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WRM Bulletin
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Issue Number
48 - July 2001 |
| OUR VIEWPOINT | ||||||||||||
| LOCAL STRUGGLES AND NEWS | ||||||||||||
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| THE CARBON SHOP FILES | ||||||||||||
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Fourth Anniversary of the WRM Bulletin This issue of the WRM bulletin marks its fourth anniversary. During these four years we have tried to reflect the struggles and aspirations of the millions people who are trying to protect forests against the forces that destroy them. At the same time, we have tried to shed some light on the global processes and actors whose decisions and actions may impact local communities and their forests and have tried to influence them positively. It is not for us to say
whether we have been successful or not in fulfilling those aims. What we can
however say, is that the bulletin would have not been the same without the
active participation and assistance from the numerous people and
organizations who have provided us with highly useful information, articles,
comments, suggestions and analysis. Additionally, the same and other people
and organizations have further disseminated either the entire bulletin or
selected articles to their own networks and contacts, thus helping to spread
the message to many more people. To all of you, our most sincere thanks! OUR VIEWPOINT - The inclusion of sinks has sunk the Kyoto Protocol The news have reached the entire world: the Kyoto Protocol has been saved! In spite of this information being formally true, it hides the fact that this does not mean that the planet's climate has been saved, which is the real issue at stake. On the contrary, as it now stands, while not solving the problem it was intended to address, the Kyoto Protocol will impose further impacts on local people through the implementation of carbon sink projects. Though anticipated, it is sad to confirm that the Bonn meeting of the Convention on Climate Change was more focused on "sinks" than on "sources" of greenhouse gases. This means that instead of seeking means by which to reduce the use of fossil fuels --coal, petroleum and natural gas-- which are at the root of the greenhouse effect, climate negociators focused instead on means to avoid commitments on fossil-fuel emission reductions. The meeting was held in a context where the United States --responsible for 25% of the world's total greenhouse gas emissions-- publicly stated that it refused to comply with the commitments agreed to in Kyoto in 1997. Such context facilitated arm-twisting by a major polluter such as Japan, which was finally instrumental in reaching an agreement to "save" the protocol. The solution to "save" it was the inclusion of tree plantations as carbon sinks. Climate negociators chose to ignore the increasing number of scientific studies which question the capacity of tree plantations to be a long-term solution to climate change. They also chose to ignore that this mechanism will in fact result in a net increase of fossil-fuel emissions in the North. And they also opted to ignore the impacts that large-scale tree plantations have on people and the environment. As a result, polluters will now have a licence to pollute under the guise of implementing plantation projects to act as "sinks" for their emissions. Unless local opposition prevents them from doing so, most of these plantations will be implemented in the South, where trees grow much faster than in the North, thus being more "efficient" for carbon sequestration. At the same time, they will be much cheaper than in industrialized countries --where labour and land are more expensive-- and will receive all the necessary support from Southern governments --including repression of local opposition-- desperate to accept any investment which may leave some --however little-- money in the country. To understand the threat that this will mean to people, soils, water and biodiversity, it is necessary to realize that this "solution" may result --to make theoretically sense from a climate perspective-- in hundreds of millions of hectares of fertile land being converted to large-scale plantations of fast growing species such as eucalyptus. In the South, those lands are already occupied by people, who depend on them for their subsistence. Those people's lands are therefore now under the threat of appropriation to make way to plantations. The areas to be occupied by these carbon garbage dumps host much of the world's biodiversity, much of which could be wiped out by large-scale monoculture plantations. At the same time, these would deplete water resources and result in dramatic changes in the soils where they are implemented. In sum, with their decision to include plantations as carbon sinks, climate negotiators have not only not addressed the problem they were meant to address --climate change-- but have added new problems to millions of people who will now be facing the appropriation of their lands and resources for conversion to Northern carbon garbage dumps. The price for "saving" the process has clearly been too high and the inclusion of sinks has sunk the Kyoto Protocol and the hopes it had raised. It is now up to people and organizations really concerned with the Earth's future to stop the implementation of this false solution and to force governments to address seriously the issue of global climate change.
LOCAL STRUGGLES AND NEWS AFRICA - Cameroon: Unequal equality between community forests and logging companies According to Cameroonian law, both local communities and industrial logging companies have the right to obtain and manage a portion of a forest. However, this apparent "equality" is extremely unequal regarding the extension of forest lands and the legal obligations associated with tenure rights. Regarding management obligations for instance, in the case of community forests the management plan has to be submitted before any activity starts. This constitutes a major constraint because communities face great difficulties to raise the funds to elaborate their management plans, and should therefore be authorised to at least cut a limited number of trees to finance the preparation of the plan. For industrial logging companies the situation is totally different, as can be identified in the two existing concession models: "ventes de coupe" and UFAs (unité forestière d'aménagement). The former, defined as a logging area of a maximum size of 2500 hectares to be logged within three years maximum, requires no management plan at all. The latter are 15-year renewable concessions covering a surface area of up to 200,000 hectares, and in this case a management plan has to be submitted within the first three years. However, during this period the company has the right to already start logging --without any management plan at all-- in order to secure financing for preparing the management plan! To make things worse, not a single management plan has to date been approved by the administration, although the first concession allocations under the 1994 forest law date back to 1996. Penalties for illegal activities show a similar pattern of inequality. For instance, illegal activities by logging companies can lead to different types of sanctions, such as fines, exclusion from future biddings, or suspension of operation. However, it has so far never happened that a valid logging title has been withdrawn from a company as a result of illegal activities. For the communities, the penalties are much more far-reaching, and any mistake or infraction committed will lead to the cancellation of the community forest. The law thus appears to benefit industrial logging, in spite of the fact that community forests have a higher potential for sustainability than commercial logging. The promotion of community forests should hence be supported as a means to ensure social and ecological sustainability. The so-called "pre-emption right" could have helped to achieve this objective, because it would have given the communities priority in their access to forests against commercial logging. Yet the draft regulation which would have established this right to the benefit of the communities has not yet been signed. In its study on the Cameroonian forest sector (October 1999), the World Bank's Operations Evaluation Department points at the same direction when it states that "the international logging companies that dominate the sector continue to have a free hand in the development and use of the forest resources of Cameroon. Local communities were left out of the reform process despite the declared objective to include them in forest resource management." Article based on information from: "Community Forests and Industrial Logging: Equal Rights?", InsideCameroon 3, June/July 2001, e-mail: yimga@cedcam.org ; Essama-Nssah and James J. Gockowski, "Forest Sector Development in a Difficult Political Economy: An Evaluation of Cameroon’s Forest Development and World Bank Assistance". World Bank, OED, October 1999
- Central African Republic: Transnational loggers in the forest Compared to other countries in the Congo region, the Central African Republic (CAR) has a relatively small area of forest --around five million hectares-- corresponding to 8% of the country's territory. Yet in terms of commercially valuable species such as Sapelli (Entandrophragma cylindricum), Ayous (Triplochiton scleroxylon) and Sipo (Entandrophragma utile), its forests are some of the richest in Africa. The country's forests grow in two distinct areas: 1) In the south-west, where forests cover an area of 3.7 million hectares. Most logging concessions are located in this area, especially along the borders with Cameroon and Congo. 