Real World Radio

No limits for land-grabbing in Uganda . Companies and Ugandan Government Together in the Oil Palm Business

Real World Radio — 2013-05-21T16:34:58Z

A new research by Friends of the Earth International exposes the role of Wilmar and BIDCO corporations in a palm oil project being developed in Kalangala, on Bugala Island in Lake Victoria. The project is part of a government program supported by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), a UN agency, and the World Bank. About 3,600 hectares of forest have already been destroyed, affecting the environment and local livelihoods.

«BIDCO did not buy land directly from communities. The government bought lands for the companies, so it is very much involved», said David Kureeba, Friends of the Earth Uganda campaigner and Project Officer Forests and Biodiversity at the National Association of Professional Environmentalists (NAPE).

There is a double effect producing these land-grabs: first, the governments involved want to expand their domestic production of food crops and crops for fuel.

«The government is looking at increasing the GDP, thinking it will benefit the communities when it actually benefits the corporations». Besides, agribusiness aims to expand its operations and profits by producing more cheaply and rapidly. Other drivers of land grabbing are certain types of environmental conservation projects, such as Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing countries (REDD), which creates carbon credits from plantations, giving rise to «green grabbing». For instance, since plantations are included in the definition of forests, forested land is replaced by tree plantations aimed at generating carbon credits for companies.

This has many serious consequences, such as the displacement of populations, which affects local customs and cultures and leads to land conflicts and destruction of biodiversity. This is the result of deforestation or the cultivation of exotic species, which causes food insecurity through the reduction of local food supply, leading to a rise in prices. There are also health problems (exposure to agrochemicals, increase of prostitution in Kalangala due to the influx of migrants, and rise of HIV/AIDs infections).

Local communities were neither informed nor consulted about the palm oil project, and the national judiciary fails to take action: «Many of these projects are government projects, so, seeking justice may not be possible».

Some small farmers were forced to sell their land after planting palm oil because they were not able to pay for the fertilizer and other inputs needed. With no income from the oil palm, and no land for growing food, they had little option but to sell. Some of the main consequences of all this have been economic and food insecurity, lack of access to energy, casual and low-paid works, mainly occupied by men.

«The government answers to these effects that they're creating employment. But the majority of the people that are walking in the plantations are not from Kalangala».
Wilmar International is mainly funded with shareholder's money, bank loans and short-term trade finance from Europe and the US. So northern countries must consider their own responsibility in land-grabbing, which strongly affects developing countries.

Photo: http://www.oilwatchafrica.org

Other Ways. El Salvador: “Incineration is not the solution” campaign launched

Real World Radio — 2013-05-09T18:29:59Z

On Wednesday, the Salvadoran Center for Appropriate Technology (CESTA – Friends of the Earth El Salvador) as member of the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA) launched the campaign “Incineration is not the solution”. The goal of the campaign is to phase-out all types of waste incineration processes in the country.

At the press conference held by CESTA in San Salvador, the capital of the country, the negative environmental and social consequences of waste incineration on the population were exposed.

Ricardo Navarro, director at CESTA, explained: “with incineration, what we do is transform pollution from a solid state to a gaseous state, toxics are sent to the air, which makes it more difficult to control pollution”. He also said that in El Salvador "there is a practice of burning things, and people believe that by burning things you get rid of the problem". “If someone has a heap of leaves, they burn it”, he added.
Navarro also stated that there are appropriate ways to handle waste, whether solid or other types, especially tires.

In El Salvador, the main company that promotes the burning of tires is cement company Holcim, that burns over 80,000 tons of tires per year on average, an activity approved and promoted by the Environment and Natural Resources Ministry.

CESTA is requesting the authorities to not support the incineration of tires and to promote bills that favor the recovery of tires and their reutilization in a clean way. In addition, the environmentalist organization called on the population in general to make a good use of waste.

CESTA has been carrying out an important education strategy in San Marcos municipality to promote the reuse of waste generated at schools and homes, said the activist in charge of the new campaign, Josefina Ramirez. The students participating in this educational project will present their sustainable waste reuse prototypes, a measure that will help San Marcos reduce the impacts of incineration.

“We hope this campaign raises awareness on this issue”, said Ramirez. “Burning agricultural and industrial waste, toxic substances and tires (…) destroys life and the environment”, highlighted CESTA's representative.

Photo: migenteinforma.org

Leaders of the Resistance . Women's Role in Guatemala's Extractive Model

Real World Radio — 2013-05-09T16:45:41Z

Paula Irene del Cid, member of the Guatemalan feminist group La Cuerda, participated in a European tour in April, together with Natalia Atz, to expose the action of transnational corporations in Guatemala.

