Central African Conference on Forests, Tree Plantations Promoted in Andes
8/1/98
*******************************
RELAYED TEXT STARTS HERE:
Title: Central African Conference on Forests, Tree Plantations Promoted in
Andes
Source: World Rainforest Movement
Status: Distribute freely with proper credit to source
Date: 8/1/98
WORLD RAINFOREST MOVEMENT
MOVIMIENTO MUNDIAL POR LOS BOSQUES
International Secretariat
Oxford Office Instituto del Tercer
Mundo 1c Fosseway Business Centre Jackson 1136
Stratford Road Montevideo
Moreton-in-Marsh Uruguay
GL56 9NQ United Kingdom Ph +598 2 409 61 92
Ph. +44.1608.652.893
Fax +598 2 401 92 22 Fax +44.1608.652.878 EMail:
rcarrere@chasque.apc.org EMail: wrm@gn.apc.org http://www.wrm.org.uy
=================================
W R M B U L L E T I N # 14
AUGUST 1998
=================================
In this issue:
*WRM GENERAL ACTIVITIES
- News from the International Secretariat
- International Assembly of Oilwatch
- International Expert Consultation
- Chad oil pipeline: response from the World Bank - General activities
*PLANTATIONS CAMPAIGN
- Information on general activities
*INTERNATIONAL
- Underlying causes of deforestation and forest degradation - IFF-2 meets
in Geneva
- Comments on the IPF's proposals for action on tree plantations
*LOCAL STRUGGLES AND NEWS
AFRICA
- Central African Conference on Forests --- Indigenous Peoples'
Declaration
--- NGO Declaration
ASIA
- Sarawak: Dayak Ibans sue the police
- "Reform" times in Indonesia?
- Sawit Watch: an Indonesian network against oil palm plantations - The
struggle against Indorayon in Indonesia - Vietnam: good old incentives
for plantations
NORTH AMERICA
- The "Mexican version" of pulpwood plantations
SOUTH AMERICA
- Aracruz: some polite suggestions from a forester - Brazil: NGOs oppose
WWF-World Bank's 10% Campaign - Colombia: monoculture tree plantations
promoted in the Andes - Ecuador: Greenpeace action to protect remaining
mangroves - Venezuela: highway blockade against electric transmission line
WRM GENERAL ACTIVITIES
*************
* News from the International Secretariat
- International Assembly of Oilwatch
WRM's International Coordinator, who is a member of Oilwatch's Steering
Committee, participated in this network's first international assembly,
held in Mexico City on 27-30 July. Oilwatch, whose international
secretariat is hosted by Accion Ecologica in Ecuador, is a Southern
network fighting against oil exploration and exploitation in the tropics.
The meeting was attended by some 50 activists from Africa, Asia, Central,
North and South America and Europe, who shared experiences and discussed
strategies and actions to halt the detrimental activities of the oil
industry in tropical countries.
The reason for focusing on oil companies is simple: both transnational and
state enterprises are responsible for extensive human suffering, ranging
from loss of culture and livelihoods to harassment, imprisonment and
assassination of opponents. From an environmental point of view, their
activities result in deforestation, water, soil and air pollution and
biodiversity loss. Accordingly, Oilwatch had presented a declaration at
the Kyoto conference on climate change, whose first demand was to call for
"a moratorium on all new exploration for fossil fuel reserves in pristine
and frontier areas."
The Mexico City Assembly was a success in many ways, but particularly
because --for the first time-- it brought together people from all over
the world with a shared perspective and, most importantly, with a shared
desire to gather their strengths to continue carrying out the common
struggle against the oil industry.
************************************************************ -
International
Expert Consultation
Invited by GTZ, Alvaro Gonzlez of the International Secretariat of the
WRM, participated at the International Expert Consultation on the Six-
Country Initiative "Putting the IPF Proposals for Action into Practice",
that took place in Baden Baden, Germany, from June 29 to July 3.
During the 1st session of the IFF, held in October 1997, the governments
of Finland, Germany, United Kingdom, Indonesia, Uganda and Honduras, in
cooperation with the IFF Secretariat, UNDP and FAO, agreed to join in a
government-led initiative to conduct a case study exercise in each of
these countries and produce a synthesis report on the national
experiences. The objectives of the consultation were to review the
findings of such studies and to elaborate recommendations and inputs to
IFF-2 (Geneva, August 24-September 4).
More than 100 participants worked on the analysis of the cases presented
and set up recommendations for the Forum. NGO representatives emphasized
the importance of land tenure rights, underlying causes of deforestation
and forest degradation and the influence of international trade on the
sustainability of forest management. It was pointed out that while most of
the participants of the consultation were government and international
agency officials, no indigenous or local community people were present.
This implies a contradiction with point 32 of IPF-4 report which states
that "Traditional Forest Related Knowledge constitutes an important body
of knowledge and experience relevant to many aspects of the Panels
mandate".
The meeting's conclusions and recommendation will be now circulated among
IFF-2 participants at the Geneva meeting. Those interested in receiving
more information related to the meeting, please contact:
Marlene.Steigerwald@gtz.de
or Doris.Klein@gtz.de
- Chad oil
pipeline: response from the World Bank
On June 10, the WRM secretariat addressed a letter to the president of the
World Bank, expressing our concern over the arrest of Ngarlegy Yorongar
and two journalists in relation with a declaration by the former opposing
the construction of the oil pipeline Chad-Cameroon, which is being
financed by the World Bank.
The World Bank's country director for Chad, Mr Serge Michailof, responded
on June 22, expressing that he believed that the three had been released.
On the general situation he added:
"As I am sure you are aware, we are supporting the Chad/Cameroon petroleum
pipeline project because of its potential to substantially increase
spending in Chad, one of the poorest countries in the world, on poverty
alleviation activities. Let me assure you that notwithstanding the
project's potential to reduce poverty, we will only proceed if our
environmental and social safeguards have been respected, included
meaningful consultation with local populations in Chad on the impacts of
the project."
- General activities
The WRM International Secretariat addressed the President of Venezuela and
environmental authorities of that country expressing concern for the
energy transmission line being built between Macagua power station and the
Brazilian states of Roraima and Amazonas. The plan is expected to cause
deforestation and loss of livelihood for the Pemon indigenous people.
