2012 http://www.foei.org Friends of the Earth International press releases 2012 daily 1 2012-10-17T08:06:10Z Social and environmental organizations expose new trade agreements between the EU and Central America, Peru, Colombia http://www.foei.org/en/media/archive/2012/organizations-expose-trade-agreements-between-eu-central-america-colombia-and-peru BRUSSELS (BELGIUM), SAN JOSE (COSTA RICA), December 11, 2012 – Today, in response to the European Parliament’s passing of a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Colombia and Peru, and an Association Agreement with Central America, social and environmental organizations warn in a public statement [1] about the negative impacts of these agreements on the people and the environment [2]. “The FTA and the Association Agreement passed today require Latin American governments to establish certain guarantees and to reform their laws in order to favour European investment, i.e., to be open to investments from European corporations with no conditions or requirements that may limit their profits. This will cause even more damage to the Latin American peoples and environment”, said Grace Garcia of Friends of the Earth Costa Rica (COECOCEIBA), coordinator of the International Solidarity Mission of Friends of the Earth International in Central America [3].

 

 

Lucia Ortiz, coordinator of the program Economic Justice, Resisting Neoliberalism of Friends of the Earth International said: “The FTA and the Association Agreement will allow European corporations to operate in Latin America with greater impunity. They will secure favourable conditions for their investments, leading to the loss of peoples’ rights, especially workers, the displacement of local communities and environmental degradation”.

  

Social and environmental organizations are calling the national Parliaments both in Europe and in Latin America to not ratify the agreements.

 

The FTA and the Association Agreement include a non-binding “democratic clause” to defend human rights. According to the civil society organizations that signed the public statement as part of a global campaign against transnational corporations, the clause has proven to be ineffective in the past [4].

 

“European corporations should comply with the standards set up by the European Union, including human rights laws when they operate outside Europe. Unfortunately, this is not always the case, as the Friends of the Earth international delegation could verify”, said Jagoda Munic, chair of Friends of the Earth International.

 

From November 13 to 19, Jagoda Munic participated in the Friends of the Earth International solidarity mission in Guatemala and El Salvador, that verified systematic human rights abuses and criminalization of environmental activists and communities resisting mining and dams, including the local resistance to the construction of a hydroelectric dam by Spanish corporation Hidralia S.A.

 

FOR MORE INFORMATION

 

IN SPANISH:

 

Grace García (in Costa Rica), Friends of the Earth Costa Rica, Tel: +506-2223-3925 or email grace@coecoceiba.org

 

Lucia Ortiz (in Brazil), coordinator of the program Economic Justice, Resisting Neoliberalism of Friends of the Earth International. Mobile: + 55 51 9841 8707 and + 55 48 99150071 or email: lucia@amigosdaterrabrasil.org.br

 

IN ENGLISH:

 

Jagoda Munic (in Croatia), chair of Friends of the Earth International, mobile: +385 98 17 95 690 or email: jagoda@zelena-akcija.hr

 

NOTES TO EDITORS

 

[1] The public statement signed by Friends of the Earth International, the Transnational Institute, Linking Alternatives, Ecologistas en Accion, the Inter-American Platform for Human Rights, Democracy and Development (PIDHDD), Attac France, Mexican Network for Action Against Free Trade (RMALC), Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE) and tens of other organizations as part of a global campaign against transnational corporations is available here:

http://www.foei.org/en/media/comunicado-tlc-y-ada/view

 

[2] Several reports showing the negative impacts of these types of agreements are available here: http://www.enlazandoalternativas.org y http://www.stopcorporateimpunity.org

 

[3] For more information about the Friends of the Earth International solidarity mission in Central America, please go to: http://www.radiomundoreal.fm/Gira-Internacional-de-Solidaridad, http://www.foei.org/es/media/archive/2012/guatemala-y-el-salvador-corporaciones-transnacionales-saquean-recursos-naturales-y-violan-derechos-humanos-denuncia-mision-internacional?set_language=es

 

[4] For more information on the ‘democratic clause’ and the Free Trade Agreements, please read: http://www.enlazandoalternativas.org and http://www.tni.org

 

Front page image by Xaf

]]> No publisher Mercedes Camps Gonzalez 2012-12-11T16:15:00Z News Item Doha climate talks: Industrialised countries block climate action http://www.foei.org/en/media/archive/2012/doha-climate-talks-industrialised-countries-block-climate-action DOHA, QATAR, December 8, 2012 – Friends of the Earth International has strongly condemned the governments of industrialised countries for blocking action on the climate crisis at a failed UN climate summit in Qatar. Asad Rehman, Friends of the Earth International spokesperson in Qatar said: “The Doha deal is as empty as a desert mirage. Despite the official spin, these talks delivered nothing: no real progress on cutting greenhouse gases and only an insulting gesture at climate finance.

 

“ The blame lies squarely with the rich industrialised world, most notably the US. The Obama administration is succeeding in its efforts to dismantle the UN global climate regime and other wealthy nations have joined in, paralyzing the climate talks and forcing the world’s poor to pay the price.”

 

“ We demand justice for the people of developing nations who suffer the most from the crisis, a crisis caused mainly by the rich industrialised world. “

 

“ Hope for a solution lies with the people. We must demand action from our governments and reject them if they fail to deliver.”

 

The 18th Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change saw no substantial progress on the promises made by the industrialised world to address its historic role in causing the climate crisis.

 

Under the Convention, developed countries are committed to deliver strong and binding emissions cuts in line with climate science and equity, and adequate climate finance to compensate developing countries and support their sustainable development.

