Bold rainforest idea makes good: Ecuador secures trust fund to save park from oil developers

By Jeremy Hance, www.mongabay.com
August 03, 2010

In what may amount to a historic moment in the quest to save the world's rainforests and mitigate climate change, Ecuador and the United Nations Development Fund (UNDF) have created a trust fund to protect one of the world's most biodiverse rainforests from oil exploration and development. The fund will allow the international community to pay Ecuador to leave an estimated 850 million barrels of oil in Yasuni National Park in the ground instead of extracting it. This first-of-its-kind agreement, known as the Yasuni-ITT Initiative, will allow the rainforest protected area to remain pristine: preserving one of the most species-rich places on Earth, safeguarding the lives of indigenous people, and keeping an estimated 410 million tons of CO2 out of the atmosphere.

"We welcome this long sought after final step to protect an important part of Yasuni National Park," said Kevin Koenig, the Ecuador Coordinator with Amazon Watch. "This is a big win for Ecuador, and the world. Now we need more countries to contribute, and for [Ecuadorian] President Correa to keep his word."

Ecuador is asking for $3.6 US billion from international donors over the next ten years to keep the oil in the ground; the amount is half of what Ecaudor expected to receive if it developed the park. Oil is Ecuador's biggest exporter and the nation's economy remains largely dependent on the fossil fuel. But oil has also brought the nation trouble with pollution, disease, forest destruction, and conflict with indigenous people.

To date, a number of European nations have stepped forward with promises of pledges, although only Germany has put forward a hard number: $838 US million. It has been reported that Spain is likely to put in around a quarter billion, while France, Sweden, and Switzerland are also expected to contribute hefty donations each. In all, approximately half of the $3.6 US billion has already been raised. …

Bold rainforest idea makes good: Ecuador secures trust fund to save park from oil developers

Technorati Tags: Amazon,rainforest,carbon sequestration,carbon dioxide,oil production

Amazon tribes embrace technology to protect their rainforest home

By Rhett Butler

Deep in the most remote jungles of South America, Amazon Indians are using GPS units, Android handheld devices, Google Earth and other technologies to protect their fast-dwindling home through “cultural mapping.” Tribes in Suriname, Brazil and Colombia are combining their traditional knowledge of the rainforest with western technology to conserve forests and maintain ties to their history and cultural traditions, which include profound knowledge of the forest ecosystem and medicinal plants. …

Amazon Tribes Embrace Technology to Protect their Rainforest Home

Technorati Tags: Amazon,rainforest,environmental restoration

Brazil suspends Amazon dam project targeted by Avatar director

This is just neat.

www.mongabay.com
April 15, 2010

A Brazilian judge on Wednesday suspended the preliminary license for the Belo Monte hydroelectric dam, a controversial project in the heart of the Amazon rainforest, citing "danger of irreparable harm," reports the Amazon Watch, an NGO that has been campaigning on the issue. The move comes just days after a high-profile visit by James Cameron, director of the box office hit Avatar, and Sigourney Weaver, one of the stars of Avatar, to indigenous communities potentially affected by the dam.

Judge Antonio Carlos de Almeida Campelo also cancelled the construction auction for the project scheduled for April 20 and ruled that IBAMA, Brazil's environmental agency, refrain from issuing a new license for the project.

"It remains proven, unequivocally, that Belo Monte's plant will exploit the hydroelectric potential of areas occupied by Indigenous people who would be directly affected by the construction and development of the project," wrote the judge in the decision.

The judge also warned that "while merits of this complaint have not been judged," companies involved in the project could be prosecuted for "environmental crime." …

Brazil suspends Amazon dam project targeted by Avatar director

Technorati Tags: Amazon,activism

James Cameron, Sigourney Weaver protest against Amazon dam

Director James Cameron says a real-life Avatar battle is playing out in Brazil's Amazon rain forest, where indigenous groups are trying to halt the construction of a huge hydroelectric project.

Cameron and actress Sigourney Weaver are in Brazil to protest against a proposed dam in the Amazon that would be the world's third-largest hydroelectric project.

The Hollywood celebrities joined about 1000 demonstrators in Brasilia's streets on Monday as they urged the government to halt the planned Belo Monte project.

Cameron said he was in Brazil's capital to support Indian and environmental groups.

Cameron attended an environmental summit in the Amazon with former US Vice-President Al Gore last month.

He returned to Sao Paulo this week to promote the DVD version of his blockbuster movie Avatar, in which the fictitious Na'vi race fights to protect their homeland, the forest-covered moon Pandora, from mining.

He said he came to Brasilia on his own initiative because he was drawn to the activists' plight.

