ACTION
ALERT
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WORLDWIDE
FOREST/BIODIVERSITY CAMPAIGN NEWS
Stop
Petroleum Activities in Guatemala's Maya Biosphere Reserve
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3/2/00
OVERVIEW
& COMMENTARY
The Man
and the Biosphere Program of UNESCO, and resultant designated
biosphere
reserves, recognize the fact that large ecological core
areas
are an absolute requirement for maintaining regional ecosystems
and
constituent species in the long-term.
In forest conservation and
pursuit
of sustainability, there is no substitute to conserving large
blocks
of habitat within and adjacent to developed areas and managed
forests. Tropico Verde reports that the Maya
Biosphere Reserve in
Guatemala
is being infringed upon by petroleum exploration. Please
respond
to their call for emails in protest.
g.b.
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TEXT STARTS HERE:
Title: URGENT PETITION FOR ACTION: PETROLEUM
ACTIVITIES IN THE MAYA
BIOSPHERE RESERVE VIOLATE THE RIGHTS
OF GUATEMALAN CITIZENS
Source: Tropico Verde
14 calle 5-08 Zona 10
01010 Guatemala, Guatemala
Tlf: 502 6341444
tropicoverde@guate.net (Tropico
Verde)
Status: Copyright 2000, contact source for
permission to reprint
Date: February 21, 2000
A great
fear that petroleum companies will continue operating with
business
as usual, and that the Maya Biosphere Reserve (MBR) will be
destroyed
forever, was recently provoked by the Guatemalan
Government's
halfhearted and contradictory responses to Guatemala's
Attorney
General for Human Rights who concluded that petroleum
activities
in the Maya Biosphere Reserve constitute a violation of the
fundamental
rights of all Guatemalans.
On
February 7th, Guatemala's Attorney General for Human Rights ruled
that
the petroleum activities in the Maya Biosphere violate human
rights
"each time they disrupt the right to a clean environment, to
the
right of individual dignity, to the right of the preservation of
the
cultural and natural patrimony of the country, and to the right to
social
and economic development". The ruling also affirms that the
violation
of the Law of Protected Areas constitutes "an administrative
tendency
detrimental to the citizens of Guatemala, and especially, to
the
communities neighboring the ravaged protected areas."
However,
the official reaction focused exclusively on one of the nine
concessions
illegally approved in the Maya Biosphere. In doing so, the
government
failed to address the preoccupations of communities such as
Carmelita
and Uaxactœn who have been threatened by the pending
approval
of petroleum concessions that will overlap forest areas which
they
have inhabited for over a century.
Despite
the fact that the Maya Biosphere Reserve (MBR) has been
protected
by law since 1989, continuous violations of the law by
authorities
have allowed approximately 50% of the MBR Buffer Zone, as
well as
40% of the MBR Multiple Use Zone and Core Zone to be opened,
or
auctioned off, for petroleum extraction. Using disingenuous legal
trickery,
nine new contracts for exploration or extraction have been
approved
since 1992 in the heart of the MBR and in the Buffer Zone, in
addition
to the two new proposals which affect the communities of
Carmelita
and Uaxactœn.
The
Maya Biosphere is located in the northernmost part of Guatemala,
forming
the frontier with Mexico and Belize. It also serves as the
heart
of the greater Maya Forest (or Selva Maya), which is shared
among
the three countries. With an area of 1.6 million hectares in the
Guatemalan
part alone, the Maya Forest is considered as the second
most
important remaining tract of tropical forest in the Americas,
second
only to the Amazon.
Among
the potentially illegal new contracts recently approved, only
three
contain producing wells. Upon commencing exploration and
extraction
in the six pending concessions including Carmelita and
Uaxactœn,
the reserve would be irreparably damaged as would be the
forest
cultures and communities in the area. The incoherent government
response
to the Attorney General for Human Rights' recent condemnation
of
petroleum activities was highlighted by the contradictions between
two
government agencies: the Secretary of the Environment, and the
Ministry
of Energy and Mines. Indeed, the Secretary's failure to
mention
all petroleum concessions apart from the Laguna Del Tigre
contract
(1-92), and the subsequent reaction by the Minister of Energy
and
Mines in which he belittled the Secretary of the Environment's
authority
to comment, amplify the fear that petroleum activities will
continue
destroying the Maya Biosphere Reserve. There is ample
evidence
to suggest that Guatemalan government's efforts to subdue the
negative
consequences of petroleum activities will be focused only on
Laguna
Del Tigre, allowing the remaining concessions to continue as a
time
bomb in the MBR.