2) In the east, where forests cover some 1.2 million hectares. These forests have been spared from logging due to the isolation of the region and the associated transport difficulties. French companies and capitals dominate the forestry sector, where almost 3.2 million hectares have been granted under concession to 3 stricly French companies (4 concessions), 1 French-CAR, 1 Malaysian-French (2 concessions), 1 Syrian-CAR, 2 Lebanese and 2 CAR. In total, French capitals are involved in the exploitation of almost half of the forests under concession. The recent arrival of WTK of Malaysia has marked a change in the pattern of European dominance, although SESAM, the company WTK acquired in the late 1990s, retains some French capital. Total log production has increased significantly during the 1990s and is set to continue rising in line with structural adjustment policies. In 1993, total log production was 167,700 cubic metres and in 1999 it reached 552,800 cubic metres. In spite of government efforts to ensure that logs are mainly processed in the country, the majority of exports still consist of logs rather than processed timber and the gap is increasing: in 1993, raw log exports represented 56% of total wood exports and this percentage had risen to 71% in 1999. Forestry activities are resulting in direct and indirect impacts on forests and forest peoples. Because of transportation difficulties and substantial costs, logging is highly selective and only the most valuable species are cut. But this selective logging leads to large areas of forest being opened up as companies go deeper into the forest in search of the best timber. Sapelli, Ayous and Sipo are the main species logged, but because of the damage caused to surrounding trees, some estimates suggest that selective logging in fact damages as much as 30% of the forest in CAR. Once loggers leave the area, poachers and settlers come in on the roads built by logging companies, causing further damage to the forest. It is interesting to note that in the 1980s the French government --via the African Development Bank-- funded the construction of a road in the south-western part of the country, which facilitated the entry of logging companies into the forest. It is also interesting to highlight that most roads built by loggers in the western area of the country have been aimed at serving their interests rather than those of the local people. Roads between CAR and Cameroon, for example, run near concessions held by French company Thanry in both countries. It is clear that logging is benefiting the logging companies, that export most of the production to the European market where they are able to sell them at high prices. However, logging has certainly not contributed to higher living standards for the local population. In spite of wood and diamond exports, the Central African Republic remains one of the poorest countries in the region and its 3.4 million people have an average life expectancy of only 49 years. Article based on information from: Forests Monitor, "Sold down the river. The need to control transnational forestry corporations: a European case study", March 2001. E-mail: fmonitor@gn.ap.corg
- Liberia: Danish firm DLH violates its own principles on wood purchasing Environmental and human rights organizations have recently sent an open letter to Danish timber trade corporation Dalhoff Larsen & Horneman A/S (DLH Group), calling it to stop dealing with Liberian logging companies which, besides being responsible for the serious process of deforestation that has been occurring during the last decade in Liberia, have been also found involved --according to a United Nations report-- in a number of illegal activities both in Liberia and in neighbouring Sierra Leone. The forests of Liberia constitute one of last remaining blocks of closed canopy tropical rainforest, a vital part of the Upper Guinea Forest of West Africa and one of the most threatened biodiversity hotspots in the world. These forests, which contain over 2000 species of plants, of which 240 are valuable timber species, have been devastated during de past decade as the result of the greed of international logging companies that invaded the country, coupled with the attitude of the Liberian government, that promotes their activities. As a result, the livelihoods of rural communities are now further threatened, as deforestation has separated portions of rainforest, while the activities of the logging companies have caused the destruction of houses, crops and sacred forests. (see further details in WRM bulletins 44 and 45). The UN report provides abundant evidence about the interrelationship between the timber industry and a number of illegal activities. Two of the major timber companies are Oriental Timber Company (OTC) and the Royal Timber Corporation (RTC) and both are commercially related with DLH. Some of the illegal activities detailed in the UN report are linked to Gus van Kouwenhoven, a member of President Taylor’s inner circle and "responsible for the logistical aspects of many of the arms deals." Van Kouwenhoven is directly involved in RTC and OTC (as general manager in the former and chairman in the latter) and through OTC he "organizes the transfer of weaponry from Monrovia into Sierra Leone". The report also states that "van Kouwenhoven, linked to Liberia’s timber industry, provides a large amount of unrecorded extrabudgetary income to President Taylor for unspecified purposes." Incredibly enough, van Kouwenhoven is also on the board of the Liberian Forestry Development Authority (FDA), the government body assigned to monitor and document forest practices and exports. The timber industry has not only been involved in illegal arms and diamond’s trafficking but has also, according to the United Nations report, supported Sierra Leone's Revolutionary United Front (RUF), that together with a group of military overthrew the country's elected President in May 1997. The report found "unequivocal and overwhelming evidence" that Liberia has been actively supporting the RUF at all levels and that roads built and maintained for timber extraction are also conveniently used for weapons movement within Liberia, and for the onward shipment of weapons to Sierra Leone. The above findings should be sufficient to make DLH revise its purchasing policy in Liberia, particularly because the company claims to have "a good knowledge of the origin (raw material) of the timber products traded." In this case, there are two possibilities: either the company does not have this good knowledge or it knows and does not care. In both cases, it would be violating its own stated principles. If it is true that for DLH "the existence of sustainably managed forests is a long-term commercial prerequisite" and if the company truly feels that it "has a public role to play in the preservation of world forests", then it should act accordingly and dissociate itself from logging in Liberia and embrace the UN report's recommendation of establishing "a temporary embargo on Liberian timber exports, until Liberia demonstrates convincingly that it is no longer involved in the trafficking of arms to, or diamonds from, Sierra Leone. Article based on information from: International press release from Nepentes, Greenpeace, Global Witness, 16 July, 2001. Dalhoff Larsen & Horneman A/S (DLH Group), www.dlh-group.com ; Report of the Panel of Experts appointed Pursuant to UN Security Council Resolution 1306 (2000), Paragraph 19 in relation to Sierra Leone www.globalpolicy.org/security/issues/sierra/report/001220.htm
- Senegal: The hidden impacts of charcoal production For many years, fuelwood use and charcoal production have been blamed for deforestation throughout the South, though this has seldom been the truth. In the case of Senegal it is clearly false. Charcoal is a major energy source in this country, where its capital city Dakar consumes 90 per cent of all the charcoal produced from the forest. However, forests are not even close to exhaustion, and regeneration after woodcutting is reported to be quite robust. But charcoal production is resulting in other types of impacts on the local communities where it is being produced, which have usually gone unreported. It is important to highlight than in Senegal the state claims ownership over all forests and its Forest Service claims the right to manage them according to "national needs". Within the charcoal production sector, the management system put in place by the Forest Service only allows urban-based merchants to cut the forest, produce charcoal and market it. These merchants hire woodcutters from outside the area. The result is that local communities receive very few benefits from this activity, while the social and ecological costs of forest clearing are spread over the villages as a whole, disproportionally affecting women and poorer households. In the case of women interviewed on this matter, they have recounted that before the arrival of charcoal producers, firewood had been available just outside the compounds, whereas after the first two years, firewood had to be gathered at distances of several kilometres, requiring anywhere from a couple of hours to half a day to collect. They have also explained that charcoal production has led to the disappearance of game birds and animals which are part of their diet. Additionally, they have complained that the presence of migrant charcoal producers drew down the wells, creating water shortages and water quality problems. Other concerns include social problems arising from hosting scores of migrant woodcutters in the village, harassment of women in the forest and fights over wood gathering between woodcutters and women. Other impacts affect the community as a whole, among which the destruction of plants used for food, fodder, medicines and dyes, as well as wood for house construction. Woodcutters are also accused of starting bushfires, while heavy truckloads of charcoal are responsible for destroying the roads so badly that villagers are unable to take their products to market and to bring back the products they need. This unfair situation, where local people receive only the impacts of a lucrative activity --some of the traders are reported to have made 100,000 US dollars in profits per year-- has in some cases resulted in organized resistance. Such is the case of the district of Makacoulibantang in Eastern Senegal, where local villagers have blocked urban-based merchants and their migrant woodcutters from working in their forests. Resistance was partly aimed at stopping the destruction of a resource on which they depend for daily needs and partly to reap some of the benefits from woodfuel production and commerce. Unfortunately, the Forest Service has continued taking sides with the merchants, while the minister for the protection of nature has visualized those acts of resistance as "a dangerous set of events that could spread" and adding that "if villagers were given control of the forests there would be fuel shortages in Dakar." However, the minister appears to forget that the only fuel shortages in Dakar have been purposely created by merchants to obtain further benefits. What they have done is to threaten the ministers and the Forest Service with shortages in order to eke out quotas and to keep the forest policy friendly to their interests --in which until now they have been very successful. Article based on information from: Jesse C. Ribot, "Rebellion, Representation, and Enfranchisement in the Forest Villages of Makacoulibantang, Eastern Senegal". In: Zerner, Charles, "People, Plants & Justice: The Politics of Nature Conservation", New York, Columbia University Press, 2000
