World Rainforest Movement Bulletin, No. 29
12/29/99
OVERVIEW & COMMENTARY
World Rainforest Movement is putting out an excellent monthly bulletin
regarding happenings in rainforest conservation. Here is their December
bulletin chock full of news and information. Happy New Year!
g.b.

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RELAYED TEXT STARTS HERE:

Title: WRM Bulletin 29
Source: WORLD RAINFOREST MOVEMENT
MOVIMIENTO MUNDIAL POR LOS BOSQUES
International Secretariat
Maldonado 1858, CP 11200
Montevideo
Uruguay
Ph +598 2 403 2989Uruguay
Fax +598 2 408 0762
EMail: wrm@chasque.apc.org
Web page: http://www.wrm.org.uy

Oxford Office
1c Fosseway Business Centre
Stratford Road
Moreton-in-Marsh
GL56 9NQ United Kingdom
Ph. +44.1608.652.893
Fax +44.1608.652.878
EMail: wrm@gn.apc.org
Status: Copyright 1999, contact source for permission to reprint
Date: December 15, 1999

=================================
W R M B U L L E T I N 29
DECEMBER 1999
=================================

In this issue:

* OUR VIEWPOINT

- The battle of Seattle

* LOCAL STRUGGLES AND NEWS

AFRICA

- Nigeria: Cross River's forests need your help
- South Africa: what are the true costs of woodlots?
- Tanzania: afforestation, reforestation and the real causes of forest
destruction
- World Bank promotes oil palm and rubber plantations in Liberia and Cote
d'Ivoire

ASIA

- Indonesia: new legislation, old problems
- Malaysia: certification against peoples' rights in Sarawak
- Malaysia: the "progress" brought by the Bakun dam in Sarawak
- Philippines: remaining mangroves under siege
- Sri Lanka: politics in forests

CENTRAL AMERICA

- Costa Rica: environmentally or industrially-friendly forest management?

SOUTH AMERICA

- Bolivia: the government legalises what is illegal
- Brazil: say what they say, Monte Pascoal belongs to the Pataxo
- Brazil: will forest destruction be sponsored by the law?
- Colombia: the U'wa people do not surrender
- Colombia: the Embera Katio's struggle for life
- Chile: under the shadow of Pinochet
- Ecuador: the future of the Chachi indigenous people and their forests

OCEANIA

- Papua New Guinea: the struggle of the Maisin indigenous people

* PLANTATIONS CAMPAIGN

- Plantations' impacts are always social
- Aracruz: the naked emperor
- Networking in action: Australia-Uruguay
- Call for global moratorium on genetically engineered trees
- Tree plantations and trade

* GENERAL

- Indigenous Peoples' Seattle Declaration
- Dialogue with the World Bank?
- Declaration on Andean Ecosystems

* WRM GENERAL ACTIVITIES

- News from the International Secretariat

************** OUR VIEWPOINT
*************
- The battle of Seattle

What happened in Seattle was historical. Regardless of whether the
ministerial conference's failure to reach an agreement was the result of
the action of the thousands of people in the streets or the result of the
internal contradictions of governments -or a combination of both- the
fact is that history was made in the streets and not in the "green rooms."

What was historical was not the fact that the police -which as everyone
now knows is not that different in the US than elsewhere- used batons,
tear gas, rubber bullets, helicopters and other "peace-keeping" tools.
That is the usual pattern used by governments whenever they get
frightened. The US government proved to be no exception. What was
historical was the fact that so many people, from all over the world, got
together and expressed -through different means- a common demand: no new
round! Not because all those people were against trade in itself, but
because they all shared the view that trade must be equitable, beneficial
to people and respectful of the environment. Those people knew that the
WTO negotiations were going in the opposite direction -inequitable,
beneficial to transnational corporations and disrespectful to the
environment- and joined forces to oppose it.

The different people present in Seattle carried out their activities in
different arenas. Some organized seminars open to activists and government
delegates, others lobbied the different government officials, many
disseminated their viewpoints on paper and in electronic format, some
organized press conferences, others implemented community radio
programmes, a few carried out high profile actions inside and outside the
conference room -for instance the Rainforest Action Network's huge banners
hanging from a crane- and many other activities. But most importantly: all
the above activities took place within the special atmosphere created by
the scores of thousands of people in the streets which resisted -in spite
of the cold, the wind, the rain and the police- throughout the WTO
ministerial. That heroic resistance in the streets was not only the core
component of the protest, but also provided additional strength to the
people involved in the other activities and most participated in both
street and indoor activities. Most importantly, the street got the media's
attention. When, in a normal situation, journalists would have focused on
interviewing government delegates, in this case they turned their
attention to the protesters.

It is obvious that this was not a spontaneous struggle. Much research,
awareness raising, training, information dissemination, networking and
organization took place well before the meeting. But neither was it a
centralized activity. Many people converged to Seattle through separate
channels and only joined forces there, unaware of who the other people
were, but somehow knowing that they were on the same side.

Seattle was in many aspects a huge success for WTO opponents and a
catastrophic failure for the future of this institution. The protest
achieved an incredible worldwide media coverage. Whenever people from
around the world hear again about the WTO, they will remember the battle
of Seattle and they will at least know that something smells rotten with
this organization. This is a very good start indeed.

But even more importantly, Seattle showed ways forward for many of the
local struggles which are taking place throughout the world to face the
same forces leading to social and environmental disaster. It showed the
strength that can be developed through decentralized and coordinated
action. It showed that people from all cultures can come together when
there is a common and deeply felt objective. And it showed the inherent
weakness of the seemingly invincible alliance of corporations,
multilateral organizations and governments. Some 50,000 people -armed only
with their convictions- made the whole building rock and this happened
within the boundaries of the mightiest military and economic power on
Earth. The apparently impossible seems to be -after this- becoming
possible.

************** LOCAL STRUGGLES AND NEWS
*************
AFRICA

- Nigeria: Cross River's forests need your help

Between 70 and 80% of Nigeria's original forests have disappeared and
nowadays the area of its territory occupied by forests is reduced to 12%,
even if the entire country is located in the humid tropics. All of the
country's remaining primary rainforest watersheds, covering about 7,000
km2, are located in Cross River state. This region also contains 1,000 km2
of mangrove and swamp forest, being oil exploitation an important cause of
their degradation and destruction (see WRM Bulletin 22).

Commercial logging and hunting of wildlife are important threats to
Nigerian primary rainforest and its dependent species. Cross River state
is very rich in biodiversity. It harbours several species of primates,
migratory and resident birds, and 950 species of butterflies -a quarter of
the number to be found in tropical Africa- 100 of which are endemic. Many
of Africa's rarest trees, such as mahogany, ironwood, camwood and mimosup,
grow in this forest, that is connected to a larger forest area in
neighbouring Cameroon. Exports of roundwood of valuable species -such as
afzelia (Afzelia africana), ekki, idigbo (Terminalia ivorensis), obeche,
and teak (Tectona grandis)- to Europe, the USA and Japan is depleting
Cross River's forests.

Social aspects concerning the region are also relevant. NGOCE -a coalition
of Cross River conservation groups- is promoting activities for a
sustainable use of the forests to the benefit of the local dwellers, as an
alternative to the present depredation by foreign actors. Among them:
education programmes for the local communities regarding the importance of
a healthy forest to their self-sufficient lifestyle, assistance to the
communities in developing alternative income-generating projects that will
alleviate pressure on the forest, and support to fundraising efforts and
provision of technical assistance to NGOs.

Recently Cross River state's new Governor, Mr. Donald Duke, suspended all
forest logging concessions that were granted under the previous
administration. The cancellation of logging licenses is connected with the
reckless manner in which the forest reserves had been exploited and a
response to the continuous demands of environmental and social NGOs, as
the above named NGOCE.

An international campaign is in course aimed at supporting these
conservation efforts. Those interested in contributing to it can address
Cross River's Governor, asking him to permanently revoke WEMPCO's forest
concessions and wood processing permits, which are currently a major
threat to the state's rainforest. Hong Kong-based WEMPCO plans to log and
export hundreds of thousands of board-feet of Nigerian lumber. Indicate
that sustainable, small-scale, diversified community businesses are far
healthier for communities and their economies than cut-and-run export
schemes, and that tree monocultures absolutely cannot replace complex and
rich forest ecosystems. Your messages are to be send to:

Mr. Donald Duke
Executive Governor of Cross River State
Office of the Governor
P.M.B. 1070
Calabar, Cross River State
Nigeria

Fax: (++234) 87 239 191

Source: Global Response, 22/11/99, e-mail: globresponse@igc.org
*************
- South Africa: what are the true costs of woodlots?

What is a woodlot? Is it a patch of land planted to trees for the purpose
of supplying the fuel and timber needs of a rural community? Or is it a
small portion of a giant industrial plantation, meeting the pulp and paper
needs of first world industrial society?

An exact answer to these questions would help to erase the uncertainty
that exists in my mind. However, clear answers have not been forthcoming,
and over the past twenty years, whilst living in Zululand, I have come to
these conclusions.

