RAN Report: Cargill's Problems with Palm Oil

Since the release of our report on Cargill’s problems with palm oil in Borneo, Cargill has been scrambling to clean up their palm oil supply chain. Cargill has been engaging with customers including Kraft and General Mills; announced a supply chain audit in collaboration with WWF; and just last week announced that the assessment of their Harapan Sawit Lestari (HSL) plantation in West Kalimantan, Indonesia will begin in August. These are all great steps we’ve been recommending since 2007 to Cargill on how to clean up their palm oil supply chain, but they still have a long way to go to stop the destruction of Indonesia’s rainforests and peatlands.

On Friday I received a letter from Cargill inviting RAN to provide comments on our concerns regarding HSL plantation to BSI Group- a certification body that is auditing this plantation. This is one of the plantations, or group of plantations I should say, that was highlighted in our report on Cargill’s problems with palm oil that is operating in violation of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) Principles and Criteria, Indonesian law and Cargill’s own palm oil commitments.

Rainforest Action Network appreciates the invitation to share our ongoing concerns of violations of both the RSPO Principles and Criteria and Indonesian law. We will formerly submit our comments and concerns to BSI Group, while encouraging affected communities and NGO allies to do the same.

Indonesian Rainforest Destruction: Photo by David Gilbert

We remain concerned that Cargill continues to deny the findings in our report and say that our allegations are “unfounded.” RAN confidently stands by our findings. If all of our allegations are unfounded as Cargill says, I have a few burning questions. Why is HSL plantation and associated plantations missing permits required for operation under Indonesian law? Why didn’t Cargill publicly disclose that Indo Sawit Kekal (ISK), where clearing and burning of forests took place just this last year, as one of their plantations? I can go on and on.

We look forward to participating in this process and continuing to move Cargill towards a supply chain that is completely free of rainforest destruction.

In the meantime, Cargill still needs to hear your voices of encouragement and concern. Take action today to join the nearly 1,500 people who’ve recently sent letters to Cargill’s executives and board members, without which this invitation might not have occurred at all.

To all of you who’ve written Cargill already, great work!

Read our formal response to Cargill below.

July 28, 2010

Mark Murphy
Assistant Vice President, Cargill Corporate Affairs

Mark,

In response to your letter dated July 22, I am writing to ask for clarification of the process to involve stakeholders and the public in the pre-assessment and audit required for RSPO certification of Cargill’s HSL plantations.

While RAN appreciates the invitation to share our ongoing concerns of violations of RSPO principles and criteria and Indonesian law as outlined in our report with BSI, the certification body doing the audit, we are wondering if there is a formal process for stakeholder participation in this audit. Can you please clarify? We highly recommend that stakeholders from frontline communities and NGOs in Ketapang have the opportunity to be fully consulted in a fair and transparent way as part of the public assessment and final audit. It is our hope that exemplary stakeholder engagement and participation be a part of both the assessment/audit of Cargill’s HSL plantations, as well as the supply-chain audit being conducted in collaboration with WWF.

RAN looks forward to providing our input and concerns about Cargill’s problems with palm oil in these assessments/audits. As mentioned above, we will submit concerns about Cargill’s violations of RSPO P&C and Indonesian law and hope that our concerns are addressed and clarified with transparency and accountability.

While Cargill continues to deny the findings in our report and say that our allegations are unfounded, we stand by our findings. Clearing and burning has taken place in the last year at Cargill’s Indo Sawit Kekal (ISK) plantation, and the lack of proper permits to operate plantations West Kalimantan is rampant. We acknowledge that some of our findings may be based on outdated or lack of information from local government offices, and encourage Cargill to clarify this information to the public and your customers. It is our hope that this information will be clarified through the upcoming assessments/audits of Cargill’s HSL plantations and entire supply chain.

I look forward to your response.

Leila Salazar-Lopez
Agribusiness Campaign Director

In the spirit of the World Social Forum, which will take place in Dakar, Senegal in 2011, the USSF created a space for reflection, creative thought and inspiration for all of us working for social and environmental justice in the United States to come together. We marched, prayed, danced, talked, deliberated, presented, watched, listened and learned. There were over a thousand workshops on every topic you could think of ranging from challenging multinational corporations like Cargill and Chevron to reforming our immigration policies. Additionally, there were over 50 People’s Movement Assemblies that put together concrete resolutions and steps for action.

East Michigan Environmental Action Council at Opening March of USSF

I participated in a workshop organized by the Democracy Center from Bolivia entitled, “Taking aim at Multinationals: Strategic Lessons in Anti-Corporate Campaigns” where I shared lessons from the ongoing campaign to hold Chevron accountable for their destruction of the Ecuadorian Amazon and the international movement against Chevron that is building. What’s really clear to me, and to anyone who’s paying attention to the oil spill, oil hearings etc., is that it’s not just about Chevron or BP, it’s about the entire oil industry. The oil industry isn’t accountable and never will be, so we need to mobilize to demand a permanent moratorium on offshore oil drilling and real energy solutions that will provide green jobs in places like Detroit, Houston, Richmond and beyond.

I co-led a workshop and skillshare with my colleague Hillary Lehr and activists from RAN Twin Cities entitled, “Climate Change at the End of Your Fork: Organizing Locally to Change Agribusiness as Usual.”

The inspiration for organizing this workshop was tri-fold. First of all, after reading Anna Lappe’s book, “Diet for a Hot Planet” this Spring, I couldn’t stop thinking about the fact that up to 32% of global greenhouse emissions are from our global food system. That’s more than all the world’s cars, trucks, trains, planes, ships and factories combined. Don’t get me wrong, we need energy efficient vehicles. But, we need energy efficient food and agriculture, not agribusiness as usual.

Secondly, the Agribusiness Action Initiatives Working Group on Climate Change, which RAN is a part of, recently released a report entitled, “Harvest of Heat: Agribusiness and Climate Change” highlighting how companies like Cargill, ADM, and Monsanto are responsible, but unaccountable for the adverse climate impacts related to our global food system.

Finally, Cargill is the world’s biggest agribusiness company, the largest private corporation in the U.S. and the biggest importer of palm oil into the U.S. Cargill also happens to be the target of our Rainforest Agribusiness campaign. As you know, we’re working to hold Cargill, and its customers like General Mills, accountable for rainforest destruction for palm oil plantations in Borneo.

This was a great opportunity to share information about food, agribusiness and climate change and what our campaign has been doing locally in the Twin Cities and nationally to hold Cargill and General Mills accountable. While the workshop was small, those who attended expressed that they want to either get involved in our campaign or get more involved in promoting food sovereignty through urban gardening in their communities.

Speaking of food sovereignty, the People’s Movement Assembly on Food Sovereignty was amazing and inspirational! It brought together organizations affiliated with the U.S. Food Sovereignty Alliance (formerly Food Crisis Working Group), including: Food First, Agricultural Missions, Grassroots International, WhyHunger and guests from La Via Campesina to discuss how to build a movement for food sovereignty- the people’s democratic control of the food system, the right of all people to healthy, culturally appropriate food produced through ecologically sound and sustainable methods, and their right to define their own food and agriculture systems.

Rafael Alegria, La Via Campesina leader from Honduras

From this People’s Movement Assembly, commitments were made to rebuild local food economies; democratize land access; demand an end to global land grabs, end corporate and military occupations, fair trade; endorse actions that include the liberation of land and water resources for the production of food and sustainable livelihoods; and demand a world in which everyone has control over their food and no one has to put food in their mouth that hurts people or the environment.

Another World is Possible! Another U.S. is Necessary! Another Detroit is Happening!

Our report reveals that Cargill is clearing and burning rainforests, displacing Indigenous and traditional communities and exacerbating climate change. While Cargill claims that it is committed to sustainable palm oil, it is violating its palm oil commitments, RSPO Principles and Criteria and Indonesian law. Check out our post on GRIST.