Faxes were also sent to Venezuelan authorities concerning the energy
transmission line across the Imataca Forest Reserve, that is being
resisted by the Karina, Arawako, Akawaio and Pemon indigenous peoples due
to its negative environmental impact (see article in this issue).
We supported the struggle of the Mapuche nation in Chile opposing the
extension of industrial tree plantations by Bosques Arauco S.A. and
Forestal Mininco S.A. in their traditional lands of the southern VIII
Region, sending faxes to the companies and to regional and national
authorities.
The International Secretariat expressed its support to the Government of
Thailand for its decision to impose a complete ban on shrimp farming
within the Central Plain. Sustainable rice production in this region, that
is crucial for the countrys food security, could be menaced by this
industry. The expansion of shrimp industrial farming in this case on
mangroves areas- was also questioned in Ecuador. In relation to Greenpeace
International's action in Esmeraldas (see article in this issue), the
Ecuadorian government was asked by the WRM to abide by the decree that
declares illegal mangrove destruction and its substitution by shrimp
pools.
On July 14 the International Secretariat addressed the President of Costa
Rica in relation to the draft Law for the Autonomic Development of
Indigenous Peoples, whose first version was recently approved by
Parliament. The President of Costa Rica, Dr Miguel Angel Rodriguez sent us
a letter, dated July 29, showing his gratitude for our support to the
project and expressing that his government is committed to supporting the
empowerment of the indigenous cultures, the valorization of their values
and traditions and the improvement of their living conditions.
PLANTATIONS CAMPAIGNS
- Information on general activities
After the launch of the plantations campaign last June (see WRM Bulletin
13), the secretariat has been focusing on:
- preparation of campaign materials.
- information gathering and dissemination - influencing global processes
As to campaign materials, they are currently being produced in English and
will soon be translated into Spanish (some of them already translated),
French and Portuguese. These materials are being posted in the WRM web
page, where they can be accessed, downloaded, printed and disseminated
locally, both in electronic and printed formats.
In relation to information, we are actively establishing new contacts with
organizations who are either confronting plantations or concerned about
their spreading in new places. Much of the information is being
disseminated by the WRM bulletin, which in this issue contains information
on plantations (also including oil palm and the paper industry) in Brazil,
Colombia, Mexico, Indonesia and Vietnam. We therefore request our readers
to supply us with any information considered useful in this respect. All
relevant information is at the same time linked to the plantations
campaign area of the web page.
As respects influencing global processes, we have produced an analysis of
the IPF proposals for action in relation to plantations (see "Comments on
the IPF's proposals for action on tree plantations"), to be distributed
during the coming session of the IFF in Geneva later this month.
INTERNATIONAL
*************
- Underlying causes of deforestation and forest degradation
The Steering Committee of the Joint Initiative to Address the Underlying
Causes of Deforestation and Forest Degradation will meet in Geneva on
August 22nd. The meeting will be focused on strategic planning for the
Global Workshop which will be held in Costa Rica on 18-22 January. At the
same time, there will be presentations on the regional and indigenous
peoples' workshops whose findings will form the basis of the discussions
in Costa Rica. Special attention will be given to the CIS (ex-USSR)
workshop which recently took place, to share the experiences with all
Steering Committee members.
- IFF-2 meets in Geneva
The Intergovernmental Forum of Forests will be holding its second session
in Geneva (24 August-4 September), and a group of NGOs will be present
throughout the meeting, interacting with government delegates.
Documentation prepared for this session, as well as on its first session
and the IPF process are available in the IFF's web page, which can be
easily accessed through the WRM web page (related sites).
- Comments on the IPF's proposals for action on tree plantations
The IPFs proposals for action contain a number of items which refer to
tree plantations, which the WRM believes should be further reflected upon
by the IFF in view to their implementation. Paragraph 22 states that:
"Both sustainably managed natural forests and forest plantations, as
components of integrated land-use that takes account of environmental and
socio-economic concerns, fulfil a valuable role in meeting the need for
forest products, goods and services, as well as helping to conserve
biological diversity and providing a reservoir for carbon. The costs,
benefits and disbenefits of different types of forest management,
including forest plantations, need to be appraised under different social,
cultural, economic and ecological conditions. The role of forest
plantations as an important element of sustainable forest management and
as a complement to natural forests should be recognized."
Few human productive activities are good or bad per se, and most impact on
people and the environment. Depending on a number of issues, their
advantages can in some cases outweigh their drawbacks, while they can be
basically negative in others. The above paragraph clearly incorporates
this approach by stating the important role that plantations can have,
while taking into account "environmental and socio-economic concerns" and
the need to appraise plantations "under different social, cultural,
economic and ecological conditions."
The WRM believes that representative existing examples of plantations need
to be appraised to determine how they benefit or disbenefit local
populations, which type should be promoted in which situations, by whom
they should be implemented, and how.
First, there are many types of tree plantations, ranging from agroforestry
systems to large-scale industrial plantations. Some have been beneficial,
while others have had strong negative impacts. Most of the negative
impacts --on people and the environment-- have been documented in large-
scale plantations:
deforestation, displacement and loss of livelihoods of local peoples,
erosion and nutrient depletion, biodiversity loss, water shortages, etc.
On the other hand, positive impacts have been recorded in some
agroforestry systems which have been carried out by local communities.
Tree plantations are therefore neither positive nor negative per se and
their impact in one way or the other will depend --as paragraph 22 states-
- on the "different social, cultural, economic and ecological conditions."
The IPFs proposals for action contain another very important element in
paragraph 58 (b ii), which also needs to be considered for implementation
of these proposals:
"(ii) To plan and manage forest plantations, where appropriate, to enhance
production and provision of goods and services, paying due attention to
relevant social, cultural, economic and environmental considerations in
the selection of species, areas and silviculture systems, preferring
native species, where appropriate, and taking all practicable steps to
avoid replacing natural ecosystems of high ecological and cultural values
with forest plantations, particularly monocultures . . ."
The above is an important step forward in that it correctly addresses one
type of destructive forestry model --large-scale exotic tree monocultures-
- which in many cases have replaced "natural ecosystems of high ecological
and cultural values with forest plantations, particularly monocultures."
At the same time, this paragraph provides clear guidance on the steps that
should be taken before implementing plantations:
- social, cultural, economic and environmental considerations should be
addressed in the selection of species, areas and silviculture systems
- native species should be preferred
- monocultures of exotic species should be avoided.
