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WRM Bulletin
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OUR VIEWPOINT The WRM bulletin has completed its second year and we would like to take this opportunity to share some comments with you all. Since the first issue, our efforts have been geared at supporting indigenous peoples and local communities fighting to protect their forests. We have insisted on the fact that the forest is theirs and that they are the ones most interested in forest conservation. Consequently, that if humanity is really committed to protecting the remaining forests of the world, then it should begin by recognizing indigenous and local peoples' rights as a first step in the right direction. The bulletin has therefore largely focused on supporting local struggles to protect the forests. The first means to achieve such aim has been to make as many struggles as possible known to the widest possible audience. Given the number of existing conflict situations, this has constantly faced us with the dilemma of either excluding some cases or increasing the length of the bulletin. As those of you with slower email systems are certainly aware, our option has been the latter. We have tried very hard to provide you with accurate -though never neutral- information and analysis to act upon. Local struggles greatly benefit from a wider support to put pressure on governments and other relevant agents of forest and livelihood destruction. In all cases where local organizations have asked for such type of support, we have urged our readers to carry out the requested activities. Solidarity was forthcoming and proof of the "damage" inflicted were the strong letters we received, particularly from targetted TNCs and governments. Many of the factors which are at the root of deforestation processes arise very far away from the forest (e.g. international trade, overconsumption, macroeconomic policies) and therefore local peoples and their allies need to be aware of and act upon them. We therefore consistently included information and analysis on global processes and actors, in order to facilitate understanding and information sharing about them, as a first step to change the conditions which result in deforestation. In sum, our aim was to create a tool and we hope that the WRM bulletin has become useful, both for indigenous and local peoples and for other people concerned with the fate of forest peoples and their forests. We wish to stress the importance that the direct participation of many of our readers has had in carrying out this task. Much of the information and analysis featured in the bulletin originated from subscribers from all over the world; in some cases as written contributions and in other cases providing us with the relevant information. We have also received very useful feedback and suggestions which have been taken on board. We have been on the road for two years, but not alone. An increasing number of friends, fighting for similar ideals are also walking along with us. We hope their number will increase and that our bulletin may assist in generating more and more support to local struggles, for their benefit and for that of humanity as a whole. Thank you all very much.
LOCAL STRUGGLES AND NEWS AFRICA Kenya: Ogiek people's fight to protect their forest The Ogiek people are a hunter-gatherer people, famed as harvesters of honey, which they consume themselves and exchange with their neighbours, and who have lived from time immemorial in the forests of the Mau escarpment in Kenya. Tinet Forest is part of their territory, and the Ogiek are their guardians. But since 1961, when the colonial government in 1961 declared it a government forest, they have lived there as squatters subject to constant harassment in their own lands. In 1991 the Kenyan government legally allocated five acres of the forest per family to 5,000 members of the Ogiek community, who began farming and constructing schools, while still using the forest and gathering honey. But powerful interests wish to occupy the forest with the aim of using it for logging. Faced with renewed harassment and threats of eviction, as in colonial times, the Ogiek community went to the court for protection, but last May the Nakuru District Commissioner tried to preempt the case by giving the Ogiek community 14 days notice to leave the forest, threatening to use force if they resist. The affected indigenous people reacted and community leaders met and vowed never to leave Tinet Forest until the Government allocates them land. They obtained an order of injunction from the Kenyan High Court to restrain the local government from evicting them until their case is heard in court. The Ogiek's territorial rights must be respected as well as their traditional way of life in harmony with the environment. Eviction would deprive them of their livelihood while at the same time causing the degradation of the forest. Those willing to support their struggle please send messages to: Mr. John Litunda , District Commissioner, Nakuru District The Chief Conservator of Forests Source: Virginia Luling, Survival International, survival@gn.apc.org
Malawi, a country with a total land area of 118.484 sq.kms, is located in Southeast Africa. Its lowlands, which receive heavy rainfall, are covered by grasslands, temperate forests and rainforests, but the country has suffered deforestation at a annual rate of 1.3% (1981/90). The country has a total population of 9,845,000 inhabitants (1996) and four times more people per square kilometre than Sub-Saharan Africa as a whole, of whom four fifths depend on agriculture. On average, each farmer has only one hectare and the estate sector holds only a small portion of the land. Thus the big farmers don't seem to be responsible -as they are in many other places- for most of the deforestation. The population grows 3.2% per year and in many regions farmers have no way to expand their operations except by clearing new areas of forest. Malawi might therefore seem to be a good candidate to prove what many believe to be a main cause of deforestation: population growth. Nevertheless, the recently published research 'Agricultural Land Expansion and Deforestation in Malawi' by I. Minde, D.Ngugi, J. Luhanga, and G. Kowero presents a broader picture. The authors make it clear that population growth alone cannot fully explain deforestation in Malawi. Using original household survey data from three regions, they show that average farm size grew substantially between 1992 and 1996. Such increase, which put additional pressure on forests, was the result of government decisions to liberalize maize markets and other agricultural policies and not due to population growth. According to the authors' findings, Malawi's people clear about 50,000 hectares of forest each year, which implies that each rural family deforests about one hectare every thirty five years. If we compare the deforestation occuring in this "overpopulated" country with the one taking place in a clearly non-overpopulated country such as Brazil, the Malthusian simplistic approach crumbles: only one big cattle rancher can deforest that area in only one or few years. The conclusion seems to be that generalizations linking deforestation to population growth cannot be made without taking into account all the other variables -internal and external- which may either increase or relieve pressures from forests. Such approach can provide explanations of why very densely populated countries like Japan (332 inhabitants/sq.km), the United Kingdom (238/sq.km) or Germany (230/sq.km) are currently not facing the deforestation process which is occuring in a much less populated country as Malawi (83/sq.km). If you would like to request an electronic copy of the paper, please write to Godwin Kowero at gkowero@cgiar.org Sources: David Kaimowitz, 22/6/99, e-mail: d.kaimowitz@cgiar.org. World Guide 1999/2000.