One of the things we uncovered in our investigation is that Cargill is also failing to disclose the ownership of at least two plantations where they are actively clearing rainforests. The two plantations, located on Indonesian Borneo, are operating without legally required permits, resulting in clearing and burning of rainforests and carbon-rich peatlands and significant conflict with traditional and Indigenous communities. On one plantation, Cargill has cleared 10,500 hectares of rainforest since its operations began in 2005 – an area as large as all four Walt Disney World theme parks!

In thinking about the majestic forests of Borneo -that were once havens for orangutans, Sumatran tigers and elephants- and the people who depend on it for their survival, it’s unconscionable to think that in this day and age companies are still getting away with such egregious and rampant destruction. It’s not enough for companies like Cargill to say that they are committing to “sustainable palm oil”, they need to take bold action now!

RAN is recommending that Cargill adopt and implement a comprehensive palm oil policy, which includes cleaning up its entire palm oil supply chain and supporting an immediate moratorium on any further deforestation or draining of peatlands for palm oil plantations. We are also recommending that Cargill customers, like General Mills, cancel their contracts with the company until or unless it agrees to our recommendations. Our report and full recommendations can be found at www.ran.org/cargillreport

The media is just starting to cover our report. The Minneapolis Star Tribune says, “Rain forest advocacy group slams Cargill: Rainforest Action Network says Cargill operating outside of sustainability guidelines.” We’ll keep you posted on other updates, especially the update where Cargill agrees to clean up its act and stop clearing rainforests for palm oil plantations.

Having attended the Encontro Xingu: Vivo Para Sempre” or “Xingu Encounter: Alive Forever” gathering in Altamira, Brazil in May 2008 with thousands in opposition to the Belo Monte dam, including my friends Zachary Hurwitz, Scott Fitzmorris and the late Glenn Switkes, I know the struggle is not over. I commit to doing everything I can to supporting communities in Brazil to stop this dam. Please join me and my friends at Amazon Watch and International Rivers today!

Sunrise on the Xingu River taken by Scott Fitzmorris

Brazilian Government Shoves Belo Monte Down Our Throats Ahead of Campaign Season
By Zachary Hurwitz

In July 2009, Lula da Silva promised his personal friend and Bishop of the Xingú Dom Erwin Krautler, as well as Professor Celio Bermann of the University of São Paulo, and representatives of affected indigenous and riverine communities that “we will not force Belo Monte down anyone’s throat,” But on February 1st, the Brazilian environmental agency IBAMA did just that, releasing the first of three environmental licenses required to build the Belo Monte mega-dam on the Xingu River.

IBAMA’s Provisional License approves the project’s environmental assessment (EIA), written by Brazil’s state-run electric company Eletrobras, while imposing 40 corrective mitigating conditions that will cost R$1.5 billion (US$ 794 million) to implement. In order to mitigate the dam’s social and environmental impacts and obtain an Installation License to break ground on what will be the world’s 3rd largest dam, the construction consortium that wins the project’s auction on March 30th must meet these 40 conditions.

Carlos Minc, who is expected to leave his post as Brazil’s Environment Minister this month to run for public office in Rio de Janeiro later in the year, stated that the imposition of 40 conditions proves that Belo Monte is the “most socio-environmentally advanced dam in the history of Brazil.” Meanwhile, critics like Raul Telles do Valle of Brazil’s Socio-Environmental Institute (ISA) have been quick to point out the obvious: if an environmental assessment needs 40 conditions to be approved, then it’s most likely one of the worst environmental assessments written in the country’s history.

Indeed, it appears the project’s incomplete environmental assessment was rammed through IBAMA simply to obtain the agency’s rubber stamp of approval. In November 2009 two prominent IBAMA technicians were removed from the EIA for voicing their opposition to the poor quality and rushed timeline of the EIA, which they later stated was driven by political pressure from the top. In another case, six IBAMA technicians signed a letter voicing concern that Belo Monte’s impacts to the Xingu river basin and riverine and indigenous communities had not been adequately studied, nor had these communities sufficiently participated in public hearings.

In September 2009, 40 highly respected international technical specialists and academic experts produced a report that highlighted significant errors in the EIA and the current design of Belo Monte however, the 40 conditions that IBAMA has imposed on the provisional license hardly do justice to the lacuna in the EIA. Instead, the agency has buckled once again – as it did in approving the environmental licenses of the highly controversial Santo Antônio and Jirau mega-dams of the Madeira River Complex in Brazil’s Rondônia state – to a political agenda and timetable that appear to have been determined well before the environmental assessments were ever written.

Clearly, Belo Monte’s timetable, and that of 70 other large dam projects planned for the Amazon has been in the works since José Sarney (1985-1990) took office as the first democratically elected president since 1964. The history of patronage, corruption, and fraud that has played out since Sarney distributed strategic posts in Brazil’s “hydroelectocracy” to his supporters has set the stage for Belo Monte’s politically expedited provisional license. Sarney’s bloc of supporters in the country’s electric and corporate sectors, including Dilma Roussef, Lula’s Chief of Staff and hand-picked successor for this year’s election, owe their political lives to him want Belo Monte built at any cost.

Make no mistake: the provisional license was approved this week– lacking a complete and rigorous environmental assessment, while denying the people of the Xingú their right to free, prior and, informed consent (FPIC)—because of an election timeline. In part it boosts Dilma Rousseff’s campaign for President: a Dilma win would most likely assure a continuation of the marriage between Sarneyists and the PT agenda on social spending that has characterized the Lula administration since 2005. On the other hand, a José Serra win (of the right-wing PSDB) on October 3rd would swing the country’s economic policies back to the right, a risk to the PT’s social agenda.

Meanwhile, Amazon defender and Green Party candidate Marina Silva, running 8% in polls, has criticized Belo Monte for lacking a coherent socio-environmental plan to support the people of the Xingú. Yet both front runners – Serra and Rousseff – have a strong interest in building Belo Monte and many more mega-dams in the Amazon to keep hydroelectricity profits flowing into industry and government coffers. These establishment candidates – and their devotees like Environmental Minister Carlos Minc – will undoubtedly continue to play lip service to “sustainable development,” while offering wholly inadequate mitigation schemes; 40 conditions for a Provisional License will not prevent impending disasters like Belo Monte.

The strength and unity of the Xingú River’s inhabitants, as well as the Brazilian and international environmental movement, have delayed Belo Monte since the José Sarney administration took power 25 years ago. As we watch the provisional license being shoved down the throats of the people of the Xingú, and as light continues to be shed on Lula’s ties to the Sarney political machine, it’s more important than ever to stop Belo Monte. The people of the Xingú, the Amazon, and the world depend on it. We cannot wait for more politicians to take office only to buckle under pressure. The time to stop Belo Monte for good is now.

Zachary Hurwitz has a Masters degree in Geography from the University of Texas, Austin, and has worked on energy issues in the Amazon Basin since 2006.

Did you get the response from General Mills? Are you thinking, “Gee, it seems like General Mills is doing all the right things already. Why is RAN picking on them?”. Here’s my response:

First of all, I want to commend General Mills for responding right away to share their concerns about the role of palm oil in rainforest destruction, biodiversity and endangered species. I’m glad they clarified that regardless of the modest amount of palm oil and palm oil derivatives they use in their products, they have a responsibility to purchase with principles; they have engaged their suppliers, which are all members of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO); and will only purchase from suppliers who meet RSPO principles and criteria. Great! While we knew this before we sent out our action alert and unfurled our banner, it’s always good to get clarification.