ASIA - Cambodia: Resin tapping incomes at odds with logging Commercial-scale logging has a large number of impacts on local communities, among which the loss of sources of livelihood. One of such cases is the cutting of trees used by local people for collecting liquid resin. A report recently released by Global Witness includes valuable information on this issue. The report says that liquid resin is collected from several dipterocarp species, most commonly the Dipterocarpus alatus, which dominates Cambodia’s evergreen and semi-evergreen forest areas and is one of the most common trees to be logged. Holes are cut in the bases of the trees and the resin, which accumulates in the holes, is scooped out every three to seven days. The holes are burned out following each collection to increase the flow of resin. Resin is an economically valuable commodity both in Cambodia and abroad. Its most important use is waterproofing and protecting the wooden boats used by fishermen and traders in Cambodia and other parts of Southeast Asia. Resin produced in Cambodia feeds the regional boat building industry and large quantities are exported, primarily to Vietnam from where some is reportedly re-exported to China and other countries. Recent research conducted by the NGO Forum estimates that families living in forested areas earn at least 38-50 US dollars per month from the collection of resin. This is a substantial source of income for families that have few other means of deriving cash income. In general, indebtedness and other symptoms of financial insecurity are less common in resin collecting villages than in villages without this constant source of income. In addition to being profitable, resin production is environmentally sustainable and actually helps preserve forests. There is no evidence that resin production kills trees. Villagers recognise private ownership of resin trees in clearly delineated patches of forest. Collectors of resin are meticulous in their management of forest areas and protect their trees against anyone trying to cut them down. Patches of forest with resin trees are considered off limits to clearing for farming. Over time, the number of resin trees has rapidly decreased due to loggers who come, primarily, from outside local communities. Villagers are often coerced into selling resin trees, being told that the trees will be cut whether they sell them or not. In 1997, a guard working for Colexim shot and killed a person in Ronthas village, Sandan district, Kompong Thom, who was protesting against the cutting of resin trees. Resin tappers have become more and more vocal in their challenges to concessionaires to defend their resin trees. The standard practices of, virtually all, concessionaires and all sub-contractors to concessionaires of cutting resin trees, intimidating villagers into "selling" resin trees and impeding access to villagers engaged in activities associated with resin collection and sale are clearly illegal. As the policies of the Cambodian government shift to poverty alleviation and the drafting of poverty reduction strategies, it is important to recognise that the maintenance of community-based rights to extract resin can make a significant contribution to reducing poverty in rural areas. Resin extraction is an occupation for which forest dwelling communities have no income-earning substitute. The cutting of resin trees, or the loss of access to resin trees, makes communities significantly and irreversibly poorer. Protecting the basic legal rights of resin producers contributes to the aims of sustainable forest management, poverty alleviation and generating foreign exchange. Protecting these rights would also help to preserve both Cambodia’s forests and an occupation that is a valuable component of Cambodia’s cultural heritage. Article based on information from: "The Credibility Gap –and the Need to Bridge it. Increasing the pace of forestry reform. A Briefing Document by Global Witness. May 2001
- Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certifies Thailand’s chief logging agency In July 2001, Thailand’s chief logging agency, the state-owned Forestry Industry Organisation (FIO), received "sustainable management" certification of two teak plantations. Undertaken by SmartWood, a forest management certification organisation that is accredited by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), the certification would help solve the agency’s financial troubles as well as cover up its infamous past. The Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) that provides aid to developing countries supported the FIO’s certification process by funding SCC Natura (formerly Swedforest International AB), a Swedish forestry consultant company, to develop a business management plan. The FIO was founded in 1947 as a state-owned forestry enterprise with the mandate to manage logging concessions in Thailand’s forests. In the past, the FIO has been caught up in controversies about dubious logging and plantation projects as well as mounting debts. By the late 1990s, the agency had accumulated nearly US$12 million in debts after the Thai government declared a nation-wide ban on logging concessions in 1989 that deprived the agency of its logging revenues. The FSC-approved certification of the FIO’s plantations would provide a lifeline to the struggling agency by assisting the sales of "certified" timber to markets in Europe and North America seeking timber from "sustainable" and "well-managed" sources. The certification would also support the ongoing efforts of the agency to remake its image as a "sustainable" forest management agency. The FIO has a total of 160,000 hectares of tree plantations, mainly of teak, rubber and eucalyptus. The FIO also owns three sawmills for processing teak and non-teak tree species. Winai Subrungruang, FIO’s managing director, said that the FIO had been practicing "sustainable forestry management" since 1997 on teak plantations covering 2,880 hectares (ha) in Phitsanulok province and 2,480 ha in Kanchanaburi province. Winai said that the FSC certificate was valid until May 2006; the FIO has plans to obtain certification for all its 134 tree plantations. FIO’s newly acquired "sustainable" forest management image, however, falls apart under close scrutiny of the agency’s notorious past. One of the most controversial FIO projects in the past was to cut 24,000 hectares of old-growth pine forests in Ban Wat Chan in Chiang Mai province in north Thailand in the early 1990s. The Ban Wat Chan pine forest is the largest area of indigenous pines in Thailand and comprises the main watershed of one of the main rivers --the Mae Chaem River-- in north Thailand. The government eventually cancelled FIO’s logging plan in end 1993 after strong opposition by 4,000 Karen ethnic communities who have been living in the area for more than 100 years who were concerned about the impacts on their livelihoods from the logging of their watershed forests. In 1994, the FIO faced charges of illegal logging after police found logs in a protected forest area in Thailand and discovered that the wood belonged to the FIO. The amount of logs imported from Burma appeared to exceed a quota agreed to between the FIO and the military dictatorship in Burma. Witoon Permpongsacharoen of the Bangkok-based environmental group, Towards Ecological Recovery and Regional Alliance (TERRA), stated that the FIO’s operations such as the auction of confiscated wood actually help to increase illegal logging in Thailand. "The logging companies can mix the illegal timber from Thailand with the cut logs from Burma. Also when the illegal timber is confiscated by Thailand’s Royal Forestry Department (RFD), the loggers can simply buy back the wood from the FIO’s auction thus legitimising the illegal wood," he said. The FIO has faced constant opposition from local communities against its commercial plantations, particularly of eucalyptus tree species in northeast Thailand, established as "reforestation". The agency establishes plantations on "degraded" forests --often areas degraded by logging concessions granted by the FIO and the RFD. The agency uses the labour of village people near its plantations areas to secure a continuos supply of timber from its tree plantations. About half of the timber from the plantations is supplied to local companies, 20 per cent is exported and the remaining 30 per cent is used to make products for the government and state agencies. Since the 1980s, Thailand’s local communities have fought bitter battles against the government and the private sector tree farms --especially of eucalyptus-- that appropriate village farmlands and replace common forest areas, lead to water scarcity and soil erosion, and cause loss of local biodiversity. In many of these plantation areas including the FIO’s eucalyptus plantations, local communities in northeastern Thailand have succeeded in forcing the government to remove the eucalyptus trees and return the lands to village communities for farming and recovery of community forest. Despite these problems, however, the Swedish government provided a US$400,000 grant in 1993 for the FIO to hire SCC Natura, a Swedish forestry consulting company, to develop a business development plan that includes a "sustainable plantation management" plan. The "sustainable plantation management" aims to develop a village forestry system on deforested land allocated by the RFD. According to the FIO, the forestry villages are "former shifting cultivators" who will work for the FIO on plantation land. Although the village people cannot own the land, they can plant cash crops as well as have some land for permanent cultivation of rice. Controversy also remains about the lack of efforts of SmartWood and FIO to seek the wider participation of local people and NGOs in the certification process. The SmartWood team spent a week visiting the FIO’s plantation areas in October 2000; there were no formal forums or meetings organised to obtain the views of the many local people affected by the FIO’s logging and plantation projects in the past. Smartwood did not consult with representatives of the local community networks, NGOs and academics in different parts of the country involved in the continuing movement to protect Thailand’s remaining forest areas from commercial logging and industrial tree plantations. Clearly, the FIO’s dubious past as well as the perspectives of Thailand’s environmental movement assumes little relevance in the FSC’s plans to impose "certification" and sustain the growth of the global timber industry. "The forest situation in Thailand is different from Sweden or other countries in the North. The FSC was established to improve commercial logging practices. But in fact, Thailand does not need the FSC because we already have a ban on commercial logging. Therefore, when SmartWood comes and provides ‘certification’, it undermines the whole of Thailand’s environmental movement and the ongoing local processes for increased community control over forests. It renews the commercial influence on Thailand’s forests so that these agencies can resume their logging practices," said Witoon. "In fact, in the recent past, Thailand’s environmental movement has called for the dismantling of the FIO since the agency has accumulated massive debts. The FSC and Swedish government’s assistance for certification is helping the survival of an agency that has outlived its purpose in the post-logging ban era," he stated. By: Noel Rajesh, e-mail: noelrajesh@yahoo.com