The conversion of grazing or other agricultural land into Eucalyptus
plantations has been driven by the two larger timber-plantation companies
in the area. In their eagerness to obtain control of suitable land for
growing Eucalyptus, both SAPPI and Mondi embarked on a land acquisition
spree in the late 1980's. Vast areas that once consisted of hundreds of
independent, privately owned farms were purchased at what was then thought
to be excessively high prices. These high prices were motivated by
competition between the two major players and it was important to "close
the gaps" that stood in the way of consolidating these farms into vast,
mono-culture estates. This made it profitable for the last few farmers to
hold out as long as possible, while SAPPI and Mondi battled to maintain
their sources of raw material.

After acquiring the land the timber companies embarked on a course that
involved firstly, removing all former farm workers and the destruction of
worker accommodation. Even expensive farm-houses and buildings, such as
workshops and store rooms, were bull-dozed to make way for seemingly
endless tracts of gum trees (Eucalyptus species).

Where did the people who once lived on these farms go? Well, the white
farm-owners received a great deal of money and were able to move away to
comfortable homes in the midlands of KwaZulu-Natal or the Western Cape
(two provinces in South Africa) or Australia. What happened to the farm
workers is anyone's guess. Over-crowding in the tribal lands made
returning to these areas impossible. I suspect that most of them were left
with little choice but to head for the squatter settlements of Durban
(South Africa's largest harbour) or Dukuduku (an area of sub-tropical
forest adjacent to the Greater St Lucia World Heritage Site) where they
could eke out a living.

Once they had dealt with the problem of unwanted workers and buildings on
the farms that they had purchased, the timber companies were then faced
with another problem. This was the large numbers of staff that were
inherited with the acquisition of the privately owned Waterton Timbers and
Shell Forestry, (a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell), by SAPPI and Mondi
respectively. On a single day, SAPPI retrenched more than 600 workers from
its Kwa-Mbonambi operation -all in the name of "rationalisation". This
meant that the company would save a lot of money through not having to pay
benefits to permanent employees. The risks of "unionisation" and strike
action were passed on to the contractors who were appointed to supply
labour and other services at cut-throat rates. Workers, who had formerly
enjoyed all the normal benefits of permanent employment, were now reduced
to having to beg or bribe for casual jobs on a daily basis. To make
matters worse, this was in competition with desperate informal migrants
from Mozambique. Many local people simply refused to work for the offered
daily rate of R12.00 (approx. 2 US dollars).

What does all of this have to do with woodlots? Particularly woodlots on
community land which belongs to the Ngonyama Trust, representing His
Majesty, King Goodwill Zwelethini (monarch of the Zulu people)?

Woodlots, which total thousands of hectares, but have never been subjected
to planting permit applications, which the law requires.
Woodlots, which are de facto the property of the large plantation
companies, but stand on land that they have neither purchased, nor paid
any rent for.
Woodlots, grown from seedlings supplied by the timber companies concerned,
yet who refuse to take responsibility for the negative social and
environmental problems that they cause!

In the Sokhulu tribal area, situated to the north of Richards Bay, it is
quite obvious that the dominant land use is Eucalyptus plantations. How
did this come to be? Well, the answer is quite simple: Mondi had purchased
as much white owned land as was possible, between the towns of
Gingindhlovu, Babanango and Hluhluwe, yet could still not satisfy the need
for wood at their mill at Richards Bay. They had no choice but to start
looking at the community owned land in former Kwa-Zulu apartheid homeland.

The Mondi RDP (Reconstruction and Development) "woodlot" project has been
so "successful" that hardly any land at Sokhulu remains unplanted to
Eucalyptus. Poor SAPPI, desperate not to lose the supply of raw material
needed to keep it's Mandeni and Mkomazi mills going, was forced to look
further north, to the rolling grasslands of coastal Maputaland. So
desperate in fact, that they even tried their luck in southern Mozambique
- thankfully without success!

Reconstruction and Development cannot be served by removing peoples' means
to survive in the rural environment.

So what is happening? Slowly but surely more and more land is being
planted to Eucalyptus. More and more water is sucked out of the Earth, to
create wood fibre, which is exported to destinations like Japan and
Europe, at a fraction of its true cost. A "privileged" minority appears to
benefit from the sale of timber to Mondi and Sappi, but for the vast
majority of members of traditional communities it means the end to the
natural resources upon which they relied for survival. Grazing for cattle
and goats has disappeared under the spreading plantations. The loss of
surface water has ruined prospects of growing food crops and people's
traditional lifestyle has been left in tatters. Where will these people
go? Well, some may move to informal settlements around towns in the area,
but many more have moved to the squatter-cities around Durban. Here the
people can taste the benefits of "civilised society".

Breathe the rotten air, polluted by factories, freeways and landfill
sites!
Roam the streets, scratching in waste-bins and sniff glue for pleasure!
Become economically active in the lucrative crime and prostitution
industry! Give their kids Coca-Cola and GE chips for lunch.

Thank you SAPPI, thank you Mondi for your great contribution to the
Reconstruction and Development of South Africa!

It must be admitted that there are other culprits. South Africa's
Department of Water Affairs and Forestry has failed to recognise the
monstrous problems arising from the proliferation of so-called woodlots,
using nice-sounding names like "community forestry " which is hardly the
case.

By Wally Menne, Timberwatch Coalition, 8/12/99, e-mail:
plantnet@iafrica.com
*************
- Tanzania: afforestation, reforestation and the real causes of forest
destruction

Tanzania's forests are quickly disappearing and illegal commercial logging
is the main cause of the problem. Not only does the government seem unable
to address the present state of things, but forestry officials themselves
have been accused of being directly involved in the illegal timber trade.
Other suspects in the illegal timber business are timber product dealers,
private individuals, sawmillers and logging companies (see WRM Bulletin
27).

Recent news from that country say that the government has launched an
ambitious national tree planting campaign aimed at "re-greening" the
country by planting 100 million trees. To the official viewpoint, forest
destruction is particularly alarming in the rural areas where traditional
shifting cultivation and livestock keeping are practiced.

Thousands of refugees form Rwanda and Burundi have migrated to Tanzania to
escape from the situation of extreme violence resulting from the conflicts
that affect their respective countries. The authorities have recently
urged Burundian refugees in the western region of Kigoma to stop felling
trees and instead join the government's green campaign. Like their
Tanzanian hosts, the refugees rely heavily on wood fuel for their daily
energy requirements, since wood is by far the most important source of
energy in that country, as is common in Africa.

The government's initiative deserves some comments. It is not clear if the
government is envisaging a reforestation or an afforestation campaign. The
difference is essential, since the former means that areas that used to be
covered by forest will be planted with native species, aiming at the
rehabilitation of the original ecosystem, while the latter consists of the
plantation of exotic trees, usually fast-growing species. The social and
environmental consequences of the two approaches are totally different and
there is therefore a need for clarification on the matter. Secondly, the
official analysis of the causes of deforestation seems to be cleary biased
against the poor. While the emphasis is put on shifting agriculture,
grazing and the use of firewood by local people and refugees, nothing is
said about the intensification of export crop production in semiarid areas
-which has led to soil erosion and desertification processes- or about
illegal commercial logging -the main cause of deforestation in the
country- which is linked to corruption within its own agencies and
officials.

Sources: Panafrican News Agency, 29/11/99; The World Guide 1997/98.
*************
- World Bank promotes oil palm and rubber plantations in Liberia and Cote
d'Ivoire

By different means the World Bank is one of the major and most influential
promoters of the prevailing monoculture tree plantation model. The
International Finance Corporation (IFC) -a part of the World Bank Group,
whose specific task is the promotion of private sector investment in
"poor" countries- has been directly investing in projects linked to tree
plantations, for example in Kenya and Brazil.

The IFC has recently signed two agreements to fund two of these
initiatives in West Africa. One of them consists of the reopening of a
rubber company in Liberia that was shut down during the civil war, while
the other is the set up of an oil palm plantation in Cote d'Ivoire.

The Liberian Agricultural Company (LAC) will receive a loan of U$S 3.5
million to develop a rubber plantation in its 120,000 hectares estate.
Between 1961 and 1984 the company had planted rubber there in an area of
10,500 hectares, which was abandoned because of the civil war. According
to its promoters, the project will create jobs, provide health and
education, and improve rural infrastructure, benefiting 800 small holders.

The holding company of Cote d'Ivoire's leading producer of rubber -Societe
des Caoutchoucs de Grand Bereby (SOGB)- will receive a U$S 6 million IFC
loan to establish an oil palm plantation in that country. The plantation
will occupy 5,000 hectares and in a second phase of the project the
company will build a crude palm oil factory to process its production. It
has been underscored that the new plantations will avoid areas of
secondary rainforest, which SOGB has guaranteed to protect. SOGB already
operates a 15,000 hectare rubber plantation and processes rubber, mainly
for export.