South Africa: "How green are my plantations?" A very interesting debate on the impacts of tree monocultures in South Africa is currently taking place in the SAWAC (Southern Africa Water Crisis) web site: http://www.soft.co.za/sawac/sawubon.htm The debate starts with some critical comments on an article published in Sawubona magazine ("How green are my forests"), in which the forestry industry presents itself as the champion of nature conservation. The Chief Director of the Forestry Department of Water Affairs and Forestry replies defending that position, while other participants in the debate also express their points of view questioning the industry's approach. Those interested in the details of the debate are invited to visit SAWAC's site, where you will also find other relevant material on the impacts of large-scale tree plantations in South Africa. Source: SAWAC web site
Tanzania: preservation results in human rights abuses The preservationist approach to forest protection tends to consider people as a threat to nature protection and frequently results in the violation of the human rights of rural communities and indigenous peoples living in the forests. This view not only supports the unrealistic idea of a nature void of people, but also ignores the benefits that the traditional management of natural resources brings to nature conservation itself. Over the last few years, conflicts related to this issue have arisen in several places and the following case is yet another sad result of such approach. In October 1998 riot police and forest officers entered the village of Nzasa at the Kazizumbwi Forest Reserve, 45 kilometres from Dar es Salaam. They beat them, burned their crops and houses. Hundreds of structures, mainly thatched residential houses and granaries, were pulled down and burned during the operation. At least 700 people -including women and children- were left homeless, evicted out of the area and with no other place to go to. The Forest Department, heavily criticized by human rights groups, justified the violent operation arguing that the villagers had encroached upon the forest reserve and are not entitled to compensation. After the operation, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism told the press that the government would not extend any assistance to the victims, as the area was not recognized as a village, and made the villagers responsible for the destruction of 54% of the forest reserve. Said Abdallah, one of the victims, told the press that members of his lineage had been living in the area since the beginning of the century. "Yet government agents say we have invaded the reserve" he added. The villagers say authorities had brought the forest boundary inland by at least "three hours walk". Investigations carried out by members of the press revealed that indeed every landmark in the area is new. The victims of the abuse recently reacted suing the authorities for this violent action. The villagers argue that the so called "Okoa Kazimzumbwi Operation" was criminal, because the government agents entered their homes unlawfully, harmed and assaulted them, and burned their crops. The villagers also argue that authorities changed the reserve boundaries after the assault in order to accuse them of having invaded it. The case is now before the High Court. Source: "Violent Eviction From Tanzanian Forest Ends in Court" by Nicodemus Odhiambo, 29/6/99; http://ens.lycos.com/ens/jun99/1999L-06-29-03.html comments by WRM International Secretariat.
Zambia: the Minister's silence on the timber business What follows is the editorial comment ("Zambia's forests") of the 30 June edition of The Post (Zambia) which sheds light on the real problems which Zambian forests are confronting: "The deteriorating state of affairs in our forestry sector should be a matter of serious concern to all Zambians. The concerns raised by environment and natural resources minister William Harrington about Zambia's ecological and environmental degradation resulting from cutting down of trees for firewood and charcoal deserve the government's urgent attention. But minister Harrington's revelation that high electricity tariffs are affecting the Zambian government's policy of rural electrification raises more questions. Isn't it the Zambian government that put itself in this position through unbridled liberalisation economic policies? With the recently announced new energy policy in which nearly all aspects of electricity generation will be privatised we should forget about rural electrification - probably not even in the next millennium. But it is not only the clearing of trees for commercial agricultural activities, firewood and late fires that should be a matter of concern. Poor agricultural policies are pushing more and more peasant farmers into chitemene, a primitive and destructive practice that the UNIP government almost succeeded in stopping in the 1970s and 80s. The return to chitemene can be, to some extent, blamed on the government's blind economic liberalisation policies which have led to the shortage, and late delivery, of agricultural inputs. But there's another, even more destructive, practice which minister Harrington did not mention at all - the uncontrolled or poorly controlled - commercial exploitation of timber, especially in Zambia's Western, Eastern and Southern provinces. Minister Harrington should know very well how forests are being destroyed in Western Province for Mukwa because he hails from there, but he has chosen to remain silent on this score. Why? We don't think his silence is a product of oversight or has anything to do with ignorance. Harrington, in our view, has been President Frederick Chiluba's best, or most committed, Minister of Environment. Timber is big business with gigantic benefits to those commercially involved in it and this is probably why minister Harrington is silent about it - attacking the small men and women dealing in firewood and charcoal. We are not against well planned and managed exploitation of Zambia's forest potential to the benefit of our country and its people. But we are opposed to what, for example, is happening to Mukwa in Western Province. The trees are being indiscriminately cut, without any system for replacing them. It takes 50 to 70 years for a Mukwa tree to mature and Western Province is a semi-desert region - posing a very serious ecological and environmental danger. And, moreover, what are the people of Western Province benefitting from this Mukwa business? Very little, if any. All the money realised from Mukwa sales goes abroad or ends in Lusaka. There are no timber industries, worth talking about, established in Western Province to benefit the local people. We urge minister Harrington to take a close look at the timber business and its effects on the environment and do something about it." Source: The Post / Post Newspapers / post@zamnet.zm (sent by Richard Sherman, South Africa) http://www.zamnet.zm/zamnet/post.arch.4914/editor/story1.html