- India: Women more affected than men from deforestation It is common for people living far away from the forests to perceive deforestation as an exclusively environmental problem. However, for people whose livelihoods depend directly on them, forest loss is more a social than an environmental tragedy. And what is seldom perceived is that women suffer the consequences more than men. The following extracts from a case study on community forest management in India can be useful to begin to understand the issue: "Deforestation affects women much more than men, and the poorer they are the worse it is for them. Although in traditional forest communities, particularly tribal ones, there has often been a greater degree of equality between men and women than in mainstream Indian society, there still has been an unequal division of labour. Thus, in the late 1980s a study found that tribal women in Orissa played a major role in the economy, working on average three hours a day longer than men, a workload that significantly increased with deforestation. Tribal women have been traditionally involved in collecting water, fodder, fuel and other non timber forest products, while the men have done most of the cultivating and hunting. With deforestation, women's work of fetching and carrying becomes more difficult, since they have to go farther and farther from their villages to reach the receding tree line. One study in Orissa found that, over a twenty-year period from the mid-1960s to the mid-1980s, the average distance that people (mainly women) had to walk to collect firewood, bamboo, fodder, and other products increased from 1.7 to 7.0 km. Other studies have shown that the situation deteriorates over time: while working longer (often up to 14 hours a day), they collect less, and their lives become even more difficult. A study in one area of South Bihar in the early 1980s, describes how every day 300 women went into the forests to collect firewood from illegally cut timber. They earned Rs.120/month, an amount so paltry that half of them were permanently in debt. To reach the forest, they walked as far as 12 km and then, when they had finished collecting wood, travelled by train with their head-loads to town. During the whole process they were obliged to bribe the village headman to allow them to do it, the forest guard to look the other way, and railway staff to allow them to travel 'free' on the train. Hardly surprisingly, they were not left with much profit at the end of it. One obvious outcome of all this is that women have less time to take care of themselves, even when they are ill. Several studies in India and elsewhere have shown that, in situations of social and economic disintegration, the proportion of men to women attending primary health centres is five to one. This is in spite of the fact that women are likely to be less healthy than men, because they are less well-nourished and are working so hard. They are also less likely to have to hand the pharmacopeia of herbal medicines that was available before forest destruction." Article based on information from: Joe Human and Manoj Pattanaik, "Community forest management. A casebook from India." UK, Oxfam, 2000
- Indonesia: Paper production threatens communities and forests in Sumatra It is well-known that the pulp and paper industry in Indonesia – and in the world – is environmentally and socially destructive. One of the most important companies in pulp and paper production is the Asia Pulp & Paper Company, ranking tenth in the world. One of its branches is Indah Kiat Pulp & Paper, which has a pulp and paper mill located in Perawang to the south of Sumatra. This company has a long history regarding environmental impact. It is accused of environmental devastation, of blatant disrespect to the rights of local communities and the country’s legislation, resorting to undue pressure and to bribes to government officials. The "cheap" paper they produce --obtained at a high cost in destruction of forests, river contamination and liquidation of the local inhabitants’ means of living-- is finally exported, mainly to Europe and Asia. Indah Kiat Pulp & Paper acquires most of the wood it uses as raw material through a long term contract with the PT Arara Abadi company (a company affiliated to Indah Kiat Pulp & Paper) which has a concession granted by the Government of Indonesia to exploit 300,000 hectares of forest. This company is responsible for the destruction of forests to ensure a supply of wood to the Indah Kiat Pulp & Paper. Presently, it is also starting to use as raw material wood from plantations of fast-growing species such as acacias and eucalyptus, which are also causing the destruction of forests and means of life of the local populations. Not only do the activities of the Indah Kiat Pulp & Paper Company destroy the forests of Indonesia --that have always been and still are a very important element in the lives of the local peoples-- but they also contaminate rivers with emissions from the pulp and paper mill, thus depriving the local communities of an important source of subsistence. In fact, the inhabitants of Perawang used to earn their living by fishing in the Siak river. According to declarations to the British newspaper "The Guardian" made by one of the inhabitants in the area "each fisherman's daily catch used to average 10 kilos ... now those few people who still do it are lucky if the catch one or two --fish, not kilograms-- a day." As a result the inhabitants have been forced to resort to illegal logging to ensure their subsistence. According to studies on the subject, it is estimated that unless there are changes, the forests of Sumatra will disappear within 5 to 10 years and by then the communities will have to face a much worse crisis than the present one, as the rivers and forests that historically ensured their survival will have gone. This is yet another example of a company generating very serious negative social and environmental impacts. On the one hand it generates deforestation due to the logging of forests for raw materials --with the endorsement of the Indonesian government that has granted the licences-- for its pulp and paper mills and also through its monoculture plantations of acacias and eucalyptus which result in the definitive destruction of the forest. And as if this were not enough, its predatory and contaminating activities oblige the local inhabitants of Perawang to change their life style --based on fishing-- and turn to illegal logging in order to survive, thereby making the company responsible for this additional deforestation. Article based on
information from: http://www.asiapulppaper.com
; The Guardian
CENTRAL AMERICA - Guatemala: Security for shrimps, insecurity for the local population Since the beginning of May, the Champerico community has been denouncing contamination of wetlands, the logging of mangroves (activity prohibited by the Environmental Law), closing of access to public wetlands, acts of repression against fishermen (about 70% of the local population’s diet is fish) and death of fish caused by the operations of Camarones del Sur, S.A. (Camarsa). The indifference of the Guatemalan authorities towards serious infringement of the law by Camarsa, has triggered off various demonstrations, resulting in the death of a young man, Moytin Castellanos, as we had reported in WRM bulletin 46, in addition to various other people being injured. Since the establishment of the Commission for resolution of conflicts, comprising senior government officials, the community has been demanding that Camarsa immediately cease its operations due to the serious irregularities involved in its operation. This Commission met with representatives of the community without reaching any concrete result. Progress has been almost non-existent and the shrimp company continues operating, in spite of the commitment taken on by the Commission to immediately investigate complaints made by the local inhabitants. The frustration of the people of Champerico, who demand concrete response to the impunity with which Camarsa is operating, has not been long in making itself felt. The population recently held another demonstration outside the shrimp factory installations, preventing people from entering into the factory. The demonstration ended with serious confrontations, during which Fernando Chiyoc died and seven people received bullet wounds from the security guards and other Camarsa employees. So far, the US citizen, Mike Corser, an engineer at Camarsa has been arrested, together with nine of the company’s security guards, accused of homicide and attempted homicide. However, the population fears that this may be yet another case of impunity. The facts are very serious and so far, no convincing response has been given by any responsible authority. As if this were not enough, Camarsa delegates have interrupted negotiations, demanding that the local population submit evidence of the impact caused by the company’s activities. However, the local NGO, Trópico Verde, states that "according to Guatemalan environmental laws (Legislative Decree 68-86, Law for the Protection and Enhancement of the Environment and Forestry Law, Decree 70-89, Regulation, Government Agreement 961-90) shrimp farming activities have the obligation to study the impact they will cause, provide measures to mitigate this impact and implement them. In other words, Guatemalan laws presume that an activity of this nature may cause damage to the environment, and therefore Camarsa is not justified in requesting third parties to show evidence of the contamination it produces. In spite of this, Trópico Verde, together with the artisan fishermen from Champerico have carried out research, showing that there is contamination of wetlands and a serious lack of compliance with the environmental laws of the country. A full report on the issue --"The impact of shrimp farming activities in Champerico, Retalhuleu, Guatemala"-- is available in Spanish on our web page: http://www.wrm.org.uy/paises/Guatemala/Champerico.html So far, the government has tried to pull a curtain of smoke over the problem instead of solving it. Company interests are at stake here, and pressure is evident. In the meanwhile, contamination by the shrimp company and violation of Guatemalan laws continue and the two thousand families affected in Champerico are going through hard times, caused by the impunity with which Camarsa acts. The moment is critical and support from the international community is of invaluable assistance. For more information on the request for action, see the July section "requests for action" in our web page: http://www.wrm.org.uy/alerts/july01.html#1 or contact Trópico Verde directly in Guatemala: mailto@tropicoverde.org Article based on information from: Carlos Albacete, Trópico Verde, http://www.tropicoverde.org and "Los impactos de la actividad camaronera en Champerico, Retalhuleu, Guatemala.", June, 2001.