It is also reassuring that General Mills publicly supports a moratorium on palm oil expansion in tropical rainforests. Unfortunately, their palm oil supplier, Cargill, does not. In Cargill’s recently updated “Palm Oil Commitments”, Cargill commits to no expansion into high conservation value forests (HCVF) or peatlands and only expand on “degraded land”. As the largest importer of palm oil into the United States, Cargill should expand their commitment by supporting a moratorium on palm oil expansion in Southest Asia as other companies have already done. It is our hope that General Mills can convince Cargill to support a moratorium.

In order to ensure that the palm oil in General Mills’ products is not causing rainforest destruction, displacing communities and exacerbating climate change, General Mills needs to do more than engage their suppliers and trust that they are meeting RSPO principles and criteria. General Mills needs to pressure its suppliers to meet and exceed RSPO principles and criteria. Cargill is not doing that and until it does, General Mills should cancel its palm oil contract with Cargill or continue to be associated with rainforest destruction. To learn more about Cargill’s role in rainforest destruction, check out our case studies and videos.

As a trusted all-American brand with lots of recognition in corporate social responsibility, General Mills should encourage their suppliers to go beyond the RSPO. Settling for sustainable palm oil is not enough to protect the world’s remaining rainforests, forests communities and our climate. U.S. companies that use palm oil in their products, like General Mills, should demand socially and environmentally responsible palm oil. This is palm oil that is identity preserved (like organic), traceable and segregated. This is palm oil that is not grown on converted rainforests or peatlands, or where communities have not given their Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC). If companies cannot commit to socially and environmentally responsible palm oil, they shouldn’t be using it.

To learn more about what we’re calling socially and environmentally responsible palm oil, check out our reccommendations for market leaders and our model policy at www.theproblemwithpalmoil.org

Leila Salazar-Lopez
Rainforest Agribusiness Campaign Director

You can watch the public event featuring the following panel of distinguished speakers moderated by Simran Sethi, award-winning environmental journalist: Jeffrey Hollender, CEO of Seventh Generation; Michael Besancon, Global Vice President of Purchasing, Distribution and Marketing of Whole Foods Market; Leila Salazar-Lopez, Rainforest Agribusiness Campaign Director; and Matilda Pilacapio, land owner and human rights advocate from Papua New Guinea working to strengthen traditional agricultural systems in response to Cargill’s expanding oil palm plantations in PNG.

Matilda kicked off the event by sharing personal stories and photos of the impacts of palm oil on her land in the Milne Bay Province and the traditional communities of PNG. Then, I followed by sharing info about the global reach of palm oil and the global need to take action. I also showed a short clip of GREEN, a moving documentary which tells the story about the corporate conversion of rainforests in Indonesia for palm oil, tropical wood and paper through the eyes of one of the palm oil industry’s victims – a dying orangutan. As you may already know, almost 90% of orangutan habitat has already disappeared. If current trends of deforestation continue, the orangutan could be the first great ape to go extinct in the near future.

We’re working to stop this destruction by exposing and pressuring Cargill, the biggest importer of palm oil into the United States, and by working with market leaders, like Seventh Generation and Whole Foods, who are making commitments to environmentally and socially responsible palm oil.

Beyond signing our pledge to protect rainforests, communities and the climate, these companies have created action plans and committed to sourcing 100% identity preserved, fully-traceable “sustainable” palm oil by 2012; support a palm oil moratorium; and have agreed to call on industry peers to do the same, among other things. Seventh Generation has taken it one step further and has agreed to mobilize their customers and peers to take action on climate change legislation by writing to President Obama and his lead climate negotiator Todd Stern to demand that they ensure that UN REDD respects Indigenous rights and protects rainforests from palm oil plantations. You can take action too, by going to our website and signing the letter.

As mentioned above, 45 companies have now signed RAN’s pledge and have committed to developing an action plan to source more socially and environmentally responsible palm oil. Since there are very few examples of socially and environmentally responsible palm oil, organic and/or RSPO certified palm oil, there’s a long way to go to achieving success. Success begins with a commitment, however, so were encouraging more companies to join us in taking action to protect rainforests, communities and the climate from the destructive and unsustainable use of palm oil that currently exists.

In coming weeks, we’ll be exposing and pressuring some of the biggest suppliers and importers, beginning with Cargill, to take responsibility for their role in rainforest destruction for palm oil. Keep tuned in for more info!

Leila Salazar-Lopez
Rainforest Agribusiness Campaign Director

To hear a report from the ground, check out Democracy Now’s show on Monday, where Gregor MacLennan, Program Coordinator for Amazon Watch was interviewed. He arrived in Bagua, the scene of this weekend’s clashes, on Saturday.

And, if you haven’t taken action to support the struggle for life and land by our Indigenous brothers and sisters in the Peruvian Amazon, please join the 25,000 who’ve taken action today on Avaaz.org

Please consider making a donation to support media, medical and legal expenses. Thanks!

What: Chevron’s CEO David O’Reilly is debating Carl Pope of the Sierra Club about the future of our planet’s energy TONIGHT, Wednesday, June 10th at the Hotel Nikko in San Francisco.

We will be outside the hotel in numbers letting O’Reilly and media know that Chevron cannot hide behind optimistic talk about our energy future without accounting for the crimes of the past and present. We will have creative visuals from the AGM on May 27, but we need folks!

When: Wednesday June 10th. 5:30pm

Where: Nikko Hotel
222 Mason St
San Francisco, CA 94102

Who: Everyone and Anyone who stands in solidarity with communities holding Chevron accountable.

Why: Behind Chevron’s record profit in 2008 lies a systemic pattern of abuses: toxic pollution, violent repression, and disregard for the health and rights of communities around the world that are affected by Chevron’s operations. An unprecedented coalition of communities and activist groups made our resistance to Chevron’s modus operandi known at the company’s 2009 shareholder meeting, and this is the next event at which we can show Chevron this resistance!

Chevron’s CEO David O’Reilly is debating Carl Pope of the Sierra Club. While his company talks about “Human Energy” and touts its supposed commitment to a greener future, O’Reilly, while at the helm of Chevron, continues to expand its global polluting operations from Richmond, CA to Alberta. Chevron continues to ignore calls to stop funding the oppressive regime in Burma, to clean up toxic operations in Nigeria and the Philippines, and to take responsibility for its multibillion dollar mess in Ecuador instead of lying to its own shareholders and the public about it. David O’Reilly cannot speak credibly in this debate about the future of energy without answering to Chevron’s crimes of the past and present! We need to let him know he must answer to the communities themselves, and to their allies that will be standing outside the Nikko Hotel TONIGHT, lending their voices to the communities that cannot be present and be heard.

For more info on the True Cost of Chevron’s operations around the world check out:
www.truecostofchevron.com
www.chevrontoxico.com

In protest of the Peruvian government’s attempts to change laws and the constitution to open up Peru’s Amazon to exploitation by the oil, gas, mining and agribusiness industries (to meet its obligations under the Peru-US Free Trade Agreement), Indigenous Amazonians have been protesting non-violently for over 60 days. Just when their protest was gaining national and international attention and support, police attacked protestors in Bagua on Friday morning, killing at least 25 civilians and injuring at least 150. It is rumored that police are on their way to “break up” a protest by the Achuar in the northern Peruvian Amazon.

TAKE ACTION NOW! SEND A LETTER TO PERU’S PRESIDENT, ALAN GARCIA!

PLEASE TAKE ACTION & SPREAD THE WORD to stop the violence and injustices taking place against our Indigenous brothers and sisters and the Peruvian Amazon!

In peace and solidarity,

Leila

P.S. See below to see the action alert and latest press release from our friends at Amazon Watch.