The globalization of the plantation model is a reality, also regarding
rubber and oil palm production. The Compagnie Internationale de Cultures
(Intercultures), an affiliate of Societe Financiere des Caoutchoucs
(SOCFINAL S.A.), owns 75% of the Liberian Agricultural Company. SOCFINAL
is a Luxembourg holding company with agricultural, real estate, banking,
and financial interests, and major holdings in oil palm and rubber not
only in Liberia and Cote d'Ivoire, but also in Indonesia, Malaysia,
Cameroon and Nigeria. In the rubber production project in Liberia also
participates PROPARCO, the private sector lending arm of the French
development agency Agence Francaise de Developpement. At the same time
both Intercultures and PROPARCO are shareholders in SOGB.

Mr. Tei Mante, Director of IFC's Agribusiness Department, said that both
agreements would lead to more employment and higher living standards, that
they will promote exports that will earn foreign currency, while
supporting agricultural production with maximum sensitivity to the
environment. Everything sounds incredibly nice . . . but the problem is
that reality shows a completely different situation. Promises of a higher
quality of life for local dwellers, an improvement of poor countries'
economies, the respect for the environment, etc. are in blatant
contradiction with the negative consequences on people and the environment
that similar projects based on vast tree monocultures bring about with
them. The few and poor quality jobs that such projects create seldom
improve local peoples' quality of life and the environmental impacts that
large-scale tree monocultures entail result in further impoverishment of
local populations. If the World Bank is really willing to fulfil its
mandate of poverty alleviation, then it should begin to reorient its loans
to investments which create better employment opportunities than those
generated by this type of plantations.

Sources: Africa News Online, 19/11/99, http://www.africanews.org
WRM Plantations campaign,
http://www.wrm.org.uy/english/plantations/material/WB.htm
*************
ASIA

- Indonesia: new legislation, old problems

Intentional fires, tree monoculture plantations and mining are direct
causes of deforestation in Indonesia. Additionally, indigenous peoples
traditional rights over their territories are ignored. As a result, the
country's once vast and luxurious forests are vanishing and, according to
two recent independent studies, deforestation rate is faster than what the
authorities are used to admitting. A World Bank research, based on map
studies, and issued last July estimates an annual forest loss of 1.5
million hectares during the last two decades. The results obtained by a
research performed by the UK government-funded Regional Physical Planning
Programme for Transmigration reveal similar figures to the previous one.
Nowadays only 19.5 million hectares out of the 47 million hectares of
forests that Indonesia had in 1996 remain unlogged. The paper points out
that illegal logging is so serious a problem that most areas will not
recover sufficiently to allow a second cutting cycle.

In such context, urgent action to address the problem is essential, but
the government's response is not only totally inadequate, but even paves
the way for further forest destruction. In the final period of President
Habibie's interim regime a Forestry Act (Nr. 4/1999) was passed to
substitute the previous 1967 Basic Forestry Law. Indonesian NGOs, IPOs,
and academics consider that the new legislation is no advance to protect
the country's forests and forest peoples. During the consultation process
prior to its approval, civil society spokespersons had already expressed
their opposition to the draft's content and to the process itself, arguing
that it should have been more open and democratic.

The 1999 Forestry Act does not recognise the rights or protect the
interests of forest peoples, which are named as "communities with
customary laws" and not indigenous peoples. In this regard it is even
worse that the 1960 Basic Agrarian Law, since it explicitly includes
customary lands within state forests, which means that they can be granted
as concessions to private or state-owned companies. Participation of
communities is limited to guarding forests and reforestation programmes
but nothing is mentioned about decision-making. Restrictions imposed to
local communities for the use of forest resources are enormous what makes
difficult for them to continue with their traditional land use practices.

Some positive aspects of the new Law -as the acknowledgement of the role
of NGOs in monitoring forest developments, education programmes and
reforestation- are not essential and do not change the general approach of
the government, that refuses to address the underlying causes of
deforestation and forest degradation in the country, and to give place to
a democratic process regarding not only forest management but also the
fate of the people who live in them and have been the real guardians of
the forest.

Source: Down to Earth Nr. 43, November 1999, e-mail: dte@gn.apc.org
*************
- Malaysia: certification against peoples' rights in Sarawak

Several NGOs -among them the Borneo Resources Institute (BRIMAS), Sahabat
Alam Malaysia (Friends of the Earth), SACCESS, Keruan Association
Sarawak, Centre for Orang Asli Concerned (COAC) and EPSM/CETDEM- took part
at the first consultative meeting of the Malaysian National Timber
Certification Council (NTCC) which took place from 18-21 October, 1999, in
Kuala Lumpur.

Even if the majority of the participants were representatives of timber
companies and associations and Forest Department officials, the
representatives of civil society were able to express their viewpoints on
the issue.

According to the organizers of the meeting, the primary objective of
certification is to attain sustainable forest management (SFM) and the
implementation process is through the establishment of the Forest
Management Unit (FMU) and further, the land areas within the FMU has to be
recognised as a permanent forest estate (PFE). In Sarawak, the
establishment of a permanent forest estate -which comprises Forest Reserve
and Protected Forest- requires the extinguishment of Native Customary
Rights over the land affected. Local dwellers would only conserve their
right to collect forest products for domestic purposes, subject to the
control of the Forest Department. The NGOs expressed their opposition to
this criteria and said that they would not endorse the proposed Malaysian
Criteria and Indicators for certification (MC&I).

In Malaysia, as well as in several Southern countries where communal
rights on land are recognised, it is clear that forest conservation is
strongly linked to the recognition of traditional rights on the land to
local communities and indigenous peoples, which have proved to perform
sustainable practices. On the contrary, the State administration
frequently paves the way to indiscriminate logging, commercial
plantations, mining and other depredatory activities with cause the
degradation and the destruction of the forests.

The NGOs present at the meeting circulated the following Position
Statement dated October 21st:

"In principle, we fully support the concept and implementation of
certification through the process of MC&I to achieve sustainable
management in Malaysia.

However, the attainment of sustainable forest management and the
establishment of the Forest Management Unit (FMU) of which the process of
the proposed MC&I can be implemented, ignores the native customary rights
and privileges of the local communities to enable their meaningful
participation.

The establishment of the FMU requires the constitution of Permanent Forest
Estate (PFE), the consequence of which, by virtue of the Sarawak Forest
Ordinance explicitly extinguishes the natives' customary rights and
privileges of the local indigenous communities over their land and
resources thereon. Therefore, the process of the MC&I is unable to provide
for the protection of the rights and privileges of the local communities
and to provide for meaningful participation of these local communities.

We henceforth propose that certification in Sarawak be deferred pending
the resolution of the above mentioned matter."

Malaysia, and the state of Sarawak in particular, have long been the focus
of attention and concern regarding the unsustainable exploitation of
forests. ITTO studies of the present decade have shown that log production
levels in Sarawak are consistently much higher than the ones ITTO itself
recommends as sustainable. Additionally, it has to be pointed out that in
a broader vision of sustainability -which includes not only technical but
also cultural and social aspects- the unsustainability of such practices
would be irrrefutable. The development of certification systems has been a
response to the consumers' demand for forest products produced in a
sustainable manner. Certification should offer an assurance of
environmentally sound, socially beneficial and economically viable
management of forests. This means that no certification would be possible
for Sarawak's forests unless present conditions radically change.

Sources: Borneo Resources Institute (BRIMAS), 12/11/99, e-mail:
brimas@tm.net.my bri@tm.net.my http://www.fern.org/fmonitor/sara.htm
************
- Malaysia: the "progress" brought by the Bakun dam in Sarawak

For years the Bakun Dam Project has aroused great concern among
environmental and social NGOs and indigenous peoples' organizations in
Sarawak and worldwide, which have opposed this megaproject since it is
detrimental to Sarawak's remaining primary forests that lie in the
catchment area and to the indigenous people that inhabit them (see WRM
Bulletins 2, 9 and 24).

The forced resettlement of the Bakun residents -which sum about 10,000
indigenous people belonging to 15 longhouses- is another negative
consequence of this "development" project. Together with the
extinguishment of their Native Customary Rights over their ancestral
lands, thousands of indigenous peoples from the Kayan, Kenyah, Lahanan,
Ukit and Penan ethnic groups have been uprooted from their homes and
resettled in Asap, about 30 kilometres from the dam site.

Not only the traditional cultivation systems of the indigenous peoples
have completely disappeared -since each family has been given just a small
plot to work on- but also arbitrariness and irregularities reign regarding
the government's promise of compensation for their lost lands. Many of
them claim that they have been grossly undercompensated or of not having
received any money at all. Moreover, most of the compensations did not
even reach the price of the new modest houses they are now obliged to live
in. Even low cost houses in other parts of the country are much cheaper
and higher quality. Additionally, instead of involving the natives in the
construction of the new homes, Bucknalls -a UK based multinational- was
contracted to build the longhouses and infrastructures. Last but not least
the "modern" village lacks completely adequate infrastructure regarding
roads, waste disposal and schools.

With this resettlement the indigenous communities have lost their land and
are in a rapid process of aculturisation produced by the conversion of
their self-sustainable economy into a full cash economy. At the same time
their land and forests -which have been their home for centuries- will end
by being submerged by the Bakun megaproject. Can we call this "progress"?