- Honduras: Peasants demand Government to halt hydroelectric project An alliance of Honduran peasants is asking the Government to halt the construction of a hydroelectric dam being built by the Energisa company in the area of Gualaco, Olancho, some 240 kilometres to the north-east of Tegucigalpa. The inhabitants affected by the project consider that it is causing damage to the environment and that the construction of the dam will prevent water being supplied to thousands of inhabitants, in addition to the fact that they may be obliged to leave their lands. They are also asking the Government to investigate and bring to justice the building company’s employees who, according to witnesses of the incident, killed Carlos Roberto Flores, an environmental leader and opponent to the construction of the hydroelectric dam on the Babilonia river falls. Together with the National Coordination Against Impunity (CONACIM) they also called on the authorities to annul the warrant for the arrest of their community leaders (for more information see request for support in the July section of "requests for action" in our web page). Energisa has carried out environmental impact assessments but the local communities allege that the assessments submitted by the company to obtain the licence are false. According to information given at a press conference, the project is located in the Sierra de Agalta National Park buffer zone, declared protected zone in July 1987. This project for the generation of electric energy will produce 4,400 kilowatts, to be sold to the National Electric Energy Company (ENEE), as approved by the National Congress the year before. The plant will be fed by water from the Babilonia river. The councils of the villages and hamlets in the sector, together with the municipal authorities are opposed to the project as they are convinced that it will alter the productive heritage of the zone because the land will be affected by the dam. They also consider that the falls that give beauty and identity to the site will disappear and the river’s aquatic life will be impoverished. The parish priest of Santa María del Real, Osmín Flores, believes that the project lacks a really serious and scientific environmental impact assessment, according to studies carried out by the National Autonomous University of Honduras (UNAH), which warn that "there are various geological faults that could endanger the communities, once the project has been implemented." They conclude that "Energisa intends to build the dam apparently in violation of national and municipal legislation and omitting important data in the Environmental Impact Assessment." In spite of this report, it has been affirmed that the Secretary for Natural Resources, Xiomara Gómez has granted the environmental licence and later signed, with the president of the company, Héctor Julián Borjas, the contract for mitigation measures. On his part, Juan Ramón Zúniga, a coffee planter from the area, reported that they have already received various threats from the company. "Last January, the military arrived and arrested us, and even sentenced three of us, who had done nothing. We know this is persecution and intimidation by Energisa. The judge at Catacamas has sentenced community leaders and coffee planter families to prison for having tried to prevent Energisa employees from entering their lands without prior consent." Among other cases of abuse, prior to the murder of Carlos Roberto Flores, mention can be made of that of the parish priest of Gualaco, Fredy Cornelio Benítez, coordinator of the local forest forum in the zone, who was stabbed in the back last March as a consequence of his opposition to the progress of the project. The Mayor, Rafael de Jesús Ulloa has also received various threats and has been pursued by an unidentified vehicle. The Committee of Relatives of those Detained and Disappeared (COFADEH) reported the illegal detention by the anti-riot police, of 1500 indigenous people from various communities that were marching towards the capital to support the struggle of the inhabitants of Gualaco. The inhabitants of Gualaco were also evicted with tear-gas bombs, water hoses and beatings, leaving a total of some thirty people seriously injured. To this should be added the threats received by the US citizen, Daniel Graham, for taking photos of the serious events taking place in the zone. To the initial concern over the impacts that the dam might cause on the environment and its people, are added repression and the threats of death for those who continue to oppose the project. The Government of Honduras must take immediate action to protect all those people who are at risk, and also carry out an independent and exhaustive investigation on the death of Carlos Roberto Flores and the threats that the local communities and their leaders have repeatedly received. Article based on information from: Red de Desarrollo Sostenible Honduras, Boletín informativo No. 1464, March 2001, Comisionado Nacional de los Derechos Humanos, http://www.rds.org.hn/docs/noticias/jueves_22_marzo.html ; Equipo Nizkor, e-mail: nizkor@derechos.org , http://www.derechos.org/nizkor/honduras/
NORTH AMERICA - Mexico: Forestry Plan prepared by Finns No one can doubt that the world is becoming increasingly mad. The Uruguayan forestry plan was prepared by the Japanese, the Thai plan by Finns and now, the "Strategic Forestry Plan for Mexico 2025" will also be prepared by Finns. No matter that these supposed experts know little about local environmental conditions and even less about the culture and idiosyncrasy of the inhabitants. The recipe is always the same, be it Mexico, the Congo or Indonesia: "forests must be planted" (which, in the language of these experts, usually means monoculture eucalyptus plantations). The recipe includes the need to "promote" plantations (translated into normal language meaning that the people must subsidise the large companies so that the latter can obtain considerable profits). It also involves government sectors taking on the responsibility of making the recipe acceptable and putting it into practice. The former governor of Jalisco, Alberto Cárdenas Jiménez, director of the National Forestry Commission (CONAFOR), seems to have taken on this role seriously. During an interview, published on 12 July in "La Jornada", he set out the need to "make forests." He announced that the sector’s main work is established in the Strategic Forestry Plan 2025, "prepared with support from Finnish specialists." In fact the Finnish firm of consultants, Indufor did a lot more than simply provide "support": it prepared a final report that is now being used as a draft for discussion. During the same interview, the director of CONAFOR pointed to the need for introducing legislative changes to implement the plan and announced that "special impulse will be given to commercial forestry plantations." The changes announced will certainly have something to do with the subject of land and with the subject of subsidies to plantations. As may clearly be seen, the opinions of Mr. Alberto Cárdenas are based on the plan prepared by Indufor, so it is interesting to see what they say in this respect. In the chapter on forestry plantations, the plan states that "to promote the establishment of commercial and industrial forestry plantations, direct economic incentives have been designed and implemented which are presently being adjusted." This means that the major forestry companies are to be subsidised. The report continues by stating that "Problems still persist in having access to the land, security of property rights, marketing and regulations..." generating "an unfavourable climate for investment." Of course this does not refer to access to land by peasants or indigenous peoples; the "problem" resides in how to enable the major forestry companies to legally ensure the use of hundreds of thousands of hectares of land for their plantations. But perhaps the most remarkable thing about the report (in comparison with other very similar ones existing in other countries of the region) is that it brings up a doubt: "the uncertainty of social consequences, associated with large scale plantations, has produced a cautious attitude on the part of rural communities." This also requires translation: it means that the communities are opposed to large scale plantations as they suspect, and rightly so, that they will be established on the lands that they depend on for a living. Similarly well founded are their suspicions that the plantations will generate very few jobs and that they are going to bring about impacts on soil, water and biodiversity, elements they also depend on for survival. Returning to Mr. Alberto Cárdenas, he tells us where they intend to plant these single crops: "In the south and south-east of the country. But there is also interest in the states of Tamaulipas, Coahuila, Sonora, Chihuahua, Jalisco and Michoacán." In fact, they will be implemented in those sites having the requisites needed by the international paper industry. That is to say in regions where eucalyptus grow very fast, where land and labour are cheap, where there is abundant water for the installation of paper pulp plants, where environmental control is not very strict. Those who know the characteristics of the various Mexican regions, will thus know where they are considering establishing their plantations. Article based on
information from: Angélica Enciso, "Desorden y corrupción en el
sector forestal: Cárdenas" La Jornada 12/7/01
- USA: Rainforest Action Network under corporate attack Some corporations are trying to adapt to a more environmentally-conscious public opinion. Others are still unwilling to acknowledge that they cannot continue destroying the environment with impunity. The latter are not necessarily the most dangerous, but they can certainly be the most virulent. The situation being currently faced by a WRM founder organization --the Rainforest Action Network (RAN)-- constitutes an example of such virulence. For years RAN has been campaigning to protect the world's rainforests. In doing so, it has obviously run up against some of the major forest destroyers and has in many cases been successful in halting their destructive activities. Some of these corporations are now trying to get RAN out of the way through the only strategy they understand: money. A conservative group called the Frontier Freedom Foundation (FFF) --heavily supported by tobacco, oil and timber money-- is lobbying the Internal Revenue Service to revoke RAN's non-profit status. The FFF was founded in 1995 by former Senator Malcolm Wallop, a Wyoming Republican and friend of Vice President Dick Cheney. Its biggest contributors include Philip Morris, Exxon Mobil Corporation and RJ Reynolds Tobacco Holdings. But in this case, the hand behing the FFF is logging company Boise Cascade, which is orchestrating a campaign against RAN, together with another group called the Center for the Defense of Free Enterprise (CDFE) to do their most unpopular dirty work. Boise Cascade is a founder and funder of CDFE. To have an idea about this organization it's sufficient to quote its vice president Ron Arnold who told the Boston Globe in 1992, "We are sick to death of environmentalism, and so we will destroy it." And he told The New York Times in 1991, "We want to destroy the environmentalists by taking away their money and their members." As part of its campaign, Boise Cascade has also aggressively targeted RAN's funders with threatening letters. This company is currently RAN's public enemy number one for its role as a "global forest destroyer." According to RAN, "data shows that Boise Cascade engages in global rainforest timber trade and contracts with companies that cut down old growth forests in the U.S., Chile, Indonesia, Canada, Brazil and Russia." Furthermore, Boise Cascade was the lead plaintiff in the effort to reverse the Clinton Administration's Roadless Initiative for National Forests, strongly supported by the American public in polls. If the FFF is successful, RAN would not be out of business, but would have to raise what's known as "hard money" from its donors and members. Put simply, donors wouldn't be able to claim a tax deduction for supporting specific RAN activities, which could discourage them from giving. However, this tactic doesn't seem to be working. Michael Klein, a business entrepreneur and one of RAN's key funders said: "I don't think there is any merit in this case and feel confident that the IRS will rule in RAN's favor. But I stand behind the RAN's work in this area, and would be willing to more than make up whatever shortfall might result." What the FFF and its corporate funders don't seem to understand it that the only way of stopping organizations such as RAN from attacking them is to change their own destructive practices. According to RAN's director Chris Hatch, rather than admitting that the strong public sentiment against irresponsible forestry might be cutting into its bottom line, BCC (Boise Cascade) is trying to blame RAN for its economic problems. (BCC lost $35.5 million in the first quarter of 2001.) Clearly, RAN's success in reducing demand for products made from old-growth wood --including its groundbreaking agreement with Home Depot and a deal in Canada to preserve large portions of the Great Bear rainforest-- has motivated BCC. But instead of working with RAN to clean up their act (which numerous companies have done), BCC has chosen a more hostile route. The response from RAN is clear: "Let there be no doubt. The work to protect our forests will not only continue, but escalate.", stresses Chris Hatch. Article based on