The WRM believes that if these guidelines are taken into account, they
will result in a radical change in the currently predominant plantation
forestry model, based on a few exotic species (particularly eucalyptyus
and pines), planted as large-scale monocultures, which are having dramatic
negative impacts on local communities and on local environments.
LOCAL STRUGGLES AND NEWS
*************
AFRICA
- Central African Conference on Forests
As informed in WRM bulletin 11, the second meeting of the Conference on
Central African Moist-Forest Ecosystems (CEFDHAC) took place in Bata,
Equatorial Guinea from 8 to 10 June 1998. We include here the Indigenous
Peoples' and NGO declarations presented at that conference.
--- Indigenous Peoples' Declaration
Declaration by the Indigenous Peoples of Central Africa to the 2nd
Conference on Central African Moist Forest Ecosystems (CEFDHAC, or the
Brazzaville Process).
We, the indigenous peoples of Central Africa, gathered together under the
auspices of our network Coordinating Committee of African Indigenous
Peoples, Central African section, have the distinguished honour of
putting forward the following recommendations and proposals:
In view of the fact that we are forgotten and marginalised despite being
the great trustees and protectors of the equatorial forests of Africa, we
ask you to:
1. Involve us in all international and national fora, as well as the major
forestry [meetings].
2. Not take premature decisions about the forests without consulting with
us and without guaranteeing our right to live there as protectors of the
forests, which are for us a paradise.
3. That the Governments recognise the rights of indigenous peoples in
financial legislation concerning the inhabitants living in the depths of
the forest, without pressurising them or expelling them from their
ancestral domain which they consider their paradise.
4. That CEFDHAC in relation to the [proposed] code of conduct [for
forestry operations] considers and takes measures guaranteeing the
indigenous peoples right to live in or near the forest so that they can
play their role and do not have to exchange their forest way of life for a
mundane life without land.
5. That the national and international organisations providing support
for protection and conservation of nature are not fooled by non-indigenous
peoples who oppose the development and integration of indigenous forest
peoples who have been expelled from their ancestral domains without
compensation or restitution of other lands.
6. That the Governments create buffer zones for indigenous peoples living
in protected areas to enable them to lead their customary lives (hunting,
fishing...).
7. That the proceeds of all activities (tourism, industrial exploitation)
carried out in the territories of indigenous peoples are shared equitably
with the original owners of the land.
Signed at Bata, 9 June 1998
On behalf of the representatives of indigenous peoples of Central Africa
Kapupu Diwa M.
President of ONGS A.A.
Kalimba Zephyrin
President of CAURWA
--- NGO Declaration
Declaration of NGOs at the 2nd CEFDHAC Conference (Conference on Moist
Forest Ecosystems of Central Africa), Bata, June 1998
Your Excellency, the Prime Minister, Head of Government, Representative of
the Head of State of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea; Your Excellency,
the Congolese Minister for Forest Economy, current chairman of CEFDHAC;
Your Excellencies, Ministers responsible for the forest ecosystems of
Central Africa; Honourable Members of Parliament; Distinguished Delegates;
Esteemed Colleagues; Ladies and Gentlemen,
We have the honour to speak to this illustrious assembly, to convey our
thanks to the Secretariat of CEFDHAC for having recognised our role in
giving us the opportunity to express our point of view on the Brazzaville
process.
Nevertheless, we wish to express our disappointment about the provisional
programme, which could not take our intervention into account, despite the
fact that this process claims to be participative, open and democratic.
Please allow us to present the quintessential elements of our Declaration:
We, the NGOs of the Congo Basin,
- considering that the Brazzaville Process is an important platform for
collaboration between the different players: states, NGOs, local
communities, private sector, working towards sustainable management of
forest resources,
- Considering that the Brazzaville Declaration constitutes the political
will affirmed by the State of the sub-region to harmonise policies for
sustainable management of forest resources,
- Considering the political instability in the sub-region,
- Considering that large-scale development projects are sources of
conflict and grave threats to biodiversity,
- Noting the inefficiencies in the current functioning of CEFDHAC due to
1. the instability of national
correspondents arising unexpectedly after the change in Ministers
responsible for forest ecosystems 2. the laxness of certain national
correspondents in setting up contact groups,
- Noting that, despite their participation at different meetings, the NGOs
positions are rarely taken into account,
- Noting that there is still confusion about the role of NGOs in the
process,
- Noting that efforts to establish peace are currently inadequate in the
Central African sub-region,
- Noting that hasty political decisions are taken to set up large-scale
development projects in defiance of the serious and real threats to
populations and to biodiversity:
We recommend:
1.- Amendments to certain tasks of the organs and principles of
functioning of CEFDHAC, notably the principles: 7, concerning conditions
of membership; 10, concerning the method of designating national
correspondents; 11, concerning the collaboration between the national
correspondent and NGOs, and 15, concerning the method of designating the
contact groups, as defined in the workshop on programming the activities
of CEFDHAC at Kinshasa.
2.- Effective involvement of NGOs in decision-making (meetings and
steering committee) and in carrying out the action plan
3.- Establishment of real mechanisms to promote peace in the Central
African sub-region.
4.- Completion of genuine and transparent environmental impact studies
before carrying out any development project.
Signed at Bata, 07/06/1998
NGOs of Central Africa
Source: Forest Peoples Programme
ASIA
- Sarawak: Dayak Ibans sue the police
Seven Dayak Iban natives from Rumah Bugah, Tubai, Ukong, Limbang are suing
the Police for wrongful arrest and baseless imprisonment.
The facts date back to 19 October 1996. The Ibans of Rumah Bugah longhouse
were putting up a blockade to stop logging activities of Syarikat Gunung
Utama, a contractor to Limbang Trading Limbang Ltd, a company owned by
Datuk Amar James Wong, the Sarawak State Environment and Health Minister.
A police party wrongfully and without reasonable or probable cause or
suspicion arrested the Ibans on their native customary land at upper
Sungai Tubai Eka, Ukong and caused them to be taken to the Limbang Central
Police Station where they were detained without being told of the charges
against them. They were released two days later. In the Magistrates Court
the police failed to frame any charge against them.
On 15 June 1998 the Ibans denounced in Court that the above named logging
company illegally encroached and extracted timbers on their native
customary land without their informed consent. The operation of the
company caused extensive destruction to their land, forest and resources.