Avatar has struck a chord with environmentalists worldwide, from China, where millions have been displaced by major infrastructure projects, to Bolivia, where Evo Morales, the nation's first indigenous president, praised the film for sending the message of saving the environment from exploitation.

"I'm drawn into a situation where a real-life Avatar confrontation is in progress," Cameron said in a telephone interview while en route to protests taking place in front of the Mines and Energy Ministry. …

Cameron, Weaver protest against Amazon dam

Technorati Tags: Amazon,deforestation,activism

James Cameron, in real life, fights to save indigenous groups from massive dam construction in Brazil

By Jeremy Hance, www.mongabay.com
April 01, 2010

After creating a hugely successful science-fiction film about a mega-corporation destroying the indigenous culture of another planet, James Cameron has become a surprisingly noteworthy voice on environmental issues, especially those dealing with the very non-fantastical situation of indigenous cultures fighting exploitation.

This week Cameron traveled to Brazil for a three-day visit to the Big Bend (Volta Grande) region of the Xingu River to see the people and rainforests that would be affected by the construction of the Belo Monte Hydroelectric Dam. Long-condemned by environmentalists and indigenous-rights groups, the dam would destroy 500 square kilometers of pristine rainforest and force the relocation of some 12,000 people.

"For people living on the banks of the river, as they have for thousands of years, the damage done (by the dam) would destroy their way of life," Cameron said in a press conference following his trip, according to Agencia EFE. He asked the Lula Administration of Brazil to reconsider their decision to build the dam.

"There are always other solutions when good leaders play their part to solve a problem," added Cameron.

Earlier at a Forum in Manuas, Cameron pointed to a WWF Brazil study: "If Brazil were to invest a fraction of the cost of the dam in energy efficiency it could generate 14 times the energy of the Belo Monte Dam and have electricity savings of up to US$19 billion."

During his trip, Cameron met with several representatives of indigenous groups including the Juruna, Xipaia, Xikrin Kayapó. …

James Cameron, in real life, fights to save indigenous groups from massive dam construction in Brazil

Technorati Tags: Amazon,rainforest,habitat loss,biodiversity

I want Avatar Oscar speech to mention real-life Ecuador struggle against Chevron

By Rebecca Tarbotton

Once upon a time there was a movie.

Hundreds of millions of people around the world saw this movie. They were transported to the beautiful jungles of Pandora and introduced to the blue Na'vis and the evil RDA corporation.

Avatar (or unil-tìran-tokx in Na'vi) has been nominated for 9 Oscars. James Cameron, its infamous creator, has explicitly said he wants the highest grossing film in history to inspire mass environmental activism.

Fast forward to March 7. You're watching the Oscars and Avatar wins.

What if in his acceptance speech James Cameron mentioned the real-life Indigenous Ecuadorean heroes who are battling the real-life Chevron bad guys?

Retweet and help make it happen! I want Avatar director James Cameron to mention real-life Ecuador struggle against #Chevron at #Oscars:http://bit.ly/aOwuNI #realavatar

If James Cameron called out Chevron in his Oscars speech a world transfixed by this film phenomenon could take off the 3D glasses and step into a reality where they can make a difference.

The story of Chevron in Ecuador is no less dramatic, tragic, or inspiring than the fantasy world of Pandora. …

I want Avatar Oscar speech to mention real-life Ecuador struggle against Chevron

Technorati Tags: oil production,oil spill,rainforest,pollution,deforestation,Amazon

‘Amazon Chernobyl’: 18 billion gallons of toxic waste dumped in Amazon waters

A film released this week in Britain recounts the 16-year battle by Ecuadorians for damages against Chevron for oil pollution

By Esme McAvoy

It's barely eight in the morning and already the dusty oil town of Lago Agrio, on the fringes of the Ecuadorian Amazon, is sweltering. Its name means "sour lake" in Spanish, after the hometown of Texan oil company Texaco – a fitting name for an area of once-pristine rainforest that has been decimated in the pursuit of oil. So severe is the environmental damage here that experts have called it an "Amazon Chernobyl".

But the people of Lago Agrio and its surrounding area have been fighting back. Sixteen years ago, 30,000 Ecuadorians began legal action against the US oil company – now owned by Chevron – they hold responsible. Early this year, from the town's tiny courtroom, a lone judge will deliver a verdict on their class-action case. If the judge rules in favour of the Ecuadorians, Chevron could face damages of $27.3bn (£17bn), making it the biggest environmental lawsuit in history.

This week, while both sides await the verdict, a fly-on-the-wall documentary about the case goes on release in Britain. Called Crude, it is directed by Joe Berlinger, whose movie Metallica: Some Kind of Monster charted the band's travails.