The communities are under constant threat as a result of their resistance to big extractive projects. The most recent violent advance was the declaration of a state of emergency in four municipalities that were resisting a mining project of Canadian corporation Tahoe Resources.

In interview with Real World Radio, Paula Irene del Cid describes the women's struggle in Guatemala, the different roles they play and she exposes the different impacts of the advance of transnational corporations on women that defend their territories, culture and livelihood.

Firstly, the activist says that in some cases the women lead the struggles in Guatemala. Such is the example of La Puya, a place where women have led the peaceful resistance to a US mine for over a year.

The demand for peaceful resistance is another feature highlighted by Paula about the struggle of Guatemalan women. She said women are the ones that are speaking up in demand for peace in Guatemala under the slogan “we don't want any more war children”.

One of their struggles is resisting the advance of transnational corporations in their territories. They call the people of their communities to not sell their lands because “the corporations use that mechanism to appropriate land when the eviction of peasants through judicial means fails”.

Women have been proposing to have political discussions to question the concept of private property, for example. She said: “indigenous women question things such as ‘how is It possible that people be owners of the soil, but the State owns the underground layers'?

Mining is not the only problem faced by the communities. The activist said they also face the impacts of palm tree monoculture plantations. “When these evictions take place the use and habits of the communities are interrupted as well as their livelihood. Women of Polochic would harvest food and they are now harvesting to produce fuel. They say: ‘We are left with no food'”.

Paula said that exposing agrofuels in their recent European tour was very important: “in Europe they think they are producing clean energy, and what we say is that it is not clean, it is stained with blood”.

Lastly, she said sexual violence is used as an instrument of political control and it is used in the advance of transnational corporations in Guatemala. There are many cases of sexual harassment and rape by State forces and by the corporations.

“We are victims of an extractive policy that has been ordered and planned outside, with the government's approval, where women are especially under attack and we are also part of the resistance”, said Paula about the current development model in Guatemala and the women's role there.

Photo: http://barillasresiste.wordpress.com/

Antimining Salvadoran. A Radio Temblor (Panama) Production on the Resistance to Mining in El Salvador

Real World Radio — 2013-05-07T16:16:45Z

In a tour around the land of Oscar Romero and Farbundo Marti, the voices of men and women meet to exchange their realities and experiences with Mother Earth. San Isidro municipality, department of Cabañas, was the scene of our journey where a struggle began in April of 2004 when river Viejo in the community Llano de la Hacienda, dried out as a result of the overexploitation of water by Canadian mining corporation Pacific Rim.

The Environmental Committee of Cabañas was founded at the time in response to the dissatisfaction and unrest of the communities to the threat of the installation of a landfill, where 400 to 500 tons of waste from 19 municipalities of the country would be placed, thus polluting river Titihuapa, the only river that supplies the communities of San Isidro.

So the communities of the region practice a differnet kind of development, alternative to capitalism, where seeds, harvests and fruits are the result of the love for ecology and a show of respect for life, as opposed to the imposition of megaprojects such as mining.

The Same Recipe. “State of Emergency” Declared in Four Guatemalan Municipalities Resisting Mining

Real World Radio — 2013-05-03T14:29:16Z

Otto Perez Molina's administration in Guatemala seems to be trying to get rid of the human rights abuses accusations by committing more violence and atrocities. A state of emergency was recently declared in four municipalities that resist Canadian mining corporation San Rafael.

The measure, adopted exactly a month after a similar decision was taken at Santa Cruz Barillas municipality to repress the resistance to the building of a dam by a Spanish corporation, affects San Rafael Las Flores and Castillas, in Santa Rosa, Xelajpán and Maraquescuintla municipalities in Jalapa and will last for 30 days.
Eric Hernández, of CEIBA-Friends of the Earth Guatemala told Real World Radio in a phone interview that the municipalities are strongly militarized and that the measure is the result of the resistance to a mining project that threatens the communities.

However, the Guatemalan government has argued the presence of drug dealers and paramilitaries, which in Eric's opinion is an “excuse to repress”.

Two weeks ago the Guatemalan government authorized San Rafael mine to begin an “underground mining” exploitation project to extract silver, despite the rejection of the communities affected. San Rafael mine is a subsidiary of Canadian corporation Tahoe Resources.

The people have rejected the mine in the area, as well as the system to distribute royalties. Last Monday twenty police officers were arrested and unarmed by the local residents.

The security forces reportedly entered the communities with assault military vehicles, causing widespread panic among the residents.

Last year private employees of the corporation were arrested in Santa Cruz Barillas without charges or evidence brought against them.