The Court was told that they acquired the customary rights by virtue of
their "Adat" or custom and the extent of their native customary land is
well defined by a territorial boundary map issued by the colonial
government and is still recognised by the Sarawak Land Code. They also
denounced the action of the police as an abuse of power and opposed to the
rights of the native Ibans guaranteed under the Federal Constitution.
Despite of repeated inquiries by the Ibans, the Police was not able to
provide to the Court the reasons for their arrest and detention.
Source: Borneo Resources Institute (BRIMAS), June 1988.
- "Reform" times in Indonesia?
The ban on the activities of three environmental NGOs -LBBJ; Plasma and
SHK Kaltim- in Kutai district, East Kalimantan has caused general concern.
LBBJ (better known as PutiJaji) carries out community empowerment through
legal rights education, Plasma is a forest campaigning organisation, and
SHK Kaltim is a branch of a national network which promotes community-
based forest management systems. They have played a very important role in
campaigning on the Bentian people's struggles against Bob Hasan's
companies; Rio Tinto's operations at the Kaltim Prima coal mine and Kelian
Equatorial (gold) mine; the London-Sumatra oil palm plantations; the
forest fires last year and earlier this year and the problems which the
drought and rising food prices have caused for local communities.
The ban (No. 200-209/330/IV/1998, dated 26 May 1998) was issued by the
local Social and Political Affairs office on the grounds that they were
illegal organisations since they were not registered at that office. It is
remarkable that the ban has come after the fall of Suharto. This may
indicate the new government's attitude towards NGOs opposing large-scale
commercial exploitation of Indonesia's natural resources, coinciding with
President Habibies strategy to overcome the economic crisis through the
promotion of exports.
WAHLI (Indonesian Environment Forum) considers that: 1. This banning order
is an arrogant expression of power which contravenes clause 28 of the
Indonesian Constitution which guarantees the right to associate, meet and
express oneself. The prohibition of these human activities also violates
human rights in which there is now renewed interest in Indonesia.
2. This instruction also demonstrates that the authorities involved are
unable to grasp fully the aspirations which are developing in the four
corners of the country. It clearly demonstrates the shallow understanding
of politics on the part of those involved in the face of the wave of
reforms sweeping the land. It reveals that these authorities are still
trapped in the paranoid, anti-change political rhetoric of the New Order
(Suharto) regime.
3. The authorities involved do not recognise or understand the existence
of NGOs --their history, vision, purpose-- nor their legal position or
their position and experience at the very heart of a changing society.
National and international NGOs demand that the banning order on these
three NGOs are inmediately and unconditionally withdrawn.
Source: Down to Earth, 6/8/98.
- Sawit Watch: an Indonesian network against oil palm plantations
Oil palm (know as "Sawit" in Indonesia) is an increasing problem for
people and the environment in that country. In May this year, the Minister
of Forestry and Plantation Estates stated that the government had
allocated 30 million hectares of forest for oil palm plantations.
Indonesia has already 3.2 million hectares of oil palm plantations, mainly
located in Sumatra (1 million ha). Every year 330,000 hectares of forest
is targeted for conversion into new plantations and 650 investors --75% of
which foreign companies-- are applying for converting forest into oil palm
plantation.
The negative impacts of oil palm plantations
Oil palm plantations have resulted in numerous negative impacts on the
environment, on indigenous peoples, on people's livelihoods, on the
national economy, and have resulted in the concentration of land in the
hands of few companies.
Negative impacts on the environment are a consequence of this being a
large-scale industrial monocrop which therefore reduces biodiversity. At
the same time, it implies high levels of agrochemical inputs --fertilizers
and insecticides-- that have polluted many rivers, and have directly and
indirectly caused deforestation and forest fires.
Much of the land allocated to oil palm plantations are not even
technically appropriate for such crop. According to a study carried out
in 1998 by JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency) and BAPENAS
(National Development Planning Board), only 15% of the 3.2 million
hectares of land earmarked for that purpose by the provincial government
of West Kalimantan are suitable for planting oil palm. But, even within
this 15%, the environmental impacts will be enormous: land erosion of 57-
1,500 ton/year, loss of soil nutrients of 386,000 ton/year, pollution
caused by 145,000 liters/year of insecticides and 5,900 ton/year of other
chemical substances.
Plantation projects ignore the existence of indigenous peoples and
expropriate their lands. For example, in West Kalimantan oil palm
plantations are developed in the productive gardens of Dayak people, which
include rubber trees, fruit trees, etc. The government of Indonesia has
encouraged companies to cut down hundreds of thousands of trees in Dayaks'
gardens and to replace them with oil palm. As a result, local peoples'
economy, based on local resources is destroyed.
If millions of hectares of lands are converted to oil palm plantation, the
regional and peoples' economy will be very dependent on a single commodity
that is subject to international price fluctuations. On the other hand
peoples' economy, that is based on non -timber forest products such as
honey, medicinal plants, fruit, etc., is destroyed by the expropriating
process.
The Central Bureau of Statistics (1996) has noted that 457 large oil palm
companies control already more than 3.2 million hectares of land. In the
future, 650 new companies will control 30 million hectares more. This
means that there is and will be high concentration of land holdings.
Experience shows that when indigenous and local peoples' lands are
expropriated for this purpose, many more people become landless and are
thus pushed into a massive poverty process.
The creation of "Sawit Watch"
Many Indonesian NGOs are very concerned about this trend and have
conducted activities during the last six years to empower indigenous and
local peoples to fight for their rights in their respective regions. Given
the need to work and develop plans together for strengthening all efforts
at the local, national and international levels, some Indonesian NGOs
initiated on July 25, 1998 Sawit Watch and since then more NGOs joined the
initiative.
The Sawit Watch has three main goals: 1). To support local and indigenous
peoples' struggle against large-scale oil palm plantation companies; 2) To
campaign against the IMF/World Bank's Sectoral Adjustment Loan for
liberalizing oil palm plantation; 3) To raise public awareness at the
local, national and international levels on the social and environmental
impacts of oil palm plantations.
For achieving those goals, Sawit Watch will carry out activities such as:
1. Support local and indigenous peoples' struggle against large scale oil
palm plantation companies: Land expropriation and environmental
destruction caused by oil palm plantation are major problems to local and
indigenous peoples. Advocacy and empowerment activities are carried out to
support them to reclaim their expropriated land. More than 10,000 people
regained last month control over about 10,000 hectares of land in North
Sumatra that had been given to military and bureaucrats. Reclaiming
activities by indigenous and local peoples in Sumatra, Kalimantan,
Sulawesi and Java over large-scale plantations and forest concessions
range from taking to court land right cases to the direct occupation
of lands. Sawit Watch's support consists of providing legal advice,
putting political pressure on provincial governments and the military, and
litigation at court. Compensation for environmental destruction is also
being demanded from the companies.