ASIA Thailand: Authorities play "Ethnic" and "Nationalist" cards Recent violent and unconstitutional actions on the part of the Thai Royal Forest Department, provincial authorities and the police against peaceful demonstrators are arousing strong concern both within the country and abroad. The demonstration for land, forests and citizenship rights of the Northern Farmer Network (NFN), the Assembly of Tribal Ethnic Minorities (ATEM) and the Assembly of the Poor (AOP) in Chiang Mai, started on April 25th, in which 40,000 lowlanders and highlanders are participating, is shaking political and social reality of Thailand (see WRM Bulletin 23) The police and forestry department officials reacted violently against the demonstrators just as they were about to be addressed by high-ranking ministry officials with whom they had been peacefully negotiating. The demonstrators, many of whom belonged to minority ethnic groups resident in Thailand's highlands, were slandered as "foreigners" and harrassed by agents provocateurs before police forced them from their rally site in front of the Chiang Mai Provincial Hall. University faculty advising the demonstrators were pilloried a few days later by members of a conservation group who accused them of selling out the country. The incidents reflect a growing trend throughout the country of official indifference toward the constitutional rights of ordinary villagers asking for land and forest rights, compensation for livelihoods lost as the result of dams or other development projects, or a representative voice in the future of their local areas. The facts registered in Chiang Mai are not isolated. Instances of repression have also occurred along the Mun river and in the Dong Larn forest area of Thailand's Northeast. At present NGO workers and village leaders are working with villagers to help prepare them to register to obtain citizenship and to register their land. Leaders of NFN have given a press conference in Bangkok and discussed the possibility of taking legal action against the governor of Chiang Mai. Academics supporting the rally have confined themselves to providing more information to the public via the media, explaining the problems faced by NFN, ATEM and AOP and indigenous people in general. It is important that the wider public know about the use of force to disperse the rally in Chiang Mai and ask for an explanation why Royal Forest Department officials were involved. If the repressive collaboration between the Royal Forest Department and local authorities is allowed to continue during the registration of highlanders and their land use under the pretext that the latter are "threats to national security", the result is likely to be further violations of rights such as those seen in Chiang Mai and in other places of Thailand. Source: "Bulletin on disturbing events in N. Thailand" by Larry Lohmann, 4/6/99.
Malaysia: conflict caused by Bakun dam continues in Sarawak The Bakun Hydroelectric Dam Project has aroused widespread concern among environmental and social NGOs and indigenous peoples' organizations in Sarawak, which have been opposing this megaproject considered unnecessary -since the present and future energy demand of the country are adequately covered with the electricity produced nowadays- and negative from an environmental and social point of view because one third of Sarawak's remaining primary forest lie in the area to be affected by the dam, thus forcing the migration of indigenous peoples from the catchment area. In May 1997 the Coalition of Concerned NGOs on Bakun (Gabungan) urged ABB, the main contractor involved in the project, to definitively abandon the project (see WRM Bulletin 2). In February 1998 the Bakun Region People's Committee (BRPC) urges the State government and the Bakun Resettlement Committee (BRC) to shelve the resettlement of the Bakun residents which is tentatively set for July that year (see WRM Bulletin 9). In spite of these severe objections and the reduction of the scale of the originally planned dam, the project's implementation went on and the denounced problems persist. On June 10th Gabungan delivered the following press statement on this conflictive issue: "On Reviving the Bakun Project The announcement by the Prime Minister (June 8) that the Bakun dam will be scaled down to around 500 MW capacity, raises some vital questions: 1. With a downsized dam, why does the Sarawak government still want to resettle 10,000 indigenous peoples? Initially, the Bakun dam was supposed to have a capacity of 2,400 MW and the size of the flooded area required the displacement of 10,000 indigenous peoples in 15 long houses. Now that the dam has been downsized, why should the same number of people be displaced? One would have thought that, if the Sarawak Government had followed the recommendations of its consultants in the Bakun Hydroelectric Project, the resettlement would have been put off as long as possible until just before the reservoir is flooded. Furthermore, now that the dam has been scaled down, that there is no longer a need to displace that many people. What has been happening, from the study by the Fact Finding Mission sent by the Coalition of Concerned NGOs, is that the Sarawak authorities are rushing the resettlement. They want "Operation Exodus" to be completed by August 1999. Apart from the reason above, the Asap Resettlement Scheme is a gigantic failure in planning, the most serious problems being: - There are no employment opportunities in Asap. The one oil palm company has just planted their seedlings, so the people will have to wait five years before the trees mature for harvesting. This is assuming plantation wage labour is suitable for the Bakun indigenous people, who have thrived on swidden farming, forest products in their traditional long house communities for centuries. The land they have been given (3 acres) is not what they had been promised (3 hectares) and certainly not enough to work on by each household, never mind their future generations. - The house units at the Asap Resettlement Scheme -small, cheap wood, shoddy work and priced at RM52,000- would be considered daylight robbery by West Malaysians. Despite the fact that this is the biggest resettlement scheme of indigenous peoples, the scandal is that it has still not been given a Certificate of Fitness by the Kapit Majlis. The reason given is that there are defects in the design of the houses and facilities around the long houses there. The full report of the Fact Finding Mission to Bakun will be released by the end of June 1999 and submitted to the federal and state governments. 2. Dams cannot be considered renewable Hydroelectric dams, together with nuclear and coal-fired power stations cannot be considered "renewable". The world-wide experience with hydroelectric dams have shown that they are environmentally destructive and have a fixed life, after which they need to be decommissioned at great cost. That is why the World Bank does not finance hydroelectric dams anymore. Our hydroelectric dams in the Cameron Highlands are a poor advertisement. The Chenderoh Dam has had to be upgraded and new machines installed. 