 

Sarah-Jayne Clifton, Friends of the Earth International energy coordinator said:

 

“The fossil fuel lobby won the Qatar desert climate battle, where we witnessed dirty industry elites still holding the reins of our governments. Meanwhile the climate crisis worsens and the window for action shrinks day by day. Developed countries did not even try to solve the climate crisis at these talks. Instead, they continued to protect the interests of fossil fuelled corporations and helped financial elites grow their latest cash cow: the global carbon market scam.”

 

Dipti Bhatnagar, Friends of the Earth International climate justice coordinator said: “We need a strong and binding international agreement to curb the global climate crisis. But as the talks in Doha show, people around the world cannot wait for our governments to see sense and deliver the solutions. Working together in our communities, people are already resisting fossil fuels and dirty energy, building clean energy cooperatives, transforming our food systems, and protecting our forests, land and water from multinational corporations. Only people-and-planet-centred solutions will solve the climate crisis and create a better future for us all. We must make our governments listen and demand climate justice now”.

 

 

FOR MORE INFORMATION

 

Asad Rehman, climate campaigner, Friends of the Earth International spokesperson in Qatar: +974 3338 6383 (in Doha) / +44 7956 210332 or email asad.rehman@foe.co.uk

 

 

Sarah-Jayne Clifton, Friends of the Earth International climate justice and energy coordinator: +44 7912 406510 or email sarah.clifton@foe.co.uk

 

 

Dipti Bhatnagar, Friends of the Earth International climate justice and energy coordinator : +258 840 356 599 or email dipti@foei.org

 

 

 

]]> No publisher Niccolo Sarno climate 2012-12-08T16:25:00Z News Item Investors must stop land grabbing, say civil society groups http://www.foei.org/en/media/archive/2012/investors-must-stop-land-grabbing-say-civil-society-groups-1 LONDON (UK), November 30, 2012 – Major farmland investors such as banks and pension funds must stop facilitating land grabs, say civil society groups [1] on the eve of a global farmland investment conference in London on 3-5 December. [2] Banks and pension funds are increasingly engaging in large-scale acquisitions of land with extremely damaging consequences for local populations. The London conference will bring together funds with more than USD3 trillion in assets to explore opportunities for investments in Africa, Latin America and Russia.

The civil society groups are warning that pension funds and banks attending the conference, for instance Deutsche Bank, must ensure they do not fund risky investments that threaten the livelihoods and food sovereignty of countless local communities.

Since 2008 rising financial investments in land have contributed to more than 200 million hectares of land being taken from small farmers, fisherfolk, and other rural communities, robbing them of their means of survival. [3] Land grabbing also frequently involves violent evictions and human rights violations. Institutional investors are expected to increase by 500% their agricultural investment portfolios by 2017.

Kirtana Chandrasekaran, Friends of the Earth International Food Sovereignty programme co-ordinator, said: “Unfortunately private investment in farmland may be seen by many as low risk and positive for developing countries. Yet they are often a disaster for local communities and the environment. Legal uncertainty and community opposition means that most farmland investments are also risky for investors.”

“Major investors such as banks and pension funds need to urgently investigate their investment portfolios and stop funding land grabs,” she added.
Earlier this year Friends of the Earth Europe released the report 'Farming money: How European banks and private finance profit from food speculation and land grabs'. The report analyses the activities of 29 European banks, pension funds and insurance companies, including Deutsche Bank, Barclays, RBS, Allianz, BNP Paribas, AXA, HSBC, Generali, Unicredit and Credit Agricole. It reveals the significant involvement of these financial institutions in food speculation, and the direct or indirect financing of land grabbing. [4]

COUNTRY EXAMPLES

LIBERIA

In Liberia, farmland investments have facilitated land grabbing. A quarter of the country - including vast swathes of fertile land- has been handed to palm oil, rubber and logging companies, preventing its use for food production. These large plantations are promoted as a means to create jobs, bring development, and increase the government’s budget. In reality they are jeopardizing the land rights of local populations, threatening local livelihoods and putting the future of one of the world’s most significant biodiversity hotspots into doubt.

This week in Liberia the Sustainable Development Institute (SDI) / Friends of the Earth Liberia is holding a major conference with oil palm plantations-affected communities who are demanding to be heard and consulted.

Between 2009 and 2010 the government of Liberia allocated more than a million acres of land to transnational palm oil producers Sime Darby and Golden Veroleum Liberia without consulting or securing the consent of those living on and using the land. [5]

ETHIOPIA

In the past few years, Ethiopia allocated huge areas of fertile arable farmland to foreign investors with little consultations with the affected communities. Since 2008 more than 3.6 million hectares of land has been allocated to foreign investors. For instance, in Gambela region, an Indian company -Karuturi Global- has been allocated staggering 300,000 hectares of land depriving indigenous people of access to water, fishing and grazing grounds, traditional construction materials, and food. Like in many other cases there has been a lack of prior consent and consultation with the local people and affected communities were not consulted and did not give their prior consent these farmland investments.

“In Ethiopia and elsewhere farmland investments for instance in plantations are jeopardizing the land rights of local people, and threatening local livelihoods ,” said Nyikaw Ochalla from Anywaa Survival Organisation-ASO.

MADAGASCAR

“In Madagascar, landgrabbing is caused by foreign and domestic investors implementing agribusiness projects and setting up biodiversity conservation areas, but also developing tourism and extractive industry infrastructure” says Mamy Rakotondrainibe, from the Collectif pour la défense des terres malgaches -TANY in Madagascar.

