Bulletin Issue 28 – November 1999

When the 1992 Earth Summit took place, it seemed as though governments had finally recognized that the world's environment was in trouble and that something needed to be done to save it. A number of important conventions were agreed upon regarding biodiversity, desertificaction and climate change, while forest conservation was taken up by the UN Commission on Sustainable Development. Although economic interest was present in all those processes, it seemed to be in relative balance with environmental concerns. But now the World Trade Organization has taken over the scenario and -unless opposition shows sufficient strength- will wipe out all the positive -though weak- steps taken during the past seven years for the protection of the environment.

Deforestation has become one of Angola's most important environmental problems, also resulting in freshwater shortages and soil erosion. The long civil war that affected Angola from 1975 to 1991 and the continuous hostilities among rival groups that have persisted since then, have determined not only human and material losses but also brought with them severe consequences on forests. Deforestation is considered one of the major environmental results of this state of violence and devastation.

Logging is one of the most important direct causes of the accelerated loss of tropical forests. However, macroeconomic strategies implemented by Southern countries' governments under the pressure of powerful actors such as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Trade Organization (WTO) provide an even stronger incentive for increasing unsustainable logging practices. Cameroon is but one of many examples showing the impacts of such policies on the disappearing rainforests.

Gabon is one of the few countries in Central Africa where most of its forest still remains unlogged. But unless something is done soon, it will follow the path of neighbouring Cameroon, where two thirds of its forests have been logged at least once during the past few years. As loggers deplete African forests, they turn their attention to the few remaining frontier forests and Gabon seems to be the ideal candidate for those activities. Log production has already increased from 1 million cubic metres in 1975 to almost 3 million by the late 1990s.

The Urhobo National Assembly (UNA), which represents the Urhobo nation in the Nigerian federal state, stopped all oil exploration activities in the region of the Niger Delta, where an oil spill fire destroyed last September a large area of fragile ecosystems. Once again the involved oil company is Royal Dutch Shell. It will remain expelled from several affected communities until an independent investigation on the explosion has been satisfactorily conducted and made known by experts from several Southern countries. The Urhobo also demanded for immediate clean up of all polluted land, as well as compensation. "When this spill occurred we thought we will be treated like human beings.

In the 1980s and early 1990s the monoculture plantations scheme -based on eucalyptus- faced strong opposition from farmers and environmental groups in Thailand, especially by the more than ten million people inhabiting National Reserve Forests, due to their detrimental social and environmental effects. Such massive protests led in 1992 to a ban on afforestation activities in those lands, and to the discouragement of both foreign and domestic investments in relation to large-scale eucalyptus plantations. Shell itself -which had planned to implement extensive pulpwood plantations- decided to leave the country as a result of the peoples’ opposition.

Inhabitants of Mae Mun Man Yuen Village #2 affected by Rasi Salai Dam are demanding that the government reexamines the impacts of the project and compensate 1800 families that are in danger of loosing their farmlands. The protesters, who belong to the Assembly of the Poor, are prepared to stay in their village until their demands are met Dam megaprojects have provoked severe concern and led to directs actions in different regions of Thailand (see WRM Bulletins 22 and 27). Those interested in supporting this struggle can send their endorsement of the following letter to Aviva Imhof, including your name and that of your organization: October 1999 The Hon. Mr. Chuan Leekpai Prime Minister of Thailand Dear Mr. Chuan,

Even if logging has been the most important direct cause of deforestation in The Philippines archipelago -whose tropical forest area has been dramatically reduced to only 3% of the original cover- mining is also relevant for its depredatory effects. It is estimated that already 40% of the entire territory of the country has been given away by the government under the form of concessions to multinational mining companies. As in many other parts of the world, large scale mining has produced not only environmental but also social negative impacts on local communities and indigenous peoples in the Philippines (see WRM Bulletin 11).

Nowadays only 3% of the once dense area of tropical forests that covered the territory of the Philippines is still standing. Most of them occupy reduced patches and have even suffered a severe process of degradation (see WRM Bulletin 27).

Palma Tica is a company working in the area of cultivation, processing and production of oil palm products. It owns thousands of hectares of oil palm plantations (Elaeis guineensis) in the Central Pacific Region (Quepos Division) and in the Southern Region (Coto Division). To face the rapid advance of its competitor Agroindustrial Cooperative of Oil Palm Producers (Coopeagropal R.L.), Palma Tica started in 1995 an aggressive campaign of land purchasing in the communities of Colorada and La Palma de Corredores, located in the extreme south of the Coto Division. The company bought more than one thousand hectares, including several estates with oil palm already in a productive stage.

Last September Canada reached a controversial deal to "buy" oxygen from Honduras within the framework of a "debt for nature" swap and the Clean Development Mechanisms of the Kyoto Protocol. CIDA (Canadian International Development Agency) will "forgive" about U$S 680,000 of Honduras' U$S 11 million debt with Canada. In exchange, a so-called joint implementation office will be established in Honduras to promote tree plantations and monitor forest conservation programmes in that country. Canada will benefit by getting credit for "cutting" emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.

When the European conquerors arrived in America, they made a clear distinction between white people, black people and indians. While the former were human beings, the African slaves were declared animals. Although the indians were declared human beings, they were considered as children, whose lives needed to be governed by adults, who were those of European descent.

