The high cost of cheap oil

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The Kolla indigenous people, that live in the northern Argentinian Provinces of Jujuy and Salta, have been defending the "yungas" -one of the last remaining mountain forests in Argentina- against a pipeline project that would transport natural gas from eastern Salta to the northern Chilean copper mines. In April 1998 ENARGAS –the Argentinian regulatory entity- approved the project presented by Consorcio Norandino SA, according to which the pipeline would cross Finca San Andrés, inhabited by 350 Kolla families, who oppose it. Last June a Federal judge ordered the suspension of the pipeline construction, considering that the project lacked an adequate environmental impact assessment, as well as of any social and cultural impact evaluation, ignoring the existence of the Kollas in the area.

But supporters of the gas pipeline are powerful and influential. The Salta Provincial Government gained the support of the population of the nearby town of Orán because of the jobs that Techint -the company in charge of building the pipeline- had promised to create; Güemes Radio has even instigated violence against the Kolla; many Argentinian judges have strong links with the government and are suspected of corruption. In July the Federal Court of Appeals revoked the Federal judge's decision and authorized the project. One week later the heavy machinery of Techint was opening a 12 metre wide trail in Finca San Andrés, destroying the yunga and threatening Kolla cemeteries and archeological sites. Affected Kollas' protests got the original project route diverted a couple of metres to avoid further destruction. Nevertheless, it is also feared that the removal of sectors of the mountain will provoke landslides. During floods, rock materials tranported by the San Andrés River could damage the pipeline itself, provoking gas escapes.

During the opening of the XI Global Biodiversity Forum in Buenos Aires (November 1998), the Secretary for the Environment and Natural Resources María Julia Alsogaray stated that during the present administration the protected area of the yungas had been increased to 300,000 hectares. Her declarations are in total contradiction with what is actually happening on the ground. The battle over the San Andrés pipeline seems to have been lost. However, the struggle continues. "The Government has everything on his side: judges, politicians, mass media. But they have forgotten that we have fought for 500 years to recover our lands and natural resources. For the non pollution of the water, the air, the soil. For our cultural values and cosmovision. In sum, for our existence as human beings in harmony with the surrounding nature" stated Festo Chausque, one of the Kolla leaders.

Following an existing trend at the global level, oil companies in Argentina have enthusiastically embraced the idea of entering the carbon permits market, as an effective way to increase their profits and revamp their image to the eyes of public opinion: from the bad guys responsible for global warming to champions of forest conservation! Since 1998, the government has been making things easier for them by favouring investments in plantation projects, disregarding their impacts on the valuable grassland ecosystems that have been the natural and physical support of the country's economy.

According to Patricio Montecino, general manager of Pecom Forestal (a subsidiary of oil company Pérez Companc), "nowadays it is difficult to think of an oil company without an additional forestry component" both because -according to him- forestry is a good business, and because such companies are now conscious of the need to work on solutions based on carbon sequestration. Pecom is negotiating carbon emissions permits with the German companies that are involved in the polemic Chubut-Prima Klima agreement to sequester carbon in southern Chubut Province.

For Pérez Companc Company, carbon sinks are nowadays a core business. The company started to work in the forestry sector in the 1950s and at present owns 163,000 hectares of land in the provinces of Misiones and Corrientes and in the Paraná Delta region, much of which will be planted with trees. 15,000 additional hectares of pine plantations are to be set up in the next seven years in Misiones. The company's holdings in Corrientes are being planted to Pinus taeda and Pinus elliottii at a rate of 6,000 hectares per year, with the aim of obtaining raw material to feed an industry to be installed in the area in the near future.

Giant oil producer YPF (formerly State owned, now privatized and associated with Repsol of Spain) is supervising the plantation of 2,000 hectares with Pinus ponderosa in southern Neuquén Province by the Corporación Forestal Neuquina (CORFONE) and planning to reach 5,000 hectares by the year 2002. Of course Shell cannot be absent in this kind of initiatives: It owns 200,000 hectares in several countries (Congo, New Zealand, Chile, Uruguay, Argentina, Paraguay), being 120,000 hectares occupied by fast-growing trees plantations. In Argentina, Shell began to operate in 1998 and its plantations are located in Buenos Aires Province, where it owns 24,200 hectares, and in Corrientes Province, occupying an area of 8,000 hectares with eucalyptus and pines, to be extended to 18,000 hectares.

To create a "green image" for themselves is a very important goal of these companies' policy. Repsol-YPF boasts that its project is taking place in areas affected by erosion produced by overgrazing, and that they are not occupied by native forests, thus pretending to show its concern for environmental protection, in general, and for the reclamation of degradaded soils in particular. Shell emphasises that 2,000 hectares of native forests in its afforestation area will be left intact, and that the company aims to obtain certification according to the ISO 14001 norm so that the product can reach Northern markets. Nevertheless, such arguments are weak regarding a true conservation policy, since on the one hand it is well known that tree monocultures do not contribute to soil reclamation, and on the other hand, the effectiveness of small patches of native forest to conserve biodiversity in the midst of vast tree monocultures is very doubtful. Not to mention the poor performance of these companies regarding environmental protection. Not to mention that the real business of these companies -oil extraction- is devastating both the local and global environment. And not to mention that while "greening" their image they are increasingly appropriating vast areas of land throughout the world.

Bolivia hosts 440,000 sq.km of rainforests, which represent 57% of the lowlands total surface in the country. Deforestation rate reaches 168,000 hectares/year, being the promotion of export crops and wantonly granted logging concessions the main causes of this problem. Environmental NGOs have frequently expressed their concern over the situation of the forestry sector in Bolivia, characterized by the disrespect to indigenous traditional territories and the inefficiency of the government to adequately address the problem.