3. Alternatives to the Bakum Dam Like the response to our water crisis, we have yet to see the Government implement energy saving measures and ensuring our power stations operate at full efficiency. Other countries which have done this have managed to reduce the consumption of fuel oils and the cost of generation almost a decade after the mid-seventies by energy saving alone! Our own Energy Minister has said that the industrial sector can save up to RM685 million in energy cost a year if it implements energy-saving measures. We have pointed out that the country has to have an energy-needs inventory, not just electricity consumption projections. This means the collection of reliable data on types of energy produceable and the varying amounts used in the country, both domestic and industrial; optimising the match between energy sources and uses to avoid wastage, and tapping more renewable sources. The country has not been given a total picture of our options. For example, we have been told that the Bakun project will be saving on consumption of our own gas supply, but the public has not been informed that we have been wantonly selling gas to Japan and other countries anyway all these years! If we need hydroelectric dams at all, these should be very small dams built in situ to supply power to long houses and local industries without the need to displace any indigenous peoples. 4. Why do we want toxic and energy-hungry industries such as aluminium smelters? The earliest justification for the Bakun dam during the Eighties was the need for energy to fuel an aluminium smelter in Bintulu. Aluminium smelting is one industry that the developed countries want to dump on gullible people like us because it is environmentally toxic and consumes voracious amounts of energy. It is unbelievable that after all these years, when we are supposed to be more environmentally conscious and wary of foreign countries dumping their toxic industries on South countries, the aluminium smelter is again proposed! Who will gain from this investment? 5. The right of information. The Government must be transparent about the cost of the project, the tenders for the contracts, etc. Furthermore, the public has the right to know why Ekran Berhad and Bakun Hydroelectric Corporation will receive a scandalous RM 950 million for compensation. So far we have not been able to gauge such specific information. The Bakun dam project has been wrapped in controversy from the beginning because of secrecy over these details. We hope that this will change for the Malaysian people are entitled to information which affect their lives and taxes. Released by: Dr. Kua Kia Soong Source: Antares, e-mail: Antares@tm.net.my. Organization: Magick River, 10/6/99.
Vietnam: Government promotes "bioinvasion" The spread of exotic species in natural ecosystems worldwide, known as "bioinvasion", is deserving increasing attention and causing concern. Several plants, including tree species, have been identified as behaving like weeds. For example an African species of acacia (A. nilotica) is being promoted in regions of Africa where it is exotic as well as in India, while in Indonesia and Australia they are trying to eradicate it as a result of its invasive behaviour. At least 19 pine species have invaded various Southern countries’ ecosystems. Eucalyptus also appear on weed lists in many countries and its invasions are displacing what remains of the native vegetation in areas of the Mediterranean region. The invasion by alien species is one of the main causes of forest degradation in many parts of the world. Nevertheless, the Vietnamese government is ignoring this problem. An area of 5 million hectares is planned to be planted with trees nationwide by 2010. The new "reforestation" project, approved at the 10th National Assembly in 1997, involves 53 provinces and cities with almost 20 million people, and will cost an estimated of more than U$S 4.5 billion. No native species will be used in this project aimed to increase present national forest cover from the current 30.2% (according to other sources, 28%) to 43%. "Forest cover" is an ambiguous concept, used in official statistics, that hides how much correspond to natural forests and how much to tree plantations, called "planted forests". In parallel with this project, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development is now carrying out activities to "green" 10,000 hectares of barren hills in the northern mountainous provinces of Lai Chau and Son La by aerial seeding. 7.5 tonnes of pine and acacia seeds –both invading species- have already been spread in Dien Bien district of Lai Chau province. Sources: Chris Bright, "Life out of Bounds", Worldwatch Institute, 1998; Government Approves Socio-Economic Development Projects, Ha Noi, June 15 (VNA); Aerial Seeding Project Carried out in Lai Chau and Son La Provinces, Ha Noi, June 20, 1999 (VNA)
Violence against local fisherfolk in India Chilika Lake is one of the largest inland brackish water bodies in Asia, of immense ecological importance for its unique and varied biodiversity. Though Chilika was declared by the Ramsar Convention to be a wetland of international importance, the shrimp aquaculture industry at that time threatened to establish itself there via the mafia-like activities of the powerful industrial group Tata House which planned several industrial shrimp farms on the shores of Lake Chilika. By means of a court injunction, Tata House was stopped, and its pond construction halted mid-course, what was considered an important victory. Nevertheless later smaller scale shrimp farms operated by less noteworthy investors were quietly and illegally constructed. Over the years, the operation of these smaller shrimp farms has caused many problems for the local residents and environmental degradation at Chilika. Nowadays the situation has reached a boiling point. A terrible tragedy has taken place at Chilika Lake. According to a report by the National Fishworkers Forum (India) and the World Forum of Fish-harvesters and Fishworkers, four protestors -including one woman- have been killed and thirteen other people injured by rampaging police in Orissa State. The victims were part of a group of residents of fishing villages who oppose continued shrimp farming in the Chilika Lake region. The Supreme Court of India issued a historical judgement against aquaculture in Chilika, establishing that there should be no shrimp farms within 1000 meters of the lake. The fishworker organisation then gave a 24 hour ultimatum to demolish all prawn infrastructures, which lapsed on May 29th. After the deadline they themselves destroyed about 11 illegal prawn farms. Then the police reacted violently and raided the village beating villagers mercilessly, throwing tear gas shells and shooting them. Banchhanidhi Behera died on the spot, and Digambar Behrera and Prema Behra on the way to hospital. Another victim died later at hospital. The National Fishworkers Forum and the World Forum Of Fish Harvesters and Fishworkers condemned the incident, strongly protested against the police action, demanded the withdrawal of the Aquaculture Authority Bill and asked the guilty to be punished immediately. NFF also expressed deep anguish over the way the authority is handling the situation, and its serious