“We are currently supporting pastoralists communities’ claims against the Italian company Tozzi Green which aims to lease 100 000 hectars in the Ihorombe region to mainly cultivate jatropha for agrofuel production” she adds.

UGANDA

A report released earlier this year by Friends of the Earth Uganda revealed widespread violations of people’s rights and environmental destruction from a land grab in Uganda. [6]


FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:

IN THE UK

Kirtana Chandrasekaran, Food Sovereignty programme co-ordinator, Friends of the Earth International, Tel: +44 (0)20 7566 1669 or Mobile: + 44 (0) 79 619 86956 or email: kirtana.chandrasekaran [at] foe.co.uk

Nyikaw Ochalla from Anywaa Survival Organisation-ASO Tel: +44 (0)118 9414507 or Mobile: +44 (0)7939 389796

IN CANADA

Devlin Kuyek from GRAIN, Tel: +1-514-571-7702

IN ITALY

Giulia Franchi, Campaigner Terra/Land Campaigner, Re:Common  Tel. (+39)06 92 59 31 40 – +39 06 92 59 31 41


NOTES TO EDITORS

[1] The civil society groups are: Friends of the Earth International / Anywaa Survival Organisation / GRAIN / Re: Common (Italy)

The groups are calling pension funds and other private and public financial institutions to stop speculation on land and other damaging investments in the global food chain; publicly disclose complete information about any direct or indirect financing of land acquisitions and other deals that might involve land grabbing; be subject to mandatory, prior and independent assessment of the potential impacts of investments and products on tenure rights, livelihoods, the environment and the progressive realisation of the right to adequate food. More information at : http://www.foeeurope.org/sites/default/files/press_releases/joint_statement_on_the_finance_of_land_grabs_june_2012_en_1.pdf

[2] The Global AgInvesting Europe 2012 website is: http://www.globalaginvesting.com/Conferences/Home?eventId=11

[3] See Oxfam 2011 Land and Power: The growing scandal surrounding the new wave of investments in land, http://policy-practice.oxfam.org.uk/publications/land-and-power- the-growing-scandal-surrounding-the-new-wave-of-investments-in-l-142858

[4] For more information visit: http://www.foeeurope.org/farming-money-Jan2012 and www.farmlandgrab.org

[5] For more information: 'Communities in Liberia meet this week to discuss options after large-scale land grab':
http://www.foei.org/en/what-we-do/climate-and-energy/latest-news/2018our-future-is-now2019-communities-in-liberia-meet-this-week-to-discuss-options-after-large-scale-land-grab

[6] For more information on the Uganda case see: http://www.foei.org/en/media/land-grab

]]> No publisher Niccolo Sarno food agrofuels land grabbing 2012-12-03T08:00:00Z News Item New Report: Smartphones devastating Indonesian island people, forests, and corals http://www.foei.org/en/media/archive/2012/new-report-smartphones-devastating-indonesian-island-people-forests-and-corals LONDON (UK) / BANGKA (INDONESIA) 24 November 2012 – Smartphones sold by best-selling brands almost certainly contain tin from a paradise island in Indonesia where tin mining is destroying forests and farmland, choking coral reefs and devastating many communities, according to a new Friends of the Earth investigation released today: ‘Mining for Smartphones: the True Cost of Tin’ [1]
// High-res photos of the devastation caused by tin mining on Bangka island can be downloaded for free editorial use by media organisations here: http://photolibrary.foe.co.uk/?c=126&k=11d5cf9866 //


The research by Friends of the Earth in the UK and Indonesia shows that Samsung and Apple deal with companies that use tin mined on Bangka island and it’s almost certain that this tin ends up in their products although the companies may not have known this or the devastating effect of mining on the island.

When asked by Friends of the Earth whether they used tin from Bangka, they neither confirmed nor denied this. Tin is used as solder in all phones and electronic gadgets.

Andy Atkins, Executive Director of Friends of the Earth England, Wales and Northern Ireland, said:
“Samsung and Apple may not have realised it, but our research shows that mining tin to make both companies’ smartphones may come at a terrible cost to people and the environment.”

Pius Ginting, campaign manager at Friends of the Earth Indonesia - known in Indonesia as Walhi - said:
“Tin mining has damaged more than 65 percent of Bangka's forest areas and more than seventy percent of Bangka's coral reefs. Fifteen rivers are now contaminated by tin mining waste and access to clean water has become a problem for more than half of Bangka's population.  And mining tin on Bangka is very dangerous: since the beginning of this year, more than sixty miners died, most of them buried in tin mines or trapped underwater.”

To prevent problems elsewhere and help ensure that companies make products in a way that’s within the planet’s safe limits, Friends of the Earth England Wales and Northern Ireland has launched a new  'Make It Better' campaign. [2]

The campaign is calling on Samsung and Apple customers and others to ask the smartphone makers to back new rules for all companies to come clean about their supply chains.

Paul de Clerck, economic justice programme coordinator at Friends of the Earth Europe, said : “Samsung and Apple refuse to tell us where their tin comes from. We are asking the European Union to urgently come up with regulations  forcing companies to disclose the resources  they use and the environmental and human rights impacts associated with them.”


Key findings from ‘Mining for Smartphones: the True Cost of Tin’:
----------------------------------------
Devastation on Bangka island:

Dangerous and unregulated tin mining on Bangka island killed and injuring miners – police figures show that in 2011 an average of one miner a week died in an accident. 