Dear Friends,

Yesterday’s violent attacks on peaceful indigenous blockades in the Peruvian Amazon has left 25 civilians and 9 police dead and hundreds injured. The Garcia government has issued arrest orders for Alberto Pizango, the president of of AIDESEP (Peru’s national indigenous organization) charging him with sedition. Other leaders are similarly charged. We are encouraging people to take action in the following ways:

1) Activate your networks and ask them to send letters to the Peruvian Government demanding an immediate cease to the violent repression and a suspension of the state of emergency. With your help, we can generate thousands of letters to key decision makers. You can use a sample letter on our site: http://amazonwatch.org/peru-action-alert.php

2) Consider making a personal or organizational donation to this effort.
Amazon Watch is setting up an emergency fund to support: a) medical relief for the wounded, b) media campaigns led by indigenous organizations, and c)legal defense for those being charged. You can donate online at or send a check to Amazon Watch, 221 Pine Street, 4th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94104. Please specify for “The Peru Emergency Fund”. All the funds raised will be directed to organizations in Peru.

Please share your ideas of how you can help. Below is the latest news release with more details.

Thank You,
Atossa

AMAZON WATCH
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 6, 2009

In Bagua, Peru: Gregor MacLennan + 511 – 993 916-389
In the U.S.: Atossa Soltani 202-256-9795 atossa@amazonwatch.org, Nick Magel 419-283-2728 nick@amazonwatch.org

Police Open Fire on Indigenous Blockade in the Peruvian Amazon – 25 Civilians and 9 Police Dead, 150 Injured

Photos of June 5 Police Attack on Peaceful Blockade in Bagua

Bagua, Peru (June 6, 2009) – In the early morning hours on Friday, Peruvian Special Forces staged a violent raid on a group of indigenous people at a peaceful blockade on a road outside of Bagua in a remote area of the northern Peruvian Amazon resulting in 25 civilians confirmed dead and more than 150 injured. Over 600 police attacked several thousand unarmed Awajun and Wambis indigenous peoples including many women and children and forcibly dispersed them using tear gas and live ammunition.

Dramatic photos (available on www.amazonwatch.org) of the attack show clearly the police brutally beating and shooting demonstrators at close range. At 2am police began to approach the demonstrators as they were sleeping along the Fernando Belaúnde Terry road. Demonstrators refused to move from the roadblock as police in helicopters fired teargas grenades and live ammunition. Eyewitnesses report that police also attacked from both sides firing live rounds into the crowd as people fled into surrounding steep hillsides, many becoming trapped. As the unarmed demonstrators were being killed and injured some wrestled with police, fighting back in self-defense, which resulted in the reported deaths of nine police officers.

In local radio reports the chief of police claimed that the indigenous demonstrators were armed and fired first. This claim has been strongly rejected by dozens of local eyewitnesses including local journalists who confirmed that Amazonian demonstrators have been entirely peaceful and only bear traditional spears and in no way provoked any violence. A point highlighted by the fact that the blockades have been going on for 56 days without a single incident.

Gregor MacLennan of Amazon Watch who is currently in Bagua gathering first hand testimonies from blockade participants, local journalists and residents stated: “All eyewitness testimonies say that Special Forces opened fire on peaceful and unarmed demonstrators including from helicopters, killing and wounding dozens in an orchestrated attempt to open the roads. It seems that the police had come with orders to shoot. This was not a clash, but a coordinated police raid with police firing on protesters from both sides of their blockade.”

“There have been many accounts of atrocities committed by the Special Forces. Some have reported seeing the police throwing liquid on the cadavers and burning them. Also local residents have given accounts of having seen police throwing bodies of dead civilians into the river in an apparent attempt to underreport the number of dead. We’ve also received accounts that some of those injured were being detained by security forces and denied medical attention leading to additional deaths. There are many people still reported missing and access to medical attention in the region is horribly inadequate.”

Peru’s Ombudsman’s office issued a strong statement yesterday demanding an end to the violence. Letters condemning the government’s actions are pouring in from thousands of Peruvians and international human rights activists and organizations. Today, Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, the chair of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues of the United Nations issued a letter expressing “shock and deep distress at reports received of atrocities committed” and calling on the government to “Immediately cease all violence against indigenous communities and organizations.”

Indigenous peoples have vowed to continue protests until the Peruvian Congress revokes the “free trade” decrees issued by President Garcia under special powers granted by Congress in the context of the Free Trade Agreement with the United States.

In the past two weeks, the Constitutional Committee of Congress has ruled that legislative decrees 994 and 1090 were unconstitutional. The Peruvian Congress was scheduled to debate the revocation of decree 1090 again on Thursday, however, Garcia’s political party, for the third time, prevented the debate preferring instead to attack the peaceful blockades. The government Ombudsman office has filed a legal action with the constitutional tribunal regarding the unconstitutionality of decree 1064, which affects the land rights laws in Peru.

“Garcia has rejected several congressional debates on the decrees, opting for violent attacks and brute force that will only worsen this conflict. It is outrageous that the ministers are now attempting to blame the victims for this incident and cover up the number of indigenous people
dead,” said Gregor MacLennan.

The protests have provoked national debate about government policies in the Amazon that ignore indigenous peoples and encourage large-scale extractive industries in Amazonian lands. Indigenous peoples assert that new laws undermine their rights and open up their ancestral lands to private companies for mining, logging, plantations, and oil drilling without their consultation or consent.

AIDESEP, the national indigenous organization of Peru presented a legal petition yesterday for “precautionary measures” to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights requesting intervention to prevent more bloodshed. Orders for the arrest of leaders of AIDESEP, including Alberto Pizango who is being charged with sedition, were put in effect on Friday.

A coalition of human rights and environmental organizations are urging the Garcia Government to stand down and cease violent confrontations by the military and calling for solidarity demonstrations at Peruvian Embassies around the world. There were demonstrations on Friday at the Peruvian Government missions in San Francisco and Washington, DC. More are planned next week.

AIDESEP, the national indigenous organization of Peru has called for a nationwide general strike starting June 11th.

For Background information see additional links and www.aidesep.org.pe

Oakland, CA (click here for directions)
• Hear from representatives of Amazon Watch, Rainforest Action Network, and International Forum on Globalization on their experiences at the World Social Forum, which include coordinating the human banner and the UN Declaration on Indigenous Peoples Rights panel with Indigenous allies.
• Participate in an open discussion with other Bay Area community members and leaders who attended the WSF.
• See photos by Lou Dematteis, award-winning photojournalist from San Francisco.

From January 26-February 1, 2009 over 100,000 people from all over the world gathered at the World Social Forum (WSF) in Belem, Brazil to revive the call that “Another World is Possible”. For the first time in the Forum’s 7 year history, it took place in the Amazon, which manifested the largest Indigenous delegation in the history of the forum. On the opening day of the Forum, Indigenous people from across Latin America led over 1,700 WSF participants to form a human banner, using their bodies to draw attention to the increasingly precarious situation of the Amazon rainforest. Indigenous leaders, environmentalists and activists joined forces to spell out the messages “SOS AMAZONIA and SALVE A AMAZONIA” (“SOS AMAZON and SAVE THE AMAZON” in Portuguese) around the massive silhouette of an Indigenous warrior taking aim with a bow and arrow. See photo below.

Co-Sponsored by: Amazon Watch, Rainforest Action Network, and the International Forum on Globalization.

For more information contact: Christian Poirier at Christian@amazonwatch.org or 510-666-7565
*NOTE: The Space is wheelchair accessible.

Photo by Lou Dematteis/Spectral Q

On the eve of the human banner event, Brazil’s leading Amazonian indigenous organization, COIAB, issued the following statement: “With the permission of our ancestors’ spirits, we indigenous peoples are here with our friends from all corners of the earth. We build this symbol with our bodies as the cry of living beings from this green forest, this planet, for our continuity as humans and diverse creatures. The symbol of the bow and arrow has three meanings: The first, our aim that every man, woman, and child will decide to care for our planet; The second, the position of defending the rights of indigenous peoples, of nature, of the planet, and of our home the Amazon; The third, to send a message to the world so that each of us helps to protect our home, our air, our water, our food. The Datsiparabu ceremony is the purification of our minds, our spirit, our soul, and our hearts. Save the Amazon!”