Oil exploration and exploitation is also a depredatory activity affecting Bolivian forests and forest peoples. It has recently been denounced that the company Repsol (mainly composed of Spanish capitals) has entered the Multiethnic Indigenous Territory in the Amazon Forest to perform topographic measurements prior to the drilling of the Eva Eva well. Inhabitants of the town of San Ignacio de Moxos have said that Repsol has already advanced 90 kilometres into the forest, using a road previously opened by loggers. Once more such roads are the way to further destruction of the forest.

The Multiethnic Indigenous Territory is not a void space. Indigenous peoples -Trinitary, Mojeño and Chimán- live there. Since Repsol does not count on the necessary environmental license to operate, this action is but an invasion of the indigenous territory. Eva Eva, at Beni Province, is the first well the company aims to drill. The second one is the Samusabeti well, which will affect an area inhabited by the Quichua and Aymara indigenous peoples, already hit by repression against illegal crops. In relation to the Isiboro well, at Isiboro Sécure National Park, the environmental impact assessment presented by Repsol was severely observed by the environmental authority because the special features of that protected area had been ignored.

Once again Repsol is violating national and international norms regarding indigenous rights and the protection of the environment. During 1995-1998 Bolivian NGOs repeatedly denounced the company for the opening of 1,200 kilometres of seismic trails and the pollution of several water courses.

On February 1997, the Colombian Environment Ministry issued an authorization to US company Occidental Petroleum to start oil exploration in an indigenous territory on the border with Venezuela, considered one of the largest oil fields of the hemisphere. To stop the beginning of the activities of the company, about 4,000 members of the U'wa indigenous people recently threatened to commit mass suicide if oil exploration takes place on their ancestral lands.

"All honorable men and women understand that the path one follows by causing wounds to mother Earth is a deadly one," said José Cobaría, a spokesperson of the U'wa. He issued an appeal for help from the international community, "so that they help the white man (Occidental) understand the meaning of the life of the people and animals" who live on the tribal lands.

Responding to the immediate and increasing threat of oil exploration on their lands, the U'wa people have issued a statement demanding that both the Colombian government and Occidental Petroleum recognize their right to refuse or accept oil activity on their land as a precondition to any dialogue about oil development. The statement also demands an immediate withdrawal of the military presence in U'wa territory, which has increased dramatically over the last month.

The U'wa, a nation of 5,000 living in the Andean cloud forests, have previously stated that any extraction of oil on their land will lead to their committing mass suicide, a possibility still open.

The demands by the U'wa are the latest development in the legal process pending before the Inter American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) of the Organization of American States (OAS). The case was filed in May 1997 by the Traditional U'wa Authority, the National Indigenous Organization of Colombia, and the Amazon Coalition, in an attempt to gain legal recognition of the U'wa's sovereignty over their ancestral homeland and resources. "Now they say that the government wants to know our thoughts about the oil project, but if they don't like what we think, they will simply proceed with their own decisions", said Roberto Cobaría, President of the Traditional U'wa Authority.

Exploration rights to the U'wa territory, known to the oil companies as "Samoré block" are held by a consortium led by the Los Angeles based Occidental Petroleum which includes Shell as an equal partner. Colombian oil developments are an increasingly popular target of the country's rebels and U'wa community leaders fear this will become another factor for increasing violence in their lands.

The U'wa of the Colombian cloud forest are in a life-and-death struggle to protect their traditional culture and sacred homeland from an oil project slated to begin on their land at anytime. The U'wa are adamantly opposed to the drilling and warn that the project will lead to an increase in violence as seen in other oil regions of Colombia. Despite this, Los Angeles-based Occidental Petroleum and the Colombian government continue to move forward with plans to drill. The U'wa have made a call for international support; now is the time for us to answer.

The U'wa's opposition to the oil project is so strong that they have vowed to commit collective suicide if Occidental Petroleum and the Colombian government proceed with the oil project on their ancestral lands. The U'wa, a traditional people some 5,000 members strong, explain they prefer a death by their own hand than the slow death to their environment and culture oil will bring. A core tenet of U'wa culture and spirituality is the belief that the land that has sustained them for centuries is sacred. They strongly believe that to permit oil exploration on these sacred lands would upset the balance of the world. In the words of the U'wa, "Oil is the blood of Mother Earth...to take the oil is, for us, worse than killing your own mother. If you kill the Earth, then no one will live."

The U'wa people's struggle recently exploded into the public arena with the tragic March 5th 1999 murders in Colombia of three indigenous rights activists: Terence Freitas, Ingrid Washinawatok and Lahe'ane'e Gay. Terence had devoted the last two years of his life to supporting the U'wa in their campaign to stop Occidental's oil project, reclaim their ancestral homeland and protect their traditional culture. Ingrid and Lahe'ane'e were coordinating with the U'wa to launch an educational project designed to maintain and promote the U'wa's traditional way-of-life.

The U'wa fear that the recent murders are but a harbinger of the wider physical violence the oil project will bring to their people. Throughout Colombia, oil and violence are linked inextricably. Occidental's Caño Limón pipeline, just north of U'wa territory, has been attacked by leftist guerillas more than 500 times in its 12 years of existence, spilling some 1.7 million barrels of crude oil into the soil and rivers. The Colombian government has militarized oil production and pipeline zones, often persecuting local populations the government assumes are helping the guerrillas. Oil projects have already taken their toll on many other indigenous peoples of Colombia, including the Yarique, Cofán and Secoya.

The current drilling plans threaten the survival of both the U'wa and their environment. The U'wa's cloud forest homeland in the Sierra Nevada de Cocuy mountains near the Venezuelan border is one of the most delicate, endangered forest ecosystems on the planet. It is an area rich in plant and animal life unique to the region, and the U'wa depend on the balance and bounty of the forest for their survival. Where oil companies have operated in other regions of the Amazon basin, cultural decay, toxic pollution, land invasions and massive deforestation have followed.