Pérez Molina is responsible for crimes against humanity in the ongoing trial of former dictator Efrain Rios Montt. Therefore, the organizations that support the resisting communities link the recent authoritative measure with the trial.

Photo: http://www.prensalibre.com

Free Rubén Herrera. Guatemala: International Call to Protect Human Rights Defenders; The Case of Ruben Herrera

Real World Radio — 2013-04-23T17:30:44Z

Ruben Herrera has been detained for over a month in Guatemala. He is a member of the Peoples' Assembly of Huehuetenango (ADH) and the leader of the resistance to projects such as Hidro Santa Cruz (originally Hidralia SA). As a result of his activism his life is in danger, considering the many murders of activists in the country ruled by Otto Perez Molina.

An international petition to free Herrera has been launched, which also exposes that over 20 community leaders, including Ruben, are being persecuted, charged or trials have been brought against them, which confirm the strong pressure by the Spanish transnational corporation to break the impartiality of judges and prosecutors.

“This corporate-military control reminds us of death and impunity in our country. The illegal arrest, such as the case of Ruben Herrera, the intimidations, murders and repression pose a serious threat to democracy and to the citizen's rights. The evictions, the usurpation of sacred places, the theft and water pollution and the dismissal of community consultations are policies that undermine life and destroy the little progress made to live in peace”, reads the press release.

The recent Mesoamerican Meeting of Resistance to the Mining Extractive Model (M4) also demanded Herrera's release, who they define as “an exemplary activist for community rights”.

Radio Temblor of Panama made a special report that we share about the situation of individual rights violations, as well as the violation of the right to resist megaprojects in Guatemala.

In the report, Ruben's wife, Cecilia Merida, thanked the people for the international solidarity and talked about the details of Ruben's detention and the charges brought against him by the corporation: “this is another link in the long chain of oppressions and offenses by transnational corporations”, said Cecila.

Click here: Facebook for more information and to support the campaign to free Ruben Herrera.

The false solution of REDD. Video: new research shows the failure of the KFCP REDD project in Indonesia

Real World Radio — 2013-04-10T19:15:14Z

The Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) project called "Kalimantan Forest Carbon Partnership" (KFCP), which is being developed in Central Kalimantan province, Indonesia, has been described as a failure by recent studies.

KFCP is financed by the Australian government, which transfers the funds to the Indonesian government explaining that the aim is to protect forests. The project covers a total area of 120 thousand hectares in seven communities by the Kapuas River in Kapuas district, in Central Kalimantan.

Friends of the Earth International has been following the case for a year to spread the voices of the local populations that have denounced a lack of consultation and the violation of their rights. The environmentalist federation is looking to expose how market mechanisms really work. KFCP is a project that will allow the Australian government to generate carbon bonds to trade in international markets and continue with the predator development model, warned the Coordinator of the Forests and Biodiversity Program of Friends of the Earth International, Isaac Rojas, in an interview published by Real World Radio on November 7th, 2012.

Australianetworknews presented a short video which denounces the failures of the KFCP project. You can watch the video here:

Photo: bloglemu.blogspot.com

Other Values. Interview with Kenya Debt Relief Network's Executive Director, Wahu Kaara

Real World Radio — 2013-04-03T08:00:00Z

The social movements and organizations always resist the projects of transnational corporations, international financial institutions and the countries tied to a decadent economic system aimed at profiting and that oppresses the peoples and nature, said Kenya Debt Relief's (KENDREN) Executive Director, Wahu Kaara.

Those social networks are promoting economic justice and a world based on values like peace and harmony, said the activist in interview with Lucia Ortiz of Friends of the Earth Brazil, for Real World Radio. Lucia is also the coordinator of the Economic Justice and Resisting Neoliberalism program of Friends of the Earth International.
KENDREN is a member of the Jubilee South network, which comprises social movements, grassroots and religious groups and campaigns against debt in over 50 countries of Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean and Asia-Pacific.

Real World Radio interviewed Kaara as part of the grassroots forum “BRICS bottom up”, held on March 22 to 27 in Durban, South Africa in parallel to the 5th meeting of Heads of State of the so called “emerging economies”: Brazil, Russia, India , China and South Africa (BRICS) hosted in the same city. The activist participated in several activities of the parallel event.

The forum was hosted by groundWork – Friends of the Earth South Africa, the Environmental Alliance of the Community of the South of Durban and the Centre for Civil Society of the University of KwaZulu-Natal. It was supported by organizations from all over the world. Over 500 representatives of social organizations of Africa and the BRICS countries participated.

At “BRICS bottom up” the tens of non governmental organizations, trade unions and social movements warned that the BRICS are adopting “imperialistic positions” and promoting the interests of big corporations that “explore Africa”, as published in an article of BBC Brazil on March 27.