For more information contact :Christian Poirier, Pan Amazon Coordinator

Amazon Watch
One Hallidie Plaza Suite 402
San Francisco, CA 94102
Tel: 415-487-9600
Cell: 510-666-7565
christian@amazonwatch.org
www.amazonwatch.org

$5-10 donation requested at the door to help cover costs of event and events at the WSF.

• Hear from representatives of Amazon Watch, Rainforest Action Network, and International Forum on Globalization on their experiences at the World Social Forum, which include coordinating the human banner and the UN Declaration on Indigenous Peoples Rights panel with Indigenous allies.
• Participate in an open discussion with other Bay Area community members and leaders who attended the WSF.
• See photos by Lou Dematteis, award-winning photojournalist from San Francisco.


From January 26-February 1, 2009 over 100,000 people from all over the world gathered at the World Social Forum (WSF) in Belem, Brazil to revive the call that “Another World is Possible”. For the first time in the Forum’s 7 year history, it took place in the Amazon, which manifested the largest Indigenous delegation in the history of the forum. On the opening day of the Forum, Indigenous people from across Latin America led over 1,700 WSF participants to form a human banner, using their bodies to draw attention to the increasingly precarious situation of the Amazon rainforest. Indigenous leaders, environmentalists and activists joined forces to spell out the messages “SOS AMAZONIA and SALVE A AMAZONIA” (“SOS AMAZON and SAVE THE AMAZON” in Portuguese) around the massive silhouette of an Indigenous warrior taking aim with a bow and arrow. See photo below.

Co-Sponsored by: Amazon Watch, Rainforest Action Network, International Forum on Globalization and Center for Political Education.

*NOTE: Space is NOT wheelchair accessible.

Photo by Lou Dematteis/Spectral Q

On the eve of the human banner event, Brazil’s leading Amazonian indigenous organization, COIAB, issued the following statement: “With the permission of our ancestors’ spirits, we indigenous peoples are here with our friends from all corners of the earth. We build this symbol with our bodies as the cry of living beings from this green forest, this planet, for our continuity as humans and diverse creatures. The symbol of the bow and arrow has three meanings: The first, our aim that every man, woman, and child will decide to care for our planet; The second, the position of defending the rights of indigenous peoples, of nature, of the planet, and of our home the Amazon; The third, to send a message to the world so that each of us helps to protect our home, our air, our water, our food. The Datsiparabu ceremony is the purification of our minds, our spirit, our soul, and our hearts. Save the Amazon!”

Earlier this week we sent letters to over 300 companies that currently put palm oil in one or more of their products. We sent letters to companies ranging from multi-national corporations to small family businesses. Our goal in sending these letters was/is to inform companies of the problems with palm oil and encourage them to phase out palm oil from their products until reliable sustainable sources are available in the market. We also asked companies to work with RAN in the following ways:

• Research their supply chain and let us know who provides the palm oil that you use in their products.
• Contact their palm oil suppliers and tell them that if they are unable to provide a supply that can be independently verified as not being derived from recently cleared tropical rainforests, then they will find an alternative supplier and/or phase out palm oil from their products all together.
• Support the moratorium on palm oil expansion in tropical rainforests.

Companies that currently use palm oil received our letter, a recent LA Times op-ed, and simultaneously received thousands of letters from you. Thank You! Some companies immediately responded with e-mails to you. Others e-mailed and/or called us to express concern and cooperation, while others expressed frustration about us flooding their inboxes and servers. In response, we asked companies to make a commitment to not use palm oil in their products that destroy rainforests. Most agreed, but some insisted that they do not use palm oil (NOTE: Vitamin A Palmitate, Isopropyl Palmitate, and Retinyl Palmitate ARE palm oil) or their palm oil comes from certified responsible sources. Great! This is the kind of information we need to make change in the marketplace and pressure the ABCs.

Finally, you should know, that we are asking companies to sign our pledge to protect rainforests, family farmers and our climate. Over the next couple weeks, we’ll be following up with all the companies we wrote letters to asking them to sign our pledge. Once we have critical mass, we’ll publicize the commitment of these companies and work with them to pressure the ABCs. See the pledge below.

Pledge to Protect Rainforests, Family Farmers and our Climate

As a company that uses palm oil in our products, we are alarmed to discover the social and envi-ronmental impacts of palm oil production and expansion in tropical rainforest ecosystems around the world. Our company is committed to protecting rainforests, communities and our global climate.

We call on all agribusiness companies – particularly Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), Bunge and Cargill – to use their influence with the palm oil industry to require standards that protect rainforests and peat swamps; that do not allow any use of fire for land conversion; and that respect the free, prior and informed consent of communities impacted by palm oil expansion.

We pledge our company to not purchase any palm oil that violates these standards, and we commit to work with Rainforest Action Network to ensure that sustainable alternatives to palm oil from destroyed rainforests are available in the marketplace.

P.S. Check out our press release for today’s events.

-Shame on ADM for its role in destroying tropical rainforests for soy and palm plantations;
-Shame on ADM for displacing Indigenous and local communities from their traditional territories and/or small farms to expand their soy and palm plantations;
-Shame on ADM for exacerbating climate change and the world food crisis by promoting the expansion of agrofuels, industrial biofuels, in tropical ecosystems; and
-Shame on ADM for lobbying against voluntary provisions in the U.S. Farm Bill to prove that companies are not using slave labor to harvest their products. (For more info and to sign a petition,click here.)

ADM, Archer Daniels Midland, one of the biggest and most powerful U.S. agribusiness companies likes to believe that it is feeding and fueling the planet. In reality, however, the company is causing widespread social and environmental abuses.

As you know, RAN is campaigning to get ADM to stop destroying rainforests, abusing human rights and exacerbating climate change. ADM is leading the charge for massive soy and palm oil expansion in Southeast Asia and South America. Huge areas of tropical rainforest have to be cleared and burned to make room for monocrop soy and palm oil plantations which will, in turn, be used to create agrofuels. This process — clearing forests to make fuel — is a climate nightmare.

Over its lifecycle, palm-based agrofuels can emit up to ten times more carbon dioxide per gallon than gasoline.

Not only is it a nightmare for the climate, it’s a nightmare for the communities on the frontlines of ADM’s soy and palm oil expansion. Indigenous and local communities are displaced off their land to make way for plantations. In one province in Indonesia alone, the UN predicts that up to 5 million people will be displaced by palm oil plantations for agrofuels.

But ADM doesn’t care. The company just wants to make a quick profit regardless of the environmental or social consequences of its actions. In March, we attended the Wall Street Journal’s Eco:nomics conference where we gave ADM’s CEO an opportunity to sign a pledge to stop destroying rainforests for agrofuels. She didn’t sign it. Shame on ADM! The only way ADM will care is if we speak out now!

So, Vote for ADM in the Corporate Hall of Shame Today!

This was our nation’s biggest man made oil spill, Exxon has forever
injured us– physically, mentally, spiritually, economically and our
precious and once thriving habitat. Now, over 30,000 plaintiffs will
never see a “fair and just settlement” from this technological
disaster.

The Supreme Court justices should be tarred (in crude) and feathered
and run out of town. This proves that protecting “Big Oil and their
net profits” is much more important than protecting the rights and way
of life of hard working citizens, let alone protecting our rights to
clean air and clean water.

This bad U.S. Supreme Court decision is absolutely horrifying and
criminal. This settlement (approximately $15,000 each) amounts to one
good day of fishing on the Sound. In 1989, Exxon came here and
promised to make us “whole again,” yet did everything in their power
and money to see that justice would never prevail!