Occidental first received an exploration license for the 2 billion-barrel oil field -the equivalent of three months of U.S. consumption- in 1992. Since then, the U'wa have voiced their consistent opposition to the oil project. They have taken a variety of actions to halt the project, including the filing of lawsuits against the government in Colombia, petitioning the Organization of American States to intervene, appealing directly with Occidental's top executives, and reaching out to company shareholders. Currently, Colombia's Ministry of the Environment is considering Occidental's application for a drilling license, the next hurdle the company must clear to proceed with the project. In the face of mounting violence in the region and Occidental's pressure on the government to approve the drilling permit, the urgency of the U'wa's struggle has never been so great.

"We are seeking an explanation for this 'progress' that goes against life. We are demanding that this kind of progress stop, that oil exploitation in the heart of the Earth is halted, that the deliberate bleeding of the Earth stop." --Statement of the U'wa people, August, 1999.

The recent murders of three activists - Ingrid Washinawatok, a member of the Menominee tribe from New York, Terence Freitas, from Oakland, and Lahe'ena'e Gay, from Hawaii- who were assisting the U'wa indigenous people to protect their land from oil drilling, illustrate the high level of violence in conflicts concerning the use of resources and territorial issues in the South American rainforests and calls into question U.S. foreign policy.

The U'wa Defense Working Group, an environmental NGO based in California, is calling for an investigation into the "role of multinational oil companies in the ongoing cycle of violence in the region". On February 25 1999, members of the Colombian rebel group Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC) kidnapped U'wa leader Roberto Cobaría and the three Americans. Cobaría was immediately released but the Americans were held. In 1997 Cobaría, after meeting with Occidental Petroleum in Los Angeles was kidnapped and beaten on his return to Colombia by gunmen who tried to force him to sign a drilling agreement. With regard to this abuse Cobaría testified to Amnesty International and complained to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. FARC were responsible for the murder of the American activists, claimed as "a mistake" committed by a commander that acted on his own initiative.

The USA have devoted large sums of money to "aid" Colombia in the war against drug cartels and leftist rebels. For example, last April the United States pledged the $240 million of military aid to the Colombian "peace process". But this aid includes money for more military aircraft and weapons. Human Rights Watch reported that of the 40,000 civilians killed in Colombia since 1989, the majority were victims of US-backed military groups. Violence is also used in the American territory itself. On April 28th U'wa leaders and hundreds of activists who demonstrated in memory of the three murdered Americans outside of Occidental Petroleum's headquarters in Los Angeles were rejected by the police, and 20 of them were arrested.

Even facing this kind of difficulties, the environmental and human rights movement scored a significant victory on April 30th at Occidental Petroleum's shareholder meeting in Santa Monica, as 13% of Occidental Petroleum shareholders, totaling over 40,000,000 shares, voted in favour of a resolution to carry out an analysis on the risks associated with the oil project planned on U'wa people's lands in the Colombian rainforest. "In the world of shareholder activism, a thirteen percent vote is a huge victory. I don't believe Oxy can go ahead with this project without upsetting its major shareholders" said Atossa Soltani, Director of Amazon Watch. Leaders of the U'wa nation, who arrived in Los Angeles after a three-day journey from their homes high in Colombia's cloud forest, also addressed Occidental Petroleum meeting, asked shareholders to encourage the company to cancel the oil project planned for their ancestral territory. U'wa leader Berito Kuwaru'wa sang a traditional song in U'wa language describing petroleum as "the blood of the Earth." The U'wa's plea is particularly urgent, as Occidental has applied for an environmental license from the Colombian government to drill its first well on the U'wa's land.

What follows is an international communique from the Association of Traditional U'wa Authorities issued in Kerachikara, at the sacred U'wa's territory in April 1999:

"For thousands of years the U'wa people have lived in territories known today as the Departments of Casanare, Arauca, Boyaca, Santander and North of Santander, Colombia. This gives us the right to demand that the Colombian government and multinational oil corporations fully recognize and respect our territory, as well as all resources that belong to us -all of which are recognized as ours by the National Constitution and national and international laws.

The U'wa people have consistently reiterated that we will not give up our ancient rights to the interests of the state and multinational companies. In Colombia we have exhausted all existing legal channels to solve the conflict between the U'wa and Occidental Petroleum. None of our efforts in Colombia have produced the necessary measures needed to respect the rights of the U'wa people.

Because the Colombian government has not recognized our rights as a distinct people, we have been obliged to reach out to the national and international community (governments, environmental and human rights organizations, and indigenous peoples -all who work for life and peace). They have, without restraint, joined our cause.

The lack of recognition and violation by the Colombian government and multinational corporations (i.e. Occidental) of the historical rights and heritage of the U'wa people forces us to put forward the following demands:

1. We reaffirm the demand of the U'wa people for the cancellation of oil activities in our ancestral territory.

2. We express the urgent need for the recuperation of our land, to which we have a right, in order to guarantee life. The Colombian government should promise to enlarge the existing reserve and to respect our ancestral territories.

3. We reaffirm that for the U'wa, our territory, natural resources and our people are not objects to be negotiated. They should be respected according to the laws of nature.

Objectives

1. Consolidate international solidarity in support of our just cause for territory, culture, and oral history.

2. Demonstrate with concrete examples the destructive processes that oil activities such as Oxy's bring to our people and our environment.

3. Demonstrate that the model of development promoted by the U'wa people is an alternative for all humanity that will guarantee the life of this planet under the principles of sustainable development.

Signed by: Roberto Pérez Gutiérrez, President of the Traditional U'wa Council; Roberto Cobaría Berito Kubaruwa, Official Delegate of the Traditional U'wa Authorities; Javier Vesga Florez, Advisor to the Traditional U'wa Council."

As a result of a long and difficult struggle against giant Occidental Petroleum and the Colombian government, the U'wa indigenous people have achieved a significant victory with the legal recognition of an area comprising an important portion of their traditional territory in the northeastern corner of Colombia. A recent resolution of the Colombian government, in agreement with the U'wa leaders, has increased their legally recognized territory in 120,000 hectares, which now comprises 220,275 hectares in the provinces of Boyacá, Northern Santander, Santander and Arauca. It will be called Unified U'wa Reserve. The official resolution undoubtedly represents a significant victory for the U'wa and an important step for the recognition of the whole of their traditional territory.