concern about the personal safety of the leaders and the people of the movement. The organization also demands compensation for the family of the deceased and for the injured, as well as proper medical care for the injured. A strike call was made for June 5th . That day the railway and road connection with the Eastern coast of the country came into a standstill. Fishworkers blockaded the railroad in many stations, as a result of which trains were stranded in different stations. From the morning, fishworkers started sitting on the railway lines of Rambha, Khallikote, Bhusandapur and other stations. In Bhubaneswar station 600 women carrying their children stopped the Chennai-Howrah Koromandal Express. Eight trains were cancelled. Apart from the communication system, in the rest of the state the impact of the strike was also important. In the capital Bhubaneswar it was totally successful and shops were closed. Thousands of fishworkers from Chilika and adjacent areas have made a human wall in the city and vehicles were totally stopped. Attendance in offices was very poor. Police arrested 2000 people including fishworkers and workers of different political groups. Indian environmental and social NGOs have called for an international response in protest to the Prime Minister of India, and to the State authorities in Orissa where the violence occurred. Please, send faxes and/or letters of protest to the Prime Minister and Orissa Chief Minister at the following addresses: Mr. Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Chief Minister of Orissa, Also, please send copies of your letters to your local Indian
embassy or consulats, and include in your messages NFF at: nff@md2.vsnl.net.in SAMPLE LETTER "Honourable Prime Minister Vajpayee, With this letter, I wish to express to your government condemnation and absolute repulsion over the lamentable events that have occurred in Orissa, India that resulted in the killing of four fisher people, and the wounding of 13 others, as a result of police actions taken against their protests over the construction of shrimp aquaculture facilities in Chilika Lake. Chilika lake has been occupied by the shrimp industry, with the support of the local politicians and bureaucrats, even though the Supreme Court of India has ruled in an historical decision that shrimp farms were to be prohibited within 1,000 meters of the lake. In response to the illegal establishment of these shrimp farms, the fisherfolk of Chilika, supported by the National Forum of Fisherworkers, were exercising their right to protest against these actions, and denounce them to the authorities. The Indian Government must initiate actions against the people responsible for the deaths of these citizens of Chilika, and to prosecute those who have installed or continue to operate shrimp farms, in violation of the order of the Supreme Court of India. Yours sincerely," Sources: Maurizio Ferrari, e-mail: maufar@fppwrm.gn.apc.org, 17/6/99; Late Friday News nr. 37, 18/6/99
Pakistan: local people's long struggle for the forests The oil industry has been denounced for its environmentally destructive practices in Pakistani rainforests (see WRM Bulletin 9). Nevertheless, this is not the only threat hovering over them. For the last two years, forest dwellers of the District of Dir have courageously waged a war against illegal timber smuggling, the centralized and bureaucratic system of forest management, and appropriation of forest royalty belonging to thousands of poor and marginalized indigenous peoples by local elites, royalty purchasers and district administration. The current protest movement started in 1997 after the local administration, in partnership with influential politicians and timber contractors deprived them of their share in the royalty. Since the authorities turned a deaf ear to the peoples' demands, in 1997 hundreds of forest dwellers organized a protest march to the provincial capital, Peshawar. As they reached Peshawar, they were arrested and beaten-up by the police. Realizing the gravity of the situation, the Chief Minister of the Province called for a meeting with the local representative council of elders-jirga. An Enquiry Committee comprising the members of district judiciary and the forest department was formed. Two-and-a-half months after it concluded with an endorsement of the position of forest dwellers, declaring illegal the distribution of Rs.200 million among royalty purchasers. Most of the defaulters identified by the Enquiry Committee belong to the mainstream political parties and are members of provincial and national assemblies. The recommendations of the Enquiry Committee include recovery of defaulted money, distribution of remaining royalty through the district administration, enlisting the exact royalty holders, arranging land settlement in the area and initiating disciplinary action against the then Assistant Commissioner of District Dir. However, the report of the Enquiry Committee was not made public. Then the forest dwellers had to organise another protest campaign and set up a sit-in camp in the provincial capital, Peshawar. The local administration was obliged to implement almost all of the recommendations of the Enquiry Committee. Due to political pressure and vested interests, the district administration successfully managed to prolong the implementation of this directive. As a result, a third phase of the protest movement started in February 1999. For five months, forest dwellers camped at the district headquarters and some of them went on hunger strike. Forest dwellers contacted the Awami Forestry Ittehad (Peoples Forestry Coalition), a membership-based coalition of local action groups, forestry networks and advocacy NGOs, and asked them to help them in this struggle for livelihood and conservation of indigenous forestry resources. As a result, a Dir-Kohistan Watch Cell was established to generate public support and lobby the government. On June 4th the police arrested hundreds of forest dwellers and members of local NGOs while they were staging a peaceful sit-in and hunger strike against illegal distribution of forest royalties. After the arrests, forest dwellers organized a long march towards the capital, Islamabad. Two thousand forest people including children, elders and disabled persons took part in this arduous long march. On the third day, the government asked the demonstrators to suspend the march and promised them to solve the matter in a week time. Forest dwellers accepted the government's appeal but the authorities did not hold to their promise. The situation is now uncertain since forest dwellers have issued a deadline of June 25 to the government. Pakistani demonstrators are asking concerned people worldwide to support their fair struggle for their livelihood and environment. Please write to the following authorities, demanding them: the release of the arrested forest people of Dir-Kohistan, the set up of an independent enquiry committee to investigate brutalities of the district police and local administration of district Dir, and the implementation of the recommendations of the Enquiry Committee. PLEASE WRITE LETTERS OR SEND EMAILS TO: The Prime Minister of Pakistan The Minister of Interior, Government of Pakistan The Minister of Information, Government of Pakistan The Chief Minister of NWFP, The Inspector General of Police, NWFP The Pakistan Mission to the United Nations (New York) Pakistani embassy or consulate in your country. Please send copies of your correspondence to SUNGI