People are poor and don't have funds to cultivate their land after
reclaiming and therefore fund-raising activities are also carried out to
support, for instance, the purchase of seeds. People are encouraged to
cultivate alternative crops, so in the future they are not dependent on
one crop (oil palm), to develop mixed crops and to increase biodiversity.
People-based management of the forest that was once destroyed by large-
scale oil palm plantations, could therefore be developed again.
2. Campaign against IMF/World Bank's Sectoral Adjustment Loan for
liberalizing oil palm plantation.
The Indonesian government stopped new foreign investment in oil palm
plantation in early 1997, because 1.5 million hectares of land had already
been allocated for oil palm plantation to Malaysian and other foreign
investors. The IMF/World Bank's 50 point programme package for Indonesia
to counter the economic crisis included liberalization of oil palm
plantation. This means that Indonesia will have to re-open for new foreign
investment in the oil palm sector. The IMF/World Bank's crisis program for
Indonesia comprises lending of US$ 4.5 billion, divided into US$ 2 billion
for fast disbursing support and US$ 2.5 billion for regular investment
lending support, among which an Agricultural Sectoral Adjustment Loan of
US $ 400,000 that will be disbursed in November 1998. It is important to
note that this programme for liberalizing oil palm plantation is
not based on any social or environmental studies carried out by the World
Bank.
This loan therefore increases new investments in the oil palm sector,
ignoring the social and environmental problems that people will have to
face. To campaign against it will therefore be an important part of Sawit
Watch activities to stop new investment in oil palm plantation.
3. Raise public awareness at the local, national and international levels
on the social and environmental impacts of oil palm plantations by
implementing activities such as:
- Policy study on oil palm plantation in Indonesia. The aim of the policy
study is to draw a picture of the whole "sawit" complex for monitoring,
campaigning and advocacy purposes, and also to predict its trends in the
future. The policy study includes a number of aspects such as the ecology
(analysis of biodiversity loss, soil erosion, pollution, etc.); social and
economic aspects (analysis of impacts of oil palm plantation to the
social and economic condition of people at the local, regional and
national levels); legal and policy aspects (analysis of regulations on oil
palm plantations, trend of policy adopted by government in relation with
the intervention of institutions such as the IMF/World Bank and other
multilateral banks); political aspect (analysis of main actors --e.g.
government and private sector, multilateral banks-- and respective
interests); supply-demand analysis in relation with consumer patterns and
foreign trade.
- Compiling investigated data/facts from local level. Many NGOs have
conducted investigations in oil palm plantation areas that affected
indigenous and local peoples' life. For the purpose of raising public
awareness, all data and facts will be compiled as evidence of the negative
impacts of oil palm plantation, in different formats such as slide
packages (in Indonesian and English) and video films.
- Providing data and facts (newsletters, fact sheets, slides, video films
and online information in Indonesian and English) on social, economic and
environmental impacts of oil palm plantations.
- September 24 is Agrarian Day in Indonesia. On September 24, 1998 rallies
in all regions in Indonesia will be organized simultaneously by members
and supporters of Sawit Watch, together with indigenous and local people
affected by oil palm plantations. This will be part of the activities to
put political pressure on the provincial and national governments.
-. A national seminar on oil palm plantation will be held in October 1998,
with presentations of the policy study, the compiled investigated
data/facts from local and regional levels, testimonies of indigenous and
local people. A press conference will be also held during the seminar. The
seminar will not only be aimed at raising people's awareness on the
impacts of oil palm plantations, but also at putting pressure on the
IMF/World Bank, which will disburse the agricultural sector adjustment
loan in November 1998, as well as on the Indonesian government for
stopping new investments in this sector.
To date, the following organizations are participating in Sawit Watch:
Bentayan, Palu, Central Sulawesi; Bioforum, Bogor; Community Based Forest
Management (East Kalimantan), Samarinda; Community Based Forest Management
(West Kalimantan), Pontianak; Consortium for Supporting Community Based
Forest Management (KPSHK), Bogor; ELSAM, Jakarta; Institute for Dayakology
Research and Development (IDRD), Pontianak-West Kalimantan; International
NGO Forum on Indonesian Development (INFID), Jakarta; Lembaga Alam Tropika
Indonesia, (LATIN) Bogor; Lembaga Bela Banua Talino (LBBT), Pontianak-West
Kalimantan; LRA, Padang-West Sumatra; Plasma, Samarinda-East Kalimantan;
RMI-Institute for Forest and Environment, Bogor; WALHI Aceh, Aceh; WALHI,
Jakarta; Warung Informasi (WARSI), Jambi; WATALA, Lampung; Yayasan Alam
Hijau Indonesia (YAHI), Bogor; Yayasan Evergreen Indonesia, Palu-Central
Sulawesi; Yayasan Lingkungan Hidup Irian Jaya (YALI), Jayapura-Irian Jaya;
Yayasan Padi Indonesia, Samarinda-East Kalimantan; Yayasan Telapak
Indonesia, Bogor
Source: Titi Soentoro, Coordination Office of Sawit Watch.
Email: euron@indo.net.id
- The struggle against Indorayon in Indonesia
On July 20 over 1,000 security forces arrived to break through a blockade
set up by villagers and students at Indorayon's paper and rayon pulp
factory (PT IIU) in Porsea, near Lake Toba in North Sumatra.
Demonstrations have hampered production since mid-June. Hundreds of local
people supported by university students and members of environmental
groups had blocked roads leading to PT IIU's mill, forcing the factory to
stop production since its supplies of timber and fuel have been cut off.
After the violent confrontation at least 13 local people are reported
seriously injured and some are missing.
That of Indorayon is a long history of actions undertaken by local people
and environmental groups in defence of the environment. It became a
landmark case after the environmental NGO WALHI brought a court case
against the company and the government which sanctioned its construction
in 1989 for the high pollution it was provoking. Powerful interest soon
moved in, but the villagers continued their struggle against the company.