Silt from tin mining dredgers and boats is clouding the formerly clear sea around Bangka, killing the seagrass eaten by turtles and 60-70% of the island’s coral reefs, driving away fish and ruining fishermen’s livelihoods. 


Farmers struggle to grow crops in soil turned acidic by the destruction of forests for tin mining, while abandoned craters scar large parts of Bangka island.


Doctors suspect a possible link between Bangka’s high number of malaria cases and the hundreds of abandoned tin mine craters filled with stagnant water that are a breeding ground for disease-carrying mosquitos. 


Almost half of all mined tin is turned into solder for the electronics industry and around a third of the world’s tin is from Bangka and neighbouring island Belitung.

 

---------------------------------------------
Smartphones impact on the world:

There are now more than 1 billion smartphones in use around the world, according to consulting firm Strategy Analytics, with growing demand likely to push this beyond 2 billion within the next three years. 


In 2011 Samsung sold around 95 million smartphones and Apple around 93 millions

 

There are many things companies could do to reduce the impact of phones and make them better for customers – from introducing universal chargers or batteries that can charge in seconds to designing them to be much easier to take apart and repair. Experts say that through innovative design and better reuse of old phones phone companies could cut demand for tin and other raw materials.

 

 

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

 

In the UK: Eleanor Bradstreet, Friends of the Earth England, Wales and Northern Ireland press office: +44(0) 7912 406513 or email eleanor.bradstreet [at] foe.co.uk

In Indonesia: Pius Ginting, campaign manager at Friends of the Earth Indonesia - known in Indonesia as Walhi: +62 81 93 29 25 700 or email pius.walhi [at] gmail.com

In Belgium : Paul de Clerck,economic justice programme coordinator at Friends of the Earth Europe: +32 494 38 09 59 or email paul [at] milieudefensie.nl

NOTES TO EDITORS

 

[1] Case studies of people affected by mining in Bangka and the full investigation into Samsung and Apple’s supply chains are available in Friends of the Earth’s new report ‘Mining for Smartphones: the True Cost of Tin’: http://www.foe.co.uk/resource/reports/tin_mining.pdf

    [2] The Make It Better campaign is asking leading smartphone makers to say whether their phones contain tin linked to the destruction of coral reefs and forests in Indonesia’s Bangka islands – and to back new rules for all companies to come clean about their supply chains at www.foe.co.uk/makeitbetter

]]> No publisher Niccolo Sarno corporate capture mining corporate power corporates 2012-11-24T07:00:00Z News Item International Mission in Guatemala and El Salvador: 'Transnational corporations pillage natural resources and violate human rights' http://www.foei.org/en/media/archive/2012/international-mission-guatemala-and-el-salvador-transnational-corporations-pillage-natural-resources-violate-human-rights SAN SALVADOR (EL SALVADOR), November 19, 2012 - An international mission organized by environmental federation Friends of the Earth International in Guatemala and El Salvador has verified systematic human rights violations and criminalization of environmental activists and communities resisting mining and hydroelectric projects. solidarity mission 2012 community speakerThe mission was organized from November 13 to 19 by Friends of the Earth El Salvador (CESTA) and Friends of the Earth Guatemala (CEIBA) with the participation of allied organizations like the Transnational Institute and member groups of La Vía Campesina.

 

The cases of resistance visited by the mission in Guatemala included: the resistance against Marlin mine, owned by Canadian corporation Goldcorp in San Miguen Ixtahuacán municipality; the situation of the political prisoners of Santa Cruz Barillas who were arbitrarily arrested in May of 2012 for resisting the building of a hydroelectric dam owned by Spanish corporation Hidralia SA, and finally the resistance of the residents of San José del Golfo to the installation of Exmingua mine, owned by Canadian Radius Gold Corporation. 

 

The delegates of the mission in El Salvador were informed in detail about the struggle of the Environmental Committee of Cabañas department to avoid the installation of a gold and silver extractive project in El Dorado by Canadian corporation Pacific Rim.

 

The representatives of the environmental federation included the chair of Friends of the Earth International, Jagoda Munic from Croacia, as well as delegates from the Philippines, Spain, Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Honduras, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala and Sweden.

 

"After talking with the affected communities, there is a feeling of sadness and outrage because of the situation they are going through", said FoEI chair, Jagoda Munic.

 

She expressed international solidarity with the struggle of the communities affected in Guatemala and with the defense of human rights, and affirmed Friends of the Earth International's responsibility to continue supporting the resisting communities.

 

"The communities that are resisting have been accused of terrorism. We have been able to verify that, far from it, they are defending their territories and their livelihood", said Jagoda Munic.

 

Lastly, Jagoda Munic condemned the arbitrary detentions of the leaders of the resistance and said the international community will be waiting for the outcome of the hearing to be held next November 26 by the Guatemalan judiciary, where a decision regarding those who are still detained over the case of Santa Cruz Barillas will be issued.

 

Meanwhile, the chair of Friends of the Earth Spain, Victor Barro, said "The investment in Latin America by corporations that claim to be Spanish, like Hidralia SA, Telefonica, Union Fenosa and Aguas de Barcelona has caused socio-environmental conflicts and human rights violations. These actions ensure the perpetuation of the European way of life, which is currently in crisis and affects more and more people in both regions. A proof of this was the general strike recently held in Europe".

 

Barro also expressed the message given by the political prisoners he visited at the prison of Region 18 in Guatemala City: "The company should leave our families alone and they should get out of our territories". 

