification of common goods and the accumulation ensured by violent schemes in the communities in which they are installed.
- Community interactions and the pattern of use of nature’s commons are other relevant elements in addressing conflict. In the progress of the megaproject, an ecological environment is being sacrificed, entirely. It is important that narratives that defend the protection of water, land, forests, and species, beyond their human use, continue to be positioned.
- Open Town Council
- The open town hall council in Toca will take place during a completely polarized context. The unfortunate role of Adán Fúnez, of government institutions that recklessly attack human rights defenders, and the commercial interest of companies keeps communities at odds and unable to (truly) make decisions about the management of their common goods.
- The open councils (previous experience with mining licenses in Tocoa) in Honduras, due to their opaque management and distance from the interests of the communities, have only served to validate the intentions of the extractive companies. If it is not developed in a transparent and comprehensive manner, it will be a trigger for an even more violent escalation in the area.
- Citizen participation should not be valued solely by attending an open town hall. While attending a call of this type, the Municipal Committee awaits a response to more than 14 criminal complaints before three prosecutors’ offices related to environmental pollution, contractual illegalities, violence, and threats in relation to the mine[12]. In these instances, it must also ensure a response to the constant demands of the communities that demand an end to all extractive action in the municipality and department.
The government of Xiomara Castro, the local government of Tocoa, led by Adán Fúnez, and other public institutions linked to the issue, cannot allow another conflict to advance, in territories where the wounds of the judicialization and the murders of defenders are still present and strong. The responsibility cannot fall solely on a population that has not been adequately informed. This responsibility must be transferred to the authorities who have historically endorsed this devastating extractive model that has left pain and mourning in its wake.
[1] CESPAD. 2023. A Comprehensive Reading of the Socio-Environmental Conflict: The Guapinol Case and the San Pedro Sector in Honduras. May. Available in: https://cespad.org.hn/una-lectura-integral-del-conflicto-socioambiental-caso-guapinol-y-el-sector-san-pedro-en-honduras/
[2] For more information: https://emcoholding.com/#our-projects
[3] Gudynas, E. 2018. Extractivism and corruption. Anatomy of an Intimate Relationship. P. 24 – 25.
[4] Big Animal Steps. 2021. Evidence of contamination from the mining company Inversiones Los Pinares-ECOTEK delivered to MiAmbiente. Available in: https://www.pasosdeanimalgrande.com/es-co/denuncias/item/3201-entregan-evidencias-de-la-contaminacion-de-la-minera-inversiones-los-pinares-ecotek-entregan-a-miambiente
[5] The Herald. 2023. Residents block CA-13 highway due to constant blackouts in Colón. Available in:
https://www.elheraldo.hn/honduras/pobladores-bloqueo-carretera-ca-13-apagones-energia-electica-enee-colon-honduras-DN13875745
[6] HN Criterion. 2023. Manipulation and omissions in the promotion of the Ecotek electricity generation project are denounced. Available in: https://criterio.hn/denuncian-manipulacion-y-omisiones-en-la-promocion-del-proyecto-de-generacion-electrica-ecotek/
[7] Interview with Adilia Castro. December 1, 2023.
[8] Kats, R. 2001. Environmental effects of the substitution of coal for petcoke in electricity generation and industrial processes. Environment and Development. XVII (1), pp. 22-29.
[9] EPA. 2018. Health Effects of Petroleum Coke. Available in: http://bcn.cl/287ml
[10] Learn more https://criterio.hn/denuncian-manipulacion-y-omisiones-en-la-promocion-del-proyecto-de-generacion-electrica-ecotek/
[11] Interview with Adilia Castro. December 1, 2023.
[12] INTER-AMERICAN COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS. 2023. RESOLUTION 55/2023. Precautionary Measures No. 137-23. Identified members of the Municipal Committee for the Defense of Common and Public Goods of Tocoa and others with respect to Honduras.