Development Foundation at: mus4@hotmal.com (Please do not write SUNGI's name in your letter to the Pakistan authorities.) Source: SUNGI, 24/6/99
SOUTH AMERICA Chile: the Treng Treng Mapuche and their struggle for land The defense of the environment undertaken by the Mapuche indigenous communities in Arauco, Malleco and Cautin Provinces in southern Chile is something not explicit nor new for them. According to their cosmovision, natural elements and forces, together with human beings, are the components of the world or "mag mapu". This view is directly related to the struggle for the recovery of traditional indigenous territories, lost when the Chilean army seized them during the last century. Nowadays, these lands are in the hands of big and powerful forestry companies and vast extensions of radiata pine monocultures expand where the Mapuche ("the men of the land") used to live off the forest. The community of Treng Treng at Carahue, in the IX Region, in 1996 confronted Forestal Mininco S.A., by taking the company to court for the possible depletion of water resources and their pollution by pesticides and chemicals used by the company, which planned to establish large scale tree plantations in a neighbouring estate. The decision of the court was contrary to the Mapuche because, according to the Chilean law, a judicial decision can only prevent "present acts or omissions". The precautionary principle is not applied. Nevertheless, the process was considered as a victory, since this Court admitted that the use of pesticides was detrimental to human health and additionally the Appeals Court of Temuco ordered that the operations for the plantation, as well as the application of pesticides should be suspended. The Mapuche, together with allied social organizations finally forced the company to abandon the project. They then proceeded to claim to the Chilean State the devolution of their lands. Even if possible from a legal point of view, this is a very complicated and difficult process. Now the community of Treng Treng has been recognized the right to claim the land which can be purchased with money from the fund established in the Indigenous Peoples Law to be assigned in these cases. However, it will still take some time for the state to purchase from Mininco the 170 hectares they are claiming. Forestal Mininco is opposing this demand. As every other forestry company in Chile, it has received for decades millions of dollars as direct and indirect sibsidies from the State, to develop large scale tree plantations. Chilean forestry has been trumpeted as a model to be imitated by other countries. Nonetheless, it is clear that the "model" has not been good, not only for the indigenous peoples, but also for the environment or Chilean society as a whole. In effect, not only vast areas of forests have been destroyed in southern Chile to establish tree monocultures, but also during the last decade the Chilean economy entered an accelerated process of concentration of wealth in a few hands. The case we are presenting is paradigmatic. Mininco, which denies the Mapuche of Treng Treng of their right to get their 170 hectares back, is a subsidiary of Compania Manufacturera de Papeles y Cartones (CMPC) whose owner, Eliodoro Matte, has recently been included in Fortune Magazine's list of the 200 wealthiest people in the world. In 1993, CMPC owned 415,000 hectares of pine plantations in Chile and now probably owns a much larger area of land. The Chilean state has always had money -and willingness- to subsidise this huge company, but seems to lack money -and willingness- to buy back 170 hectareas to hand them back to the original owners. Something seems to be wrong somewhere. Source: "Chile: el exito de los Mapuche de Treng Treng" by Ana Filippini to be published in Revista del Sur, July 1999.
Bolivia: Conservationists against the environment and local people The San Miguel-Cuiaba gas pipeline project of Enron-Shell which will cross Bolivia into Brazil has been severely questioned by Bolivian and international environmental and social NGOs for its serious long term impacts on the Chiquitano dry forest in eastern Bolivia, that is the world's last significant remnant of intact dry tropical forest, the headwaters of the Pantanal, which is the world's largest wetland. Rural communities and indigenous peoples that inhabit the area will be affected as well. Since November 1998 the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) -a descentralized financial institution of the US government- was repeatedly urged by local community representatives, NGOs and scientific institutions to deny financing to such destructive project (see WRM Bulletins 20 and 21) On June 4th a numerous group of concerned NGOs addressed an open letter to Mr. George Munoz, President and Chief Executive Officer of OPIC, explaining him once again the reasons why the project should not be financed. "Project's sponsors have failed to adequately consult and involve local stakeholders in the assessment of the project's impacts and in the design of mitigation measures (and) both the initial Environmental Impact Assessment and the subsequent Supplemental Environmental Assessment have failed to assess the project's direct and secondary social and environmental impacts" states the letter. Violations of Bolivian environmental regulations and unwillingness by sponsors to consider alternative routes were also denounced. "In sum, to proceed with financing for this project would be an attempt to circumvent the Foreign Assistance Act and related OPIC policies that prohibit funding for extractive or infrastructure projects affecting tropical forest and otherwise causing major and unreasonable harm to the environment. To date, this policy has been explained away rather than implemented. We urge you to uphold the intent and the language of OPIC’s new environmental policies, President Clinton's pledge, and the Foreign Assistance Act and deny financing for this project" concluded the letter. Nevertheless on June 15th OPIC decided to finance the project. According to OPIC such decision was taken because some Bolivian and American "conservationist" NGOs -which had also signed on the letter addressed to OPIC a few days before- as the Wildlife Conservation Society, the World Conservation Society, the Missouri Botanical Garden, Fundacion Amigos de la Naturaleza and Museo Noel Koempff Mercado, had negotiated with the promoters of the project their support to it if a Conservation Plan of U$S 20 million was implemented. Considering that local communities and indigenous peoples living in the area are the real guardians of nature conservation, it is surprising that these NGOs are now trying to usurp their role. Surprising as it may seem, Enron and Shell will also take part in the "conservation" project. This elitist market-approach to natural resources conservation explicitly ignores the rights of local and indigenous peoples, in favour of getting some money to "mitigate" or "compensate" the effects of the project. Is it serious to assign monetary value to the last dry tropical forest in the world? Or to the biggest wetland? How can the home of rural communities and indigenous peoples be given an economic value? Is it possible to mitigate the effects of the project? Bolivian concerned NGOs have expressed their opposition to this agreement, which is against ethics and the interests of local people and the country. Sources: Glenn Switkes, International Rivers Network, 8/6/99, e-mail: glen@zaz.com.br; Foro Boliviano sobre Medio Ambiente y Desarrollo (FOBOMADE), 22/6/99 e-mail: fobomade@mail.megalink.com;