Some 300,000 people are thought to have been affected by the mill and the
plantations that feed it. By 1997 the company had established
approximately 41,000 hectares of eucalyptus and acacia plantations . The
Finnish company Jaakko Poyry was responsible for the feasibility study for
the PT IIU plant and acted as consultant for the feeder plantations.
Last February people from four villages affected by pollution caused by
the plant formed a campaign group against PT IIU with others from the
island of Samosir in Lake Toba. This is one of the areas where forests are
being felled, since natural wood is the second supply of raw material for
the pulp plant. The company has cleared 150,000 hectares of rainforest.
The group, called KAPAL, refused to be placated by company officials or
intimidated by local officials and issued an ultimatum to PT IIU on
Environment Day (June 5th) to stop logging on Samosir.
Huge popular demonstrations took place in June in front of the Governor of
North Sumatra. The Environment Minister himself, Panangian Siregar added
to the debate by stating that the Indorayon plant should be closed due to
public complaints over many years, which surprised the Indonesian public
opinion. Nevertheless the plant did not close. Indorayons response was
limited only to temporarily suspending logging on Samosir island. In view
of the company's unwillingness to respond to local communities' grievances
regarding its operations, people reacted blocking the street in Porsea and
preventing supplies of raw materials from reaching the Indorayon factory.
Resisting local communities are facing harsh problems in relation to this
issue. There is some tension between local activists and larger city-based
NGOs. While local people feel having suffered all the costs, without
enjoying any of the benefits in terms of employment and development the
company promised that the factory would bring, city-based NGOs consider
closure of the mill is an unrealistic demand and that the community would
gain more from campaigns to make the company take responsibility for its
negative impacts. A second point is that the strategy PT IIU has adopted
since 1996 to neutralize opposition is to set up new community
organisations through which to channel contributions and organise
social events instead of recognising traditional community leaders.
Source: Based on an extended version of an article in the Down to Earth
newsletter No. 38 (now at the printers).
- Vietnam: good old incentives for plantations
It seems amazing that tree plantations can be promoted all over the world
as a profitable activity, while at the same time they need to receive a
number of incentives to make it really profitable.
Recent reports from Vietnam shows that this country is following the lead
from what other countries have either done in the past (e.g. Brazil) or
are doing at present (e.g. Chile, Mexico, Uruguay): to promote via
subsidies an activity which in this way will indeed become very profitable
... for the powerful pulp and paper industry and other connected and
equally powerful corporations. The subsidies will be paid by the people
and so will the impacts of the plantations and the attached future pulp
mills.
As usual in these cases, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
appears in the forefront, with its representative Christy Lawrence
declaring that "the state must construct a sound legal basis in order to
guarantee the legitimate interests of forestry investors." And what about
--might we ask-- the "legitimate interests" of the peoples whose land will
be taken over and whose environment will receive the impacts?
For the government's plan to establish five million hectares of new
plantations by the year 2010 to be successful, a number of incentives are
being offered to the plantations industry:
- land leases for longer periods than for other activities - exemptions
from land rent for the first five years - a 50% reduction of land rent for
the following five years.
However, these incentives seem to be yet insufficient for plantation and
industrial companies, who are putting pressure on the government to obtain
further subsidies such as:
- revenue tax breaks of at least 50% during the first five years -
exemptions from import taxes on equipment, machinery and vehicles for
plantation and processing activities
- low interest rate loans
- long term loans
Neither the government not the industry are inventing anything. The same
pattern repeats itself all over the South and the real reason is not to
help "development" of "developing" countries but to serve --as usual-- the
interests of the powerful to make them yet more powerful.
Source: WRM analysis based on information from Minh Anh's article
"Incentives sow seeds for forestry investment boom", Vietnam Investment
Review, 22-28 June 1998.
NORTH AMERICA
- The "Mexican version" of pulpwood plantations
The increased activities of the "maquiladora" industry (installed within
Mexico and based on imported inputs and external export markets), have
resulted in an enormous deficit in packaging papers --which are currently
being imported from the US and Canada-- used in the necessary packaging of
the industrial goods for the supply of external markets. Responding to
pressures from the country's industrial sector, the Mexican government is
now paving the way for the promotion of large scale pulpwood plantations
to provide industry with raw material to produce cheap pulp and paper to
fill in that gap.
The adopted strategy has three components: 1) to introduce changes to the
legal framework; 2) to profit from the "comparative advantages" of Mexico
for producing cheap pulpwood; 3) to promote plantations through direct and
indirect subsidies.
The first component was already implemented in April 1997, with the
passing of the Forestry Law, which was approved after strong lobbying from
high ranking federal officials, parliamentarians linked to the national
paper industry and the active participation of International Paper's CEO.
This new law provides plantations with a clear legal framework, including
the right of association with the peasants who own the land. As a result
of pressures from peasant, environmental and civil organizations --and to
a lesser extent from political parties-- plantations are not allowed to be
established in forested areas and some conditions are established for
large-scale plantations, including management plans and impact
assessments.
The second component has also been addressed by the federal government,
though the Environment Agency (SEMARNAP), which has incorporated the
proposals of the national and transnational companies as if being its own.
Its implementation has consisted of a discourse to convince the public
about the alleged advantages for the country of tree plantations
subsidised by public resources, cheap labour with no rights, and with the
lack of requirements concerning social and environmental impacts. Nor
surprisingly, one of the most active high-ranking officials promoting this
strategy is a former employee of one of the large paper transnationals. As
much of this propaganda has not convinced the majority of the Mexican
people --particularly the peasants-- the plantation proponents have
established new alliances and created a "National Committee from Tree to
Book".
The third component is half way through. The Environment Agency has
created a "Support Programme for the Development of Commercial Forestry
Plantations". Under this programme, plantations will receive subsidies
covering 65% of the plantation and management costs for up to seven years,
and will also be exempted from taxes. However, there are still some
problem areas. The first is that the distribution of resources wasn't as
easy as imagined and some companies were left out. Another issue, linked
to the drop in oil prices and oil revenues, is that the tax holiday will
still need some time to be implemented, as well as some additional
subsidies which were expected to be in place. Additionally, a new and
unexpected problem has arisen: now other forest-based enterprises and
peasant organizations are demanding subsidies to assist them in taking
care of the forest, so as to be kept in line with state support to the
plantation sector.