Source: Mohamed Idris, Sahabat Alam Malaysia, 26/11/99; e-mail:
sahabat_alam_malaysia@yahoo.com
*************
- Philippines: remaining mangroves under siege

Only 3% of the dense rainforests that once existed in The Philippines is
still standing and less than 1% of the former forest is still in a
pristine state (see WRM Bulletin 27). The Province of Aurora, which
comprises a strip of land between the Sierra Madre mountains and the
Pacific Ocean, is an exception, because unlike most of the country, it
still maintains over 50% of its original forest cover, even some as
primary forests. Along the coastline there are 430 hectares of mangroves.
The area is also home of the Dumagat and the Igorot indigenous peoples and
shelters some endangered species.

In the early 1990s, the shrimp farm Diapitan Resources Development
Corporation (DRDC) began to operate in the area. Its intensive operational
system -which comprises high stocking densities, concrete ponds, water
pumping, feeding with pellets and application of chemicals and chlorine-
have provoked concern among the residents of the villages of Masagana and
Maligaya. Already in September 1997 they presented a complaint in relation
to the environmental impact of DRCD's activities, such as salinization of
groundwater in wells which provide fresh water to the towns, skin
irritations suffered by mangrove fishers who gather shellfish near the
shrimp farm, fish kills and deformities attributed to chemical pollution,
severe reduction in fish catch near the shore, coral deaths due to
deposition of pond sludge, and alteration of river banks, limiting access
of artisanal fishing boats and causing flooding during heavy rains.

Nevertheless, the company is planning to expand its shrimp farming
activities to the adjacent municipality of Casiguran. This is the third
site that DRDC has tried to develop. Their first option to expand their
present site in Dilasag had to be abandoned due to the strong opposition
of local residents, and the permission for the second target area -a
proposed marine protected area in Casapsapan Bay- was denied by the local
government. A coalition of environmental NGOs and concerned people -called
Aurora Support Group- has been formed to protect these mangroves and to
avoid the expansion of DRDC in the area.

Industrial shrimp farming does not only provoke negative environmental
impacts, but also social ones. Although shrimp farms promise employment
and improved living standards for local communities, this is seldom the
case. In The Philippines, detailed studies of two communities in Iloilo
and Aklan, in the central region of the country, have shown that local
dwellers do not receive any benefit from this activity. Only low-paid,
unskilled jobs are available to local people, while managerial and
technical posts go to outsiders, and profits to the owners and
shareholders of the company. Additionally, small-scale fishers lose their
livelihood as mangroves are cut and marine resources degraded.

National legislation recognises the ecological, social and economic
importance of mangroves. Their cutting is banned and moreover, a mangrove
greenbelt along rivers and facing seas and oceans is required by various
laws. However, as in this case, reality differs very much from what the
law states.

For more information on the issue, please visit Industrial Shrimp Action
Network's web site:
www.shrimpaction.org

Source: Late Friday News, 50th Ed., 25/11/99.
*************
- Sri Lanka: politics in forests

Forests are trees. Forests are biodiversity. Forests are wildlife. Forests
are lands. Moreover, forests are politics. Development is clearing of
forests. Conservation means more and more consultancies. Protection means
a wider and wider gap between the forest and the communities. Regarding
the forest issue, the context in Sri Lanka is not much different from this
reality.

The recent development initiatives promoted by the government aimed to
open the country's economy will be very destructive to the forest in
general. Aquaculture development projects have already destroyed about
4000 hectares of our mangroves since 1989. According to a survey performed
in 1982 we had only 8000 hectares of mangroves left. Although we were not
able to stop aquaculture in the north western province, since 1994 we have
managed to stop aquaculture development in the southern province.

A number of "development" projects which implied the clearing of 8000
hectares of forest to give place to a baby-corn plantation in Balaharuwa,
in the Uva province in 1998, the logging of 25000 hectares of similar
forests in the Monaragala district of the same province in 1997, the
destruction of 5000 hectares of another forest for a pineapple plantation
in Bibila, in Madagama also at Uva province in 1991, and the clearing of
2000 hectares of forest for "Rambutan" plantation, were stopped as a
result of successful protests carried out by environmental groups and the
public against those depleting activities.

Attempts are currently being made to allocate lands in national parks
among the government's political supporters within the framework of the
forthcoming presidential elections. The subdivision of 1200 hectares of
forest in Lunugamwehera National Park, 800 hectares from Wasgomuwa
National Park and 500 hectares from Ritigala Strict Nature Reserve are
major cases which have generated heavy protests.

The government which ruled the country from 1970 to 1977 is responsible
for the clearing of both dry zone and humid zone forests which affected
about 77000 hectares of the virgin Sinharaja Forests. As a result of the
protest against this destruction, the project was stopped, but the
infrastructure already established for the destruction of the forest
allowed the people involved in the project to continue carrying out their
activities with the government's support until 1988.

A forestry sector Master Plan was prepared by the Finnish "cooperation"
agency FINNIDA in 1986. The plan suggested that all the dry zone forests
-which are about 800-1000 years old- should be harvested. The plan also
stated that many humid zone forests did not play any essential role and
needed no protection, since Sri Lanka would get the monsoon rains twice a
year even without forests. Environmental groups, among which the
Environmental Foundation, protested so strongly that they were able to
stop World Bank funding support for the proposal. Moreover, in 1988 the
government declared a logging ban which is still in force.

The second Forestry Master Plan process started in the year 1991 and after
a 5 year process, a document was published. But nowadays it has become a
white elephant. Even if a new forest policy was adopted in 1995, the
current activities show that reality completely differs from what is
established by the law.

A recent proposal of the Asian Development Bank recommends the setting up
of tree plantations in an area of 1000 hectares, and the creation of joint
ventures for commercial logging. These joint ventures will be provided all
kinds of concessions, including facilities to import the latest equipment
for logging and for processing machinery, such as new timber mills. About
one third of the ADB funds under this proposal have been allocated for the
commercial forest management component, which comprises both forests and
plantations. It is the most recent initiative for the promotion of
commercial forestry in Sri Lanka.

The logging ban established by the governement is being evaded by illegal
logging. Politicians, bureaucrats and many powerful people are behind the
mafia which rules it. Every day more than 75 lorries transporting
roundwood come from Monoragala District, where most of the forests are
available today. This mafia operates with the support of the local
government officers and the forest officers.

Every now and then the government reacts, and adopts absurd steps to solve
the problem of the illegal felling of trees, trying to turn it into a
legal activity. For example, the Jack tree -a fruit tree- is protected
under the food act, and felling it has always been considered an offence.
Nevertheless, last year the government removed this law. Just after this,
more than 100,000 jack trees were felled within a month's time. When the
government reacted and regazetted the law, the damage was already done.

For many politicians and bureaucrats forests are just trees and lands.
But for communities forests are water, air, food, shelter, medicine, and
providers of other basic needs. Therefore what Sri Lanka needs is a
forestry sector which respects the communities and their lifestyles. We
cannot achieve this until we get away from the current dominating
bureaucracy, politics and consultancies.

By Hemantha Withanage; Environmental Foundation, Sri Lanka e-mail:
hemantha@ef.is.lk
*************
CENTRAL AMERICA

- Costa Rica: environmentally or industrially-friendly forest management?

In the Region Huetar Norte of Costa Rica, the forest area has been reduced
to the lowlands of the San Juan River on the border with Nicaragua. What
used to be a vast tropical forest that occupied more than 200,000 hectares
has been reduced to a mere 30,000 hectares of fragmented forests, most of
which severely logged. Unlike what happens in other regions of the
country, in Huetar Norte there are no protected areas, all the remaining
forests are categorized as wood production forests, and the region's
biodiversity is in the hands of forestry management plans. A preliminary
study of biodiversity in that area, performed by COECOCEIBA (Friends of
the Earth - Costa Rica), identified 141 tree species per hectare,
including only those individuals having diameters over 10 centimetres.
Such figures indicate that this is one of the most biodiversity rich
forests in the country. Additionally, 25 endangered tree species at the
national or global level were found, 5 out of which are considered in
danger of extinction in Costa Rica. The area is also well known for the
existence of the parrot "lapa verde" (Ara ambigua), a bird whose
population has been decreasing together with the forest area, and nowadays
consists of just a few scores of reproductive couples.

Huetar Norte has been one of the major wood producers for domestic use. It
has been estimated that no less than 30% of wood consumption in Costa Rica
during the last 15 years was supplied by the forest resources of this
region. In spite of this, the region is characterized by rural poverty,
lack of job opportunities and education, and youth migration in search of
a better future.

Nowadays logging is tending to decrease especially because of the shortage
of wood. Additionally, according to the new forest management system,
post-harvest treatments are being applied which destroy seedlings and even
some "non desirable" trees, to favour conditions for the growth of a few
commercial species. The basic idea is to standardize the forest, by
simplifying its composition so that it becomes something similar to a
plantation. A study also performed by COECOCEIBA in one site of the region
concluded that some 20 trees per hectare had been purposely destroyed -by
killing the standing tree- and that a total of 19 species were affected in
this manner. Two of those species are considered to be endangered and one
is considered to be a "new" species for science.

