At the COP4 of the Climate Change Convention held in Buenos Aires, Brazil, together with China and India, led the position of developing countries demanding the acknowledgement of historical responsibilities by countries in relation to climate change. The Brazilian delegation also underscored the need for the protection of the Amazon forest. However, domestic forest policy does not seem to go in the same direction.
Bulletin articles
In WRM Bulletin nr 14 (August 1998) we informed about the blockade of the highway Venezuela-Brazil by a group of indigenous peoples of the Imataca and Gran Sabana regions to stop a high voltage electrical transmission line (Macagua II-Santa Elena de Uairen), that is being built through the Imataca Forest Reserve. This is a particularly rich in biodiversity and vulnerable area, menaced by mining projects promoted by the controversial Decree 1850, which was highly resisted by indigenous communities, environmental NGOs and academics (see WRM Bulletin nr 12).
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.
The opening of Guyana to foreign companies from the mid-1980s has caused destruction in the country’s tropical forests -a rare case of virtually untouched ecosystems until then- and the complete disregard of the Amerindians that have lived in these forests for centuries using their resources in a sustainable way. This process continues to the detriment of Guyana’s forests and indigenous peoples, who are carrying out actions to revert such situation.
High rates of deforestation contributed to the flash floods and mudslides which caused most casualties due to Hurricane Mitch, Central America's deadliest disaster. More than ten thousand perished, and thousands more are still missing in Nicaragua and Honduras.
According to Father Miguel d'Escoto, a member of the FSLN National Directorate, "This is the worst natural disaster in our [Nicaragua] history; even more so than the earthquake [in 1972]."
Gloria Sofia Zapata, Hernando Duque and Eder Alexander Valencia were murdered on October 14, October 20 and November 9. They were members of the environmental organization "Hojas de Hierba" (Herb Leaves) of the municipality of Belen de Umbria in the province of Risaralda. Hector Ivan Escobar and John Jairo Lopez, of the same organization, have had to leave the country.
By means of a letter dated October 22 a group of environmental NGOs addressed Mr Henri Djombo, Minister of Forest Economy of the Republic of Congo, to express their disapproval regarding a number of actions carried out by him, believed to be aimed at undermining the Brazzaville Process.
Finnish and Indonesian NGOs have repeatedly denounced that UPM-Kymmene’s partner -the Singapore-based APRIL (Asia Pacific Resources International Holdings Ltd.)- is violating human rights and causing severe environmental problems in Indonesia. The company has converted rainforests to exotic monoculture plantations, to feed their pulp mills and NGOs demand that the project is abandoned (see WRM Bulletins nr. 6 and 8).
A policeman was rushed to hospital in Medan with a serious head injury after being beaten up in a confrontation on Monday 23rd November between security forces and local people at Porsea, North Tapanuli, North Sumatra. Another police officer suffered wounds to the back and leg. A police patrol vehicle and a government official's car were destroyed by the crowd and three other cars plus 23 homes and shops were smashed up and burnt.
In June 1998 we published a special WRM bulletin focused on the environmental and social problems affecting the lives of highland people in Northern Thailand, including a critical response regarding a previous article published in WRM bulletin 11. We are pleased to inform that a number of people, both from within and outside Thailand, got together on October 2nd in London, with the aim of clarifying the differences in analysis and approach of the wide number of actors involved directly or indirectly with this very complex situation.
APRIL (Asia Pacific Resources International Holding Ltd.) –partner of the Finnish UPM-Kymmene- is known for its permanent violations to human rights and depredatory environmental practices in Indonesia. Lately APRIL has been the cause of local conflicts between villagers and workers in Indonesia (see WRM Bulletin 17, November 1998).
The Conference of the Parties (COP4) of the Climate Change Convention will be meeting during the first two weeks of November in Buenos Aires. Much of the discussion will concentrate on the role of forests as carbon sinks and many negotiations will include deals between Northern and Southern countries on how to trade emissions and sinks: we emit, you sink.