Weyerhaeuser subsidized by the people of Uruguay The giant US-based Weyerhaeuser Business manages 5.3 million acres of private forests in the United States. Additionally Weyerhaeuser Canada manages 27 million acres of publicly owned forestland through long-term licenses in western Canada. Weyerhaeuser owns a majority interest in 193,000 acres of tree plantations in New Zealand. and 62,500 acres in Australia. In spite of trumpeting itself as being very committed to the environment, the company has got a sad record concerning its environmental performance worldwide. News of Weyerhaeuser's recent purchase of British Columbia logging company MacMillan Bloedel, in a transaction valued at approximately US$2.45 billion, has caused concern among environmentalist organizations across the US and Canada. The sale came just days after Mac Millan signed a memorandum of understanding with environmental organizations and Canadian Indigenous Peoples' Organizations not to log in pristine forest areas within the company's holdings in British Columbia. The company is not only expanding in North America, but also purchasing private grazing land in the temperate region. In addition to its estates in Australia and New Zealand, Weyerhaeuser has also targeted Uruguay for establishing fast-growing tree plantations. 234,000 acres (some 95,000 hectares) of fertile grasslands have been purchased by that company in this Southern country. It is interesting to underscore that the Uruguayan Forestry Law provides subsidies to every investor in the forestry sector, regardless of its country of origin and size. So now the Uruguayan people will hand out money to this huge corporation and get very little in return, not to talk about the negative environmental and social impacts expected. Sources: http://www.weyerhaeuser.com; Glen R. Barry, 21/6/99, e-mail: grbarry@students.wisc.edu
Ecuador: draft bill against mangroves defeated To face the critical situation of public finances and meet the demands ot the IMF, last March President Jamil Mahuad sent to the National Congress a draft bill for the so called Rationalization of Public Finances, that among other measures, paved the way for the privatization of 60,000 hectares of land along the Pacific Coast by the shrimp industry. The operation would have meant an income of U$S 60 million dollars to the State budget. At the same time, the government added that the idea of opening new concession areas for shrimp farms would not be discouraged. The initiative was strongly resisted by environmental NGOs and the public opinion in general, since it meant the promotion of further degradation of natural resources to obtain short term incomes (see WRM Bulletin 21). Thanks to the opposition from environmental and community organisations, the article of the draft bill concerning the privatization of mangroves was voted down. The struggle was facilitated by the fact that shrimp farmers, who are facing problems with the white spot disease, found that the one-time price of $1,000 per hectare for a 25 year lease ($1,500 for illegal occupants) established in the draft bill was too hard to bear. It is interesting to note that a recent decree of the Environment Ministry, related to the establishment of penalties to illegal cutting of mangroves, establishes that for purposes of the fines, the mangrove is valued in approximately U$S13,000 per hectare per year. This figure is considerably higher than the U$S 1,500 per hectare established by the polemic draft bill, which shows that the Ecuadorian government has two widely differing ways of valuing the mangroves. Why? Source: Late Friday News nr. 37, 18/6/99, taken from: Instituto de Estudios Ecologistas, e-mail: cflores@hoy.net
CENTRAL AMERICA Nicaragua: Australian gold mining company in the rainforest Recursos Nicaraguenses y Australianos S.A. (RENAUSTRA), financed by the Australian companies Mars Geosciencies and Boss Resources Corp., is trying to develop its gold mining activities in the buffer area of the Bosawas Reserve, which is one of the largest remaining rainforests in Central America. This provoked concern among local people and environmental NGOs, which denounced that the sources of fresh water of the community of Luz de Bocay were in danger and that the company was trying to buy the favour of the population of that poor area. As time went by problems increased and fresh water resources of the community of Ayapal, at Cua Bocay Municipality, were also menaced, which promoted social upheaval. A civic committee was formed with local people, NGOs, the Association of Women and Catholic Church representatives, with support from the Dutch Cooperation, to resist mining in the area. This activity puts at risk 36 mestizo and indigenous communities. The media has begun to be interested in the conflict and local broadcasters have even emitted communiques opposing RENAUSTRA. The company reacted by trying to show its aim of "helping" the community, by hiring local leaders and relatives, paying them high salaries if compared with the meager incomes people have in that very poor area, and proposing to pay the salary of the only school teacher. Applying a mafia style RENAUSTRA even influenced the decision of local authorities. Cua Bocay Municipal Council had addressed a letter to the Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources expressing their complete opposition to the concession of exploration or exploitation permits for gold mining to RENAUSTRA in that territory. Soon afterwards, under the influence of the company, the majority of the Council decided to change their mind and emitted a second communique supporting mining activities. It has also been denounced that the company is trying by all means -even violent ones- to avoid that local people are informed of cases where the disastrous environmental and social consequences of gold mining at the local level have been registered. Last but not least, the company altered the result of water analysis pretending that traces of heavy metals were detected in the water of the area before mining activities were undertaken and offering to build a new fresh water supply system. Independent analysis carried out by the environmental NGO ATDER-BL and competent public organizations showed that those results were false. This a clear case of the social and environmental impacts resulting from the activities of a powerful foreign company, which aims to profit from the very difficult economic situation, the weak environmental legislation and the lack of implementation of adequate controls regarding natural resources conservation in a country like Nicaragua. Source: Joshua Karliner, Corporate Watch, 9/6/99, e-mail: jkarliner@corpwatch.org, based on information provided by Jorge Ayala, ATDER-BL, 28/5/99, e-mail: cuabocay@nicarao.org.ni