 

Meanwhile, Danilo Urrea, of Friends of the Earth Colombia (CENSAT) talked about the different cases of resistance visited during the mission. "We are witnessing a structural crisis of the extractivist and patriarchal model caused by the breaking of relations between society and nature. This is shown in the territorialization of capital and the financialization of nature, which leads to displacement and human rights violations".

 

Danilo added "Colombia is an example of the criminalization of the protests and the struggle through laws and through the militarization of the territories all over Latin America. The disappearance of leaders and the displacement has become one of the strategies used by the corporations to dismantle the struggle and to take over territories".

 

Lyda Forero of the Transnational Institute said the Permanent Peoples' Tribunal that gathered between 2006 and 2010 heard many cases of corporations that violate human rights in Central America. "Two years later, we verify that the human rights violations exposed before the Tribunal continue and are getting worse".

 

The delegates of the international mission said the economic and ecological crimes committed by transnational corporations in the case of Marlin and Barillas mines in Guatemala and of Pacific Rim in El Salvador are symptomatic of global systemic problems.

 

They also exposed the crimes committed by transnational corporations with the complicity of governments (which adopt laws in favor of corporations even above community rights) by way of international trade or investment treaties. 

 

The delegates of the international mission called on the European Members of Parliament to reject the Partnership Agreement between the European Union and Central America in order to prevent Europe from becoming an accomplice of the crimes committed by transnational corporations in Central America.

 

The European Parliament is about to ratify the Partnership Agreement between the EU and Central America on December 11 to 13.

 

The delegates of the mission were clear that transnational corporations are confronting communities and dividing families through the transfer of funds and misleading advertising as part of their corporate social responsibility strategy.

 

The mission expressed the need to end the impunity of transnational corporations in Central America.

 

It also expressed the need for transnational corporations to leave the affected territories and compensate the impacted communities.

 

It also called for the release of the political prisoners who were criminalized for civil resistance, and in the case of El Salvador, they called for the clarification of the murders and persecutions committed against environmental activists, with all the legal and ethical guarantees.

 

The international mission will write a preliminary report of its actions to be circulated soon.

 

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

 

 

 

CONTACTS:

 

IN ENGLISH:

  • Jagoda Munic, Chair of Friends of the Earth International: jagoda [at] zelena-akcija.hr

IN SPANISH:

  • Ricardo Navarro, Chair of Friends of the Earth El Salvador (Centro Salvadoreño de Tecnología Apropiada): cesta [at] cesta-foe.org.sv
  • Victor Barro, Chair of Friends of the Earth Spain: presidencia [at] tierra.org

 

 

]]> No publisher Mercedes Camps Gonzalez 2012-11-19T15:45:00Z News Item FoEI Chair Nnimmo Bassey Awarded 2012 Rafto Prize for Human Rights http://www.foei.org/en/media/archive/2012/foei-chair-nnimmo-bassey-awarded-2012-rafto-prize-for-human-rights BERGEN (NORWAY) / LAGOS (NIGERIA), November 4, 2012 – Friends of the Earth International, the world's largest federation of grassroots environmental organisations, is proud to announce that its chair, Nnimmo Bassey, who is also Executive Director of Friends of the Earth Nigeria [1], received the 2012 Rafto Prize for Human Rights [2] in Norway on November 4. nnimmo bassey purple wallThe Rafto Prize for Human Rights has been awarded to advocates of human rights and democracy every year since 1987. Several Rafto Laureates have subsequently been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. [3]

 

The 2012 Rafto Prize was awarded to Nnimmo Bassey in recognition of his long-term fight for people’s rights to life, health, food and water in a world affected by climate change and mass environmental destruction.

 

“Through his rights based work and criticism of prevailing systems, Bassey has shown how human rights can help mitigate the effects of these changes,” says the Rafto Foundation.

 

Nnimmo Bassey said:

 

"I am honored and humbled by this announcement. I hold the Rafto Foundation in high esteem for its commitment to human right defenders. I have campaigned on oil pollution and human rights in Nigeria for decades. Standing with impacted communities we continually demand justice. We press on, convinced that truth will prevail.”

 

Nnimmo Bassey is one of Africa’s leading advocates and campaigners for the environment and human rights. Bassey has tirelessly stood up against the practices of multinational corporations and the environmental devastation they leave behind, destroying the lives and trampling on the rights of local people.

 

A Rafto Conference, "Human Rights Threatened by Climate Change", was held on Saturday 3 November in Bergen and Heikki Eidsvoll Holmås, Norwegian Minister of International Development, opened the conference.

 

 

FOR MORE INFORMATION

 

Kari Amble, The Rafto Foundation, Head of Information, Tel: +47 55 21 09 75 Mobile: +47 91 31 44 17  E-mail: kari.amble (at) rafto.no

 

Nnimmo Bassey, Friends of the Earth International chair, Tel: +234 80 37 27 43 95 (Nigerian mobile number) or email nnimmo (at) eraction.org

 

 

 

NOTES TO EDITORS

 

[1] For Nnimmo Bassey’s biography and a selection of high-resolution, free to use photo portraits  go to http://www.foei.org/en/media/photos/nnimmo-bassey-photos

 

[2] For more information about the 'Rafto Prize 2012 please visit: www.rafto.no and http://www.rafto.no/article/484/The_2012_Rafto_Prize_events/tags:News%20

 

[3] The Rafto Laureates whom have subsequently been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize are: Aung San Suu Kyi, Burma (Rafto Prize in 1990), people of East‐Timor by Josè Ramos‐Horta (Rafto Prize in 1993), Kim Dae‐jung, South‐Korea (Rafto Prize in 2000), and Shirin Ebadi, Iran (Rafto Prize in 2001).