In sum, the Mexican version of plantations holds nothing new. Its aim is
to integrate the transnational productive process, to subordinate the
environmental policy to the needs of the transnational demand of the
export-oriented industrial capital and to ignore the rights of indigenous
peoples and peasants and their environmental culture. The new logic has
imposed itself as a result of the official abandonment of other people-
based alternatives.
However, the above is only part of reality. Peasant and indigenous
peoples' reactions are surfacing, such as in the case of the recent
massive action of peasants from the state of Guerrero against the US wood
and paper company Boise Cascade or the complaints of Tabasco peasants
against the unfair contracts of the plantation companies. These are also
part of reality.
Source: Alejandro Villamar.- Datos de la "version mexicana" de la
estrategia global de la industria maderera-papelera internacional bajo el
TLCAN, April 1998.
SOUTH AMERICA
- Aracruz: some polite suggestions from a forester
We received the following message from Brazilian forester Jackson Roberto
Eleoterio (from the University of Sao Paulo), which we can't but share
with our readers:
Why doesn't your "organization" mind your own business instead of mixing
yourselves with the confusion created by indian delinquents incited by a
bunch of unemployed leftists, who only wish to embarrass a productive
enterprise such as ARACRUZ, which is thereby forced to make concessions to
avoid an international scandal. The situation is that the indians destroy
the fertility of their land, which has already been demarcated, and want
new lands, preferably with all the infrastructure in place.
Original version in Portuguese
Por que a "organizacao" de voces nao cuida de seus proprios problemas e
vem se meter nas confusoes criadas por indios deliquentes incitados por um
bando de desocupados da esquerda, que soh querem atrapalhar uma empresa
produtiva como a ARACRUZ e que assim eh obrigada a ceder, senao formaria-
se um escandalo internacional. A situacao eh que os indios destroem a
fertilidade de sua terra, jah demercada e querem novas terras, de
preferencia com toda a infra-estrutura.
- Brazil: NGOs
oppose WWF-World Bank's 10% Campaign
We, the undersigned Non-Governmental Organizations, wish to express our
concern with both the content and the potential consequences of the
campaign lead by the WWF International, and supported by both the World
Bank and the Brazilian Government, to protect some ten percent of the
Amazon region through the establishment of environmental conservation
areas of indirect use.
We do not oppose the creation of new conservation areas of indirect use.
On the contrary, we consider the system of protected areas currently in
existence as insufficient to protect the Brazilian ecosystem, both in
terms of overall size, and in the variety of environmental systems being
protected, with respect to the Amazon as well as to other regions.
We do support the creation of new reserves in the entire country,
specifically in those areas that have been indicated as priorities for the
conservation of biodiversity. But these new reserves should encompass a
broad mosaic of protected areas, including extractive reserves which take
into account the rights of traditional populations.
In addition, we consider that the quantitative goal of this campaign--ten
percent before the year 2000--as randomly chosen, inadequate, and
ignorant to the reality of Brazil. For the effective protection of the
Amazon--85 percent of which survives today--ten percent is an unacceptable
goal. On the other hand, ten percent is most probably excessive for the
exclusive creation of areas of indirect use, when there are as yet no
studies or dependable data to answer the question of the availability of
such a large amount of land without the presence of indigenous populations
or extractivists.
We also do not understand the selection of the year 2000 as a deadline,
considering that currently less than four percent of the Amazon is
reserved for conservation areas of indirect use, and a major part of that
has only been formed on paper. In fact, the presence of traditional
populations can be found in most of these areas, including 10 parks and
reserves, covering more than three million hectares, which have been
superimposed on 12 pre-existing indigenous territories.
The plan to create, in two years, twice as many reserves as have been
created in all the years to date, means a great risk of creating more
paper parks, existing in name only. And without studies to indicate
priority areas, or areas which would most benefit from this type of
protection, there are the added risks of incorporating lands occupied by
traditional populations, and thus intensifying the conflicts that already
exist among these populations and IBAMA (Brazilian Environmental
Institute).
Moreover, we understand that the protection of the Amazon depends upon
defined and articulated government policies, in actuality non-existent,
which would allow for more than just the creation of areas of indirect
use, and encourage the fundamental role that the traditional populations
in reality exercise in this protection. The Brazilian government has not
managed to finance the protected areas which already exist, and it is of
common knowledge that, were it not for the resistance of these populations
to the predatory behaviour of large estate owners, lumber companies,
prospectors, and political forces (with some honourable exceptions), the
Amazon today would be in an even worse condition.
Meanwhile, these populations today live in miserable conditions, without
access to consistent government support to develop their traditional
economic activities, or even to guarantee minimum prices for their
products, the making of which essentially depends on the continued
existence of the forest.
We would also like to express our surprise with the fact that this
campaign does not taken into consideration other regions, some of which
are even more fragile, and have been more devastated, than the Amazon
forest. For example, the Mata Atlantica, which is of enormous importance
in terms of biodiversity, has been reduced to less than seven percent of
its original size, while the regions of Caatinga and Cerrado are being
converted with increasing rapidity into soybean plantations and cattle
ranges.
Moreover, we are surprised at the failure of this campaign to consider
efforts already underway, such as the organization of the Amazon Workshop,
as a part of Probio [The Protection Fund for Biodiversity], lead by a
consortium of Brazilian NGOs. The Workshop has been contracted for one
year by the Brazilian government with the purpose, by means of a
participatory process, of gathering information and creating alternative
suggestions for public conservation policy, including the selection of
potential areas for the establishment of new conservation areas of both
direct and indirect use.
And finally, we, the undersigned organizations, propose that the Brazilian
Government, the World Bank, the World Wildlife Fund, and all concerned
organizations, combine forces for the successful realization of the Amazon
Workshop. It may be hoped that in this way the Workshop will result in
the establishment of collective goals, well-defined, comprehensive
regional policies, and mobilization campaigns, which effectively balance
the conservation of biodiversity in the Amazon with the respect for the
rights of the populations that inhabit it, and with the goal of
sustainable development in the country as a whole.
Brasilia, 1 July 1998.- Brazilian NGO and Social Movements Forum for
Development and Environment (Forum Brasileiro de ONGs), Rubber-tappers
Nacional Council (CNS), Amazon Working Group (GTA), Brazil Network on
Multilateral Financial Institutions (Rede Brasil)
Source: Kenneth Walsh, EDF, July 1998
- Colombia: monoculture tree plantations promoted in the Andes
As in a number of other countries, the Inter-American Development Bank
(IDB) is now promoting the development of pulpwood plantations in
Colombia. The bank has recently approved a "non-reimbursable" loan of 2
million dollars --through the Multilateral Investment Fund-- to support
the creation of a Training and Technological Development Centre for the
Pulp, Paper and Cardboard Industry (CENPAPEL).