The issue is especially serious taking into account that such practices
are being financed by official funds devoted to the payment of
environmental services for the conservation of forests. Such funds are a
kind of incentive offered by the government to the owners of the woodlands
with the aim of promoting environmentally friendly management practices
regarding biodiversity and the capacity of forests to store carbon.

Several environmental NGOs -among them COECOCEIBA- are working together
with peasants' organizations to develop alternative forest management
practices, with would mean more benefits to local people and local
development, and at the same time the respect of natural rhythms,
biodiversity and natural conditions of these rich forests. They have also
been denouncing and putting pressures to curb the prevailing forest
management practices in the region.

By: Javier Baltodano, COECOCEIBA, 20/11/99; e-mail: jbaltodas@hotmail.com
*************
SOUTH AMERICA

- Bolivia: the government legalises what is illegal

Bolivian social organizations, trade unions, IPOs and environmental NGOs
have strongly condemned and taken actions to face a recent governmental
decree, which in fact guarantees the activities of illegal logging
performed by depredatory companies to the detriment of the country's
forests and their people.

Decree 25561 issued on October 27th legalises the wood illegally cut in
communal lands belonging to indigenous peoples and in protected areas.
This step is in blatant contradiction with the Forestry Law, whose
objective is to achieve sustainable use of forests, their protection and
the harmonisation of social, economic and ecological interests to the
benefit of the country. The Law states very clearly that the use and trade
of forest resources without previous permission obtained from the
authority in charge is to be considered a crime.

However, the new decree authorizes the Forestry Department to tax the
illegally cut wood, which thereafter becomes "legal". As a result, illegal
logging will receive the same treatment as logging carried out in a legal
manner, whereby the government itself can be seen as promoting illegal
activities. The only logical explanation -though there may be others less
so- seems to be that the government is accepting its inability to prevent
illegal logging and that its only "solution" is to tax crime. If such is
the case, then this is -for the forests and its people- the worse possible
option.

Fuente: Foro Boliviano sobre Medio Ambiente y Desarrollo (FOBOMADE),
18/11/99; email: fobomade@mail.megalink.com
************
- Brazil: say what they say, Monte Pascoal belongs to the Pataxo

Nearly fifty years after their traditional lands were taken over and much
of their population decimated by military forces, the Pataxo indigenous
people decided to recover them and took over Monte Pascoal National Park
last August (see WRM Bulletin 28).

The Pataxo are now threatened by eviction, after a local judge ruled on 17
November that the National Park must be returned to the Brazilian
Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (IBAMA). No date
has yet been established for the eviction, but the Pataxo have vowed to
resist it and disseminated a statement to the Brazilian people and
authorities, declaring that Monte Pascoal is their sacred territory and
that they "won't accept any decision, negotiation or proposal which
implies their withdrawal from the area." They demand the return of the
Working Group which was carrying out the studies for the demarcation of
the Pataxo's territory and whose activities were suddenly stopped at the
beginning of November. At the same time, they express their concern over a
possible violent eviction and call on the government "to guarantee the
personal safety of our families."

The judicial decision is yet another proof -nearing the celebration of the
500 years of the "discovery" of Brazil- that the Brazilian government
continues disregarding the right of the indigenous peoples to return to
their traditional territories. If the judicial decision is enforced, the
government of President Fernando Henrique Cardoso will be ratifying the
1951 massacre of the Pataxo, which paved the way for the creation of the
Monte Pascoal National Park. Many indigenous people were then murdered and
the rest were forced to escape to save their lives. Since then, the
survivors were forced to live in humiliation and misery.

History seems to repeat itself. As in the past, the Pataxo have all the
rights, while the current government -as the Portuguese 500 years ago- has
the power. As the Pataxo say, the collective memory of our people and the
historical documents prove the justice of our struggle to recover Monte
Pascoal." Whatever the "legal" system says to justify the unjustifiable,
Monte Pascoal belongs to the Pataxo.

Source: CIMI, 2/12/99, e-mail: cimies@aranet.com.br
************
- Brazil: will forest destruction be sponsored by the law?

As everybody knows, Brazil is one of the richests countries in the world
regarding forests. Additionally to the Amazon, whose major area is located
in the Brazilian territory, there are in Brazil other valuable forest
ecosystems, such as the mata atlantica and the cerrado, or ecosystems with
an important presence of trees, as the pantanal and the caatinga. In spite
of that, as everybody also knows, forest biodiversity in that country is
seriously menaced by a seemingly uncontrollable process of plundering and
destruction.

In several international fora on environment and development, the
Brazilian authorities have tried to appear as championing the cause of
Southern countries. Nevertheless, its position regarding domestic issues
is completely different. Last November 23 the government presented to the
National Congress a Forestry Act bill which, if passed, would further
increase the already serious process of deforestation and forest
degradation which affects the country. The project was presented openly
ignoring the authority of the Technical Committee of CONAMA (National
Environmental Council), which had been specifically created to review the
1965 Forestry Act, and which aimed at making democratic participation of
all stakeholders possible. The government has instead opted to take the
shortcut and has made an agreement with the powerful National Agricultural
Council (Consejo Nacional de Agricultura) which represents the big
landowners.

Among the changes introduced by the new project, the following can be
highlighted: agricultural plots of less than 20 hectares are not obliged
to maintain a forest reserve area, which means the future death of the
scanty remains of the mata atlantica forest, most of which are distributed
in less than 20-hectare patches; eucalyptus and pine plantations in small
plots in the Amazon and the Pantanal regions are considered "forest
reserves"; woodlands can be converted to agriculture without previous
permission of the environmental authority. Those changes are not only
detrimental to the forest heritage of the country, but also strengthen the
already hegemonic lobby of big landowners, whose actions are linked to the
worse of Brazil's political, social and environmental history. The murder
of Chico Mendes, whose anniversary is remembered once again this December,
is perhaps the most well-known, though not the unique, example.
Unfortunately, the Brazilian government seems more interested in counting
on the support of the National Agricultural Council -formed by a few but
very powerful people- than in protecting the country's ecosystems and its
people.

The project has been halted in Parliament as a result of the rapid action
of environmental NGOs and to the position adopted by the opposition party.
Nevertheless, it is feared that the Forestry Act bill can be passed in the
near future. If you want to collaborate to avoid that, you are invited to
visit:
http://www.socioambiental.org/noticias/brasil/campanha.html
where you can endorse a letter addresed to the president of Brazil, the
Minister of the Environment and representatives of Brazilian political
parties in parliament.

Source: Sandra Tosta Faillace, 29/11/99; e-mail: sandra@ax.apc.org
************
- Colombia: the U'wa people do not surrender

In a new chapter of their seemingly endless struggle to defend their land
rights, a group of two hundred U'wa indigenous people -including women,
children and tribal elders- established on November 14 a permanent
settlement at the site of Occidental Petroleum's planned oil well
Gibraltar 1. Their aim is to block the drilling planned to begin operating
in the near future, thus avoiding that their Mother Earth be profaned.
Hundreds of more U'wa and other supporters are expected to continue
arriving to the settlement in upcoming days to reinforce this action.
Tribal leaders consider that this permanent settlement is a necessary
action to block the drilling after legal battles and direct appeals to the
company and the government have failed to date.

On November 16th, the Second U'wa Audience for Life was held in Bogota,
attended by a large number of U'wa and more than 100 delegates of national
and international organizations of indigenous peoples, environmentalists,
black communities and social groups who support them. On the following
day, a large demonstration which began at the National University of
Colombia and went to the headquarters of the Ministry of the Environment
took place, where the representatives of the U'wa demanded once again
President Andres Pastrana and the Minister of the Environment, Juan Mayr,
the immediate cancellation of oil exploration in the Samore area. Until
now, the authorities have turned a deaf ear to the U'wa's demand. After
countless meetings with the environmental authorities to discuss this
problem, the U'wa have now refused to participate in the so called
Environmental Alliance for Colombia, to which the government is
summoning. "It is not more than the government's farce to obtain resources
under the name of the environmental emergencies of the country, while its
actions show contempt or violent solutions to the environmental
conflicts" states a declaration of the U'wa leaders.

Sources: Patrick Reinsborough, RAN, 19/11/99, e-mail: rags@ran.org; Censat
Agua Viva, 23/11/99, e-mail: censat@colnodo.apc.org
*************
- Colombia: the Embera Katio's struggle for life

The Urra hydroelectric dam megaproject on the Sinu River, at the Cordoba
Department in the Atlantic region of Colombia has provoked concern and
resistance since its very start in 1977. The Embera Katio indigenous
people, ancestral dwellers of the affected area, who live on fishing and
hunting, and whose livelihoods and existence are severely menaced by this
project are fighting an unequal battle against both the company Urra and
the Colombian government which openly supports it. More than 7,000
hectares of forests will be flooded by the dam reservoir of the projected
dam, whose total cost will reach the sum of U$S 800 million.