 
]]> No publisher Niccolo Sarno 2012-11-01T09:05:00Z News Item UN Biodiversity Talks Favor False Solutions to Biodiversity Crisis http://www.foei.org/en/media/archive/2012/un-biodiversity-talks-favor-false-solutions-to-biodiversity-crisis HYDERABAD, INDIA, October 19, 2012 - After two weeks of talks, the United Nations Biodiversity Conference [1] comes to a close here today with Friends of the Earth International criticizing negotiators for focusing on false solutions to biodiversity loss and favoring corporate polluters over people and the planet. One of the main themes at the UN Biodiversity negotiations was the 'financialization' of nature [2], a way for corporations to plunder the planet while making profits.
"Financialization is a false solution to biodiversity loss and climate change. It is a way for corporate polluters to continue destroying biodiversity and threatening indigenous peoples and local communities.  If UN talks start favoring the financialization of nature, community and Indigenous peoples' rights will be violated, leading to mass land grabs,” says Isaac Rojas, Friends of the Earth International Coordinator of the Forests and Biodiversity Programme.

Many multinational corporations are lobbying the UN to push their interests, namely, the financialization of nature, Friends of the Earth International warns.

“The corporate influence on UN talks is extremely worrying. Multinational corporations lobby in favor of approaches which have negative impacts on communities and Indigenous Peoples and do not protect forests and biodiversity. These are false solutions. Instead, we need ways to properly protect traditional knowledge and ownership. For instance we need more community-based forest governance, which is an effective way for local people to help protect their forests as well as the climate,"  Isaac Rojas added.

Synthetic biology, the creation of novel organisms through new biotechnologies, was another major issue at the UN Biodiversity Conference.

“Synthetic biology is a false solution that will only benefit wealthy nations and their corporate partners,” says Eric Hoffman, food and technology policy campaigner for Friends of the Earth U.S.

“The creation of novel organisms through synthetic biology poses numerous risks to biodiversity, including but not limited to to genetic contamination, novel invasive species, and loss of livelihoods. It is tragic that so far the UN missed the opportunity to implement a moratorium on the environmental release and commercial use of synthetic organisms. Synthetic biology has not even been added to the Convention on Biological Biodiversity’s agenda. Even so, a relatively weak but small step forward was taken as the Parties agreed to apply the Precautionary Principle when dealing with synthetic biology and its potential risks,” he added.

Representatives from more than 192 countries participated in the Hyderabad UN 11th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Biodiversity, which seeks to address threats to biodiversity and ecosystems, including climate change.

Friends of the Earth International acknowledges the great work that many organizations and social movements, working together as the CBD Alliance [3], made during the two weeks negotiations. The CBD Alliance plays an important role in ensuring that civil society, indigenous peoples, and local communities have a seat at the negotiation table.



FOR MORE INFORMATION

Isaac Rojas, Friends of the Earth International Coordinator of the Forests and Biodiversity Programme – Email: isaac [at] coecoceiba.org or Tel: + 506 8338 32 04 (Costa Rican mobile)

Eric Hoffman, food and technology policy campaigner for Friends of the Earth U.S – Email: ehoffman [at] foe.org



NOTES TO EDITORS

[1] The UN 11th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Biodiversity was organised by the The Convention on Biological Diversity: http://www.cbd.int

[2] The 'financialization' of nature means reducing nature to a commodity or a derivative to be speculated on in financial markets.

[3] The  CBD Alliance website is http://www.cbdalliance.org/

]]> No publisher Niccolo Sarno ecological biodiversity united nations 2012-10-19T10:50:00Z News Item Food Crisis Talks: Governments Should Scrap Biofuels, Not Push GM Crops http://www.foei.org/en/media/archive/2012/food-crisis-talks-governments-should-scrap-biofuels-not-push-gm-crops ROME (ITALY) / LONDON (UK), October 16, 2012 – As Governments gather in Rome today, World Food Day, to discuss the global food price crisis, Friends of the Earth International warns in a new report [1] that agriculture donors such as the United States and United Kingdom are pumping money into genetically modified (GM) crops at the cost of farming methods better suited to tackling hunger. Since the advent of the food price crisis in 2008, some Governments have championed the ‘sustainable intensification’ of farming as a new way to increase yields without harming the environment.

The report investigates what adopting this approach has meant for donors and finds that despite its claim to support a variety of ecological farming methods, funding is still heavily skewed towards GM crops and business as usual intensive agriculture.

Friends of the Earth International Food Sovereignty program coordinator Kirtana Chandrasekaran said: “The sustainable intensification approach is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. On the surface, it favours ecological science and farmer led solutions to the food crisis, the preferred method of several UN backed studies.

Dig a little deeper and it seems to be a disguise for some Governments and donors to continue pushing GM crops onto small farmers, to further corporate interests.

This seriously challenges the credibility of Governments such as the UK and US and donors like the Gates Foundation in tackling hunger.”

Friends of the Earth International is calling on Governments to focus on agro-ecology to solve hunger and scrap biofuel targets which exacerbate food price rises by diverting food to fuel. [2]

Martin Drago, Friends of the Earth International's Food Sovereignty programme coordinator said,

“We don’t need another Summit and we don't need more GM crops. We need urgent action from Governments to fund ecological farming and an immediate halt to using food crops to fuel cars.”