Nevertheless, the oil threat is still looming on them: the Ministry of the Environment is considering a request of environmental license for exploratory drilling by Occidental Petroleum just outside the recently created Reserve in the Gibraltar area. The negative environmental and social impacts of the project constitute a serious threat to the U'wa's physical and cultural survival, since activities of oil prospection and extraction in Colombia are associated to human rights abuses, corruption and violence. "As we recover part of our territory that you are formally handing over to us today, we request absolute respect for our position to not allow any oil exploration or production on our traditional lands, either inside or outside the territory that has been legally recognized as ours," said Roberto Pérez, President of the U'wa governing body, at a ceremony intended to celebrate the creation of the reserve.

The recent resolution of the Colombian government, in agreement with the U'wa leaders, according to which their legally recognized territory was increased in 120,000 hectares -now comprising 220,275 hectares- was celebrated as a great victory. Nevertheless, the consideration by the Ministry of the Environment of a request of environmental license for exploratory drilling by Occidental Petroleum just outside the newly created Unified U'wa Reservation is a pending menace on them.

Unfortunately, the worse has happened: on September 21st 1999, Environment Minister Juan Mayr announced he was granting a permit for the above named oil company to begin an exploratory drilling in the region. The U'wa have denounced the government's decision as cultural and environmental genocide and have made clear once again their decision to commit mass suicide in case their land continues to be sullied. For the U'wa, oil is the blood of Mother Earth and therefore to drill is the ultimate desecration of their ancient traditions of living in peaceful balance with the Earth.

In a new chapter of their seemingly endless struggle to defend their land rights, a group of two hundred U'wa indigenous people -including women, children and tribal elders- established on November 14, 1999, a permanent settlement at the site of Occidental Petroleum's planned oil well Gibraltar 1. Their aim is to block the drilling planned to begin operating in the near future, thus avoiding that their Mother Earth be profaned. Hundreds of more U'wa and other supporters are expected to continue arriving to the settlement in upcoming days to reinforce this action. Tribal leaders consider that this permanent settlement is a necessary action to block the drilling after legal battles and direct appeals to the company and the government have failed to date.

On November 16^th, the Second U'wa Audience for Life was held in Bogotá, attended by a large number of U'wa and more than 100 delegates of national and international organizations of indigenous peoples, environmentalists, black communities and social groups who support them. On the following day, a large demonstration which began at the National University of Colombia and went to the headquarters of the Ministry of the Environment took place, where the representatives of the U´wa demanded once again President Andrés Pastrana and the Minister of the Environment, Juan Mayr, the immediate cancellation of oil exploration in the Samoré area. Until now, the authorities have turned a deaf ear to the U'wa's demand. After countless meetings with the environmental authorities to discuss this problem, the U'wa have now refused to participate in the so-called Environmental Alliance for Colombia, to which the government is summoning. "It is not more than the government's farce to obtain resources under the name of the environmental emergencies of the country, while its actions show contempt or violent solutions to the environmental conflicts" states a declaration of the U'wa leaders.

During the long conflict that has involved the U'wa indigenous people -with the support of national and international NGOs and social organizations- and Occidental Petroleum (Oxy), there have been constant comings and goings. For almost a decade, the U'wa people have successfully prevented Oxy from exploiting oil -that they consider the Earth's blood- in their traditional territory. But in September 1999 the Environment Ministry, which has always acted in collusion with the company's interests, granted a permit to Oxy that allows it to begin an exploratory drilling just outside the Unified U'wa Reservation, in a site that is within U'wa traditional territories. This arbitrary step was and is still strongly resisted both in Colombia and abroad.

The U'wa authorities have issued the following communiqué, asking for international solidarity:

"Approximately 200 members of the U'wa indigenous tribe of northeastern Colombia assembled in a permanent settlement on part of our ancestral lands yesterday, November 16, 1999. This area is the site where Occidental Petroleum wants to drill the oil well 'Gibraltar 1', an action which threatens life and our ancient culture.

With this permanent presence and with the support of the local farmers of Sarare, we are claiming our ancestral and constitutional rights to life and to our traditional territory. We demand that the Colombian government and Oxy leave us in peace and that once and for all they cancel the oil project in this area. We U'wa people are willing to give our lives to defend Mother Earth from this project which will annihilate our culture, destroy nature, and upset the world's equilibrium. Caring for the Earth and the welfare of our children and of future generations is not only the responsibility of the U'wa people but of the entire national and international society.

We ask people around the world who value the Earth and indigenous peoples to speak out against the multinational oil company Oxy through protests, letters and other actions of solidarity."

In the last days, even graver events happened. On January 19th, more than 5000 heavily armed soldiers of the Colombian Army entered the U'wa traditional territory, in Cedeno, where the oil drilling well Gibraltar 1 is located. This is an extreme step of the Colombian government to make sure that Oxy's oil exploitation goes ahead. An urgent campaign has been launched to stop the invasion.

As part of their struggle to prevent the occupation of their lands by Occidental Petroleum, a group of about 200 members of the U'wa indigenous peoples established in November 1999 a camp in the area where the company is planning to drill the oil well "Gibraltar 1" with the approval of the Colombian Environment Ministry, which all along this conflict has disregarded the U'wa's rights and defended the interests of Oxy.

Tension in the region increased on February 11th 2000, when combined forces of the police and the army assaulted the zone of Las Canoas, close to Gibraltar, where nearly 450 U'wa men, women and children were settled. A violent repression took place and the indigenous people were forced to abandon the area. Seeking to escape, many of them threw themselves into the Cubujón River, and as a consequence three indigenous children drowned, while several men and women were injured and others disappeared. The Colombian Government as well as Oxy are to be blamed for these innocent deaths and for the violence exerted against defenseless people, which constitute a serious violation to their most elementary human rights.

