Two different IFF intersessionals
The Intergovernmental Forum on Forests will be meeting from 3-14 May in Geneva to continue working on the implementation of the Intergovernmental Panel on Forests’ proposals for action and on (Read More)
Bulletin Issue 22 – April 1999
OUR VIEWPOINT
LOCAL STRUGGLES AND NEWS
-
Nigeria: threatened mangroves
Thousands of hectares of mangrove forest and fresh water swamps of the Niger Delta, in the Cross River State, will be destroyed by ongoing oil exploitation activities. Responsible for the (Read More)
-
Human rights abuses in Nigeria continue
In spite of political changes after the coming to power of the new military government headed by General Abdulsalami Abubakar in 1998 the situation of human rights in Nigeria has (Read More)
-
Madagascar: communities defend rainforests against Rio Tinto
Anglo-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto has been frequently denounced for its depredatory activities against forests and local villagers in Indonesia (see WRM Bulletin 8), Papua New Guinea (see WRM Bulletin (Read More)
-
South Africa: exotic tree plantations are green wastelands
What follows is a contribution sent by a new friend of the WRM for its dissemination, which highlights problems caused by tree monocultures in his country: Adapt or die I (Read More)
-
Made in Vietnam, cut in Cambodia
During this decade Vietnamese loggers have been illegally felling trees in Cambodia, especially in Ratanakiri Province, to obtain wood to be used in manufactured garden furniture exported to Europe. According (Read More)
-
Thailand: support requested for peoples’ rally
Four thousand representatives of rural, poor and ethnic communities within the upper nine provinces of Northern Thailand rallied at the Provincial Office in Chiangmai early on the 25th of April. (Read More)
-
Thailand: two approaches to forest conservation
During a high-level seminar on “The Forestry Department Chief’s Vision” held in March 21st Plodprasop Suraswadi , Head of the Forestry Department, proposed giving logging concessions to companies to develop (Read More)
-
Thailand: Local people resist dams
Dams are one of the most important causes for forest and agricultural land destruction, which usually goes together with the loss of their land by local communities caused by forced (Read More)
-
Thailand: one year of struggle against Yadana gas pipeline
In late 1995 the Petroleum Authority of Thailand (PTT) started a survey of the route for a gas pipeline between the western province of Kanchanabuti and Myanmar (ancient Burma). It (Read More)
-
Malaysia: opposition to dam megaproject
A big campaign is being pushed ahead to stop a dam project in Selangor, Malaysia, which will not only destroy rainforest but also evict indigenous people from their ancestral homelands. (Read More)
-
Dams generate environmental and social destruction in Laos
Hydropower megaprojects in several Southeast Asian countries are frequently preceded by devastating logging operations in prospective inundation zones. This kind of practices cause an extensive negative environmental impact and damage (Read More)
-
Papua New Guinea’s Rainforests Threatened
Papua New Guinea constitutes another good (bad) example of current trends regarding forest conservation. While the world declares its concern over the rate of deforestation which affects the planet as (Read More)
-
Brazil: The power of Aracruz Celulose
On March 23rd the Government of the State of Espirito Santo, Brazil, issued Decree 4428 with new regulations related to “reforestation” (plantations) in that state. Plantations occupying an area of (Read More)
-
Chile: establishment experts and reality
During the “Intersessional experts meeting on the role of planted forests in sustainable development” held in Santiago, Chile, from 6 to 10 April 1999 several voices, from governments and forestry (Read More)
-
Chile: more than scientific evidence on plantations’ impacts
When confronted with allegations that plantations entail social and environmental impacts, most foresters will argue that there’s no scientific evidence to support such allegations. For us, the following testimony from (Read More)
-
Venezuela: Smurfit’s changing strategy
After years facing strong opposition from local communities resulting from the social and environmental impacts of its activities in the State of Portuguesa, Smurfit Carton is now trying to profit (Read More)
-
Venezuela: sign-on letter to President on Smurfit
On April 8th, the WRM sent the following letter to Venezuela’s new President Hugo Chavez. Our Venezuelan friends request your support by adding your signature to the letter, which will (Read More)
-
Venezuela: social and environmental demands to new President
On 22 April (Earth Day), a demonstration was staged in Caracas to put pressure on the new government on a number of crucial social and environmental issues. The demonstration included (Read More)
-
Support to the U’wa people in Colombia
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 (Read More)
-
Bolivia: concern over the fate of forests
During a meeting held on March 16th in La Paz, with the participation of NGO representatives and government officials on the situation and perspectives of forests in Bolivia and on (Read More)
-
Pristine Belize forests threatened by dam project
With 22,960 square kilometres and 220,000 inhabitants Belize is the smallest and less populated country in Central America. 83% of its territory is covered by forests, most of them in (Read More)
-
Prize to Honduran activist
Jorge Varela, co-founder of the Committee for the Defence and Development of Flora and Fauna of the Fonseca Gulf (CODEFFAGOLF), a grassroot organization of small fishers and peasants in Honduras, (Read More)
-
Mexico: mangrove destruction by tourism and shrimp farming
The expansion of tourism has meant the increase of the possibility of enjoying leisure time for many people wordwide. Nevertheless, tourism usually brings negative social and environmental consequences with it (Read More)
GENERAL
-
The Penang Declaration: 10 years later
Ten years ago, the World Rainforest Movement met in Malaysia and issued the Penang Declaration. Much of what it stated was at the time original thinking and challenged the “received (Read More)
-
Certification debate in Europe: PEFC vs. FSC
The Pan European Forest Certification Scheme (PEFC) was presented on April 20 at a seminar in Wuerzburg Germany. The scheme, set up by forest owners and part of forestry industries, (Read More)
-
WRM Activities
On April 7th we endorsed a letter signed by a number of international civil society organizations and addressed to the World Trade Organization’s Third Ministerial Conference to be held next (Read More)