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WORLDWIDE BIODIVERSITY/FOREST CAMPAIGN NEWS

SURINAME Emergency Action Alert--25% of Country to be Logged

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Forest Networking a Project of Ecological Enterprises

1/27/95

OVERVIEW & SOURCE

The Rainforest Action Network reports that approval may be given

in the month of February for 25% of Suriname, in northeast South

America, to be logged by industrial forest interests. This was

posted in econet's rainfor.general conference. For further

information on EcoNet membership, a nonprofit online system, send

any message to <econet-info@igc.apc.org>.

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** Topic: SURINAME EMERGENCY **

** Written 5:49 PM Jan 27, 1995 by rainforest in

cdp:rainfor.genera **

From: Rainforest Action Network <rainforest>

/* Written 5:46 PM Jan 27, 1995 by rainforest in igc:ran.news */

/* ---------- "SURINAME EMERGENCY" ---------- */

EMERGENCY!

Giant logging firms poised to attack Suriname forests

Massive rip-off may trigger bloodbath

At least five logging companies are seeking timber leases which

total over 25 percent of Suriname, in northeast South America. The

inhabitants of the proposed concession areas have not been

consulted. Sources in Suriname tell us that indigenous and

traditional peoples may use violence to resist incursions onto

their lands.

The chain saws are ready to rip. If approved, investments could

begin as early as March, and concessions could be fully

operational in a matter of months.

The leases are in the untouched, pristine southern half of the

country. Four-fifths of Suriname is primary tropical rainforest.

Deforestation until now has been very slow, only 0.1 percent per

year. The forests are inhabited by a diverse and unique population

including five Amerindian groups and five maroon tribes,

descendants of escaped slaves who have been living in the forest

for over 200 years practicing unique African cultures.

Some groups are armed and prepared to defend their ancestral

lands. The government signed a peace accord with these groups in

1992, following years of civil war. Article 10 of the accord calls

for recognition and demarcation of lands, but the committee that

was supposed to oversee the process has never met.

Logging negotiations have been secret, with strong suspicions of

corruption. The marauding companies include Berjaya, from

Malaysia, with a track record of bribery and environmental

destruction. Two other large bids come from Indonesian firms. Two

mainland Chinese companies are seeking smaller concessions.

The three large proposed concessions cover 7.5 million acres and

entail more than 300 million dollars worth of investment in roads,

equipment, and processing mills.

Doesn't even make financial sense

Suriname is in economic crisis, with 500 percent inflation and no

foreign-exchange reserves. The government is trying to stave off

the day it must begin economic reform, but the concessions do not

even make sense financially.

Sources in Suriname say the government stands to lose tens of

millions of dollars a year in potential revenue from the

concessions, even with full contract compliance. That lost revenue

is about the same size as the current budget deficit, which is

what drives up inflation in the first place!

FAX NOW!

February deadline

There is no time for mailing letters. The National Assembly will

consider the Berjaya contract during February.

Send faxes to as many of the following as you can afford, AS SOON

AS YOU CAN.

FAX:

Mr. Ronald Venetiaan,

President of Suriname: 011-597-475-266

Mr. Franco Demon, Suriname Ministry of

Natural Resources: 011-597-472-911

Dutch Embassy in Washington, DC: 1-202-363-1032

Embassy of Suriname in Washington, DC: 1-202-244-5878

Also send copies to:

Mr. Enrique Iglesias, President,

Inter-American Development Bank: 1-202-623-3614

e-mail: gladys@iadb.org

Mr. Lewis Preston, President, World Bank: 1-202-477-6658

e-mail: pohara@worldbank.org

Mr. Michael Camdessus, President,

International Monetary Fund: 1-202-623-4661

U.S. Vice-President Al Gore: 1-202-456-2461

e-mail: president@whitehouse.gov

Sample text:

I urge you to reject the exploitative and economically foolish

sacrifice of Suriname's forests to enrich timber tycoons.

Suriname's government may be under extraordinary pressure, but

giving up a quarter of the country for uncertain, short-term

economic gain is no real solution.

The U.S., the Netherlands, the IDB, IMF, and World Bank must apply

their resources to provide Suriname with wiser options for the

future of the nation and the planet.

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From Action Alert 105, February 1995

Published by:

Rainforest Action Network

450 Sansome St., Suite 700

San Francisco, CA 94111, U.S.A.

Automatic info: ran-info@igc.apc.org

Tel: (415) 398-4404

Fax: (415) 398-2732

Rainforest Action Network works to protect the Earth's

rainforests and support the rights of their inhabitants through

grassroots education, organizing, and non-violent direct action.

###RELAYED TEXT ENDS###

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pieces; though ultimate responsibility for verifying all

information rests with the reader. Check out our Gaia Forest

Conservation Archives at URL=

http://forests.lic.wisc.edu/forests/gaia.html

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Email (best way to contact)-> gbarry@forests.org

Phone->(608) 233-2194 || Fax->(608) 231-2312