In spite of the conclusions of two decisions of the Constitutional High
Court of Colombia, the filling up of URRA 1 dam on the Sinu River began
last 20 November, following Resolution 0965 of the Ministry of the
Environment.

This situation constitutes both an environmental catastrophe and a
genocide. Downstream from the dam, the river level has already decreased
dramatically, resulting in the collapse of the river's banks and the
entailing destruction of the peoples' houses. The most valuable fish for
the Embera's diet -a species called "bocachico"- is massively dying in the
suddenly drying wetlands. At the same time, the Embera Katio indigenous
peoples living upstream are powerless to prevent the flooding of their
fields, sacred sites, cemeteries and houses, with the consequent
destruction of their traditional culture.

The violation of the indigenous peoples' environmental rights is
accompanied by that of their and their supporters' human rights. Many of
such violations have ocurred since the starting of project in 1977. Most
of the more prominent opponents of the project -Embera Katio leaders,
fishermen representatives, scientists and intellectuals, advisers of the
indigenous people- have been either murdered, threatened or forced into
exile.

Almost two hundred Embera Katio have begun a 700-kilometer march on foot
to Bogota from the Alto Sinu area to demand the immediate suspension of
the dam works and to protest against the permanent insecurity and violence
that menaces them. Another group of 40 Embera Katio families, composed by
some 200 women, men and children, moved to an area facing imminent
flooding by the Urra 1 hydroelectric dam and began settling in for a
long-term occupation to accompany the 20 families who have been
traditionally living in the site. Another 50 families are expected to join
them. The Embera Katio are also asking supporters from outside their
community to participate in the occupation.

The Embera Katio indigenous peoples, together with the communities of
fisherfolk and farmers living in the Sinu River basin are asking for
solidarity and request supporters to publicly denounce these facts to the
Colombian authorities, urging them to immediately stop the works in
accordance with the two relevant decisions of the Constitutional Court,
and to undertake the necessary steps to effectively protect biodiversity
and indigenous peoples' rights in Colombia.

You can send your messages to:

President Andres Pastrana
Casa Presidencial
Bogota, Colombia
fax : 0057 1 334 19 40
e mail: pastrana@gov.co

Environment Minister Juan Mayr
fax : 0057 1 2889892
or : 0057 1 2889788
e mail : Jmayr@Minamb.Gov.Co

Source: Global Response, 29/11/99 and 9/12/99; e-mail:globresponse@igc.org
*************
- Chile: under the shadow of Pinochet

The "success" of the Chilean forestry model -based on pine and eucalyptus
monocultures- was based on a combination of the appropriation of the
Mapuche indigenous people's lands and ruthless repression. Now, when the
old dictator is under arrest in England, his shadow is still present in
the democratically-elected government, which seems unable -or unwilling-
to repair the injustices committed during the dictatorship years.

The Mapuche have been forced to fight for their rights, mostly against the
forestry companies which received from Pinochet -for peanuts- the land
which righteously belonged to the indigenous communities. Those lands were
planted with tree monocultures and the Chilean forestry model was then
exported as a success story throughout the region. But now the model is
being challenged as unsustainable, both from a social and an environmental
point of view. In such scenario, the Mapuche have become the major actors
in the struggle against the model.

"A Forestal Mininco estate has been occupied by the Mapuche." "Forestal
Bosques Arauco's plantation taken over by Mapuche." Such are the almost
daily headlines in Chilean newspapers. The tactic adopted by the Mapuche
is to occupy estates during the day and to abandon them at night, only to
return on the following morning to that or to another estate within their
territory. In some cases, they have implemented what they call "productive
occupation", which implies the cutting of the trees and the sowing of
potatoes. Repression has followed, as in the -good?- old days of Pinochet.

President Eduardo Frei himself showed a certain similarity with his former
predecesor Pinochet, when the leader of the Council of all the Lands
-Aucan Huilcaman- was arrested for trying to deliver a letter to the
President during his visit to the city of Valdivia in Southern Chile. The
incident occurred after the police prevented the entry of a delegation of
representatives of Mapuche communities involved in the occupation of
estates to a public meeting headed by President Frei. The letter simply
requested a commitment from the President to take into account the demands
for land of indigenous families in Southern Chile. As Aucan Huilcaman said
later, "this is institutionalized discrimination, where people are
prevented to participate at a public meeting only because of being
Mapuche." He then added: "the process to recover the land will continue in
spite of all the actions aimed at frightening us."

Source: Equipo Nizkor, 14 December 1999. email: nizkor@teleline.es
*************
- Ecuador: the future of the Chachi indigenous people and their forests

Mache-Chindul rainforests and mangroves, located in the Province of
Esmeraldas in the Ecuadorian Pacific region hold high levels of
biodiversity. Additionally, this province is a multicultural complex
formed by different ethnic groups -indigenous, black and "mestizos", as
the Chachi, the Emperas, the Awa, Afro-Esmeraldian population and landless
peasants who arrived there as colonists expelled from other regions of the
country. For about three decades the province has been suffering a
deforestation and forest degradation process: in 1958 there were 2,750,000
hectares of forests and nowadays only 500,000 remain, having the rest been
transformed into agricultural or pasture lands.

The forests of Mache-Chindul are part of these relicts, most of which are
located in the indigenous Chachi territory, occupying an area of some
18,000 hectares. The communities of San Salvador, Balzar and Chorrera
Grande, together with more than 30 scattered colonists' settlements live
there. When the first Chachi families arrived there, in the decade of
1930, the area was completely void. Until the end of the 60s the Chachi
lived in relative isolation, using the rivers for transportation, and
developing sustainable production practices based on shifting agriculture,
hunting, fishing, handicraft production and the gathering of products from
the forest.

A colonization process started in the decade of 1970, being its agents the
poor peasants displaced from their original lands. Later on, the situation
increasingly worsened because of the expansion of banana cultivation,
logging and further land invasions. The ensuing confrontation over land
was very violent and on June 22 1988 the Chachi Lorenzo Anapa was
murdered. As time went by the situation became more and more serious. On
August 7 this year another murder occurred: that of a Chachi youth
-Norberto Anapa de la Cruz- from the community of San Salvador to the
hands of still unidentified colonists which had invaded the indigenous
territory. Additionally, it has been denounced that displaced peasants
from the neighbouring Province of Manabi are harassing members of the
Chachi communities by destroying their crops, stealing their cattle and
even assaulting them in the roads of the area.

This situation of every day violence that the Chachi are undergoing is not
just the sum of isolated events. From the beginning of the present decade
they are suffering an aculturization process caused by their forced
integration into the commercial circuit, which has led them to increase
use pressure on their forests. At the same time, the continuous advance of
land invasion and colonization has undermined their material basis of
existence and weakened their traditional way of life.

In Ecuador successive governments have completely disregarded the
protection of the environment and natural resources as well as the
safeguard of indigenous peoples. The Chachi have also been abandoned to
their fate. Direct and indirect causes that give way by this state of
affairs are not addressed and no steps are taken to halt the violence that
the Chachi have been suffering for years. Only initiatives from civil
society have been undertaken in order to make coexistence possible between
colonists and indigenous peoples -both victims of the present situation-
in a framework of sustainability. Nevertheless, such efforts are not
enough and will not work if the authorities continue to ignore the
problem.

To express your solidarity with the struggle of the Chachi people you can
address the following Ecuadorian authorities, asking them to put an end to
the present situation and to investigate the recent murder:

Crnl. E.M.
Juan Anibal Avila Hidalgo
Esmeraldas, Ecuador
Fax: (593 6) 720 758 o 727 371

Dr.
Wladimir Alvarez
Ministro de Gobierno
Republica del Ecuador
Quito
Fax: (593 2) 580 067

Sources: Domingo Paredes, 26/11/99 y 12/12/99, e-mail:
DPAREDES@natura.ecuanex.net.ec
http://www.wrm.org.uy/english/u_causes/regional/l_america/ecuador_estudio.html
*************
OCEANIA

- Papua New Guinea: the struggle of the Maisin indigenous people

Papua New Guinea still contains one of the major tropical rainforests in
the world, hosting high levels of biodiversity. Together with the
government's policy regarding forests -which considers them as a mere
source of roundwood to be exported- and its collusion with powerful
forestry companies (see WRM Bulletin 22), the activities of foreign
logging companies constitute a threat to these rich ecosystems and to the
people that inhabit them.

Since forests are home of millions of indigenous peoples, it is usually
them who face the intruders which, in the name of "development" and
generally with the explicit or implicit support of the authorities, try to
take over their land and resources. After the clearcut of the forest,
monoculture tree plantations are often established. This is also the case
in Papua New Guinea.

The Maisin indigenous people are now fighting for a rainforest located
inland from the coast of a Pacific Ocean island in the eastern region of
the Papua New Guinean archipelago. The Maisin have traditionally cleared
patches of forest for their crops and hunted wild animals to get their
protein supply within the forest canopy. From the forests they also obtain
building materials, medicines, and fresh water. "The forest is our
livelihood. It's also our inheritance that our Maisin landowner
forefathers have passed on to us," says John Wesley Vaso, a Maisin
landowner. Their opponent is a big Malaysian company which claims having a
valid lease and permits to clearcut the forest in the area, and
immediately after establish an oil palm plantation. The company says that
the new activity will mean the creation of many jobs for both logging
activities and the planting and maintenance of the oil palm crop.

