The first issue that we wish to highlight is that large-scale fast-growing monoculture tree plantations constitute a major threat to forests and forest peoples. Throughout our region, this type of tree plantations have already proved to be a cause of deforestation. Primary and secondary forests have been eliminated and substituted by tree monocultures. At the same time, this type of plantations has impacted on peoples' lives and resources, including biodiversity loss, depletion of water sources, soil impoverishment and dispossession of local peoples.

However, that type of plantations are being proposed at the Climate Change Convention level as part of the Clean Development Mechanism. In order to make any sense within that context it would imply the plantation of more than 100 million hectares, particularly in Southern countries. Based on existing experience, this would mean further dispossession of local peoples' lands and further impacts on biodiversity, water and soils. This explains our opposition to the inclusion of plantations as sinks within the Clean Development Mechanism.

Regarding forests, it is simplistic to think that their protection will be ensured through payment for "climate services" --or any other services such as water or biodiversity conservation. The real issue at stake is the removal of the underlying causes that result in their destruction. These include inequalities in land distribution, lack of recognition of indigenous peoples' territories and communal tenureship systems, increased promotion of export-oriented agricultural commodities, increased international trade, unsustainable consumption patterns in the North, external debt, structural adjustment and many other local and international causes of deforestation.

Until such causes are removed, forests will continue to be destroyed. This might become obscured by the fact that some forest areas could be protected under the carbon credit mechanism, but deforestation would continue unabated in other forest areas until the underlying causes are addressed.

From a climate perspective, carbon dioxide emissions might in fact increase by the inclusion of forests as sinks in the CDM. The reason for this is that the carbon credits obtained by the emitter will allow the continuation of emissions --that should have otherwise been reduced-- while deforestation activities might simply move to other areas, resulting in further carbon dioxide emissions. The end result could well be a duplication of carbon emissions.

In order to halt climate change, the world needs to act on the two major components of the equation: cutting fossil fuel emissions and forest conservation. For the former, the major issue is to promote the use of clean, renewable and low impact energy sources. The inclusion of forests and plantations in the CDM will only serve to defer the wide adoption of such energy sources. For the latter, the major issue is the removal of the underlying causes which lead to deforestation. The inclusion of forests in the CDM will serve to defer the adoption of the necessary measures in this respect.

Some of our governments are currently trying to make deals with some industrialized countries --particularly the US-- to put our lands and forests at their service to assist them in avoiding compliance with their emissions cuts. We believe that playing their game in exchange for funding to conserve some forest areas would be a mistake, because it would not ensure forest conservation while at the same time would not solve the pressing problem of climate change. Emissions need to be cut and forests must be conserved. Not one instead of the other but both at the same time.
 

Hildebrando Velez G. Director Censat Agua Viva, FoE, Colombia.

Pablo Bergel; Iniciativa ArcoIris de Ecología y Sociedad, Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Javier Baltodano COECOCEIBA-Amigos de la Tierra Costa Rica.

Juan Carlos Villalonga, Coordinador Energía, Greenpeace Argentina.

Centro Alexander von Humboldt, Nicaragua.

Fundación Shoam Hue, Lago Puelo Chubut, Argentina.

Eduardo Gudynas, CLAES, Uruguay.

José Vélez, APROAS - Asoc. de Protección al Ambiente Serrano, Argentina.

Marcelo Calazans, FASE-ES, Brazil

Ing. Pablo Bertinat, Taller Ecologista/WISE-Rosario, Argentina.

Red Mexicana de Accion frente al Libre Comercio (RMALC), Mexico

Susana Garay, Movimiento por la Paz y el Medio Ambiente, Chubut, Argentina

Grupo Guayubira, Montevideo, Uruguay

Susanne Schulz, LIHUE, Rio Negro Patagonia, Argentina

Redes/Amigos de la Tierra, Uruguay.

Foro Boliviano del Medio Ambiente y Desarrollo, La Paz, Bolivia.

Gerardo Honty, Centro Uruguayo de Tecnologias Apropiadas, Montevideo, Uruguay.

Asociación Ornitológica Cuenca del Puelo, Lago Puelo Chubut, Argentina.

José Luis Cogorno, Red de Ongs Ambientalistas del Uruguay

Ricardo Carrere, Movimiento Mundial por los Bosques Tropicales, Montevideo, Uruguay

Jorge Cappato, Fundación PROTEGER, Argentina.

Maria Luisa Ramos, ECOACCION, La Paz, Bolivia

Alejandro Yanniello/Mariano Costa,Asociación Ambientalista Piuké, Bariloche, Rio Negro, Argentina

Elias Diaz Peña, Sobrevivencia, Paraguay

Alberto Kipen, Foro Ecologista de Paraná, Argentina

Roque Pedace, Amigos de la Tierra, Argentina

Néstor Capano / Claudia Rivero, Albergue Agroecológico Gaia, Revista Ecomarca, El Bolsón,

Río Negro, Argentina

José Moya, Federación de Organizaciones y Juntas Ambientalistas (FORJA), Caracas, Venezuela

Marcelo Alvarez, InforSE, Coordinador Latinoamericano.

Debora M. Herman, Asociación Comunidad de la Cuenca del Nahuel Huapi, (CCNH), Río Negro, Argentina

Secretaria de Oilwatch,Quito,Ecuador

Acción Ecológica, Quito Ecuador

Red Nacional de Acción Ecológica, Santiago, Chile

Comunidad del Limay, Bariloche, Patagonia, Argentina

Dr. Miguel A. Rementeria, CIMA-Comisión Interdisciplinaria de Medio Ambiente, Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Lic. Silvana Buján, ECOS, Mar del Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Asociación Vecinal Moronense. Bs.As.Argentina.

Rubens Born, Vitae Civilis Instituto para o Desenvolvimento, Meio Ambiente e Paz Vitae Civilis, Lourenco da Serra, Brazil

Hernando Albornoz, El Globo, Energías Limpias, Medio Ambiente y Normalización, Argentina

Jorge Alberto Faggiano, Asociación Ambientalista VERDE X GRIS, Florencio Varela, Buenos Aires,

Argentina

Ricardo Mascheroni, Centro de Protección a la Naturaleza, Santa Fe, Argentina

Guillermo Calderón, Asociación Ambientalista DEMOSVIDA, Argentina

Roberto Bystrowicz, Asociación Civil La Casa de la Humanidad; Argentina

Proyecto Lemu - Epuyen, Chubut, Argentina

Movimiento Antinuclear del Chubut, Argentina

Sistemas Ecológicos Patagónicos, Argentina

Asociación Huemules, Comodoro Rivadavia, Argentina

CADACE, Comodoro Rivadavia, Chubut, Argentina

Alejandro Argumedo,Coordinador Internacional, Indigenous Peoples Biodiversity Network (IPBN)

Noe Ramirez, Asociacion Kechua-Aymara para Comunidades Sostenibles"ANDES" Cusco, Peru

Equipo Pueblo, Mexico

María Elena Mesta, Coordinadora del Programa de Conservación de la Biodiversidad, Centro Mexicano de Derecho Ambiental, Mexico

Martha Delgado Peralta, Unión de Grupos Ambientalistas de México

S.O.S. Villaguay, Argentina