information from: Don Hazen, "Green Group Comes Under Right-Wing
Attack", AlterNet, June 26, 2001: Anne Marie Chaker,
"Conservatives Seek IRS Inquiry On Environmental Group's", Wall
Street Journal, June 21, 2001. Molly Ivins, 28 June 2001
SOUTH AMERICA - Brazil: Political confrontation in Espirito Santo over eucalyptus plantations Large-scale eucalyptus plantations in the State of Espirito Santo --and their related pulp production activities-- have generated opposition since the very beginning. They were first opposed by the people more directly affected by them: the Tupinikim and Guaraní indigenous peoples, Afrobrazilian communities (quilombos) and local farmers, whose lands were appropriated to give way to the plantations. They were later joined by supportive NGOs, whose research findings on the social and environmental impacts led them to initiate campaigns to halt the further spread of plantations and to join forces with local peoples, environmental NGOs and academics to achieve that aim. This later resulted in the creation of a network called the Forum Alert Against the Green Desert, which has been campaigning very effectively during the past years. The increasing awareness --to a large extent resulting from the above mentioned activities-- about the negative impacts of plantations has recently led the State Parliament to pass a law banning the further expansion of eucalyptus plantations until the agro-ecological mapping of the state --which would define where eucalyptus could and could not be planted-- is carried out. The law was clearly aimed at Aracruz Celulose's plans for further expansion. This company is the world's largest producer of bleached eucalyptus pulp, and already owns 88,000 hectares of plantations in Espirito Santo --having further plantations in the neighbouring state of Bahía-- and aims at planting 17,000 hectares more plus some additional 30,000 hectares as outgrower schemes. Nasser Youssef, the author of the law, expressed the feelings of many local people about Aracruz when he stated that the company "does not benefit the state, does not pay taxes and treats Espirito Santo as if it were a colony. We demand to be treated with respect", he added. It is interesting to note that Aracruz expects to invest US$ 222 millions for its new plantations in Espirito Santo and Bahia and that about half of that amount would be provided by the National Social and Economic Development Bank (BNDES). More importantly, it is necessary to underscore that this would take place in a context where famliy-based agriculture does not receive any funding from the BNDES to support this alternative type for development. According to Marcelo Calazans --member of the Forum Alert Against the Green Desert-- Aracruz is one of the largest landowners in the state but only provides 1689 direct jobs, while on the other hand some 70,000 families live on small-scale agriculture, each having only some ten hectares of land. Within that context, the law banning further plantations makes absolute sense from a social point of view, where land concentration by mega-companies is necessarily made at the expense of land available for local farmers, which form the vast majority of the rural population. The law was perceived by many people throughout the world as a very positive step, which could serve as an example to be followed in other places where this type of plantations are impacting on people and the environment. Having received news about the possibility that the Governor of the state, José Ignácio Ferreira, might veto the law, many organizations sent messages in support of the law. In response a local journalist, who declared that "Aracruz does not need me to defend it" immediately reacted in defence of Aracruz, under the argument that the messages came from countries such as Colombia, Argentina, Ecuador, Uruguay, Guatemala, Nicaragua, etc. described as "underdeveloped and wanting us to remain in extreme misery such as them, without any prospects for the future." Proving that Aracruz's influence is as strong as local organizations claim it is, the Governor swiftly reacted to defend the company's interests and vetoed the law, informed the public about his decision in a "solemn session." According to a local member of parliament, this is the first time --as far as he can remember-- that the state government organizes a "solemn session" to sign and publish a veto. Now the State Parliament will meet again at the end of August to either overule the Governor's veto or to accept it and open the doors to further green deserts of eucalyptus. In the meantime, the proponent of the law and the commission he presides in the State Parliament --the Commission for Environment and Agriculture-- have organized an international seminar on the issue of monoculture eucalyptus plantations which will take place on 21-23 August in Vitoria, the capital city of the state. Much will depend on the presentations and conclusions of this seminar, but much will also depend on the capacity of organized civil society to confront the enormous economic and political power of a company such as Aracruz. Article based on information from: Ubervalter Coimbra, "Eucalipto: adiamento do veto pode ampliar debate sobre lei", Século Diário, 3/7/2001; Uchôa de Mendonça , "De volta ao passado", Jornal A GAZETA, 22/6/2001; "Seminário sobre eucalipto em agosto", Jornal A GAZETA, 5/7/2001; "Ignácio autoriza plantio de eucalipto", Jornal A GAZETA, 3/7/2001; CIMI-ES, e-mail: cimies@terra.com.br
- Chile: Repression or solution to the Mapuche-forestry company confrontation? A few days ago, serious events took place in the city of Temuco, ending in over 125 community members in jail, many injured and serious destruction. These incidents are the result of a long chain of encroachments that the Mapuche people have suffered throughout the whole of the twentieth century and that have not been recognised either publicly or fundamentally by the State, which continues to act in favour of forestry companies, providing them with all kinds of support, among which, placing the police force at the companies’ service. Days before these events, the headquarters of the Mapuche organisation Consejo de Todas las Tierras was destroyed by a police contingent which threw tear gas, broke windows and attempted to evict by force twenty Mapuche who were inside the premises. This repressive police operation was carried out in compliance with an "order" by the attorneys Alberto Chifelle – pointed out by Mapuche organisations as being involved in encroaching on land – and Francisco Rojas, to "gather background information." In repudiation of this senseless act of vandalism --the Police commander stated that he had no knowledge of it-- a peaceful march took place in the centre of the city of Temuco. Nine Mapuche organisations of the region participated in this march, the most important one to be held over the past few years. The peaceful climate was altered when a strong contingent of police arrived, supported by water-throwing police vans, armoured cars and police on horseback, with the aim of dispersing the demonstrators. According to the newspaper "La Tercera" the police confirmed that significant damage was done to public property and that "these had been the more violent action than ever taken place in this region." They added that those under arrest would be placed at the disposal of the Military Prosecutor, some of them for maltreatment of police officers while on duty, others for significant damage and the rest for disorder. However, those who have the most right to talk of damage and violence are the Mapuche, who over the past years have insistently complained of the asphyxiation and penning in that the communities bordering with forestry companies suffer, the loss of their lands, the lack of productivity and scarcity of water caused by alien tree plantations, the forced emigrations, the presence of para-military forestry security groups, the conspiracies, sabotage and repressive attitude of the companies against the Mapuche, the arbitrary arrests and legal processes. According to a letter from José Aylwin, lawyer for indigenous matters from the Institute of Indigenous Studies, University of la Frontera, for a long time now the Mapuche have been voicing their disagreement with the processes that are taking place on their ancestral lands, affecting their rights. Basically he highlights the expansion of forestry activities over lands that historically belong to the Mapuche and are recognised and protected by legislation because of their indigenous nature. The plantation of alien trees has literally enclosed the communities within their own ancestral lands (the forestry companies own 1.5 million hectares of land to the south of the Bio Bio) seriously affecting the Mapuche land and waters. In spite of the fact that forestry companies claim to have Constitutional rights over the lands they possess, since the middle of the nineteenth century, the Mapuche "have seen their lands gradually diminish, first through their establishment in reservations, then by the division and confiscation of their communal lands promoted by the State, and later, through the loss of land that was granted to them during the agrarian reform. This is a process that the Mapuche have a name for: usurpation." All this has led to an increasing gap between the Mapuche world and the State and the private companies present on their territory. The Mapuche are claiming what --according to their history, conception of the world, their system of norms and values-- they consider belongs to them and has been taken from them. For its part, the State imposes its law.. The consequence of this lack of communication is the violent situation presently reigning in the Mapuche communities and progressively getting worse. As to the acts of violence, José Aylwin states that "there is an enormous lack of proportion between the Mapuche action and the force used by the State agents, or even private security agents, to repress the indigenous people." As a matter of concern is the fact that "the use of fire-arms by the police against the Mapuche people involved in action in defence of their rights, has now become a routine" and also "that the police forces act together with the companies that are present on Mapuche territorial space. Such is the case of the joint action of Carabineros, Police Investigators and forestry company guards in the area of Malleco. This is an openly illegal action, that cannot continue to be protected by the authorities." The government has two paths to follow, either the honest search for solutions or the increase of repression. For the time being it would seem that they have decided on the second option, which is clearly a dead-end, as seen by the escalation of violence in the South. It is time that the Chilean State takes on its historical responsibility in the drama of the Mapuche people and that it starts looking for real solutions, which necessarily involve returning the lands encroached on by forestry companies during the Pinechet dictatorship. Article is based on