A similar situation is that of the Embera Katío at the Sinú river upper watershed, whose ancestral territories, livelihoods and culture are threatened by the Urrá hydroelectric dam megaproject, which has also received support from the Environment Ministry. Peaceful protests and claims to international bodies have been carried out to stop this destructive project. Nonetheless, as in the case of the U'wa, the traditional and destructive "development" model still seems to prevail, but support for the Embera's struggle is increasing. In a press release issued on March 8th the 99 communities of indigenous peoples, fisherfolk and peasants of the Sinú river lower watershed have expressed that, given the present state of things, they will begin to act openly in defense of their Embera brothers and sisters in case they are expelled from their lands. They categorically blame the government for the situation of violence reigning in the area and for having refused to dialogue with the affected people.

The U'wa and the Embera have now joined forces and are organizing the visit of an international mission to Colombia this March, composed of representatives of human rights, social and environmental organizations from several parts of the world. The main objective of the mission, which will start visiting the affected areas in March 18th, is "to witness the situation of imminent danger the Embera Katío and U'wa peoples are suffering and to make the government implement the agreements that guarantee their survival." The mission will be aimed at assisting them in their struggle based on "the right to live as indigenous cultures, to have alternative life and development options."

From March 15-21, 2000, an International Mission, summoned by the major authorities of the Embera-Katío and U'wa indigenous peoples, visited Colombia to observe in the field their situation concerning the long conflict in which they are involved to defend their territorial and cultural rights. The mission was conformed by representatives of indigenous peoples of Ecuador and Panama, the World Rainforest Movement, Oilwatch, Friends of the Earth, International Rivers Network, Ríos Vivos, and other human rights and environmental organizations.

The members of the mission that visited the U'wa Territory at Arauca Department, in East Colombia, could see with their own eyes how the U'wa were organized in a camp of more than 2,500 people at Gibraltar, counting with the support of peasants' and workers' organizations. Peace and solidarity reigned in the camp, in spite of provocations by army personnel that were installed nearby. The adverse effects on the forest, soil, water and people of the works that Oxy's concessionaires were undertaking to open the oil well Gibraltar 1 were also observed. Additionally, the mission met Colombian authorities, ONIC (National Peoples Organization of Colombia), and affected people at the site, and reviewed all of the relevant documents related to the case. The mission was unable to interview staff from Occidental due to their unwillingness to do so.

As a preliminary result of its work, the mission emphasized that the present situation is critical from an environmental and social point of view due to works in course, that there are contradictions between what has been declared by the authorities and what was observed at the site, and that there exists a tendency to resolve the conflicts with military involvement disregarding the social and environmental aspects which originate them.

Among other steps, it was recommended that the environmental license for Oxy issued on September 21st 1999 by the Ministry of the Environment be revoked; that guarantees are given and the integrity of the ancestral territory of the U'wa is respected; that an investigation on the violent evictions against the U'wa that occurred last January and February is immediately undertaken; and that the civil authorities guarantee the legal right of peaceful protests by the affected people.

On March 31st a Colombian court ordered Oxy to halt all construction work on the Gibraltar 1 well site on sacred ancestral land of the U'wa people. The judge ruled that the drilling on the site would violate "fundamental rights" of the U'wa people, including their right to life. Nevertheless, the last word has not been yet said. Even if the court's decision is an important step, the injunction speaks of the suspension of the project and not of its cancellation. Additionally, Oxy is a powerful actor and the Colombian government itself -in spite of nice words regarding cultural diversity and even indigenous rights established in the Constitution- seems to be more interested in promoting oil exploitation than in respecting the rights of the U'wa. But the U'wa count on national and international solidarity and especially on their own strength to defend their rights.

Indigenous women, some of them accompanied by their men and children, initiated a march on September 28, 1997, in Pastaza province -northern Ecuador- with the aim of joining the National Constitutional Assembly to be held in Quito on October 12.

The Coordination of Indigenous Women "Pacha Mama" ("Mother Earth" in Quechua language) rejects the presence of oil companies in the territory of Pastaza because it is threatening the living conditions of the indigenous communities and peasants. They will ask the Ecuatorian government to establish a moratorium of 15 years for the activities of oil companies in Pastaza. "We, the indigenous women in defence of the Pacha Mama, demand the government of Ecuador, that the indigenous territories of Pastaza be recognized as Patrimony and Legacy for Preservation of the Biodiversity and for the Indigenous Cultural Nations" states Cristina Gualinga, Indigenous Women Coordinator.

According to the Coordination, Ecuador's new pro-business government is quickly selling out the last remaining old growth rainforests to national and transnational corporations. Oil wells, logging and petroleum pipelines are posing the most eminent threat. The women also denounce that the oil companies are willing to bribe anyone who wishes to declare at the National Assembly his/her support to their activities.

The Steering Committe of Oilwatch was meeting in Quito on October 21st, 1997, when it received news that a group of indigenous women from the province of Pastaza -who had walked to Ecuador’s capital city to demonstrate against oil exploration in their territory by the state-owned Tripetrol corporation- was being repressed by the police. The steering committee immediately suspended its session and went to express its support to the protesting women.

On arriving at the entrance of the building of Tripetrol’s headquarters they found that it was blocked by a double human chain: one composed of policemen and the other by a small –though powerfull- group of indigenous women carrying their babies in their arms. The women’s demand was simple: to hold a meeting with the corporation’s director. The demand was denied and the police was called in to repress the demonstrators.

A month before, almost a hundred indigenous people –mostly women and children- had begun a march from Pastaza to Quito to denounce the acts of repression that are being borne upon local communities and indigenous peoples who resist the advance of the oil industry. In this case, Tripetrol began arbitrarily oil exploration activities and carried out legal actions and threats against local community leaders. The women expressed their demand of "respect for their right to decide about their future" and that "no oil explorations is carried out in their territories." The answer was the usual one: repression. The police even called in immigration officers to check the foreigners’ papers and detained two of Oilwatch’s steering committee members who didn’t carry their passports with them. They were released soon after.

