Articles

Through the implementation of REDD the government tries to include thousands hectares of indigenous land. Even though there is not yet an agreement on REDD, the Bribri indigenous people are already suffering its impact.

On December 7 and 8, 2011, a meeting was held in the Amazonian city of Cobija, Bolivia, to assess the status of the rights of indigenous peoples living in isolation or in situations of extreme vulnerability in the Amazon and Gran Chaco regions, and to establish an action plan for the defence of their rights.

There can be no doubt that we are immersed in a long and sometimes resisted process of gender awareness regarding social relationships that in general terms have historically placed women in an unequal and subordinate position.

South African activists have for years been campaigning against the spread of industrial alien tree plantations. Wally Menne, from the Timberwatch Coalition says that "certification of monoculture timber plantations as 'sustainably managed forests' by the Forest Stewardship Council makes an absolute mockery of the concept of sustainable environment and ecosystem management."

In all of the debate over what is (or is not) a forest, the issue of an individual country’s commitment to the Convention on Biological diversity (CBD) has been overlooked by many. We need to remember that in signing and ratifying their commitment to the CBD, countries commit to increasing their forest cover as a measure of protecting biodiversity. The Global Forest Coalition produced a report on several countries' commitment to the CBD which was presented at the sixth Conference of the Parties in The Hague.

While genetic engineering applied to food production is provoking concern among consumers and citizens and many scientists express their doubts and criticism in relation to it, big food, forestry and energy corporations are engaged in developing genetically modified trees, expected to be able to grow faster and to contain components desired by industry. (see WRM Bulletins 26 and 27)

The expansion of tree monocultures, especially in the South, is favoured by the combination of inexpensive land, low labour costs, fast tree-growth, subsidies, support from international “aid” agencies and multilateral development banks, technology provided by northern suppliers and advice by northern consultancies.