Bulletin articles

In 1992, governments acknowledged that climate change was real and that something needed to be done to avoid a major catastrophe. As a result, they signed and ratified the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Fifteen years have passed and the Convention’s Conference of the Parties will meet for its 13th time in Bali, Indonesia, from 3-14 December 2007.

The present expansion of monoculture tree plantations has not happened by chance or just because some governments got this idea. On the contrary, it is the result of the action of a group of actors that set out to promote such plantations. In the fifties, the FAO became the main ideologist behind the large scale monoculture eucalyptus and pine plantation model in the South (as part of the so-called Green Revolution, promoted by this organization), as a response to the needs of large industrial companies that were exhausting their traditional sources of raw material.

Based on an analysis of the evolving legislation on plantations, it is possible to identify five phases in government policies for palm oil development in Indonesia. We shall call these the PIR-Trans phase (up until October 1993), the Deregulation Phase (1993-1996), the Privatisation Phase (1996-1998), the Cooperatives Phase (1998-2002) and the current Decentralization Phase (2002-2006). It should be noted, however, that these phases were neither wholly discrete nor did the initiation of a new phase imply the ending of the previously launched processes.

Over the last two years, Laos has seen a dramatic increase in foreign direct investment for commercial tree plantations. The Lao Committee for Planning and Investment shows 21 projects worth US$17.3 million value were approved in 2005, which rose to 39 projects approved with a value of US$458.5 million in 2006 and by February 2007, 9 projects had been approved and 16 were pending, with a total value of US$342 million.

One of the main characteristics of Cameroon’s economic policies since independence is their institutional promotion of large-scale industrial plantations. Between 1971 and 1981, the state allocated to them no less than 60% of the public funds reserved for agricultural development. The most important feature of these large-scale plantations was – and still is – their domination by only a few agro-industrial firms, highly protected, oligopolistic, and dependant on capital-intensive technologies.

The disappearance of the forest would seem to be the premise in the various political instruments created in Colombia for the forestry sector. However, most of them euphemistically set out objectives for conservation and protection.

A short while ago on the international tourist scale, Tasmania was voted the second most beautiful location to visit in the world. It has spectacular mountains and ancient forests, pristine beaches, an abundance of unique wildlife, a cool temperate climate and a low population. Much of this has been declared World Heritage and there are walking and hiking trails that are breathtakingly beautiful. Despite its small size, it also has some of the best farmland in Australia enjoying a generally good rainfall, and is proud of its 'clean, green image'.

Whenever the expression “planted forests” is used, the concept can be traced back to the Rome-based Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). The more the concept is challenged by local peoples and NGOs struggling against plantations, the more the FAO builds up support to maintain it.

During the first fortnight of July, a wave of very cold weather crossed Argentina. In the warm lands of the Chaco Province, where the mean annual temperature is around 20ºC, temperatures fell below freezing. This abrupt drop highlighted by deaths the full dimension of the health and food emergency affecting Toba, Mocovi and Wichi indigenous peoples in that north-eastern district of the country, where health is undermined by malnutrition, tuberculosis and Chagas’ disease. In a matter of days 10 people had died, by 2 October the toll went up to 16, mainly from the Toba people.

In August 2007, ArborGen signed an agreement which brings the company's aim of being "the pre-eminent player in the global development and marketing of bio-engineered trees to the forestry industry" another dangerous step closer to reality.

The European Forest Institute recently announced a statement in favour of research into genetically modified trees. Several of EFI's 131 member organisations (consisting of research institutes, universities and companies) are involved in research into GM trees. EFI's chairman from 2004 to 2006 was François Houllier, a scientific director at theFrench National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA) which is carrying out research into GM trees.

I visited Cameroon in December 2006 and again in September 2007. In both trips I was shocked by the sheer number of trucks loaded with huge logs of tropical trees that could be seen on almost any road. Most of them were on their way to the ports from where they would be exported –unprocessed- to mostly northern countries.