Despite the world's growing preoccupation about the burning of fossil fuels and resulting climate change, the Ecuadorian government is pressing ahead with plans to develop a field of heavy crude oil in a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in the country's Amazon region. Ecuador is not alone in its rush to pump more oil. Most Latin American countries are planning to increase production when conditions are favourable. But increasing Ecuadorian production involves more than production of CO2.

The major new project is the Ishpingo Tambococha Tiputini field located within Yasuní National Park, a UNESCO biosphere reserve. The 900,000 hectare park, located in the far Northwest of the country close to the border with Peru and Colombia, is renowned worldwide for its high levels of biodiversity. Over 200 species of trees have been identified inside Yasuní and a recent scientific expedition has identified over 825 species of woody plants in only a two hectare area. The park also contains over 500 species of fish, over 500 species of birds and more than 100 species of mammals.

While the park is legally protected from exploitation of any kind, two companies, Pérez Companc of Argentina and Elf of France are already drilling for, and/or producing oil, and causing impacts within its boundaries. The Argentinean company YPF is also producing in an area which was originally within the park before its boundaries were changed in order to facilitate oil production. Meanwhile, the new project is expected to bring in another large oil company (possibly Shell) together with Petroecuador.

Pressure to develop the field is high. Ecuador's overwhelming external debt (45% of the state budget goes to debt interest payments) plus pressure from international organisations such the Multilateral Development Banks and the International Monetary Fund, means that politicians are not receptive to calls to protect the environment at the expense of the economy. In fact, the ITT project, which will also be linked to a smaller field in the neighbouring Cuyabeno animal reserve, is being hailed as a way to save Petroecuador. The state oil company is virtually bankrupt due to use of its internal resources for other government priorities.

Drilling in the middle of the park will undoubtedly cause extensive damage in all phases of exploration and production. Apart from the almost inevitable spills and other types of accidents, even the most "ecologically sound" production methods still produces a barrel of liquid toxic waste for every barrel of oil produced. Other impacts include the deforestation associated with construction of pipelines, heliports and drilling platforms, not to mention roads and the inevitable colonisation that they bring.

But damage to the flora and fauna is not the only issue in Yasuni. The park is also home to the Huaorani, an ethnic minority which has already fallen victim to the impacts of intrusion into their lands, their population having fallen victim to the impacts of intrusion into their lands, their population having fallen from over 25,000 when contact was first made, to around 3,000 today. If the field, which already has undergone approximately 1,750 kms of seismic exploration, is developed, the Huaorani will suffer further intrusions and damage to their already threatened culture.

Shell is planning to start prospecting activities for oil exploitation at Pañacocha-Tiputini, located at the Cuyabeno Faunistic Reserve and the Yasuní National Park. The latter was declared World Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO and hosts ancestral indigenous communities and a variety of wildlife. It is a unique place for the pink dolphins, some varieties of tropical parrots (guamacayos), several species of monkeys and other mammals. Acción Ecológica calls the attention on the menace that Shell's activities means for this region and expresses its determination to fight against it.

While government officials were politely exchanging speeches in Buenos Aires at the 4th Conference of the Parties of the Climate Change Convention -all of them refering to the need of conserving the world's forests as a way of mitigating the impacts of climate change- a group of indigenous people, in a much less comfortable situation, were doing in Ecuador something far more concrete to this end.

On October 1998, a group of Cofán indigenous people occupied and closed the Dureno 1 oil well, near Lago Agrio city in the northeastearn region of Ecuador, as an action of protest against the activities of the oil industry in their ancestral territories. The well -located only 20 metres away from the water sources of the Cofán community- had been polluting this precious resource and depleting the flora and fauna of the area. "We have lived in this ancestral territory, as guardians of this forest, for centuries, as its sons and only owners. We have offered land, food, materials, work, for what they call 'development' and during this process we are just getting poorer and poorer and even risking our possibilities of surviving as a people" stated a spokesperson of the Cofán. The occupation, initiated on October 12th (anniversary of the date when the continent's indigenous peoples suffered the Spanish invasion) ended on the 22nd, after having achieved their purposes.

Initially, the Ecuadorean government had reacted by sending soldiers to the conflict area, trying to frighten the Cofáns, stating that it would not negotiate "under pressure". However, the government finally agreed to carry out a number of important actions such as:

1) The removal of the storage tanks and gas flares and the closure of the waste pool.

2) The establishment of a commission with similar number of government and Cofán's advisors, to take a decision on the closure of the oil well, which will take into account economic, environmental and engineering matters.

3) The legalization of the Cofán's territory, most of which lies within the protected area system.

4) The creation of a team -including NGO representatives- to verify pollution and the necessity for a clean-up operation in the rivers that cross their territory.

5) The acceptance of the need to financially compensate the Cofán for the damages suffered due to oil exploitation. The Cofán decided that the compensation money will be dedicated to the purchase of land, where forest will be allowed to regrow.

In sum, the action carried out by the Cofán people has had very positive results and they now have a unique opportunity to reverse the damage inflicted to people and the environment by the oil industry.

Oil prospection and exploitation is one of the most destructive activities affecting tropical forests and local communities worldwide. We are happy to announce that -at last- something positive has happened in Ecuador, where the Government has issued two decrees declaring the territory of Tagarei (773,220 hectares) and the zone of Imuya in Cuyabeno (435,000 hectares) as protected areas in perpetuity.

These decrees are particularly important for the future of a non contacted Huaorani indigenous community living in the forests of one of those area and for Cofán, Quichua and Siona indigenous communities living in the other. The decrees imply the banning in perpetuity of oil or other mineral extraction. We congratulate the Ecuadorian government for this political decision and we urge this and all governments to ban oil and other mineral exploitation in all protected areas in the world.

