Corporacion Mapuche, based in Temuco, Chile, invites you to visit their web page, the first one produced in Mapuche territory. It contains articles, photographs and general information on this indigenous nation.
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Bulletin articles
Papua New Guinea is located in the eastern part of the island of New Guinea and borders with Indonesia. The opening of the economy to foreign penetration has promoted the exploitation of natural resources at a level that has seriously damaged the environment.
The federal government has handed over the regulation of forests to the state of Tasmania in the country's first state-wide Regional Forests Agreement (RFA). Export woodchip quotas have been abolished in a package giving an unprecedented legally binding guarantee against federal interference in a state's forests. North Limited, the biggest woodchip exporter has already announced plans to raise production from Tasmanian native forests, that currently reaches around 3,4 million tonnes annually.
In WRM Bulletin nr. 3 (8/8/97) we informed about the struggle of Friends of Hamakua, in conjunction with local farmers and community organizations, to stop eucalyptus plantations planned by Prudential Insurance Co.and Oji/Paper Marubeni in the Big Island of Hawaii. The organization also presented an alternative land use plan for the area. A final decision by the regional authorities was expected. We are very happy to inform that Friends of Hamakua has sent us a postcard containing the following text:
By way of this document we want to bring to the attention of the Minister of Justice, Iris Resende, the documents no. 08620.1352/97-74 and no. 08620.1353/97-10, which refer to the unification of the indigenous lands Caieiras Velhas and Pau Brasil, and the extension of the indigenous land Comboios. The extension in total of our lands will be more than 13,579 hectares.
Invited by the Thai NGOs PER and TERRA, Ricardo Carrere went to Thailand last November. The trip included visits to the Northeastern provinces of Thailand, where Eucalyptus plantations have generated strong social and environmental impacts and an equally strong resistance movement against them. Ricardo was able to learn from the local experiences and to have a first hand view of the impacts of both plantations and the Phoenix Paper pulp mill. In contrast, villagers also showed Ricardo their experiences in community forest management, aimed at securing local people's livelihoods.
"Join Us in a Shrimp Break, Putting the Brake on Industrial Shrimp" is the motto of a campaign launched by ISA-Net (Industrial Shrimp Action Network) to join this newly created international network in support of environmental and community groups in developing countries fighting against the spread of destructive industrial shrimp farming (see WRM Bulletin Nr. 6, 12/11/97).
“Mangrove Ecosystem Studies in Latin America and Africa” is a publication edited by B. Kjerfve, L/D. de Lacerda and El Hadji Salif Diop and published this year by UNESCO, ISME (International Society for Mangroves Ecosystems) and the Forest Service of the USDA. It includes several scientific case studies -most of them in English- in these two regions. Individuals and organizations involved in the issue can request a free copy to:
As a response to our fax dated 31/10/97 requesting information on the arrest of Nnimmo Bassey, the International Secretariat of the WRM received on 15/12/97 the following answer from the Embassy of Nigeria in Buenos Aires, Argentina:
“Arrest and detention of Mr. Nnimmo Bassey
I am directed to acknowledge receipt of your faxed letter dated 31st october 1997 on the above mentioned subject matter and to request you to please check your facts properly as we are not aware of the arrest and detention of Mr. Bassey as stated in your letter under reference.
Alvaro Gonzalez participated in a Seminar on Rural Development organized by the German foundation DSE, from 24/11 to 5/12. The Seminar included a journey to Mindo -a small town to the West of Quito- where the Project Mindo-Mandillo Protective Forest was evaluated. This Project is being implemented by a local NGO -”Amigos de la Naturaleza” (Friends of Nature)- with support from WWF. Their aim is to protect a 19000 hectares of natural forest -90% of which still primary- from logging for coal production and clearing for cattle raising.
The Forest Stewardship Council has suspended the forest certification activities of SGS Forestry, an FSC-accredited pioneer of independent forestry assessments. The suspension may indicate a rift at FSC Board level. The decision was taken despite an earlier finding by the Council´s executive director Dr Tim Synnott that SGS had "identified and addressed" weaknesses in the West African Leroy-Gabon forestry operation.
Nnimmo Bassey, President of Oilwatch Africa, was detained on Sunday 26 October, when returning to Nigeria from the meeting of the International Committee of Oilwatch in Ecuador.