The UK Government, United States and mega donor Gates foundation have spent hundreds of millions of euros funding technological solutions to the food crisis, including GM crops. The largest research project of the UK international development department is a 70 million pound grant researching GM technology. Between 2005 and 2011 the Gates foundation spent 162 million dollars on biotech projects while the US Agency for International Development 'Feed the Future' strategy emphasises GM solutions.

Yet, GM crops are not tackling the food crisis. There is little evidence that GM crops increase yields now or have the potential to do so in the future. So far, promises of crops resistant to climate change and drought are not a reality. Instead, GM crops have dramatically increased seed prices and caused large increases in the application of pesticides.

Meanwhile, small farmer led ecological approaches to agriculture are feeding the majority of the world and providing a roadmap out of hunger. Several UN backed reports have called for increased funding for sustainable family farming, agro-ecological science and strong local markets. [3]


FOR MORE INFORMATION

In Rome (Italy): Martin Drago, Friends of the Earth International's Food Sovereignty programme coordinator: martin.drago [at] redes.org.uy or Tel: +39 348 6869442 (Italian cell valid until October 19 only)

In London (UK): Kirtana Chandrasekaran, Friends of the Earth International Food Sovereignty program coordinator, kirtana.chandrasekaran [at] foe.co.uk or Tel: + 44 79 61 98 69 56


NOTES TO EDITORS

[1] The report is available at : www.foei.org/en/wolf-in-sheeps-clothing

A summary of the report is available at: http://www.foei.org/en/wolf-in-sheeps-clothing-summary

[2] See Friends of the Earth International briefing ‘Food not fuel: agrofuels, food prices and hunger: http://www.foei.org/en/resources/publications/agrofuels/food-not-fuel-agrofuels-food-prices-and-hunger/view

[3] In April 2008 a study by 400 multi-disciplinary scientists and several international organisations (the International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development, or IAASTD) concluded that agro-ecology, local trade and supporting small farmers is the best way forward to combat hunger and poverty.
For more information read the assessment at http://www.agassessment.org/

In 2009 the UN Special rapporteur on the Right to Food called for agro-ecology to be the primary way to tackle hunger and achieve the Right to Food. The report of the UN Special Rapporteur is at http://www.srfood.org/index.php/en/component/content/article/1-latest-news/1174-report-agroecology-and-the-right-to-food

]]> No publisher Niccolo Sarno food agrofuels 2012-10-15T23:00:00Z News Item Biodiversity Talks Should Oppose 'Financialization' of Nature http://www.foei.org/en/media/archive/2012/biodiversity-talks-should-oppose-financialization-of-nature-1 HYDERABAD, INDIA, October 12, 2012 - While ministers start gathering here ahead of a second week of United Nations Biodiversity talks [15-19 October], preparing to discuss where to garner billions of dollars needed to preserve global biodiversity, Friends of the Earth International warns against Nature being ' financialized' (being given a price, bought, sold, and converted in financial mechanisms), which many multinational corporations are lobbying for.
More than 170 countries are represented at the Hyderabad UN 11th Conference of the Parties  to the Convention on Biological Biodiversity, which seeks to address all threats to biodiversity and ecosystems, including climate change.

"Biodiversity and forests are critical for the survival of people and the planet, and are thus priceless. Our biodiversity needs to be protected, not speculated on by reckless and unaccountable financial markets,” says Isaac Rojas, Friends of the Earth International Coordinator of the Forests and Biodiversity Programme

Friends of the Earth International believes that governments should establish public funds and other non-market based and non-corporate mechanisms to fund the conservation of biodiversity, and not rely on financial markets and financial speculation.

"Financialization of Nature, which many corporations are lobbying for, is a recipe for disaster. The takeover of biodiversity by the financial sector must be stopped,"  Isaac Rojas added.


FOR MORE INFORMATION

Isaac Rojas, Friends of the Earth International Coordinator of the Forests and Biodiversity Programme – Email: isaac [at] coecoceiba.org or Tel: + 506 8338 32 04 (Costa Rican mobile)


]]> No publisher Niccolo Sarno 2012-10-15T08:40:00Z News Item 30 January: Verdict Expected in Court Case on Oil Giant Shell's Nigerian Oil Pollution http://www.foei.org/en/media/archive/2012/30-january-verdict-expected-in-court-case-on-oil-giant-shells-nigerian-oil-pollution THE HAGUE, THE NETHERLANDS, OCTOBER 11, 2012 -- For the first time in history, a Dutch court verdict is expected about the case of a European company, Anglo-Dutch oil giant Shell, which appeared in court today to account for damage it caused abroad, says Friends of the Earth International. [1] Lawyers for both parties pleaded at a key hearing in The Hague today and the court announced that the verdict is expected on 30 January 2013.

The court case against Shell's oil spills in Nigeria has been filed by four Nigerian plaintiffs in conjunction with Friends of the Earth Netherlands and supported by Friends of the Earth Nigeria.

“A positive verdict will have groundbreaking legal repercussions. It will allow victims of multinational corporations in developing countries to obtain justice in Europe,“ says Geert Ritsema, globalisation campaign leader at Friends of the Earth Netherlands / Milieudefensie.

“Due to the poor maintenance of its pipelines and infrastructure Shell lets tens of millions of barrels of oil leak in Nigeria, with disastrous consequences for local people and the environment. We hope for a positive verdict. We hope that Shell will own up to its glaring pollution. We hope that justice will be done for the four Nigerians who sued Shell in The Netherlands,“ says Nnimmo Bassey, Executive Director of Friends of the Earth Nigeria and Chair of Friends of the Earth International.