The environmental NGO Acción Ecólogica, with headquarters in Quito and working in several locations of Ecuador has been accused of being involved in the recent kidnappings of eight oil company technicians that occured near Lago Agrio in the Amazonian region of the country. This organization has released the following statement:

"Acción Ecológica, an environmental organisation which works in the area in the north east of Ecuador where hostages were taken on the 11th of September 1999, wishes to make public its indignation, and rejection of rumours regarding the existence of eco-terrorists in the country.

The use of violence has never been, nor ever will be, a method which environmentalists will use to carry out their work or make problems known. Environmentalists love life and defend nature, and all our actions are coherent with the principles of non-violence and respect for human rights.

The actions of environmentalists, and in particular our own, are directed towards denouncing in the most direct and transparent fashion violations of the collective and environmental rights of the Ecuadorian people.

We feel that the forced nature of the links between environmentalists and the hostage takers could be used to construct arguments and reactions which put us at risk. There are even those who would draw satisfaction from this link, as they know that our vigilance has taken away the possibility of environmental impunity, in particular in the area 'where for many years the population has been taken hostage by being abandoned' according to the bishop of Sucumbíos Province, Gonzalo López.

As Ecuadorians and lovers of peace we reject foreign military presence of whatever type in our territory, such as: Colombian guerrilla and paramilitary forces, as well as the United States Army.

We call on all Ecuadorians, to think about the problems of the Amazon region and its people, about the agony that these fragile ecosystems and their peoples are suffering in full view of the whole world, and about the impact of the rumours which have recently been circulating.

Acción Ecológica will maintain its work of monitoring and denouncing problems in the area and in the rest of the country, because we are inspired by and committed to, a country with a lasting future."

Carmelita and Uaxactún are two communities who for over 80 years have been living within the boundaries of the Maya Biosphere Reserve in Guatemala (created in 1989), which is currently menaced by oil concessions. The Reserve involves an area of 16,000 sq.km, and constitutes the largest protected tropical forest in the country. Both communities have traditionally lived on the extraction of "xate" (Chamaedorea spp.), the exploitation of "chicle" (chewing gum, Manilkara achras) and the commercial use of pepper (Pimenta dioica), having established a sustainable use pattern of the resources. Last year, President Alvaro Arzú even officially congratulated them for the sustainable use of the territory and resources of the Reserve performed by them, with the support of ACOFOP (Forest Cooperatives Association). However, in 1997 the government itself put out to tender for oil exploitation an area of 300,000 hectares belonging to the Reserve and coinciding with the portion of forest traditionally used by the above named communities. Two years before, Carmelita had got a permission from the National Council for Protected Areas of Guatemala to use this territory, and Uaxactúm is undergoing a similar process.

The communities were never informed nor consulted on this plan. As soon as they learnt about it, and with support from Oilwatch, they started an international campaign to stop the oil exploitation project that will negatively affect their livelihoods and culture. More than 300 organizations and individuals worldwide –among them the WRM International Secretariat- joined the initiative by means of a message addressed to the Guatemalan President.

To make matters worse, the government situated military personnel in six "border posts" in the heart of the Reserve. Such decision has been strongly resisted by the local people, that consider this as a menace to their integrity and a token of the Government’s attitude to protect the interests of oil companies, as has been happening in other places such as Laguna del Tigre and La Libertad.

On February 1999, 32 leaders representing traditional Petén communities -including Uaxactún and Carmelita and ACOFOP- issued a declaration to the Guatemalan Government and civil society and to the international public where they explain the situation they are facing and invite to reflect upon it. They also express their justified disagreement with the oil concessions: "We want to express our disagreement with President Arzú’s decision to grant petroleum concessions in the protected area of the Maya Biosphere Reserve. As people from Petén, we feel this decision is disastrous and that the damage that will occur to the ecosystems has not been taken into account. We denounce the illegality of permitting this activity in a protected area and we feel devastated by the decision to permit the destruction of the social, environmental, cultural and political balance."

The document also denounces pollution and destruction of flora and fauna provoked by petroleum exploitation in tropical forests. "Article 94 of the Constitution states that the Government has an obligation to the health of its citizens, and Article 97 requires the participation of all, to propose social, economic and technological development that prevent contamination and maintain an ecological balance. Petroleum exploitation in the Maya Biosphere Reserve, named one of the most important lungs of the world, implies a clear risk of violating these constitutional obligations of all Guatemalans and more importantly of the Government."

The declaration also demonstrates that even from a mere economic point of view oil exploitation is not a profitable activity if compared to traditional land use and tourism; not to mention the impacts on people. In sum: "The rational and sustainable use of natural resources offers, with very rough numbers, more than $10 million, benefiting more than 60,000 people. In 1994, the Minister of Energy and Mines reported receiving $1 million from petroleum activities, benefiting one thousand people."

The signatories conclude that "it is NOT acceptable to permit the incursion of any more petroleum companies into the Maya Biosphere Reserve. We, as workers of the land, love the Petén and will do all in our power to protect it. If or when this threat becomes a reality, we will use all legal means to prevent it. We emphatically demand that our right to Constitutional Petitions and Defense be respected".

The Maya Biosphere Reserve, located in the northern region of Guatemala constitutes the largest protected tropical forest in the country. The Reserve is at the heart of the Maya Forest, which is shared by Guatemala, Belize and Mexico, and is considered the second most important remaining tract of tropical forest in the Americas, second only to the Amazon. This precious area has suffered depredation because of oil concessions granted by the government regardless of their expected negative impacts, taking into account that oil prospection and extraction has proved to be a major cause of deforestation and forest degradation in the tropics. In March 1999 concerned local community representatives, together with national and international environmental organizations, addressed former President Arzú, urging him to take the necessary steps to definitively stop oil concessions and protect the Maya Reserve. Nevertheless, the authorities have turned a deaf ear to these claims and the situation has got even worse.