We fishermen here in Alaska provide wild salmon meals for the planet.
One would think that the people who are feeding the world one of the
healthiest food resources on earth, that our rights and way of life
should equally be upheld and protected by the Courts.

We will continue to persevere and feed the people of the world, but
from here on out we will never ever trust the oil industry, government
or the courts. Because we now know that if a disaster happens that we
will be the ones left to defend and restore our rights and way of
life. This should be a huge wake up call to ALL the people here in
America that our way of life is expendable and that it is up to us to
protect our homelands and way of life, because no one else will.

Dune Lankard

Commercial fisherman, Native inhabitant and conservationist here in
Prince William Sound and the Copper River Delta

According to an AP news article, deforestation of the Amazon is on course to rise after three years of declines. Figures for April released earlier this month showed a startling 434 square miles (1,123 sq km) of forest lost in the month. This deforestation occurred in the legal Amazon, which is monitored under the soy moratorium, but also in the Amazon transition zone, sacred to Indigenous people, and the Cerrado- the world’s largest tropical savannah. The Moratorium is a good mechanism to monitor deforestation, but much more needs to be done to truly stop the clearing and burning of the Amazon, as well as other tropical ecosystems.

That’s why in our letter to ADM, Bunge and Cargill, last week, we also called for an expansion of the soy moratorium to other regions such as the Cerrado, the Gran Chaco and rainforests in Southeast Asia and the Pacific, that are affected by the rapid expansion of commodities like palm oil, corn and sugarcane. We’re waiting to hear back from the companies on the call for expansion.

See the text of our letter below.

June 10, 2008

Dear ADM, Bunge and Cargill,

On July 24, 2006, your company committed to not purchase soy from newly deforested land in the Amazon biome as a part of the Soy Moratorium. I commend you for your leadership in advancing the goals of the Soy Moratorium and urge you to extend the deadline and expand its scope.

The Soy Moratorium has had some positive impacts in the first 2 years that are important to recognize.
1. The Soy Workgroup (GTS) including ABIOVE member companies like ADM, Bunge and Cargill, the Brazilian government, and NGOs such as Greenpeace and IPAM, was created to develop mechanisms to implement the Soy Moratorium.
2. Results of the first GTS field evaluation between August 2006- August 2007, and the field visits between January-February 2008 show that no newly cleared area over 100 hectares was being used to grow soy.
3. The Brazilian government has undertaken a project to map the entire Amazon, documenting which areas in the legal Amazon that have been recently deforested. This project has helped enforce the government’s regulations requiring landowners to clear no more than one-fifth of rainforest land they own.

The Soy Moratorium represents a solid first step towards better governance and monitoring of the soy production chain in the Amazon biome. However, there is still room to strengthen the Moratorium in its capacity to guard against environmental degradation as well as human rights violations. For example, it currently contains a loophole which allows ranchers to clear land to graze cattle for 2-3 years before selling it to soy producers—a common practice. This is problematic in light of last week’s announcement by Brazil’s National Institute for Spatial Research reporting that the Amazon lost at least 2,258 square miles of forest cover from August 2007 to April 2008, an increase from the previous year.

After 3 years of declining deforestation in the Amazon, it is on the rise again due to the world’s ever-growing demand for grains, such as soy, used for food, feed and fuel. It is an opportune moment to further advance the goals of the Soy Moratorium. As an agribusiness industry leader I encourage you to show leadership in the GTS by committing to an extension of the Moratorium. I would also encourage you to consider expanding the model of the Soy Moratorium to other regions such as the Cerrado, the Gran Chaco and rainforests in Southeast Asia and the Pacific, that are affected by the rapid expansion of commodities like palm oil, corn and sugarcane.

I would appreciate a timely response to my request as the deadline for the Moratorium nears. Please contact me at your earliest convenience by e-mailing mbrune@ran.org or by calling 415-659-0511.

Thank you,

Michael Brune
Executive Director
Rainforest Action Network

Since Altamira and the surrounding area around the Transamazonia highway are pretty much dominated by cattle ranching, there’s not much forest there. Leaving Altamira, however, it wasn’t long before the landscape was dominated by intact rainforest for as far as the eye could see. For about three hours, we flew over the Xingu river and the great forest that surrounds it. It was truly incredible and inspiring to see. At the beginning of the trip, the forest was flat, but then we crossed an area where the forest became mountainous. Then, it became flat again. That’s around the time I noticed a road all of a sudden. According to Jacalo Kuikuro, one of the elders who flew with us, this is the road that crosses the Indigenous Reserve. It is BR-80. I looked in the distance and saw what looked like cleared land. He said it was land cleared for soy. I asked him what he thought about the soy plantations surrounding the reserve and he said that he didn’t like it because the chemicals sprayed on the soy contaminate the rivers and kill the fish. Looking down at the Xingu river and all of the small rivers and channels that lead into it, I could see how chemicals from pesticide spraying miles away could have disastrous effects on the ecology and culture of the Xingu.

It wasn’t long before the plane began to descend and I noticed the changing landscape. I noticed less vegetation and more lakes. We were reaching the transition zone where the Amazon and the Cerrado, tropical wooded grassland, meet. This is an area of extreme biological and cultural diversity. For Indigenous people, like the Kuikuro, it is a sacred place that needs to be respected and protected.

Upon arrival of the Ipatse Kuikuro village, we were greeted by the village children and then introduced to Chief Afukaka. He welcomed us and led us to his house to talk. I told him about what we had seen from the air…the expansive forest, majestic river and soy plantations in the distance. He said, “When I was young, it was all forest. There were no soy plantations, but now as soon as you leave the Reserve it’s all soy plantations and cattle ranches. The chemicals from these huge farms cause lots of harm. When it rains all of the chemicals go into the rivers. Last year, a small river near our village was full of dead fish.” He also said, “Forests near the edge of our Reserve are burnt every year. When it rains, sometimes it rains black.” I told him about our campaign and he thanked me. He asked that I keep in touch with the young people in the community who are filmmakers working with “Video in the Villages” on films to preserve the Kuikuro culture. It turns out that I had already crossed paths with a couple of the young filmmakers a couple weeks ago in DC at the premiere of some their films at the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian. It’s a small world!

Shortly after leaving the Kuikuro community, we began to see the changing landscape, once again. This time, however, it was a drastic change where the forest ends and agribusiness begins. According to ISA, the SocialEnvironmental Institute in Canarana, 80,000 hectares of soy are in the Canarana area; 30,000 are in Agua Boa (south of Canarana); 40,000 are in Gaucha (west of Canarana); and 160,000 are in Querencia (north of Canarana). This soy expansion has occurred in just the last 13 years and is continuing. To get a better sense of what I’m talking about, look at this map and these photos.

It’s quite incredible! After flying over the Xingu and hearing the perspectives of Indigenous people like the Kuikuro, I find it pretty reprehensible that massive deforestation for agribusiness is occurring and continues to occur. Seeing the silos of Cargill and Bunge in Canarana convince me even more that the ABC’s of Rainforest Destruction need to be held accountable for the impacts they are causing to the world’s rainforests, local communities and our global climate.

Thousands of people gathered in Altamira, Para-Brazil last week for the “Encontro Xingu: Vivo Para Sempre” or “Xingu Encounter: Alive Forever” gathering. This gathering brought together local, national and international organizations, including RAN, working to defend the Xingu River Basin and support the Indigenous and river-based communities that inhabit the region in their resistance to proposals to dam the Xingu river. This was the largest Indigenous gathering in the Brazilian Amazon since 1989 when a similar gathering took place in Altamira. After attending the historic gathering this week, traveling to the proposed dam site and flying over the entire Xingu river basin, it is very clear to me that local and Indigenous communities are totally against the current dam proposals and that everything must be done to protect the Xingu river basin and its inhabitants.