Since 1998, Bolivian and international environmental and social NGOs, as well as academics, have been opposing the San Miguel-Cuiaba gas pipeline project of Enron-Shell which will cross Bolivia into Brazil, causing a negative environmental impact on the Chiquitano dry forest in eastern Bolivia, which is the world's last significant remnant of intact dry tropical forest. In spite of this opposition, in June 1999 OPIC (Overseas Private Investment Corporation) -a descentralized financial institution of the US government- decided to finance the project. Such decision was allegedly taken because some Bolivian, US and international conservationist organizations had negotiated with the promoters of the project their support to it if a Conservation Plan was implemented.

Colombian forests are undergoing a severe process of destruction. The civil war that is devastating the country can be considered one of the main causes of deforestation. Due to the prevailing state of violence in Colombia, entire rural communities are obliged to leave their homes and lands. Additionally to their effects from a social and cultural point of view, forced displacements also create conditions for further negative impacts on forests.

The Pemon indigenous people are opposing a project of construction of a high-voltage power line 470-mile long across Conaima National Park in the south-eastern Gran Sabana region. At the beginning of October they carried out a direct action by knocking down an electricity tower and blockading a key highway linking the country to Brazil. In a press release the Pemon, who call themselves "Rainbow Warriors", said they would continue to knock down at least one a day until they reach an agreement with the government. They also said that they had detained three trucks from state agencies that were being used to build the line.

The following letter is being circulated worldwide by a large number of Australian NGOs: "We the undersigned representatives of Australian conservation NGOs are writing to you to express our opposition to the approach taken by our Federal Minister for Forestry and Conservation, Mr. Wilson Tuckey, to regulate independent forest certification schemes at the international level.

A conflict has arisen regarding 400,000 hectares of forest land in the Indian state of Orissa. Actors are the villagers who have recreated the forest from barren lands and government officials, who believe the area belongs to the state. Out of the total protected area, 60% are reserve forests and the rest are either protected or village forests. Sustainable forests management by local communities in the area started in the decade of 1960.

The news that giant bleached eucalyptus pulp producer Aracruz Celulose had applied for FSC certification had an enormous impact in the two Brazilian states -Bahia and Espirito Santo- where it operates. As a result, a large number of organizations and individuals concerned with the spread of extensive monoculture plantations in the region -which include those of Aracruz, Bahia Sul and Veracel- got together to prevent the company from receiving FSC approval.

One of the arguments used by large-scale tree plantation promoters (with the pulp and paper industry at the forefront) is that they contribute to the well being of the rural areas where they are set up, by increasing employment opportunities. This is a crucial issue: unemployment is one of the most negative consequences of the ongoing globalization process, so any activity that promises to increase jobs can be perceived as being attractive by local people. In the case of plantations, however, the opposite has been proven true and one example is that of the extreme southern region of the state of Bahia in Brazil, where local communites and indigenous peoples are actively opposing plantations.

The "environmentally concerned" French car producer Peugeot, decided to do something about the global warming effect of the millions of cars it produces. Of course, nothing as radical as switching to a different source of fuel. Instead, it decided to go the easy way: to plant "carbon sequestering" trees in the state of Mato Grosso in Brazil. The project began to be implemented last year, with the aim of converting 12,000 hectares of "degraded" pastures into plantations. According to Peugeot, the planted area would be able to remove 183,000 tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere every year. And very cheaply: for only US$12 million.

The promotion of tree plantations as a means of combating global warming has received all kinds of criticism. On the one hand, plantations do not relieve pressures from forests -which are carbon reservoirs- but constitute a direct cause of their destruction. According to a satellite image analysis, in the 1980s, 75% of the new tree plantations in Southern countries in the tropics were made by replacing natural forest that had existed there ten years earlier. This meant an estimated additional release of 725 million tonnes of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere, thus contributing to global warming (see WRM Bulletin 18). On the other hand, when plantations are set up on grasslands they substitute a valuable ecosystem as carbon sink and reservoir.

During the "World Shrimp Market 99" recently held in Madrid, members of Greenpeace Spain and several Latin American NGOs expressed their protest against the expansion of this depredatory activity, by unfurling three large banners reading: "No new shrimp farms - Stop the shrimp industry", "Shrimp farming - Mangroves destruction" and "Shrimp Industry Meeting - Mangrove Death". " Fifty per cent of mangrove areas have already disappeared. At present the shrimp industry goes on jeopardising tropical coastlines of developing countries and their local communities, in order to put tropical shrimps on your table" expressed the activists to the media.

The Dutch NGO BothENDS has recently published "Forests for the Future: Local Strategies for Forest Protection, Economic Welfare and Social Justice", edited by Paul Wolvekamp, Ann Danaiya Usher, Vijay Paranjpye, and Madhu Ramnath. The book addresses the question of how local and indigenous communities can maintain the balance between their societies and their forest environments when faced with increasing external pressures, rising populations and growing demands for basic needs and cash.

"The oil flows, the Earth bleeds" is the title of this Oilwatch publication. Oilwatch is an international network that supports the struggle of local communities and indigenous peoples facing oil industry activities in the tropics. The book presents a broad variety of examples of oil activities and resistance in Latin America (Ecuador, Colombia, Honduras, Peru, Guatemala, Bolivia, Brazil), Africa (Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon, Ghana), Asia (Bangladesh, India, Thailand), as well as general articles on the issue.

Ricardo Carrere visited in October the states of Espirito Santo and Bahia invited by CIMI (Conselho Indigenista Missionario). During his trip, he participated at a seminar which took place in Vitoria on the impacts of eucalyptus plantations and the FSC. He later had a meeting in Monte Pascoal with Pataxo indigenous peoples' leaders (see article above) and offered them WRM's inconditional support to their struggle. After that, he spent a few days travelling around the plantation area of the three big companies established in the extreme south of Bahia (Aracruz, Bahia Sul and Veracel).