Isan opposition to potassium mining

Farmer in Isan

There is a consensus among certain Thai populations that the people of Isaan are a bunch of backward assholes. They don't pay taxes and stubbornly vote for the wrong politicians. Not even the military can help with the latter…

Some prominent members of the Bangkok Hi so in the past expressed the opinion that it is better to halve the votes cast in Isaan, but in fact most of the elite in the City of Angels believe that they should simply not be allowed to vote anymore. Not so long ago, there was another riot when Suchai Butsara, the deputy governor of Khon Kaen, described the inhabitants of Isan as stupid in a letter. It turned out to be the proverbial storm in the equally proverbial glass of water…

The inhabitants of Isaan may be known in certain circles as inveterate stupids, but I certainly don't experience them that way. Living together for twelve years with a very articulate and politically conscious Isan and living on the border of Buriram with Surin for quite some time now, I may not yet call myself an expert, but I can call myself an expert by experience. I experience my Isan fellow citizens as eloquent citizens, perhaps cursed with what is colloquially known as 'common sense' is described but what's wrong with that? Moreover, they have outspoken opinions, which they want to pass on to God and Klein Pierke - as they used to say with us in the Kempen. They may not express their opinion as eloquently or academically substantiated as the Bangkok elite, but unlike the Hi so a heart for their local community and are also willing to show this. For example, environmental awareness is a natural thing for them. As smallholder rice farmers and livestock farmers, they know that their survival depends on a harmonious and respectful coexistence of people, animals and nature. They may sometimes be a bit too lavish with spraying substances, but it is not surprising that when this survival is threatened at the core, the population will rebel. That is why I would like to take a moment to reflect on the protest in Sakhon Nakhon, largely silenced by the major Thai media, against the possible extraction of potassium by the Chinese.

Potassium Chloride

Potassium or potassium was extracted for centuries in the West from potash, the water-soaked or leached ash of oak or beech wood that was dried in order to extract potassium from it. In the nineteenth century it was discovered that potassium can also be extracted from mines as a finite and non-replaceable resource. Fortunately, huge stocks still exist, especially in Canada, China, Russia and Belarus. More than 90% of all extracted potassium salts are processed as potassium chloride in fertilizer. As a result, they are important for food production and it is not unexpected, for example, that a country such as the People's Republic of China, always eager for strategic acquisitions, wants to secure its food production by strengthening its grip on global potassium extraction.

Coincidentally, the subsurface of Isaan may also hide an interesting supply of potassium. Almost twenty years ago, a Canadian company first tried to extract potassium in Udon Thani. Without much trouble, a favorable environmental impact assessment was drawn up and they obtained a license, but thanks to the protest of the local population, these plans remained. After all, the population feared – and who can blame them? – that this whole business can indeed have an impact on the environment that is much more serious than what was told by the applicants. Potassium mining has a reputation for not only having a possible impact on the landscape and the surrounding ecosystem, but also being responsible for water pollution, excessive water use and air pollution. Effects, which are confirmed in studies by respectable institutions such as the United Nations Environment Program and even the International Fertilizer Association.

In 2015 the . received China Ming Ta Potash Corporation a five-year license to prospect in Sakhon Nakhon province for potassium mining in an area of ​​120.000 rai with a focus on Wanon Niwat district. Concerned about the environment, residents took action two years ago. A campaign that in December 2018 resulted in the 'Wanon Walk', a closely monitored military and police six-day protest march by 200 villagers to the provincial capital. An action that only received some publicity in the local press. The national media barely responded. In March 2019, a ceremony was held at the endangered Huay Thong reservoir to implore the protection of the spirits over this water resource… I honestly doubt that such actions will impress the Chinese who believe that everything, absolutely everything, in the world and certainly in South East Asia…

Meanwhile, the clock is ticking mercilessly. The Chinese license will expire in less than half a year and there is a good chance that no one, and certainly not Phrayut Chan-o-Cha's cabinet, will stand in their way. Who in Bangkok is also awake from Isaan…?