For those of you who do not know, the Xingu river is one of Brazil’s largest rivers and one of the largest tributaries to the Amazon river. Its headwaters are in the state of Mato Grosso, “the soy state”, then it travels through the Xingu Indigenous Reserve until finally reaching the Amazon. The 10,000 square mile Xingu Indigenous Reserve was the first federally recognized Indigenous territory in Brazil. The Reserve is home to more than 4,000 people from 14 Indigenous nations – including the Aweti, Kaiabi and Waura– each with a distinct language and cultural tradition. Another 10,000 Indigenous people, including the Kayapo, Panara and Xavante nations, live along the river in areas outside the Reserve. The entire Xingu river basin and the lives of its inhabitants are under threat by dams -both large and small- and industrial agriculture. Soy plantations dominate the upper Xingu surrounding the Reserve contaminating the river and its tributaries with toxic pesticides and fertilizers.

And, if the state electric company gets its way, a series of dams beginning with the gigantic BELO MONTE dam in the lower Xingu will be built to “meet Brazil’s growing energy needs”.


To show their resistance to Electrobras’s dam proposals and other threats to the Xingu river basin, over 1,000 Indigenous people traveled by canoe, boat, bus and plane to participate in the Xingu Encontro this week. At the opening ceremony Monday night, each tribe individually entered the gymnasium where the meeting was being held singing and dancing to show their presence and resistance. They were greeted and honored by hundreds of community members, students, NGO representatives and the media as they entered the meeting. As the meeting kicked off, leaders from local community organizations addressed the crowd about their concerns and then, a leader from each tribe addressed the crowd and asked the media to tell the world about their concerns. Luckily, AP, CNN, BBC, NPR, Aljazeera, independent media, and loads of local and national Brazilian press were in attendance.

WATCH BATTLING FOR WATER IN THE AMAZON by Aljazeera on YouTube

Battling for Water in the Amazon

Tuesday, May 20, 2008: Electrobras presentation ignites anger at Xingu gathering.
The day began in an opening ceremony as each tribe entered the meeting. Following the ceremony and introductions, Father Renato gave an overview of the historic 1989 gathering. He also pointed out the work of anthropologist Darrell Posey who traveled to the United States with two Kayapo leaders to lobby the U.S. Congress to cancel loans for the proposed dams. As a result, $8 million in World Bank loans were cancelled. Unfortunately, however, plans for dams on the Xingu have not been cancelled indefinitely.

In the afternoon, an engineer from Electrobras, Paulo Fernando Rezende, presented his new analysis of the benefits and impacts on communities and the environment as a result of the construction of the Belo Monte dam. If constructed, it would be the 3rd largest dam in the world costing upwards of $6 billion dollars to construct. Mr. Rezende explained the growing need for the growing demand for more energy in Brazil. “Brazil needs an additional 32.4 million MWH/year over the next 10 years to meet its growing energy needs.” He was booed! Electrobras’s plan is to build Belo Monte and another 69 dams in the Amazon over the next 30 years. NOTE: Mr. Rezende failed to mention the additional 69 dams. He mentioned that Belo Monte would bring economic prosperity to the region and “jobs” for local and Indigenous people. He was booed! He acknowledged that there would be impacts, but that Indigenous lands would not be flooded. He was booed! He said that Electrobras would coordinate with FUNAI (Brazilian Bureau of Indian Affairs) to “consult” with Indigenous people. At that point, he was really booed!!! He was essentially booed off stage for lying about the impacts. Even though everyone knows that dams flood or dry up sections of rivers, displace communities, destroy fish stocks and intensify climate change, he said that the dams would not flood local communities. I think what really got to people, though, was the fact that Mr. Rezende totally disregarded the arrival of a tribe from the Xingu Indigenous Reserve during his presentation. He continued to give his powerpoint as the tribe entered with a ceremonial dance until he was asked by one of the meeting organizers to stop. To me, this is a clear example of the lack of cultural and environmental awareness that Electrobras and other companies have. I can’t imagine how their consultation of Indigenous and local communities would be without the presence of thousands of people and the media.

In response, Tuira Kayapo –a very strong Kayapo woman- stood up, walked over to Mr. Rezende waving her machete and gave him a piece of her mind. She’s the same woman who slapped an Electrobras official with her machete in 1989. Immediately following, the room cheered, Indigenous leaders began chanting and then all got up and headed towards Mr. Rezende to give him a piece of their collective and unified mind and presence. I didn’t understand what they said in words, but it was very clear that they were angry and not going to let Mr. Rezende or Electrobras leave without knowing that they were going to resist the building of this and any other dam on their traditional territories. They were clear that they will defend their lives, culture and their environment until the end. It was an amazing show of force and unity among the Indigenous people of the Xingu river basin, people who haven’t always gotten along, however the force ended in an unfortunate way. Surrounded by hundreds of Indigenous people and the media, Mr. Rezende was knocked to the floor and suffered some machete wounds sending him to the hospital. This promptly ended the meeting for the day to ease tensions. You can read more about what happened in an Associated Press article that was published on Tuesday night, or read blogs from friends/allies at International Rivers or the Indigenous People’s Cultural Support Trust.

The moral of the story, for me, is that Brazil has a long way to go to really put FPIC -Free, Prior and Informed Consent- into practice. Perhaps Electrobras has been “consulting” communities over the past 20 years, but consultation is not consent! If the people who are most affected (ie.. the Indigenous and river-based communities of the Xingu river basin) express their adamant opposition to a project, there is no project in my opinion. “Development” projects conceived in boardrooms in Sao Paulo need to be reconceived and “growth” needs to be re-evaluated for the true benefit of local and Indigenous communities and for our global environment and climate. Imagine what local and Indigenous communities could do with $6 billion dollars. Another World is Possible!

Wednesday, May 21, 2008: Visioning and Dancing to Protect Xingu
The confrontation with the Electrobras official on Tuesday, raised concerns by the organizing committee and created a media frenzy, but it did not stop the spirit of resistance at the event. The event continued as planned on Wednesday with workgroups focusing on future work to protect the Xingu river basin.

On Wednesday afternoon, I observed a visioning meeting of people from the Xingu Indigenous Reserve and learned about the values that Indigenous people have for the Xingu river basin. A Kaiabi Suia man said, “The Xingu river is our mother. The forest is our father. The river provides water and fish and the forest provides food and medicine for us. The forest is our supermarket. Without it we cannot live.” A Xavante man said, “The rivers of the Xingu basin provide water, biodiversity and cultural diversity. This is the type of energy we need, not energy from dams.”

Following the meeting, Scott Fitzmorris (from the Wallace Global Fund), Zachary Hurwitz (Master’s Student at UT Austin) and I were invited to have dinner at the Betania where all of the Indigenous people were staying. While we were eating hundreds of people ran towards the kitchen to watch the evening news. A local news station reported that Mr. Rezende, the Electrobras official, was sent to the hospital and received 6 stitches from the wound he received on his arm. People cheered! Then the station ran an interview of a FUNAI (Bureau of Indian Affairs) official who denounced the “attack” and said that “the Indians would be held accountable”. People began yelling and chanting in anger. Then, the Kayapo stood up and began chant war songs and began to dance. They inspired the Kamaiura, Kaiabi, Suia, Kuikuro, Xavante and all the tribes present to join them. What began as a dance of resistance against the words of the FUNAI official, turned into a dance of unity of all of the tribes that lasted many hours. For the first time, I saw Kayapo Chiefs smiling, Kayapo women dancing with Kuikuro Chiefs and non-Indigenous allys being invited to dance with the group. It was a beautiful show of unity and strength that I will never forget. This is the type of energy and spirit that is needed to stop the dams and protect the Xingu river basin.