GENERAL Trade: NGOs oppose liberalization of the forests products sector Trade liberalization is being promoted by governments and multilateral agencies as the panacea for the world’s economy. The idea has also reached the forest sector and it is clear that what it really would mean is further forest degradation and destruction. A group of concerned environmental NGOs have issued the following statement: "NGO Statement of Oppositon to the Proposed Liberalization of the Forest Products Sector May 1999 We, the undersigned non-governmental organizations representing citizens concerned about environment and development, oppose the proposal by the US and other members of APEC to create a 'free trade agreement' for forest products. We condemn the proposal because, if implemented, we fear it will lead to increased logging and consumption of ecologically and socially valuable forests around the globe. We also condemn the proposal because of the undemocratic and ecologically irresponsible manner in which it is being developed. We are deeply worried about the proposal's content: the intention is to eliminate tariffs on wood products. This could stimulate increased production and consumption. Another potential agenda item could be the elimination of non-tariff measures (NTMs) which may make it impossible to maintain environmental safeguards such as third-party certification and eco-labelling, strong phytosanitary controls on imports of wood products that carry exotic pests and pathogens, and regulations to promote local industries. We call on the members of the WTO to refrain from negotiating a forest products agreement until an independent assessment has been made of the social and environment impacts of trade liberalization, and effective steps have been taken to mitigate current impacts on, and avoid future harm to, forest ecosystems and peoples. We call on the CSD to fulfil its commitment of developing a framework for assessing environmental and social impacts of trade policies and agreements by its next meeting in April. We also condemn the forest products agreement for the economic paradigm that it perpetuates: the WTO and its members have ignored the potential adverse effects of trade liberalization on forest ecosystems and forest communities by failing to assess the environmental and social impacts of timber trade liberalization and on liberalization in other sectors that affect forests and forest peoples. The WTO and its members have also failed to adequately involve civil society in timber trade and other liberalization discussions. The proposal for a forest products agreement reflects an economic agenda which prioritises trade liberalization as an end in itself rather than as a means which, in some circumstances, may be useful for improving environmental protection and quality of life. This agenda does not take into consideration the concerns of the people and communities who are ultimately affected. We the undersigned look forward to responses from our governments, the CSD and the WTO regarding our concerns over the proposed forest sector liberalization. Fern UK/Brussels, Saskia Ozinga; WWF International, Charlie Arden Clarke; World Rainforest Movement, Ricardo Carrere; Greenpeace International, Patrick Anderson; Friends of the Earth England, Wales and Northern Ireland, Sarah Tyack; Friends of the Earth, Congo Democratic Republic/CADIC, Swedi Elongo; Friends of the Earth Australia, Leonie van der Maesen; Friends of the Earth France/Amis de la Terre, Helene Ballande; Towards a Different Europe, Olivier Hoedeman; ERA Cameroon, Emile Tanawa" Source: Saskia Ozinga, Fern/ WRM, 17/6/99, web site: www.gn.apc.org/fern
Industrial Shrimp Action Network's achievement at Global Biodiversity Forum Member organizations of the Industrial Shrimp Action Network (ISA Net) participated at the Global Biodiversity Forum (GBF) 13 and the Ramsar COP7 held in San Jose, Costa Rica from May 7 to May 18, 1999 and at the World Meeting of the NGOs, Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples that also gathered in San Jose on May 7-9. At the GBF, the presentations given by ISA Net's members (from Ecuador, Honduras, Bangladesh, Thailand, USA and UK) were well received. As a result, the GBF endorsed all the recommendations that were proposed. For those interested in this issue, the complete set of recommendations is available in the WRM web page: http://www.wrm.org.uy/english/tropical_forests/shrimp.html Source: Maurizio Ferrari 8/6/99 maufar@fppwrm.gn.apc.org
WRM GENERAL ACTIVITIES News from the International Secretariat On June 4th the WRM International Secretariat sent a postcard to President Fernando Henrique Cardozo joining a campaign of Brazilian environmental NGOs to protect the Iguazu National Park, that this year is celebrating its 60th anniversary. A letter dated June 15th was sent to Colombian President Andres Pastrana expressing concern for the recent moves of his government and the Parliament to abolish many of the licenses and impact assessments required for mineral, oil, logging and hydroelectric projects in the country's rainforests. Another message to the Brazilian President was sent on June 22nd, asking him to sign the decree that authorizes the creation of the Tucurui Extractive Reserve in Para State (see WRM Bulletin 23) Supporting an initiative of Friends of the Earth-Bangladesh, on June 26th we addressed President Sahabuddin Ahmed expressing concern for his government's decision of felling a number of trees at Osmany Udyan Park in Dhaka. During the past two months we introduced quite a number of changes in the four main areas of the WRM web site, among which: Tropical Forests: A number of articles, as well as books and papers have been included and can be accessed by region and country. Also available are: Agenda 21: Combating deforestation; the Forests Principles; the IPF Proposals for Action and the Practitioner´s guide to their implementation; briefing on the World Bank's FPIRS; NGO/IPO statements, etc. Underlying Causes: Among other useful information, we have included all the available case studies and the final publication of this NGO/IPO-led initiative Plantations Campaign: As in the case of tropical forests, we have included a number of articles, books and papers, organized under region and country. A new WRM Briefing Paper (Pulpwood plantations: a growing problem) has also been included. Sarawak Campaign: Apart from the background document on Sarawak, we have included a number of topics researched by Forests Monitor and the complete version of "High Stakes." We have also made a link to Bruno Manser Fonds web page.
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