information from: La Tercera, 26 de julio 2001 "El
tema mapuche en los medios de comunicación de la sociedad
chilena"
- Ecuador: Eucalyptus plantations in the Province of Esmeraldas Eucalyptus Pacifico S.A. - EUCAPACIFIC is a new company set up at the end of 2000 to carry out a major eucalyptus plantation project on the Ecuadorian coast, in the Province of Esmeraldas, specifically in the Tonchigüe and Sua sector. This company, composed of transnational capital, has received approval by the Ministry of the Environment to carry out large scale plantations. The comparative advantages regarding the price of land and labour, climatic conditions and the prospects of a very good output of wood, have encouraged foreign companies to invest directly here. This was made very clear by the recent launching of the largest eucalyptus plantation project in the country with the establishment of EUCAPACIFIC. This project unites two Japanese companies (Mitsubishi Paper Mills and the Sumitomo Corporation), Electric Power Development and Waltz International, that have merged to set up this company. This project totally renews the production of wood for pulp and paper in Ecuador: here there will be plantations on the Coast (and not in the Sierra as before) of Eucalyptus urograndis (and not the traditional Eucalyptus globulus) over approximately 10,500 hectares. The objective is to produce pulp and paper from eucalyptus. The wood will be converted into chips at the port of Esmeraldas and then exported to Japan. Presently the project is at an initial stage and plantation has started. EUCAPACIFIC uses a green cosmetic discourse. The Company, both in its statements to the press and in private interviews, insists that it "does not want to have problems with ecologists" and on its desire to preserve native forests. They do not purchase land on which there are forests, or if they do, "before the purchase they warn the owners that as a condition, they should not exploit small extensions of wood." They affirm that one of the major advantages of the project is the creation of "green forests" and the promotion of the idea that it is better to plant trees rather than to cut them down. Environmental issues are very present, at least in the presentation of the project. Through this discourse the company seeks to achieve greater credibility and support for a project having as its major objective to gain money, obtaining the highest productive and financial profitability. The main idea of Mitsubishi Paper Mills is to have its own wood resources in Ecuador where it already carries out business with Expoforestal and the Sumitomo Corporation. The project provides "reserves" of raw materials for their industries at a very low cost. Expoforestal and the Sumitomo Corporation only hope to increase their profits in a sector that has already provided them with significant benefits. These three companies operate under a capitalist rationale of increasing their volume of business and profits, where environmental issues are merely green cosmetics. The objective of Electric Power Development is somewhat different. Through the project this company hopes to obtain "carbon dioxide credits." The choice of Ecuador to promote eucalyptus plantations mainly corresponds to profitability objectives. EUCAPACIFIC recognises that it saw in the country and in the region of Esmeraldas, the possibility of obtaining a major wood production in a very short time, thanks to the climatic conditions favouring the rapid growth of trees. The location of the port of Esmeraldas near the land has made the place even more interesting. That is to say, it was the economic advantages offered by the region that led to the choice of location, and not the favouring of the development of a poor province in a country going through a crisis. Furthermore, the choice of the Province of Esmeraldas is largely motivated by the low cost of land and the low wages paid to workers. The Company’s policy is not aimed at improving labour conditions in the country, but rather at benefiting from this poor situation to obtain greater profits. Although the company states that the exploitation of wood will generate sources of employment, in fact jobs are temporary, require scant qualifications and are poorly paid. There is no guarantee of stability nor long term job prospects. Another point to be underscored is the role played by the Ecuadorian government in this matter. It is giving all its support to the project, to the extent that the company started plantation without having finalised and submitted to the Ministry of the Environment, the environmental impact assessment (which is obligatory when the plantation covers over 500 hectares). As in so many other regions in the South, history repeats itself in Esmeraldas: the same model (single crop eucalyptus), the same stakeholders (transnational companies and the government) and the same promises (that very shortly are shown to be false). Therefore, as suggested by the author of the study we are summarising in this article (available in Spanish at http://www.wrm.org.uy/paises/Educador/Buitron.html ) "we must be vigilant" vis-à-vis this new enterprise. Article is based on information from: Ricardo Buitrón, "Plantaciones de eucalipto en la Provincia de Esmeraldas: un mito ecológico." Acción Ecológica, May 2001.
- Ecuador: Commercial exploitation of forest peoples "People in the Rainforest of Ecuador" is an exhibition currently running in Frankfurt's municipal botanical garden, the Palmengarten. The exhibition describes some of the vast knowledge indigenous people have of plants and ecosystems in the rainforest. The posters advertising the exhibition are sponsored by Aventis CropScience and feature the company's name and logo. As a piece of public relations it is brilliant. Aventis CropScience hopes to gain from having its name associated with indigenous expertise. Dr Wolfgang Faust of Aventis CropScience, explained that the sponsorship is part of the German Ministry of Education and Science's "Year of Life Sciences", which is also sponsored by Aventis CropScience. He said, "The Palmengarten has a certain link with our products, in that it is about plants. It's better than sponsoring a football club, say." The Palmengarten exhibition includes a display by GTZ, the German government's technical cooperation agency. Beate Weiskopf, Senior Advisor in the Rural Development Division of GTZ said, "GTZ was not informed about Aventis' involvement in the exhibition. We got to know about Aventis sponsoring the exhibition when the posters were published." Aventis CropScience is part of the Aventis group, which was created in December 1999 through the merger of Hoechst of Germany and Rhone-Poulenc of France. Aventis CropScience's research includes developing genetically modified (GM) crops. The company was the first company involved in the UK government's farm-scale GM crop trials, and now has more field trials of GM crops in the UK than any other company. In October last year, Aventis CropScience admitted it had grown GM sugar beet without permission at two trial sites in the UK. In February this year, Aventis CropScience fired Maurice Delage, the head of its US division, and two other top managers, after traces of the company's GM StarLink corn were discovered in taco shells and other food products. Starlink corn has not been approved for human consumption. In an attempt to prevent further contamination Aventis CropScience spent at least US$92 million to buy up the StarLink crop. As well as developing, marketing and selling GM crops, Aventis CropScience owns patents giving the company exclusive rights to knowledge, genetic material and processes. Dr Faust said, "Patenting has existed for more than 100 years. We have to patent seeds to recoup our money invested in research. It has nothing to do with the Third World, the GM crops we are developing are for herbicide resistance in Northern climates." One such herbicide is glufosinate. AgrEvo (whose parent company was Hoechst before it become part of Aventis CropScience) developed the herbicide from a soil bacterium derived from Cameroon. As the NGO, Rural Advancement Foundation International, points out, "Hoechst has not offered any compensation to the donor country." The herbicide is marketed under the tradenames Basta, Ignite, Finale and Challenge. In Australia, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) has developed Eucalyptus camaldulensis trees genetically modified to be resistant to Basta. Aventis CropScience is planning commercial production of GM rice in South America and in 1998 obtained permission from the Brazilian authorities to test GM rice in field trails. The company aims to introduce GM crops such as rice and corn in the Philippines. In Thailand, Aventis CropScience has a turnover of approximately US$116 million. Throughout the world, indigenous and other farmers have for generations saved seed and developed local landraces, thus increasing agricultural biodiversity. Aventis CropScience's research is aimed at monoculture, dependency on chemical inputs, and ultimately in increasing corporate profits. Dr Matthias Jenny of Frankfurt's Palmengarten confirmed that he sees a conflict between Aventis CropScience's approach to crops and farmers' approaches. However, when asked whether the Palmengarten has a position on GM organisms, Dr Jenny replied, "Being a municipal institution, the Palmengarten has very limited possibilities to express political opinions." In other words, to reject Aventis CropScience's sponsorship would be a political opinion. To accept it, according to Dr Jenny, is not. The organisation Klima Buendnis, which links European towns with indigenous peoples' groups in the Amazon in climate protection schemes, also contributed a display to the exhibition. Lioba Rossbach de Olmos of Klima Buendnis said, "For us the logo of Aventis on the poster is contrary to the whole idea of the exhibition because the aim was not to advertise Aventis CropScience but to raise awareness on traditional knowledge of indigenous peoples of the tropical rain forests." Lioba added, "The Palmengarten was just looking for funding for a good poster without taking into further consideration the whole problem related to traditional knowledge on one side and biotechnology on the other." Through sponsorship, Aventis CropScience aims to promote its products and to increase its profits. The Palmengarten appears happy to help. In the process, the people in the rainforest of Ecuador and their vast knowledge of their environment, are being exploited for commercial gain. By: Chris Lang; e-mail: http://chrislang.org