The participants of the forum also questioned the decision-making processes of the emerging countries for not consulting civil society organizations.

“The BRICS governments often use a radical rhetoric using anti-imperialism as their flag and during this year's Summit they will no doubt impress the rest of Africa by saying that their corporations offer better investments in infrastructure, mining, energy and agriculture than the traditional transnational corporations of the North”, the three hosts of parallel event said in a press release issued on March 20. The participants of “BRICS bottom up” are especially concerned about the promotion of the participation of big transnational corporations from BRICS in the countries of the bloc, as there is a risk that they will further violate people and environmental rights as the European and US corporations have done so far.

During the interview with Real World Radio, Kaara also highlighted the achievements of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of the Americas (ALBA) and the inspiration that political transformation in Latin America means for the peoples of the world.

Photo: groundWork – Friends of the Earth South Africa, Environmental Alliance of the Community of the South of Durban and Centre for Civil Society of the University of KwaZulu-Natal.

Recovering Hope. South African Trade Unionists Pay Tribute to Hugo Chavez

Real World Radio — 2013-04-02T14:31:54Z

The National Union of Metal Workers of South Africa (NUMSA) held a memorial in Durban in honor of late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who died last March 5. The ceremony was held at NUMSA's headquarters, on Guevara Road.

The trade union comprises workers of the mining, steel and energy sectors. Hugo Chavez's memorial on March 24 was held at the end of a seminar organized by NUMSA called “Understanding BRICS through the prism of energy”. Trade unions, social movements and organizations from South Africa, Brazil, Russia, India and China participated in the event, as well as environmental organizations, such as two members of Friends of the Earth International: Friends of the Earth Brazil and groundWork/Friends of the Earth South Africa.

BRICS stands for Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, all countries considered “emerging economies”. The Heads of State of BRICS met in Durban from March 25 to 27 to talk about their trade and political relations and the world's future.
For this reason NUMSA took the opportunity to organize a three-day seminar and a memorial in honor of Chavez to put their concerns on the agenda.

A popular forum named “BRICS bottom-up” was also held in Durban in parallel to the official summit. Over 500 representatives of social organizations from Africa and BRICS participated.

The forum was hosted by groundWork – Friends of the Earth South Africa and the Centre for Civil Society of the University of KwaZulu-Natal and had the support of organizations from all over the world.

We now share the address of the national coordinator of Education of NUMSA, Dinga Sikwebu, during Chavez's memorial on March 24, together with some chants from the Zulu struggle.

The trade union leader recognized the role of the former Venezuelan President in recovering hope for Latin America and Africa in times of capitalism and of a stronger promotion of the neoliberal model.

Audio kindly provided by Friends of the Earth Brazil.

Photo: mg.co.za

For Real Solutions. International Day of Forests: WRM calls to address the underlying drivers of deforestation

Real World Radio — 2013-03-21T15:54:44Z

On March 21st, while the UN General Assembly celebrates the International Day of the Forests, the World Rainforest Movement (WRM) and more than 300 social movements and organizations warn that addressing the underlying drivers of deforestation is urgently needed.

The WRM and the different social groups call on the General Assembly and UN institutions and initiatives related to forest issues to “use the new initiative to address the underlying drivers of deforestation”. The full version of the letter is available here: http://www.wrm.org.uy/forests/letter_Day_of_the_Forests.html
Real World Radio interviewed today activist Winnie Overbeek, international coordinator at WRM, organization based in Montevideo, Uruguay.

“In spite of several UN initiatives aimed at calling attention for forests at the international level, the process of deforestation -affecting especially tropical forests- continues and the proposed solutions have not slowed down tropical forest loss worldwide - on the contrary”, reads WRM´s press release on the new letter.

“Continuous forest destruction affects directly the life and future of hundreds of millions of forest peoples, therefore urgent action is needed such as recognizing the rights of forest and forest-dependent communities over their communal territories, as well as defining forests by their true meaning for these peoples, excluding industrial tree monoculture plantations from the present definition that the FAO applies and that defines these monocultures as “forests””, adds the press release.

The WRM also considers that the large-scale land grabbing and destruction of tropical forests worldwide driven by transnational corporations (TNCs) that increasingly certify their activities as “sustainable”, needs to be urgently halted.

The letter issued today concludes that “on this first International Day of Forests we call on the UN and its forest-related institutions to heed the lessons of past initiatives aimed at ending deforestation: Halting forest loss will remain an illusion until action is undertaken to eliminate the underlying causes that drive deforestation”.

Photo: www.todofondosdepaisajes.com