ACTION ALERT

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WORLDWIDE FOREST/BIODIVERSITY CAMPAIGN NEWS

Maya Land on the Chopping Block in Belize

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Forest Networking a Project of Ecological Enterprises

10/28/96

OVERVIEW & SOURCE by EE

Rainforest Action Network reports on logging in Belize, where species

rich rainforests are being aggressively logged against the wishes of the

Mayan indigenous peoples. Malaysian company Atlantic Industries is

logging mahogany on traditional Mayan land in the Columbia River Forest

Reserve. "The company has violated its management plan, caused

irreparable harm to the forest, and failed to consult with the Maya

about the logging." RAN appeals for letters that call for protecting the

Maya culture and human rights, as well as the unique rainforest life

forms native to the region.

g.b.

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Date: Mon, 28 Oct 1996 16:12:24 -0800 (PST)

From: ranmedia@ran.org (Mark Westlund)

Subject: ACTION ALERT: MAYA INDIANS IN BELIZE

Sender: rainforest@igc.org

RAINFOREST ACTION NETWORK

Action Alert, November 1996

MAYA LAND ON THE CHOPPING BLOCK IN BELIZE

The descendants of the ancient Maya Indians have lived for centuries in

a region now called the Columbia River Forest Reserve, in the

southernmost part of modern day Belize. Even by rainforest standards,

the area is uncommonly bountiful, supporting numerous rare bird and

plant species, and healthy populations of jaguars, tapirs, and howler

monkies. A biological assesment conducted by Conservation International

in 1992 concluded: "We can say without hesitation that the evergreen

forests of this area ... are of great national and international

importance as a reservoir of biological diversity. The most species-rich

plant and animal communities occur in the Columbia River Forest

Reserve."

Last September, the cash-strapped Belize government opened 200,000 acres

of the reserve to mahogany logging, selling rights to Malaysian timber

giant Atlantic Industries for the reported sum of U.S. 60 cents per

acre. Mahogany trees grow individually throughout the forest; however,

studies estimate that for each mahogany tree that gets cut down, another

3,000 square feet of forest is leveled for logging roads and machinery.

The Maya people have not profited from Atlantic's operations, nor did

the government consult with the Maya before selling their land and

resources. Unlike other rainforest countries, Belize has no laws

recognizing ancestral land rights.

The government of Belize has tried to dismiss Maya protests by pointing

to a logging plan for the Columbia River Forest Reserve that sets limits

on Atlantic's operations, but the Maya see the plan as public-relations

lip-service. There are currently only four forestry inspectors in all

of Belize, and the government itself has admitted it cannot enforce its

own regulations.

Meanwhile, Atlantic has cut forest areas outside of its concession,

bulldozing swaths of rainforest fifty-yards wide to make logging roads.

The company has taken out trees during the rainy season, accelerating

soil erosion. Without bothering to conduct required environmental

surveys, the company built a saw mill on Maya territory, stepping up its

logging in the region to feed the mill.

Accordingly, the Maya have stepped up their conservation efforts and are

working with Montana-based Indian Law Resource Center to secure title to

their traditional lands. Legal tactics include petitioning the

Organization of American States' Inter-American Commission on Human

Rights to intercede on the Maya's behalf.

Unless they get quick results, their efforts could be in vain. This

June, Belize government officials met with Atlantic Industries

representatives in a closed-door session, whcih resulted in the

government's revoking the protected status of a nature reserve on Maya

territory, and granting Atlantic logging rights inside it the next day.

To make matters worse, the government has proposed cutting and paving a

highway through Maya territory, and building an 18,000 acre industrial

complex and waste disposal site there. The highway will leave the

wilderness open to an onslaught of settlers, a population trend in

rainforest countries that historically entails displacing forest

communities and clearing vast areas of trees for fields and pastures.

Maya leader Julian Cho laments: "If [rich investors] are allowed a free

hand in the Maya communities, the principal of stewardship over our

natural resources will inevitably be overun by the use-and-run

philosophy of land speculators and other commercial interests."

WHAT YOU CAN DO

Send a letter to Rt. Hon. Manuel Esquivel, Prime Minister of Belize-at

the Prime Minister's Office, Belmopan, Belize-asking him to halt

Atlantic's operations. Postage from the U.S. is 60 cents.

Dear Prime Minister,

With your permission, Malaysian company Atlantic Industries is logging

mahogany on traditional Mayan land in the Columbia River Forest Reserve.

The company has violated its management plan, caused irreparable harm to

the forest, and failed to consult with the Maya about the logging.

In the interest of protecting the Maya culture and human rights, and the

unique rainforest life forms native to the region, I implore you to

cancel Atlantic Industries' contracts, recognize Maya land claims, and

turn management of the land over to the Maya people.

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