OCEANIA - Papua New Guinea: The World Bank once again in the forest Papua New Guinea's (PNG) rainforests are of global significance, comprising one of the last major tropical rainforest wildernesses in the World. Within a mere 1% of the world's land mass, it is estimated that PNG contains 5-8% of global biodiversity and that seventy five percent of this valuable forest is still standing. However, these forests are once again under threat. A number of regulations put in place during 1996-97 seemed to show the government's will to control the activities of the so-called "robber barons" --name given to the timber industrials. This situation didn't last long. During the following two years, strong lobbying of the industry --linked to the country's economic crisis-- led the government to initiate a process of reviving the timber industry. That process included the elimination of log export taxes and monitoring inspections, allocation of vast logging areas to foreign companies and the dismantling of the Forest Service. Such measures obviously favoured the timber industry, but provided few benefits to the country while generating further negative social and environmental problems. (see WRM bulletin 22) In December 1999, national and international environmental NGOs, as well as local small sawmill operators, enthusiastically received an announcement made by PNG’s Prime Minister Mekere Morauta of the intention of the government to impose a moratorium on new logging activities, and to review existing logging concessions that had been improperly granted and implemented. However, this moratorium, that would have enabled a forest-rich country like PNG to change course to a forestry industry providing maximum social, economic and environmental benefits. was never implemented and foreign logging companies completely ignored it during the year 2000. (see WRM bulletins 32 and 41) Australian SBS Television Dateline produced a documentary showing fraud, incompetence, corruption and human rights violations by transnational logging companies operating in Papua New Guinea. The response from the National Forests Board was to accuse the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the Eco-Forestry Forum and other NGOs of being 'puppets' of foreign countries and of the World Bank! (see WRM bulletin 46) It is interesting to note that this attack on the World Bank occured while the Bank was still carrying out a process of Regional Consultations on its Forest Policy Implementation Review and Strategy (FPIRS), where one of the major concerns was whether the Bank's future strategy would maintain or remove the prohibition of funding forestry operations in primary moist tropical forests. Now the situation seems to have changed and it is the World Bank which appears to be a 'puppet' in the hands of the logging industry. As soon as the long and costly FPIRS consultation process was finalized, more than 80 NGOs wrote to the World Bank expressing their concern about the secrecy surrounding what should have been a public draft of the new policy. What is now happening in PNG seems to prove that those NGO’s were right in suspecting that something was going in the wrong direction. According to Glen Barry, the World Bank has recently indicated that they will not require the government to maintain the moratorium in order to receive further loan payments. The World Bank has also confirmed it has abandoned support for policy-making in support of community-based eco-forestry. If this is a sample of the Bank's new forest policy, then it's time to begin campaigning against the Bank once again. Article based on
information from: Worldwide Rainforest Conservation Network Slams World
Bank's Papua New Guinea Program. July 1, 2001.Glen Barry, Forests.org, Inc
Prior to and during the Bonn meeting on climate change, a number of organizations expressed their views on the basically flawed nature of the climate negotiations and tried to push the process in the right direction. What follows are brief summaries of three relevant statements on the issue: - THE WRM APPEAL. The World Rainforest Movement widely distributed before the meeting of the Conference of the Parties an appeal which was endorsed by more than 180 people and organizations during the first week after being issued, which among other things states that: "To avoid the climate tragedy, it is essential that a total change of direction should take place --an ecological U-turn. It is clear to us that most governments --North and South-- do not appear to be willing to take decisive action. However, a reversal of the US positions is key at this time. The World Rainforest Movement urges in the strongest terms possible for organised civil society in all the countries of the world: - to demand their governments not to accept the US government's blackmail and to pressure the US delegation to make it change its position - to call out to industrialized country governments to assume their obligation and ensure maintenance of the planet’s climatic stability through real cuts in fossil-fuel emissions - to stress that if the price for an agreement on the Kyoto Protocol is to weaken it by including "carbon sinks" in the Clean Development Mechanism, then it would be much less harmful not to have a Kyoto Protocol at all - to insist that the Convention on Climate Change's mandate is not to serve the economic interests of corporations but to save the Earth's climate from an impending disaster. The full text is available at: http://www.wrm.org.uy/actors/CCC/appeal2001.html - THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLES' BONN DECLARATION. The Third International Forum of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities on Climate Change held on July 14-15 in Bonn produced a declaration (available in full at http://www.wrm.org.uy/actors/CCC/IPBonn.html ). The following is a selection of quotes from the declaration: "The discussions under the UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol have totally excluded the indigenous peoples to the extent that neither recognizes the right of indigenous peoples to full and effective participation and to contribute to discussions and debates. This contrasts with other international processes which assure our participation and contribution within discussions. The concepts, practices and measures that have been proposed as solutions to the problem of climate change, such as plantations, sinks and the carbon market, among others, will result in projects with negative and adverse effects on Indigenous Peoples, our territories and our ecosystems, and in violations of our rights as Indigenous Peoples. We openly oppose the measures to mitigate climate change under discussion that are based essentially on a mercantilist and utilitarian vision of the forests, seas, territories and resources of Indigenous Peoples, which are being exclusively valued for their capacity to absorb CO2 and produce oxygen, and which negate our traditional cultural practices and spiritual values. We, Indigenous Peoples reject the inclusion of sinks in the Clean Development Mechanism and the definition of sinks contemplated under the Kyoto Protocol and we oppose that the forests are considered solely for their carbon sequestration capacity. We register our disagreement with proposals surrounding definitions including Afforestation, Deforestation and Reforestation proposed in the context of the UNFCCC. We express our grave concern that the UNFCCC ignores the concept of conservation, the importance of biodiversity, and the fundamental role of Indigenous Peoples in the management of our territories, forests and other ecosystems." - THE BONN STATEMENT ON CLIMATE CHANGE. This statement, endorsed by a large number of mainly international organizations, was released during the UN climate summit in Bonn (July 16-27) and warned "against a further weakening and distortion of the Kyoto Protocol, as governments try to accommodate the irresponsible position of the US (and a growing number of other countries)." The statement begins by stating that "current attempts to entice the US government to recommit to the Kyoto Protocol are likely to further accelerate the corruption of the Treaty. To save the Kyoto Protocol, talks should urgently shift focus from the current market mania, to discussing effective and fair solutions to climate change, beginning with domestic reductions of greenhouse gas emissions by the industrialised countries." The statement (available at http://www.xs4all.nl/~ceo/climate/bonnstatement.html ) finalises with the following call: "We demand that industrialised countries drastically reduce their greenhouse gas emissions at home. We demand that industrialised countries do not seek to escape their reduction commitments through market-based mechanisms such as Emissions Trading, Joint Implementation or the Clean Development Mechanism. We call for a just transition to sustainable economies (through policies that protect workers and vulnerable communities), as well as for support for countries and communities threatened by catastrophic climate change. We call for an end to fossil fuel subsidies and a moratorium on new oil exploration and drilling."
- Capturing Carbon: Dilemmas for Forest Peoples Global debates about the role of forests and plantations in climate negotiations have paid little attention to the views of the 300 million or so forest people who inhabit them. Historically marginalised and denied recognition of their rights, forest peoples are demanding that their voices be heard and that they be respected as the rightful owners of their forests. While scientists are still unsure whether or not forests and plantations do or do not act as long-term reservoirs or sinks, politicians are already arguing about whether forests should or should not be treated as commodities in the global carbon trade. Countries like the USA, which are finding it hard to curb their emissions, are keen on the idea of paying companies or countries in the South to 'create' carbon sinks so unsustainable economies in the North can carry on polluting. And some people in the South are keen to take the money and not ask difficult questions. There are clear risks and some possible advantages to be gained by forest peoples if forests are made part of a global carbon economy. The most obvious risks are that powerful interests in the industrial North and in energy and forestry businesses in the South will gain a determining stake in deciding what should happen to forests, once again overwhelming forest peoples from making effective decisions about their future. Likewise lucrative deals between carbon emitters and carbon storers will provide powerful incentives for large enterprises to take over community lands for plantations. Previous issues of this bulletin have noted all too many examples of this process. On the other hand, it is possible that recognition of the value of standing forests as carbon stores could free up money to pay conservationists and forest peoples to look after forests and protect them from destruction. The drawbacks of such approach were highlighted in WRM bulletin 37 ("Can CDM money be acceptable for forest conservation?"). In weighing up the pros and cons, forest peoples have reached different conclusions about what they should be demanding in the global negotiations. All are agreed that indigenous peoples and other forest-dwellers should be centrally engaged in climate negotiations and not relegated to the side-lines. They have been divided, however, over whether or not they should accept the inclusion of forests in the ‘Clean Development Mechanism’ (CDM). In a powerful statement to the sixth meeting of the Climate Negotiations in The Hague last year, indigenous spokespersons from 22 different countries and representing 28 distinct cultures, rejected the inclusion of forests in the CDM and called for the establishment of a fund for use by Indigenous Peoples to address the impacts of climate change. "Our intrinsic relation with Mother Earth obliges us to oppose the inclusion of sinks in the CDM because it reduces our sacred lands and territories to mere carbon sequestration, which is contrary to our cosmovision and philosophy of life. Sinks in the CDM would constitute a worldwide strategy for expropriating our lands and territories and violating our fundamental rights that would culminate in a new form of colonialism. Sinks in the CDM would not help reduce GHG emissions, rather it would provide industrialized countries with a ploy to avoid reducing emissions at source." A different opinion has been voiced by other forest peoples, notably from Brazil, who have been working with the US NGO Environmental Defense, itself an advocate of the carbon trade. "Our people have proposals and projects for the protection of forest and for the lives of our peoples. We need the means to expand and multiply these. The CDM must not exclude forests and must not exclude our peoples. We support the inclusion of forest protection, community-based forest management, sustainable production, and economic alternatives for indigenous and traditional peoples in the CDM." In June this year, representatives from the Brazilian organizations and Environmental Defense toured Europe to explain their position. The meetings highlighted the need for further discussions about the implication of the CDM for forest peoples. By: Marcus Colchester, Forest Peoples Programme, 12 July 2001, e-mail: marcus@fppwrm.gn.apc.org Sources: Declaration of the First International Forum of Indigenous Peoples on Climate Change, Lyon, France, 4-6 September 2000. Indigenous Peoples' Declaration to the Sixth Session of the UN Conference of the Parties on Climate Change, The Hague, 11-12 November 2000. Indigenous and Traditional Peoples of Brazil, Bolivia and Mexico: Climate Change and Forests 21 November 2000. Amazon Grassroots Groups Want Forest Protection in Climate Treaty, Conselho Nacional Dos Seringueiros, Press Release, 21 June 2001. "Can CDM money be acceptable for forest conservation?" ( http://www.wrm.org.uy/bulletin/37.html#can )
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