Bangalore, Aug 21: The Bangalore-based Environment Support Group, along with Friends of the Earth - Japan, have appealed to visiting Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori not to support import of iron ore excavated in Kudremukh National Park.
In a memorandum, the two organisations said that serious damage was being done to the sensitive ecology of western ghats and Kudremukh region by mining activities. They alleged that the Kudremukh Iron Ore Company Ltd (KIOCL) had already done considerable damage to the fragile ecosystem of the region.
Pointing out that many Japanese companies were major customers of the KIOCL, they appealed to the Japanese premier not to encourage import of iron ore mined in Western Ghats.
They also said that Japanese public sectore export credit agencies like Japan Bank of International Cooperation and Ministry of International Trade and Industry, which play key role in trading decision of iron ore importing companies, should implement their environmental policies in a meaningful manner. By doing so, import of iron ore mined in an environmentally destructive manner could be discouraged, they added.