An important case is making its way through the courts in Lusaka, the capital of Zambia. One hundred seventy-six farmers have sued two mining companies with ties to China. Farmers claim an “ecological disaster” ensued after the tailings dam collapsed in February. This disaster dumped millions of liters of toxic, highly acidic waste into local waterways. At $47 billion, this lawsuit is set to become one of the largest environmental lawsuits in Zambia’s history.
The farmers say the dam disaster has had an immediate and disastrous impact on their lives and livelihoods—impacting around 300,000 households across this copper-mining state. Via their legal petition, they have asked for $80 billion (£58.5 billion) in damages for damages suffered. According to plaintiffs, the spill has led to “catastrophic kill” of fish species. It has poisoned TN’s drinking water supply and destroyed local agriculture.
It got worse when, several days later, the farmers found out that the water turned extremely poisonous. The U.S. embassy has expressed concern regarding the contamination, issuing a health alert in August that highlighted “widespread contamination of water and soil” in the affected areas. Following the crisis, the embassy requested the withdrawal of personnel from Kitwe and other locations adjacent to the area immediately.
The petitioners are calling for the establishment of a $20 million emergency fund. This fund will deliver immediate and urgent help to people facing the consequences of this disaster. They ask the two companies to conduct full health studies. They’re asking for extensive environmental impact assessments to get a sense of the scope of the damage.
“Contaminated water and soil, contaminants from the spilled mine tailings may also become airborne, posing a health threat if inhaled.” – U.S. Embassy
The two firms has indicated that they responded quickly to the potential release as soon as it was identified. They maintain that there was “no need to press the ‘panic button’ today to alarm the nation and the international community,” according to Cornelius Mweetwa, a local official.
The farmers need more than monetary compensation. In exchange, they’re demanding that the companies pre-fund at least $80 billion into a government-controlled trust fund to guarantee environmental remediation. They are determined to hold the government entirely accountable for the destruction that the collapse has had on their lives and their community.
This lawsuit stands to raise awareness like few other lawsuits can — both locally and internationally. More importantly, it brings to light some key environmental accountability failures in the broader mining industry. This result has the potential to set a new precedent for all environmental litigation in Zambia going forward. It would hold the potential to change mining practices across the region.