However, the forest dwellers do not believe in these false promises of
economic development and welfare. They prefer to keep their forest
standing and their small scale economy, based on traditional agriculture
and hunting, and the selling of betel nuts, while at the same time not
losing control over their land and livelihoods. Additionally, Malaysian
logging companies are well known for their negative performance regarding
forest resources and indigenous peoples that inhabit them, not only in
their own country -which is the world's largest tropical timber producer-
but also abroad. Their depredatory activities in the Brazilian Amazon is
perhaps the clearest example of this.

Since under the country's constitution indigenous peoples are legal owners
of their traditional lands, the Maisin have started a legal action against
the company. They filed a lawsuit that has worked its way up to Papua New
Guinea's highest court, and managed to stop until now the company's
activities. Even if the final outcome of their lawsuit could be months
away and new difficulties will appear since they have almost exhausted the
financial resources they raised to pay for the legal process, their
successful action has been considered an example that in the future can be
followed by other indigenous peoples affected by this kind of abuses
against their environmental and human rights.

Source: Glenn R. Barry, 26/11/99, e-mail:
gbarry@students.wisc.students.edu World Rainforest Movement & Forest
Monitor, High Stakes. The need to control transnational logging companies:
a Malaysian case study, August 1998.

************** PLANTATIONS CAMPAIGN
*************
- Plantations' impacts are always social

Impacts of tree monocultures are usually analysed under two broad
headings: environmental and social. The former involves impacts on water,
soil, biodiversity and landscape, while the latter includes social and
economic impacts. Though useful as an analytical tool, such division can
however hide the fact that all impacts are -in the short or in the long
run- social, since it is local people who live nearby plantations or who
are displaced by them who suffer the consequences.

When tree monocultures cause a deficit in the hydrological cycle this is
not just a negative figure in the water balance, which naturally will
affect natural attributes of the ecosystem, but a shortage in the water
supply for local people, for whom it is an essential resource for
drinking, agriculture, cattle raising, fishing. When the soil is eroded or
its fertility levels decrease under plantations, it means that the future
alternative use of the land is under threat. When the populations of plant
and animal species are altered in their number and composition it is not
just something to be registered in a species census. It means that
gathering and hunting to provide food and other needs for local people
will diminish or even that important imbalances can occur, giving rise to
pest outbreaks that will affect local peoples' crops and animals.

The above and other aspects related to impacts of and resistance to
plantations were addressed in a presentation made recently by WRM's
International Coordinator in Ecuador at a seminar held in the framework of
the Friends of the Earth General Assembly. The complete presentation will
be soon available in our web site at:
http://www.wrm.org.uy/english/plantations/material/books.htm
*************
- Aracruz: the naked emperor

Because of Aracruz Celulose's move to apply for FSC certification for its
eucalyptus plantations in the state of Bahia -avoiding at the same time
the polemic issue of the dispossesion of Guarani and Tupinikim's lands as
a consequence of the company's plantations in the neighbouring state of
Espirito Santo- a large number of concerned organizations and individuals
held a seminar last October in Vitoria, Espirito Santo, to analyse this
menacing scenario. Given that the certifying firm SCS had not complied
with a number of FSC's requirements for participation and consultation, on
October 22 they addressed a letter to the questioning the partial
certification process and requesting the postponement of the consultation
meetings (see WRM Bulletin 28).

The postponement of the firm's planned field audit during the first weeks
of November shows that once again the certification process has been
delayed, which seems to show that civil society pressure has been
successful at least until now. Nevertheless, the fact that SCS has not
given any answer to the letter is generating unrest. It remains unclear
who decided to delay the process, what is the opinion of FSC-Brasil about
the situation, and what is to be expected in the near future.

Resistance to Aracruz's activities continues. In Bahia, where the company
wants the FSC-certification, various organizations are already registering
in photos, videos, and interviews a number impacts of its activities.
Various impacts caused by Aracruz plantations in Espirito Santo have
already been documented and more work is being done in this regard. A new
letter to SCS as well as to FSC-Brasil is also being prepared.

Within this framework, Aracruz continues trying to convince public opinion
and authorities that its plantation activities do not cause any negative
environmental impacts. At the end of November the firm received the visit
of agronomist Almir Bressan of the Ministry of the Environment and
biologist Pedro Burnier from the Ministry of Agriculture in its 286
hectare "micro basin" experimental plot in Espirito Santo, where Aracruz
is planning to double the actual plantation area of 175,000 hectares
within a period of ten years. There the company has allegedly performed
environmental impact assessments of eucalyptus monocultures on the
hydrologic cycle and their relationship with neighbouring ecosystems, as
the disappearing mata atlantica forest. According to Aracruz, the results
of the hydrological balance control have shown that the hydrological
deficit provoked by the eucalyptus plantation is similar to that
registered in the mata atlantica forest.

What Aracruz does not say, however, is that the "micro basin" plot was
only established in 1994 -when eucalyptus had been already planted on a
massive scale in the region- thus disregarding that impacts on the local
water resources had already began to occur before the beginning of this
watershed experiment. It also states that its research has found very
small differences between the water balance in eucalyptus plantations and
that of neighbouring native forests. It does not, however, provide the
information and only gives some figures for the year October 1995-October
1996. When information is specifically requested -as we did in 1997- the
answer is that all the information is available ... at IBAMA in Brasilia!
Aspects related to the scale of the project are not taken on board, since
what has been allegedly proven for a small area can be totally
inapplicable for 350,000 hectares, which is the total area that the
company is planning to occupy with eucalyptus monocultures in the next ten
years. Last but not least, it is important to remember that environmental
impact assessments are never neutral. As a token of the latter, it is
interesting to point out that the above mentioned Mr Burnier -who will be
one of the people in charge of giving or denying the necessary permission
for the extension of Aracruz's plantations in Espirito Santo- was one of
the company's Directors until some time ago.

In spite of all its "micro basin" studies and its hired academics, the
fact is that "macro basin" realities show a totally different picture.
Anyone who visits the region accompanied by local people can see the
numerous streams that have dried up -where they used to bathe and fish-
can see the equally dried up wells and that even a river -the San
Domingos- has stopped flowing. And that all this happened after Aracruz
began planting eucalyptus. Aracruz is obviously trying to hide reality
under a scientific dressing. But in spite of all its efforts, the emperor
remains -as in the story- naked.

Sources: CIMI-Espirito Santo, 23/11/99; e-mail: cimies@aranet.com.br
"Aracruz defende eucalipto integrado a Mata Atlantica", Berardo Hisas,
Gazeta Mercantil, 22/11/99; The environmental and social effects of
corporate environmentalism in the Brazilian market pulp industry, Ricardo
Carrere, 1997
(http://www.wrm.org.uy/english/plantations/material/carrere.htm)
*************
- Networking in action: Australia-Uruguay

Last November we received a message from the Tasmania based NGO Native
Forest Network-Southern Hemisphere (NFN), informing that the Australian
giant North Ltd. was planning to invest in pulpwood plantations in
Uruguay.

Tim Cadman, spokesperson of NFN, warned that this company -responsible in
its own country for the logging of extensive areas of native eucalyptus
forests- is absolutely ruthless and has scant regard for people's rights
in the face of profit. Additionally it regularly makes financial donations
to Australia's major political parties, and wields an enormous amount of
influence in the state of Tasmania, where it has depredated primary
eucalyptus forests and rainforests to give place to pine plantations. Once
forests are cut down and plantations are set up, North's silvicultural
management is completely unsustainable. Besides impacts on the
geomorphology, as the collapse of entire mountainsides adjacent to the
company's plantations, silted and diverted rivers, the company uses high
volumes of herbicides and chemicals to control native wildlife and prepare
the aseptic environment that seedlings need. Such actions gave place in
1996 to a call by concerned Australian NGOs "not to buy, trade, sell or
invest in companies associated with the woodchipping of native forests."

As a result of Tim Cadman's message, we contacted the local press and on
November 25th an article was published in a weekly magazine of widespread
coverage in Uruguay, warning the country's public opinion about this kind
of initiatives, which the Uruguayan Forestry Law is still promoting. The
article was published three days before the presidential elections, which
was considered very opportune since one of the candidates is keen to
deepen the present process of investments by multinational companies in
the forestry sector. Additionally a copy of the article was sent to Tim
Cadman, who is now disseminating it in his home country.

Opposition to the tree monoculture plantation model at the local level is
very important but it is also crucial that it receives support at the
international level, which implies information sharing and networking
among concerned NGOs and individuals in North and South. The case we have
described, as well as, for example, the activities performed by
Scandinavian NGOs which are monitoring the activities of their countries'
agencies and companies abroad, are two good examples of coordinated action
to oppose the model and to strengthen a resistance network throughout the
world.