Crude tells a story more complex than even that, and it began when Steve Donziger, a lawyer acting for the Ecuadorians, arrived at the film-maker's office. "The story the lawyer told me was indeed shocking," said Berlinger.

In the words of the film's producers, the claim was "that from the mid-1960s until the early 1990s, Texaco (now Chevron) dumped 18 billion gallons of toxic waste and formation water directly into streams, rivers, and the jungle floor; that nearly 18 millions of crude oil was spilled and leaked from pipelines, that more than 235 billion cubic feet of natural gas was burned into the atmosphere, and that nearly 1,000 unlined toxic waste pits were built throughout the region."

A Chevron spokesperson said: "What is being missed, even by well-intentioned people, is that the responsibility for the lack of potable water, insufficient access to proper health care, and malnutrition now affecting the people of the Oriente lies squarely with the government of Ecuador, which has failed to properly address these serious challenges for decades." The company says there is no increased incidence of cancers in the oil-producing areas, that "poor sanitation" contributes to local health issues, and adds that the film is "long on emotion, short on fact", something Berlinger denies.

Within a few days of Berlinger's trip to Ecuador, he realised that the case was virtually demanding to be made into a film. "I noticed a group of indigenous people sitting by the riverbank, preparing a meal by an open fire using processed tuna fish from a big industrial-sized can that came from another corner of the world. They were eating this canned tuna because the fish that swam in their river, which had fed these proud people for millennia, were dead." …

Who will pay for Amazon's 'Chernobyl'?

Technorati Tags: oil production,oil spill,Amazon,freshwater depletion,fish decline,poverty,South America

The real Avatar story: indigenous people fight to save their forest homes from corporate exploitation

Commentary by: Jeremy Hance
www.mongabay.com
December 22, 2009

Spoiler Alert: article reveals end of the film Avatar.

In James Cameron's newest film Avatar an alien tribe on a distant planet fights to save their forest home from human invaders bent on mining the planet. The mining company has brought in ex-marines for 'security' and will stop at nothing, not even genocide, to secure profits for its shareholders. While Cameron's film takes place on a planet sporting six-legged rhinos and massive flying lizards, the struggle between corporations and indigenous people is hardly science fiction.

For decades real indigenous tribes around the world have faced off with corporations—mining, logging, oil and gas—determined to exploit their land. These corporations, much like the company in the film, usually have support from the government and access to 'security forces', sometimes in the form of ex-military or state police. Yet unlike the film, in which the indigenous group triumphs over the corporate and military invaders, the real-life stories of indigenous tribes rarely end justly: from Peru to Malaysia to Ecuador their struggles continue.

In Avatar the indigenous tribe, called the Na'vi, use poison-tipped arrows to defend themselves against the guns, gas, and explosions used by the human invaders. Art imitates life: in June of this year, violence erupted in Peru as heavily-armed police clashed with indigenous protestors, some carried spears, others were unarmed.

The indigenous tribes were protesting nearly 100 new rules pushed through the Peruvian government—led by President Alan Garcia—that made it easier for foreign companies to exploit oil, gas, timber, and minerals on indigenous land. The violent skirmish that followed led to the deaths of 23 police officers and at least 10 indigenous people—with indigenous groups saying the government went to great lengths to hide/dispose of bodies to make it appear that fewer natives were killed. Bodies were allegedly dumped in rivers.

What is known is that 82 protesters suffered gunshot wounds and 120 in total were injured in the melee. Protesters say tear gas was used; in addition some say machine guns—shown in photos—were fired at them. …

The real Avatar story: indigenous people fight to save their forest homes from corporate exploitation

Technorati Tags: activism,Amazon,deforestation,oil production,oil industry,oil spill

Brazilian tribe owns carbon rights to Amazon rainforest land

 

By Rhett A. Butler, www.mongabay.com
December 09, 2009

A rainforest tribe fighting to save their territory from loggers owns the carbon-trading rights to their land, according to a legal opinion released today by Baker & McKenzie, one of the world’s largest law firms.

The opinion, which was commissioned by Forest Trends, a Washington, D.C.-based forest conservation group, could boost the efforts of indigenous groups seeking compensation for preserving forest on their lands, effectively paving the way for large-scale indigenous-led conservation of the Amazon rainforest. Indigenous people control more than a quarter of the Brazilian Amazon.

"This really is a landmark opinion,” said Michael Jenkins, President and CEO of Forest Trends. “What we have been able to demonstrate here is that there will be opportunity and a path forward for indigenous groups to participate in emerging markets from a global warming deal. In fact, the indigenous groups would now be part of the solution."