Thursday, May 22, 2008: Xingu Gathering ends in unity against dams on the Xingu and in the Amazon.
The day began with presentations by academics and government officials about the importance of FPIC –Free, Prior and Informed Consent. Then, the Indigenous people voiced concerns about NEVER being consulted, nor EVER giving their consent to build dams on the Xingu river. They said that even if they were consulted, they would never give their consent.

In the afternoon, the different work groups (ie…Indigenous from the Reserve, Indigenous outside the Reserve, river people, and city people) gave reports of their working group meetings on Wednesday. Then, the closing ceremonies began. Local leaders from Altamira and Chiefs of every tribe expressed their final thoughts and words to the Public Defender, the President of COIAB (Indigenous Federation of the Brazilian Amazon) and the entire audience. Then, the Brazilian National Anthem was sung and the meeting officially ended.

Friday, May 23, 2008: Closing Ceremony and Declaration.
In a symbolic gesture to show the deep respect and dependence that Indigenous and river people have on the Xingu river, they gathered on the banks of the Xingu on Friday morning. Indigenous people danced, Kayapo women bathed their children, and fish were caught. Final words of protest against dams on the Xingu and demands to the Brazilian government were read. You can read more about the closing ceremony in an AP article published on Friday. On Friday afternoon, the official meeting declaration entitled, “Carta Xingu Vivo Para Sempre” was released in Portugese. In sum, these are the demands formed by the working groups of Indigenous, river and city people that participated in the meeting:

1. Creation of an official Xingu Working Group to plan for the future of the Xingu, beginning with gatherings of Indigenous tribes;
2. Consolidation and protection of all Indigenous and public lands in the Xingu River Basin;
3. Immediate creation of an Extractive Reserve in the Mid-Xingu region;
4. Immediate demarcation of Cachoeira Seca Indigenous Territory and the dignified resettlement of the non-Indigenous occupants;
5. Implementation of effective means to stop illegal deforestation, logging and land settlement;
6. Increase in incentives by the government for extractive reserves and family farming;
7. Implementation of public policies for water treatment and sanitation;
8. Implementation of public policies that recognize demands for public health, education, public transportation, and insurance that meet peoples’ basic needs;
9. Implementation of public policies that amplify and democratize media and communication;
10. Implementation of public policies to recuperate land degraded by cattle ranching, logging and mining;
11. Stop any new proposal for dams on rivers in the headwaters of the Xingu river, such as the PCH Paranatinga II on the Culuene river; and
12. Effective protection of the great socio-biodiversity corridor formed by the Indigenous territories and conservation areas in the Xingu river basin.

I want to personally thank Glenn Switkes and International Rivers for informing RAN about this historic gathering. It was an amazing opportunity to learn more about the struggle to protect the Xingu river basin, share information about RAN’s work and meet so many wonderful people from around the world. I will never forget this experience! Thank You!

SAN FRANCISCO’S EARTH DAY EVENT: MARCH AND RALLY

March to Chevron SF office at 345 California St.

From Richmond to Ecuador, Alberta to Burma, Chevron is profiting off of human lives and the environment, leaving waves of cancer and asthma in its wake.

And in Ecuador, Chevron created what experts believe to be the worst oil related disaster on the planet, deliberately dumping more than 18 billion gallons of toxic wastewater into the rivers and streams of the Amazon.

In case you haven’t seen it yet, check out Chevron\'s Amazon Abu Ghraib

For more information on the event please call 415-487-9600 or email info@chevrontoxico.com

Sponsored by:
Amazon Watch (www.amazonwatch.org)
Global Exchange (www.globalexchange.org)
Greenaction for Health and Environmental Justice (www.greenaction.org)
Rainforest Action Network (www.ran.org)
West County Toxics Coalition (www.westcountytoxicscoalition.org)

Even though I’m not surprised, I’m very frustrated at Chevron’s response to the attention that Luis and Pablo are receiving this week. Chevron is on the defensive and has launched a slanderous attack campaign against Luis, Pablo and all of us who have worked for justice in the Ecuadorian Amazon. The title to their full-page ad in the San Francisco Chronicle on Tuesday read, “When an environmentalist is no friend to the environment”. In an attempt to discredit Luis and Pablo, Chevron has brought more attention to the reality of the situation on the ground and in the legal case against them. The reality is that Chevron is losing!!! Two weeks ago the court appointed expert advised the court in Lago Agrio, Ecuador that Chevron should pay between $8-16 billion for social, cultural and environmental damages. The truth is out! Shame on Chevron for, once again, trying to misconstrue the truth!

As Chevron ramps up its PR against justice, our friends at Amazon Watch and the Amazon Defense Coalition have also ramped up their campaigns for justice and accountability in alliance with Mark Fiore and MOFILMS.

Check out and Spread the Word about “Chevron’s Amazon Abu Ghraib” by Mark Fiore:

Justicia Now!
-One People’s Fight Against Big Oil-
-La Lucha de un Pueblo Contra Las Grandes Petroleras-

The San Francisco Premiere is TONIGHT, April 17
8pm @ The Roxie, 3117 16th Street (near Valencia)

Sliding scale donation at the door

Introduction by Atossa Soltani, Founder & Executive Director of Amazon Watch
Q & A with filmmakers and Mitch Anderson (Amazon Watch) to follow screening

A documentary about ChevronTexaco’s toxic legacy in the Northern Ecuadorian region of the Amazon rainforest; & a courageous group of people called Los Afectados (The Affected Ones) who are seeking justice for the ensuing cancer, sickness & death in the largest environmental class action lawsuit in history.

Featuring Pablo Fajardo, Luis Yanza, Daryl Hannah, John Quigley & Stuart Townsend

FREE Download at:
www.Mofilms.org
www.ChevronToxico.com
www.AmazonWatch.org

Today, the Brazilian government will offer the contract to build a $6 billion dam on the Madeira River, the Amazon´s principal tributary, to private companies, including Suez, Endesa and Odebrecht, in an auction behind closed doors. But you too can take part in this Day of A(u)ction!

The Madeira River dams and waterways would threaten the river’s unique biodiversity, destroying habitat for the spotted jaguar, giant otter, pink dolphin and countless other mammal species, and would affect the land and livelihoods of thousands of river bank dwellers and indigenous people.

Join our friends at International Rivers Network, Friends of the Earth, Amazon Watch and the Bank Information Center in supporting communities resisting the development of dams and industrial waterways (proposed to transport forest resources and agricultural products like SOY) on the Madeira River.

We need your help today to stop these destructive projects!

Tell the Brazilian government how much you bid for the Amazon´s principal tributary! How much is its biodiversity worth? How much do you offer for the lives of thousands of river bank dwellers and indigenous peoples? How much for the rainforest?

Call, fax, and e-mail the Brazilian Consulate in your city! Tell the Brazilian government that you are aware of the incalculable value of the Madeira River, that you are opposed to its damming, and that you know Brazil has better ways to meet its energy needs than by destroying the Amazon.

Click here to see international sign on letter.

Telephones and Emails of Brazilian embassies and consulates in the U.S.

Brazilian Embassy, Washington DC
Tel: (202) 238-2712 (Ambassador)
Tel: (202) 238-2720 (Attache for Commerce and Environment)
Tel: (202) 238-2765 (Human Rights and Environment)
ambassador@brasilemb.org (Ambassador)
rights@brasilemb.org (Human Rights)
environ@brasilemb.org (Environment)

Brazilian consulate, New York
Tel: (917) 777-7675
Fax: (212) 827-0225
consulado@brazilny.org

Brazilian consulate, San Francisco
Tel: (415) 981-6258
Fax: (415) 981-3628
brazilsf@brazilsf.org

Contact information for Brazilian embassies and consulates in cities around the world can be found at:

http://www.mre.gov.br/portugues/enderecos/consulados3.asp (consulates)
http://www.mre.gov.br/portugues/enderecos/embaixadas3.asp (embassies)