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Protest palmoil firms robbing Indian land!
Rettet den Regenwald - 14.03.2007 08:54
The Awa jungle people of Ecuador are appealing urgently for international help after the Ecuadorian environment ministry stripped them of their rights to 17,500 hectares of their land. Behind this land theft are lumber cutters and palm oil firms who want to get at the timber and land of the Awa. At another place the cadastre authority also took away the Awa’s rights to 4,000 hectares.
Palmoil firms robbing Indian land – sign protest to Ecuadorian president!
The Awa jungle people of Ecuador are appealing urgently for international help after the Ecuadorian environment ministry stripped them of their rights to 17,500 hectares of their land.
The Awa community live in the north of Ecuador and south of Colombia; in Ecuador they live in the provinces of Carchi, Imbabura and Esmeraldas.
The approximately 1,600 Awas are constantly threatened by the colonists and lumber companies that covet their forests.
They live in the forests to the north and west of the country and combine hunting with blowguns and raising animals like chickens and pigs for their survival.
The German advocacy group “Rettet den Regenwald” (save the rain forest) writes that the land taken away was given to co-management with “Afro-Ecuadorian villages”.
“Behind this land theft are lumber cutters and palm oil firms who want to get at the timber and land of the Awa. At another place the cadastre authority also took away the Awa’s rights to 4,000 hectares.”
“The Awas will of course not quit their land and villages and have filed a legal action. They have also informed the press and several dailies have picked up the story, some with frontpage articles and three-page reports.”
If you enter your name and address into the form at  http://www.regenwald.org/protestaktion.php?id=146, they will be sent together with the protest letter reproduced here to the President of Ecuador.
Doctor
Rafael Correa Delgado
PRESIDENTE CONSTITUCIONAL DE LA REPUBLICA
Palacio de Carondelet
Calle García Moreno 1043
Quito, Ecuador
Fax: 00-593-2 258 0751
E-mail:  sugerencias@presidencia.gov.ec
Señor Presidente,
through this letter, I offer my support and solidarity with the Federation of Awá Centers of Ecuador (FCAE) in defense of their ancestral territory, encompassing 99,337 hectares. This territory was legally recognized by the Ministry of Environment on March 2, 2006 (Ministerial Agreement No. 004). On January 12, 2007, the current Minister of Environment, Ana Albán, modified the Awas’ land title by establishing a “co-management” regime between the indigenous Awá communities and their Afro-Ecuadorian neighbors from the Ricaurte-Tululbí township in San Lorenzo County, Esmeraldas. According to reports from individuals involved in the case, the “co-management” regime effectively gives certain timber and African palm companies access to the Awas’ ancestral lands and natural resources. These companies are known to be funding Afro-Ecuadorian land claims in the region. In effect, they are instigating territorial conflicts between the indigenous and Afro-Ecuadorian neighbors in order to achieve private financial gains at the cost of the cultural and natural integrity of northwestern Ecuador.
I believe that the Ministry’s decision – made unilaterally, without the prior and informed consultation of the Awa, who are the legitimate owners of the affected lands – threatens the territorial rights of all of Ecuador’s ancestral communities. Article 84 of the Ecuadorian Constitution recognizes and defends the rights of indigenous peoples to maintain possession of their ancestral lands, as well as to participate in, and be consulted about, any and all decisions that affect their ancestral lands, natural resources, and territory. The International Labor Organization’s Convention No. 169 – to which Ecuador is a party since May 15, 1998 – also recognizes these rights. As long as the State neglects its obligation to recognize indigenous peoples as the legitimate owners of their ancestral territories and involve them in the decisions that may affect them or their territories – in this case, the Awá – the State fails in its role as protector and guarantor of Human Rights and undermines the Rule of Law in Ecuador.
I recommend that the resolution made by the Minister of Environment be considered null and void. I also recommend a thorough investigation into the connections between the timber and African palm companies and the territorial claims being made by the Afro-Ecuadorian communities involved in this case. I hope that the Awá, as well as their Afro-Ecuadorian neighbors, can celebrate their Collective Rights in a way that is just and honest, without manipulation by private companies whose objectives are destructive to Ecuador’s natural and cultural wealth.
I will be attentive to any and all decisions that are made in relation to this case which so clearly threatens the Awas’ well-being, as well as the Collective Rights of all of Ecuador’s ancestral communities.
Sincerely,
(Your name)
http://www.regenwald.org/protestaktion.php?id=146
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| Lees meer over: natuur, dier en mens | | aanvullingen | | 51.000 hectare bos Suriname wordt gekapt | Paul - 14.03.2007 10:26
Ook in Suriname wordt een groot bosgebied gekapt worden om plaats te maken voor een palmolieplantage! Daartoe heeft de Surinaamse overheid een overeenkomst gesloten met het Chinese bedrijf China Zhong Heng Tai Investment Co. Ltd. ( http://www.chinazht.com): de Patamacca-deal.
Het gaat om in totaal 52.000 hectare bos, bij Moengo in het district Marowijne, dat tegen de vlakte moet voor een palmolieplantage van 40.000 hectare en zo'n 12.000 hectare wordt gekapt om de bouw van onder andere personeelswoningen en een houtzagerij mogelijk te maken!
In Suriname is er nauwelijks verzet tegen deze plannen. In het land zijn geen milieu actiegroepen aanwezig. Er is een Nationaal Instituut voor Milieu en Ontwikkeling in Suriname (NIMOS), maar dit is feitelijk een door de overheid gecontroleerd instituut en onderneemt ook niets. Er is slechts een politicus in het parlement die tracht wat verzet van de grond te trekken in Marowijne, ook omdat er om de plantage van de grond te krijgen enkele duizenden Chinezen vanuit Suriname overkomen.
Misschien zou het goed zijn om ook naar de president van Suriname, Ronald R. Venetiaan, protestbrieven en dergelijke te sturen. Die kunnen via e-mail verzonden worden naar: kabpressur@sr.net
Wie meer wil weten over de Patamacca-deal kan naar mijn website ( http://sranan-news.blogspot.com) waarop ik dagelijks bericht over milieu- en afvalbeleid in Suriname. Type bij 'search blog' Patamacca en je ziet diverse artikelen over het project verschijnen.
 Website: http://sranan-news.blogspot.com
| | Chinezen vanuit China | Paul - 14.03.2007 10:38
Herstel: 'Er is slechts een politicus in het parlement die tracht wat verzet van de grond te trekken in Marowijne, ook omdat er om de plantage van de grond te krijgen enkele duizenden Chinezen vanuit SURINAME overkomen.'
Het zijn enkele duizenden Chinezen die uiteraard vanuit CHINA overkomen.
Website: http://sranan-news.blogspot.com
| | nog meer bossen in de pijpijn voor olie | MM - 16.03.2007 17:21
Het wordt nog veel erger binnennkort...
Banken consortiums beleggen wereldwijd conferenties in sub/tropische gebieden. Dit artikel gaat nog over palmolie voor voedselproductie, maar er wordt gesubsideerd en gefinancierd om bossen te kappen en te vervangen door plantages voor 'duurzame' biodiesel. En boom die noten geeft, waarvan de olie als brandstof gebruikt kan worden.
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