According to journalistic reports, the objective of this centre is to find
alternatives for pulp production in view of the depletion of appropriate
and abundant pulpwood resources from native forests. It will be located in
Pereira, home of the country's two main paper companies (Papeles
Nacionales and Colpapel). The project had been presented four years ago to
the IDB by a group of entrepreneurs from Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela and
Peru and receives support from Pereira's local government and from the
Risaralda government
Additionally, the Organization of American States will also provide
financial support to the project and had previously paved the way for the
participation of foreign companies, establishing contact with 25 such
firms, of which six are already participating.
Given that the stated aim of this project is to find alternative raw
material for the pulp industry, it is no secret to local populations that
this will mean the establishment of large-scale eucalyptus and pine
plantations in the region.
In such situation, local environmentalists are organizing a regional
meeting to support local peasants, based on the analysis of the impacts
that commercial pine and eucalyptus crops will have on the Andean
biodiversity and on soils and water.
Source: Margarita Florez, ILSA, Colombia
- Ecuador: Greenpeace action to protect remaining mangroves
31 July 1998. Ecuador's Minister of Environment has promised Greenpeace
that she will take steps to secure a permanent ban on mangrovve clearcuts
by the country's shrimp farming industry and investigate evidence of
illegal mangrove destruction in a protected national reserve.
In a meeting with Greenpeace, Minister Flor Maria Valverde also agreed to
confront the Ecuadorian Forestry Institute of Natural Areas and Wildlife
(INEFAN) over evidence of 745 cases of mangrove destruction by shrimp farm
operators that were lodged with it by local environmental organization
Fundecol since 1989. Only four cases were investigated.
However, Greenpeace is calling on the incoming government of Ecuador to
honour the agreements made prior to its recent coming into office by
Minister Valverde.
"The international community is now waiting to see how the present and
future governments of Ecuador will stop the many shrimp farming operators
from destroying what's left of Ecuador's mangrove forests," said
Greenpeace spokesperson Gina Sanchez.
Greenpeace and it's ship Rainbow Warrior were invited to Ecuador by
Fundecol to highlight the widespread and illegal destruction of mangrove
forests by the shrimp aquaculture industry. The destruction of mangrove
forests by shrimp farming interests has been illegal in Ecuador since 1994
under Decree #1907.94.b.
The meeting with the minister followed an earlier protest by Greenpeace
activists and Fundecol at an illegal shrimp farm recently built in one of
the last remaining mangrove forests in the Muisne region near Esmereldas.
In this area, 20,800 hectares of mangrove forests have been reduced to 650
hectares after clearcutting by the shrimp aquaculture industry in the last
10 years.
During the protest, the Greenpeace ship Rainbow Warrior was ordered to
remain in port. Ecuadorian authorities released the Rainbow Warrior after
the Judge who ruled against Greenpeace was dismissed by the President of
the Supreme Court. Similarly, the court order issuing arrest warrants for
Fundecol directors and Rainbow Warrior crew members is now invalid.
Source: Greenpeace's web page (www.greenpeace.org)
- Venezuela: highway blockade against electric transmission line
Indigenous peoples of the Imataca and Gran Sabana regions began a blockade
of the only highway between Venezuela and Brazil, to protest against a
high voltage electrical transmission line being built through the Imataca
Forest Reserve. The indigenous peoples are demanding that the Venezuelan
government legally recognize and respect the boundaries of their ancestral
lands. Their action is taking place in the context of a number of
demonstrations all over the country related to the 500-year anniversary of
the arrival of Columbus to Venezuela. The governments policy in relation
to Imataca had already been resisted by indigenous and environmental
organizations of Venezuela (see WRM Bulletin nr. 12).
At a press conference held in August 7, 16 indigenous leaders coming from
the Sierra Imataca, the Gran Sabana and the Caroni and Paragua watersheds
declared that they had tried by all means and unsucessfully to have their
territories recognized by the consecutive Venezuelan governments. They
consider that the building of the electrical transmission line is in
violation of their rights, since they were not consulted or even informed.
They said that they had decided the closure of the highway as a response
to the government's inaction to their demands and that this was their
opportunity to inform the community about the issue.
Work on the transmission line began in October, and local populations had
not been informed about it. No social evaluation had been carried out and
the existing environmental assessment is not adequate and its findings
don't provide real solutions to the problem.
EDELCA is the firm in charge of the work, while the construction contract
is held by the transnational corporation Asea Brown Boweri, which
subcontracted the Venezuelan company Vincler for the construction of the
sub-station. Wood extraction is in charge of the companies COVEMAT and
SVECA
The government agency responsible for the permits is the Ministry of the
Environment, but the Minister has never provided the communities with
information about the project. The main promoter of the project is the
Minister of Frontiers, Pompeyo Marquez, who has repeatedly told the press
that the project will be implemented, regardless of the oposition it might
receive. The project will not benefit any of the communities through which
it will pass, with the exception of Santa Elena de Uarien and the mining
companies operating in the Imataca Forest Reserve.
Apparently there are some hidden negotiations linked to the power line,
particularly in relation with mining and logging ccompanies, but EDELCA
has not been willing to provide any information and only declares that the
aim is to benefit the village of Santa Elena and to sell electricity to
Brazil.
Deforestation related to the project is high. Contrary to what the public
has been informed, the power line is not being built along the existing
main highway of the Conaima National Park. Openings are being cut in the
forest of some 30-40 metres of width and 800 metres long. This work has
included the destruction of communities' crops, while also water, soil and
ecosystems have been affected. Places where indigenous communities used to
take water from have been closed with logs and heaps of soil.
A number of constitutional, legal and international agreements favourable
to indigenous peoples rights have been violated to implement this project.
This leads to the conclusion expressed in the press conference by the
indigenous peoples representatives: "Development is for others and makes
us more dependent.
There is no real development plan, neither for Venezuela nor for the
frontier and whoever says the contrary is lying." In consequence, they
have decided "to maintain indefinitively the peaceful occupation of the
national and international highway Venezuela-Brazil until our demands are
satisfied."
Source: Leobardo Acurero, cineco@sa.omnes.net