Baker & McKenzie reached its conclusion based on the Brazilian Constitution and legislation, which "provides for a unique proprietary regime over the Brazilian Indians land... which reserves to the Brazilian Indians... the exclusive use and sustainable administration of the demarcated lands as well as... the economic benefits that this sustainable use can generate." …

Brazilian tribe owns carbon rights to Amazon rainforest land

Technorati Tags: deforestation,global warming,climate change,carbon market,Amazon,rainforest,carbon offset,Brazil

Global brands refuse to endorse ‘slaughter of the Amazon’

Meat companies sign a moratorium on cattle products linked to rainforest destruction 

By David Adam, guardian.co.uk, Monday 5 October 2009 16.48 BST

Four of the biggest companies involved in Brazilian cattle farming have joined forces to stop the purchase of cattle from newly deforested areas of the Amazon.

Meat companies Marfrig, Bertin, JBS-Friboi and Minerva yesterday signed a formal moratorium in which they pledge better protection for the rainforest.

The move follows a three-year Greenpeace investigation, reported extensively in the Guardian in June, which exposed the link between forest destruction and the expansion of cattle ranching in the Amazon. The investigation prompted calls for action from key international companies, including food group Princes and footwear manufacturers Clarkes, Adidas, Nike, and Timberland, which threatened to cancel contracts unless their beef and leather products were guaranteed free from raw materials linked to Amazon destruction.

John Sauven, head of Greenpeace, said: "Today's announcement is a significant victory in the fight to protect the Amazon. Cattle ranching is the single biggest cause of deforestation globally, and the fact that these multibillion dollar companies have committed to cleaning up their supply chains will lead to real change in the Amazon."

…

Global brands refuse to endorse "slaughter of the Amazon"

Technorati Tags: Amazon,deforestation,activism,rainforest

World's largest meat exporter says no more Amazon deforestation beef

photo: David Morimoto via flickr.

A little bit late to the game, but glad they've arrived... The world's largest exporter of meat products, Brazil's JBS-Frisboi has pledged to no longer buy cattle raised from areas of the deforested Amazon which were cleared after September 23rd of this year, Greenpeace reports. Additionally, they will not work with any farms found to be using slave labor (what year is it again?!?) or raising cattle in designated protected areas or on indigenous lands:

To ensure a modicum of transparency, JBS-Frisboi says it will implement a tracking system within six months -- the exact nature of which (ear tags, something else?) was not mentioned, other than that it will be based on maps from its cattle suppliers. Within two years, this system will extend farther down the distribution chain to include farms that raise young cattle and ranchers that directly supply its meat processing plants. …

World's Largest Meat Exporter Says No More Amazon Deforestation Beef

Technorati Tags: Amazon,deforestation

Amazon deforestation to fall 30% in 2009

Deforestation is the Brazilian Amazon is likely to fall between 8,500 square kilometers (3,088 square miles) and 9,000 sq km (3,474 sq mi) for the 12 months ended July 31, 2009, a reduction of 29-37 percent from last year, reports Brazil's Environment Minister Carlos Minc. If the estimate is confirmed by high resolution satellite data to be published later this year, the rate of forest loss for 2008-2009 would be the lowest since annual record-keeping began in the 1980s. …

Amazon deforestation to fall 30% in 2009

Technorati Tags: deforestation,Amazon,rainforest,Brazil,conservation

New Amazonian reserve saves over a million acres in Peru

On August 27th Peru's Ministry of the Environment approved the creation of the Matses National Reserve to protect the region's biodiversity, ensure its natural resources, and preserve the home of the Matses indigenous peoples (known as the Mayorunas in Brazil). The park is 1,039,390 acres (or 420,626 hectares) of lowland Amazonian rainforest in eastern Peru. The park is the culmination of over a decade of work by the local non-profit CEDIA (the Center for the Development of the Indigenous Amazonians) funded in part by the Worldland Trust. …

New Amazonian reserve saves over a million acres in Peru

Technorati Tags: Amazon,rainforest,conservation,Peru

Peru to raise payment to indigenous communities for Amazon forest conservation

Peru's environment minister now says the government will pay indigenous communities 10 sols ($3.30) for every hectare of rainforest they help to preserve, reports the Latin American Herald. Previously Antonio Brack said that communities would see about half that amount.

The $3.30-per-hectare figure is low by international standards. Under a proposed mechanism that compensates countries for reducing deforestation (REDD), forest land could be worth $800 or more per hectare for its carbon (225 tons of carbon/ha), depending on its level of threat. Forests in areas of high deforestation would be compensated at a higher rate than inaccessible forests at low-risk of development.