Source: Tim Cadman, NFN, 24/11/99; e-mail: tcadman@nfn.org.au www:
http://www.nfn.org.au
*************
- Call for global moratorium on genetically engineered trees

Multinational corporations, with support from some academic institutions
and governments, are working hard to create and grow genetically
engineered trees. Such development is causing great concern among informed
sectors of the public, who reasonably fear that these artificially created
organisms pose a threat to the environment, and could cause irreparable
imbalances in the world's forest ecosystems. Critical reports, protests
and even direct actions have been undertaken to curb this process (see WRM
Bulletins 23 and 26).

A report recently launched in the UK by WWF reveals that a rapidly
increasing number of genetically modified (GM) trees are being planted
without proper controls around the world. The WWF report -called "GM
Technology in the Forest Sector"- warns that commercial GM tree production
could begin within the next two years, probably in Chile, China, and
Indonesia, funded principally by private capital from Northern nations.
This might happen despite inadequate regulations and inadequate research
into the environmental impact of GM trees.

The study analyses the environmental and social impacts of GM trees, and
concludes that the risk of genetic pollution is high. Other threats to the
environment include possible new super-weeds. There could also be
unintended impacts on non-target species when GM trees are engineered for
pest resistance and herbicide tolerance. In sum, the same questions on the
same critical points that genetic engineering applied to food crops has
not been able to answer.

Field trials of GM tree species have expanded in different regions of the
world. Countries with confirmed trials in course are: Australia, Belgium,
Canada, Chile, Finland, France, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, New
Zealand, Portugal, Spain, UK, USA and Uruguay. In 1998, there were 44 new
trials and, in the last three years, the number of trial tree species
doubled. Since that year there have been 116 confirmed GM tree trials in
17 countries, using 24 tree species, 75% percent out of which being
timber-producing species. The situation is especially dangerous in
Southern countries, where there is often little or no regulation regarding
the setting up of such trials. They are often driven by the private
sector, and notably by those multinationals that wish to invest in
genetically modified organisms (GMO) but are restricted by regulations in
Northern countries.

As a result of the research, Jean-Paul Jeanrenaud, Head of WWF's Forests
for Life Programme, stated that "WWF is calling on governments worldwide
to declare a global moratorium on the commercial release of GM trees until
enough research has been conducted and proper safeguards have been put in
place." Apart from such a moratorium, WWF calls for strengthened
regulations for field tests, which examine the long term environmental
impacts of GM tree species, and a severe and robust Biosafety Protocol
within the Convention on Biodiversity, which is the most important
international agreement on GMOs. WWF also demands the start of a
comprehensive programme of research on which credible decisions can be
based, and the launch of an open public debate on the future of GM
technology.

Those interested in receiving further information on this initiative,
please contact: Jean-Paul Jeanrenaud, Head of Forests for Life Programme,
WWF International, e-mail: jpjeanrenaud@wwfnet.org
*************
- Tree plantations and trade

Some of the conclusions and recommendations of the Latin American Workshop
on the Impacts of an Eventual Millenium Road of the WTO, held on 6 and 7
November in Quito, Ecuador, are strongly related to the problems posed by
the dominant tree plantation model.

The "need to change the current consumption patterns . . . which sustain
the continuous growth of production" is underscored. In fact, the
increasing demand for paper and paperboard in the North and by the
privileged elites of the South is one of the direct causes of the
expansion of tree monocultures to produce fibre. Under the heading
"Education and Information for the Consumer" the workshop mentions the
importance of keeping the public opinion informed "of the social and
environmental impact of the substitution of forests by plantations of
monocultures." There is ample evidence, especially in tropical countries,
that plantations do not serve to mitigate the pressure on forests but, on
the contrary, are one of the causes of their destruction. Large expanses
of forests have been cleared to give place to eucalyptus, pine, oil palm
or melina monocultures. While local communities and indigenous people who
live there know that and suffer the consequences, the problem is more
difficult to be perceived by urban populations, so education and
information play a very important role to raise awarness on this issue.

Raising awareness and taking action to face the development of genetically
modified organisms is another among the recommendations published in this
document and related to the tree monoculture model. In this sense,
research in course by joint-ventures formed by plantation and genetic
engineering companies to obtain "super-trees" show a worrying trend which
needs to be addressed.
The complete document is available in our web page under:
http://www.wrm.org.uy/english/u_causes/UCiniciativeII/trade.html

************* GENERAL
*************
- Indigenous Peoples' Seattle Declaration

The Indigenous Peoples' Caucus, convened and sponsored by the Indigenous
Environmental Network USA/CANADA, Seventh Generation Fund USA,
International Indian Treaty Council, Indigenous Peoples Council on
Biocolonialism, the Abya Yala Fund, and TEBTEBBA (Indigenous Peoples'
Network for Policy Research and Education), issued a statement on 1
December 1999 in Seattle, on the occasion of the Third Ministerial Meeting
of the World Trade Organization.

In their "Seattle Declarations", they begin stating that "We, the
Indigenous Peoples from various regions of the world, have come to Seattle
to express our great concern over how the World Trade Organization is
destroying Mother Earth and the cultural and biological diversity of which
we are a part."

The complete text of the declaration is available in the WRM web site at:
http://www.wrm.org.uy/english/tropical_forests/wtoip.html
*************
- Dialogue with the World Bank?

The World Bank is currently undertaking its Forest Policy Implementation
Review and Strategy Development (FPIRS) and will carry out a number of
consultation meetings throughout the world to feed this process. Within
this framework, it seems important that the Bank takes seriously on board
recent events in India, when more than 300 Adivasis (indigenous people)
from the Indian state of Madya Pradesh, representing all mass-based
Adivasi movements, jumped over the fence of the World Bank building on the
24th of November. They blocked the building, covering it with posters,
grafitti, cow shit and mud, sang slogans and traditional songs at the
gate, and went back only after Mr. Lim, country director of the World Bank
in India, went out to receive an open letter signed by all their
movements.

The letter (available in WRM's web site at
(http://www.wrm.org.uy/english/tropical_forests/wtonewd.html) denounces
the destructive impact of World Bank investments in forestry and of the
liberalisation in timber products enshrined in the WTO system, which range
from the commodification and destruction of the forests to increasing
violence, rape and assassinations.

But what we believe the Bank should begin to reflect upon before the
upcoming FPIRS consultation meetings is that during the protest in Delhi,
the attempts of the country director of the World Bank to deliver a speech
were refused by the Adivasis, who said that after talking with World Bank
officials for the last 5 years they had concluded that such 'dialogues'
had the only objective of betraying, misleading and deceiving the Adivasis
while pushing through commercial and industrial interests. Food for
thought.

Source: People's Global Action
*************
- Declaration on Andean Ecosystems

The 4th National Conference and International Conference on "Paramos"
(high plateau grassland ecosystems) and Cloud Andean Forests, which took
place in Malaga, Santander, Colombia on November 1999 -including
representatives from Colombia, Venezuela and Costa Rica- summarized its
viewpoints in a declaration which is available in Spanish in WRM's web
site:
http://www.wrm.org.uy/english/tropical_forests/paramos.html

The declaration is a well balanced analysis of the situation being faced
by people and the environment, where many -including lower ranking
government officials, academics, environmentalists, local peoples- support
the conservation of these vulnerable ecosystems, while a few -politicians,
higher ranking officials and corporations- only act in their own interest.
As a result, a draft bill for the protection of the "paramo" ecosystem
"has been sleeping for more than a decade on the desks of the Colombian
Ministry of the Environment." The declaration ends with a call for action
to protect these ecosystems and their people, including 16 specific
demands.

Source: Censat Agua Viva, Bogota, Colombia. email: censat@colnodo.apc.org

************** WRM GENERAL ACTIVITIES
*************
Ricardo Carrere participated in a number of parallel events during the WTO
ministerial conference in Seattle, -seminars, press conference, interview
in community radio programme, presentation of the underlying causes
initiative, etc. He disseminated a bilingual English-Spanish WRM statement
to the WTO (available at
http://www.wrm.org.uy/english/tropical_forests/wtostate.html) and carried
out networking activities with a large number of NGO/IPO representatives
present in Seattle.

Ricardo also participated a few days later in Ottawa at an NGO/IPO
strategy meeting regarding future actions to influence the forest agenda,
including the fourth -and last- meeting of the Intergovernmental Forum on
Forests to be held in late January-early February in New York. He also
attended a meeting of the Underlying Causes of Deforestation Initiative.

We incorporated a new section on the WTO in the home page of our web site,
including articles, briefings and statements, as well as links to other
relevant web pages.

The WRM International Secretariat addressed the Colombian government on
November 24th expressing its support to the U'wa indigenous people in
Colombia in relation to the recent permit granted by the Ministry of the
Environment to Occidental Petroleum for oil exploitation in their
traditional lands. On December 3rd we sent a fax to the President of
Honduras asking him that an important mangrove forest area be conserved.
The WRM also expressed to the Ecuadorian government its support to the
Chachi indigenous people's struggle by means of a fax dated December 12th.

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