On February 7th 2000, Guatemala's Attorney General for Human Rights ruled that oil activities in the Maya Biosphere violate human rights "since they disrupt the right to a clean environment, to individual dignity, to the preservation of the cultural and natural patrimony of the country, and to social and economic development." The ruling also states that the violation of the Law of Protected Areas constitutes "an administrative tendency detrimental to the citizens of Guatemala, and especially, to the communities neighbouring the protected areas." The Attorney General puts the blame for the critical situation of the Reserve on "the lack of interest and irresponsibility of the authorities in charge of the National Environmental Policy." This categorical ruling is, however, not mandatory.

The official response to the General Attorney's resolution was disappointing since only one (that of Laguna del Tigre) of all the already approved or pending oil concessions was mentioned. Additionally, flagrant contradictions were observed between the reaction of the secretary of the Environment and that of the Ministry of Energy and Mines. In sum, forest protection policy in Guatemala appears to be subordinated to oil exploitation, thus enabling oil companies to continue making big business to the detriment of Guatemalan forests and people.

The Maya Biosphere Reserve in the region of Petén has been at the centre of a strong dispute where peasant communities, Guatemalan and international NGOs, the national government and oil companies are involved. The problem started in 1997 when the government put out to tender for oil exploitation an area of 300,000 hectares belonging to this Reserve, part of which comprises a territory which has been traditionally used by local communities. On February 1999 Guatemalan concerned organizations issued an strong declaration where the situation was denounced and a definitive solution was demanded.

The company Basic Resources International, that benefits with a contract in the area, is being heavily questioned for the illegality of the contract and for the environmental impact of its operations. Until now there have been 32 wells drilled and 120 km of oil pipelines have been constructed in the "Laguna del Tigre" National Park of the Maya Biosphere Reserve. The refinery "La Libertad" is situated close to the protected zone.

The National Congress is revising another contract of Basic Resources International due to probable economic damage for the country. The Presidential Secretary for the Environment, Haroldo Quej Chen; the Presidential Commissioner for the Environment, Jorge Cabrera; the Human Rights Attorney, Julio Arango, the members of the Environmental Commission of the Congress of the Republic and the civilian population of Petén organized in ACOFOP, SUCHILMA, COCHICLE and CLOROFILA (timber associations and gum and pepper harvesters the first three, and environmentalist the fourth), have demanded the suspension of Basic's operations in Petén.

Basic Resources has now taken the offensive, facing up to the growing questioning against its operations in Guatemala. Rodolfo Sosa, president of the company, accused Oilwatch and Hivos of leading a campaign against the activities of his company, with the purpose of stopping its activities, acting as "the enemies of Basic", and has started a publicity campaign trying to show that the company's activities are environmentally friendly.

But sectors of the Guatemalan society have reacted. On January this year, the organization Colectivo Madre Selva expressed that the zone "is suffering the effects that the oil company activity provokes: opening of roads, dynamite explosions, chemical mud, poisonous gases, contamination of water, soil and air, colonization of the area and environmental, social and sanitary degradation." Last March a group of concerned citizens went to Court to object to an appeal lodged by Basic Resources International, arguing that the company is causing irreparable damage to the ecosystem, and that the Maya Biosphere Reserve is an inheritance not only of today's Guatemalans, but of generations to come. If the Court approves the company's appeal, it would mean the granting of additional exploration and exploitation rights in 192,233 hectares within the National Park. Petitioners claim that the process is illegal, since when the contract was signed, the Law of Protected Areas and the Maya Biosphere Reserve Law already existed.

Shell Oil has plans to start drilling for natural gas this July 1997 in a rainforest area that Peru's government set aside as a homeland for so-called "uncontacted" indigenous people, inhabited by the Nahua and Kugakopori in the Urubamba River valley, a biodiversity rich area.

Even if -to avoid any possible charges of environmental damage- Shell has vowed to refrain from causing any negative environmental impact, some charges of environmental damage, like alteration of the water and problems in hunting and fishing have already begun to come in.

As Shell itself admits, bigger problems can be expected when the extraction of natural gas begins: heavy metal pollution due to waste material from the wells, massive flares in the forest and risk of explosion caused by gas escapes.

Rainforest Action Network (RAN), Amazon Watch and Project Underground remain deeply concerned about Shell's activities in the Peruvian Amazon and decided not to participate in the workshops organized by the company to discuss the Camisea Project that took place in Washington DC on December 12 and in London on December 15, 1997. In a letter sent to Shell, they express that this forum was not structured in a way in which constructive dialogue is possible, since the current process remains a discussion on how to proceed with gas development in Camisea, as opposed to any consideration of whether or not this is a sound project from a development, energy policy, environmental, or cultural perspective. Like local communities in the Camisea region, international environmental and human rights organizations are invited to "discuss" on items only established by Shell. "From the beginning, Shell's consultation process has actually denied local communities' critical and pertinent rights. Specifically, during early stages of the consultation process, Shell failed to provide the affected communities with adequate information on the complexity and severity of impacts of industrial fossil fuel projects in rainforest areas" states the letter. Shell ignored the rights to full information and consultation codified in the International Labor Organization's Convention 169 and in the 1993 Peruvian Constitution. Shell Peru's current "dialogue" process is just aimed at gaining project approval and neutralising NGOs criticism, but not at really taking into account grassroot opinions.

The Project deserves also specific critiques: despite the mitigating measures Shell may take during the development phase of the project, the environmental impact of this 40-year industrial project in a primary, frontier rainforest area remains unknown; Camisea is a "model project" for further initiatives that can lead to further destruction, in particular of the pristine areas of the western Amazon that are threatened by the proposed Brasil-Bolivia pipeline; Shell has never opened up for serious review of the threat the project poses for the more vulnerable indigenous populations in the region, especially the nomadic ones.

Shell’s depleting activities at the Ogoni region of Nigeria are not a good precedent to trust on the company’s capacity to dialogue.

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