But Brack left open the possibility that communities could receive higher payment if parties agree to include REDD compensation in a future climate framework.  …

Peru to raise payment to indigenous communities for Amazon forest conservation

Technorati Tags: deforestation,Amazon,rainforest,Peru

Illegal Amazon timber passed off as eco-certified in massive wood laundering scheme

A Brazilian federal prosecutor is leading an investigation into charges that illegal timber from the state of Pará is being laundered as "eco-certified" wood and exported to markets in the United States, Europe, and Asia, reports Sunday's edition of O Globo.

Prosecutor Bruno Valente Soares has found evidence to suggest that timber companies are doctoring paperwork and using other methods to disguise timber that is being illegally cut from reserves and indigenous lands.

International buyers pay a premium for certified timber, which they can market as being more sustainable than other wood. The timber goes to furniture makers and construction companies abroad.

The scheme allegedly involves up to 3,000 companies across Pará's timber sector, writes Liana Mello.…

Illegal Amazon timber passed off as eco-certified in massive wood laundering scheme

Technorati Tags: Amazon,poaching,deforestation

NASA images show huge drop in Amazon fires in 2008

New NASA research shows a sharp decline in the amount of smoke over the Amazon during the 2008 burning season, coinciding with a drop in deforestation reported last week by Carlos Minc, Brazil's Environment Minister. Analyzing the aerosol concentrations over the Amazon each September from the past four burning seasons using the Ozone Monitoring Instrument on NASA's Aura satellite, atmospheric scientist Omar Torres of Hampton University and several colleagues found a dramatic decline in airborne particular matter in 2008, indicating reduced incidence of fire in the region. Fire in the Amazon is primarily used by humans for land-clearing to establish cattle pasture, which now accounts for the vast majority of land-use change in the world's largest rainforest.  …

NASA images show huge drop in Amazon fires in 2008

Technorati Tags: Amazon,rainforest,deforestation,forest fire

Brazilian cattle giant declares moratorium on Amazon deforestation

Marfrig, the world's fourth largest beef trader, will no longer buy cattle raised in newly deforested areas within the Brazilian Amazon, reports Greenpeace. The announcement is a direct response to Greenpeace's Slaughtering the Amazon report, which linked illegal Amazon forest clearing to the cattle producers that supply raw materials to some of the world's most prominent consumer products companies. Marfrig was one several cattle firms named in the investigative report. …

Brazilian cattle giant declares moratorium on Amazon deforestation

Technorati Tags: Amazon,rainforest,deforestation,Brazil

Amazon deforestation in 2009 declines to lowest on record

Annual deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon fell below 10,000 square kilometers for the first time since record-keeping began, reported Brazil's Environment Minister Carlos Minc. Yesterday Minc said preliminary data from the country's satellite-based deforestation detection system (DETER) showed that Amazon forest loss between August 2008 and July 2009 would be below 10,000 square kilometers, the lowest level in more than 20 years. Faling commodity prices and government action to crack down on illegal clearing are credited for the decline in deforestation rates. …

Amazon deforestation in 2009 declines to lowest on record

Technorati Tags: Amazon,rainforest,deforestation

Peru revokes decrees that sparked Amazon Indian uprising

Peru's Congress revoked two controversial land laws that sparked violent conflicts between indigenous protesters and police in the country's Amazon region. The move temporarily defuses a two-week crisis, with protestors agreeing to stand down by removing blockades from roads and rivers. Congress voted 82-14 Thursday to overturn legislative decrees 1090 and 1064, which would have facilitated foreign development of Amazon land. Indigenous groups said the decrees threatened millions of hectares of Amazon rainforest and undermined their traditional land use rights. …

Peru revokes decrees that sparked Amazon Indian uprising

Technorati Tags: Amazon,rainforest,deforestation,Peru

Wal-Mart bans beef illegally produced in the Amazon rainforest

Brazil's three largest supermarket chains, Wal-Mart, Carrefour and Pão de Açúcar, will suspend contracts with suppliers found to be involved in Amazon deforestation, reports O Globo. The decision, announced at a meeting of the Brazilian Association of Supermarkets (Abras) this week, comes less than two weeks after Greenpeace's exposé of the Amazon cattle industry. The report, titled Slaughtering the Amazon, linked some of the world's most prominent brands — including Nike, Toyota, Carrefour, Wal-Mart, and Johnson & Johnson, among dozens of others — to destruction of the Amazon rainforest for cattle pasture. …

Wal-Mart bans beef illegally produced in the Amazon rainforest

Technorati Tags: Amazon,deforestation