We
urgently ask for your support. You can help by sending an email
message
to the Guatemalan government at: Copredeh@guate.net, with copy
to the
Ministry of Energy and Mines (unimem1@pronet.net.gt) and
Tropico
Verde (tropicoverde@guate.net), expressing:
1) Your
preoccupation that the environmental authorities in Guatemala
have
focused only upon the legality of contract 1-92, in Laguna Del
Tigre,
and that they have not mentioned contracts 1-91, 5-93, 1-95, 2-
95,
A-9-96, A-11-96, A-1-97 (Carmelita), A-2-97 (Uaxactœn), 1-98, and
2-98,
that were also approved after the creation of the Maya Biosphere
Reserve,
or are currently pending.
2) That
the Law of Protected Areas clearly establishes that within
Guatemalan
protected areas, including buffer zones, destructive
activities
such as petroleum extraction are prohibited, and that all
the
above listed contracts are within the Maya Biosphere and the MBR
Buffer
Zone.
3) That
the Maya Biosphere Reserve is included within UNESCO's Man and
the
Biosphere Program, and that citizens of all countries have the
obligation
to resist its reckless destruction.
4) Your
desire that the Guatemalan Government immediately suspend all
petroleum
contracts in the MBR signed after the establishment of the
reserve.
By failing to do so, the current government will be running
the
risk of being charged with violating the fundamental human rights
of the
local people along with previous administrations who supported
the
clearly illegal contracts.
5) That
the following signatories of this letter of concern will
continue
to vigil regarding the Guatemalan government's response to
this
crisis, and until a solution respectful of the natural patrimony
of the
Guatemalan people, and indeed all people, is found.
Below,
a sample letter is provided that can be sent in its entirety,
or
modified as desired.
President
Alfonso Portillo - Republic of Guatemala,
Esteemed
President,
It is
with great preoccupation that we write regarding the petroleum
operations
that were approved between 1992 and 1998 in the Maya
Biosphere
Reserve and the adjacent Buffer Zone. We recently learned of
the
ruling by Guatemala's Attorney General for Human Rights indicating
that
the petroleum activities within the Maya Biosphere Reserve
constitute
a violation of the fundamental right of all Guatemalans to
a healthy
environment.
We are
bothered by the contradictions emitted by your functionaries
and
advisors in response to the recent ruling, and by the fact that
all
government personnel have only considered the legality of contract
1-92,
in Laguna Del Tigre, having otherwise failed to discuss the
legality
of contracts 1-91, 5-93, 1-95, 2-95, A-9-96, A-11-96, A-1-97
(Carmelita),
A-2-97 (Uaxactœn), 1-98, and 2-98. All of the above
contracts
are situated within the Maya Biosphere Reserve and its
buffer
zone. All were approved after the declaration of the reserve.
Especially
confusing is the government's position regarding contracts
A-1-97
(Carmelita), and A-2-97 (Uaxactœn), both offered for concession
in
1998, and both encountered within the Multiple Use Zone.
The
Guatemalan Law of Protected Areas clearly establishes that
destructive
activities are prohibited within all protected areas and
their
surrounding buffer zones. As a result, all authorizations of
petroleum
activities within the Maya Biosphere Reserve after 1990 are
a clear
violation of the law. We remind that all the previously
mentioned
contracts were approved after that date.
Your
government now faces the responsibility of choosing between two
paths:
one against popular opinion, that would do tremendous harm to
your
country's environmental legacy; the other the path of permanently
suspending
all concessions in the Maya Biosphere subsequent to the
establishment
of the reserve. This second path would allow you to
demonstrate
your respect for the fundamental rights of your citizens,
while
complying with the laws of your country.
In
consideration of the above, we urge:
1) That
you reject any new petroleum activities within the Maya
Biosphere
Reserve, including the buffer zone, and in all other
Guatemalan
protected areas.
2) That
you immediately support a review of all existing or pending
contracts
within the Maya Biosphere Reserve, and that you immediately
suspend
all contracts approved since the creation of the reserve as a
protected
area.
We will
continue monitoring the measures taken by your government to
remedy
the problem. We urge you to quickly respond to this crisis, and
at the
same time we remind you that the Maya Biosphere Reserve is
included
within UNESCO 's Man and the Biosphere Program, making it the
responsibility
of all citizens everywhere to vigil for its protection.
Sincerely,
Your
name and the name of your organization
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