The government of Brazil plans to increase gas production in the coming years and invest billions of dollars in infrastructure for the sector. Among the planned projects is a gas pipeline that could cross hundreds of kilometers of the Amazon rainforest, boosting predatory industrial activities and impacting communities.
Bulletin articles
More than 20 years after the article was first published in the WRM Bulletin, the dispute over minerals continues to fuel a violent conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The analysis presented 20 years ago sadly remains relevant today: "Behind the myth of ethnic rivalries are the old colonial powers that continue to plunder the riches of post-colonial Africa."
Wars and militarization are nothing new, especially in the Global South. But they have been increasingly normalized by imperialist governments, with the US at the forefront. WRM expresses its solidarity with the peoples who resist this violence characteristic of patriarchy and capitalism.
Resistance of communities from Cameroon and Sierra Leone whose lands have been invaded by the palm oil and rubber company Socfin for decades dealt an economic blow to the company. The company’s operations are particularly harmful for women, many of whom are facing threats for standing up against these violations and bringing them to public attention.
Communities in Indonesia living with mangrove forests face many threats like the imposition of nickel mining but also mangrove forest carbon projects. In different ways, these projects cause harmful impacts on their lives. Meanwhile, communities continue resisting and restoring mangroves by themselves, with women at the forefront.
The negative impacts of oil palm monocultures promoted by a national policy are already being felt in three villages in the state of Manipur. The turmoil it is creating at the plantation villages indicates a departure from the indigenous ways of land governance and relations to a system designed to cater to a corporate economic system.
Financial institutions and private investors from the global North are channelling hundreds of millions of dollars into the expansion of industrial tree plantations across Africa. This article provides an overview of the sector’s expansion in the region and examines its growth – both in terms of the area it covers and the conflicts it has caused.
This is a first-hand account from a woman who faced the most recent forest fire that devastated south-central Chile. She does not lose sight of the real cause of the tragedy: a model promoted by the state, in which pine and eucalyptus companies continuously profit whilst threatening the survival of communities.
The largest industrial pulp and paper complex in Brazil, the ‘Vale da Celulose’ (Cellulose Valley), located in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, underscores that the true legacy of the industry centered around eucalyptus monoculture is small, disorganized towns, environmental impacts, and the struggle of farming families to survive amidst the green wasteland.
March 14th is the International Day of Struggles Against Dams, For Rivers, For Water, and For Life. In solidarity with this struggle, we recommend the article "The impact of dams and resettlement on women's lives," which provides very concrete examples of how hydroelectric projects in Malaysia impact the lives of Indigenous peoples, especially women.
One of the main causes of the recent fires that have devastated thousands of hectares of the Andean Patagonian Forest are pine tree plantations – which have been promoted by logging companies and the government. In the midst of this disaster, residents relate their experiences and demonstrate how collective organizing sustains life.
The government of the Brazilian state of Pará – host of the COP30 climate conference – introduced an annual “Week of Awareness on the Importance of Carbon Credits”, the Indonesian government sets up a “Seller meets buyer” sales booth for carbon credits at the COP. These are the more visible signs of climate talks that are more concerned about creating business opportunities than halting the climate crisis.