***********************************************

WORLDWIDE FOREST/BIODIVERSITY CAMPAIGN NEWS

World Rainforest Movement Bulletin, No. 29

***********************************************

Forest Networking a Project of Forests.org

http://forests.org/ -- Forest Conservation Archives

http://forests.org/web/ -- Discuss Forest Conservation

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.

*******************************

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.

###RELAYED TEXT ENDS###

This document is a PHOTOCOPY for educational, personal and non- commercial use

only. Recipients should seek permission from the source for reprinting. All

efforts are made to provide accurate, timely pieces; though ultimate

responsibility for verifying all information rests with the reader. Check out

our Gaia's Forest Conservation Archives & Portal at URL= http://forests.org/

Networked by Forests.org, Inc., gbarry@forests.org