In May 2008, four Nigerian fishermen and farmers [2] from the villages of Goi, Ikot Ada Udo and Oruma, in conjunction with Friends of the Earth Netherlands / Milieudefensie and supported by Friends of the Earth Nigeria / ERA, started a legal case against Shell Nigeria and its parent company in the Netherlands. [3]

“Shell polluted with impunity and destroyed our livelihoods. Several years after the spills we still see and smell the oil and in some communities half of the population has respiratory diseases. Shell must now clean up properly and prevent more oil spills from happening. Justice has to be done here in The Netherlands and Shell must be held to account," says one of the four plaintiffs, Eric Dooh from Goi, Ogoniland, Nigeria.

The serious contamination of the oil rich Niger Delta has had disastrous consequences for the local people and their environment. Oil leaks regularly pollute the fields, forests and water. These leaks are a heavy burden on agriculture and fishing.

Shell is the operator of Nigeria's largest oil fields and bears significant responsibility for the oil pollution. The UN, among others, has stated that Shell does not comply with legal environmental standards and has failed to clean up leaked oil – or has done so only insufficiently, for decades. Moreover, Shell’s own sustainability report stated that the number of leaks due to poor maintenance doubled in 2011, rising from 32 to 64.


NOTES TO EDITORS

[1] PHOTOS OF THE OIL SPILLS, as well as legal documents and fact sheets about the legal proceedings are available at :
http://www.milieudefensie.nl/english/shell/oil-leaks/courtcase/press and
http://www.milieudefensie.nl/english/shell/oil-leaks/courtcase/press/documents/documents-on-the-shell-legal-case

[2] BIOS, PORTRAITS AND STORIES OF THE PLAINTIFFS are available at : http://www.milieudefensie.nl/english/shell/oil-leaks/courtcase/plaintiffs
http://www.milieudefensie.nl/english/shell/oil-leaks/courtcase/press/documents/documents-on-the-shell-legal-case

[3] A TIMELINE OF THE COURT CASE is available at : http://www.milieudefensie.nl/publicaties/factsheets/timeline-courtcase-shell


FOR MORE INFORMATION

Friends of the Earth Netherlands / Milieudefensie press office: Tel: + 31 - 20 - 5507 333 or e-mail  persvoorlichting (at) milieudefensie.nl 

]]> No publisher Niccolo Sarno climate corporate capture extractive 2012-10-11T16:17:45Z News Item Nnimmo Bassey To Be Awarded Rafto Prize for Human Rights http://www.foei.org/en/media/archive/2012/foei-chair-nnimmo-bassey-to-be-awarded-2012-rafto-prize-for-human-rights BERGEN (NORWAY) / LAGOS (NIGERIA), September 27, 2012 – Friends of the Earth International chair Nnimmo Bassey [1] will be the recipient of this year's Rafto Prize for Human Rights. Friends of the Earth International is proud of Nnimmo and his award. The announcement that Nnimmo Bassey is the recipient of the 2012 award was made today at 10am during a press conference at the Rafto Human Rights House in Bergen, Norway. Nnimmo is also Executive Director of Friends of the Earth Nigeria  [2] 

 

The Rafto Prize 2012 will be delivered in Bergen (Norway) on November 4. The Rafto Foundation has awarded annually - since 1987- the Rafto Prize for Human

Rights to advocates of human rights and democracy.

 

Several Rafto Laureates have subsequently been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. [3]

 

The 2012 Rafto Prize will be awarded to Nnimmo Bassey in recognition of his long-term fight for people’s rights to life, health, food and water in a world affected by climate change and mass environmental destruction.

 

“Through his rights based work and criticism of prevailing systems, Bassey has shown how human rights can help mitigate the effects of these changes,” says the Rafto Foundation.

 

Nnimmo Bassey said:

 

"I am honored and humbled by this announcement. I hold the Rafto Foundation in high esteem for its commitment to human right defenders. I have campaigned on oil pollution and human rights in Nigeria for decades. Standing with impacted communities we continually demand justice. We press on, convinced that truth will prevail.”

He added: “We expect justice to be done very soon, after a major court case hearing against Anglo-Dutch oil giant Shell in The Netherlands. Shell's incredible contamination in Nigeria will be under scrutiny at a court hearing in The Hague on October 11 and the verdict is expected in early 2013,” he added. [4]

Nnimmo Bassey is one of Africa’s leading advocates and campaigners for the environment and human rights. Bassey has tirelessly stood up against the practices of multinational corporations and the environmental devastation they leave behind, destroying the lives and trampling on the rights of local people.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Nnimmo Bassey, Friends of the Earth International chair, Tel: +234 80 37 27 43 95 (Nigerian mobile number) or email nnimmo (at) eraction.org

Kari Amble, The Rafto Foundation, Head of Information,
Phone: +47 55 21 09 75  Mobile: +47 91 31 44 17  E-mail: kari.amble (at) rafto.no

NOTES TO EDITORS

[1] For Nnimmo Bassey’s biography and a selection of high-resolution, free to use photo portraits  go to http://www.foei.org/en/media/photos/nnimmo-bassey-photos

[2] For more information about the 'Rafto Prize 2012 please visit: www.rafto.no

[3] The Rafto Laureates whom have subsequently been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize are: Aung San Suu Kyi, Burma (Rafto Prize in 1990), people of East‐Timor by Josè Ramos‐Horta (Rafto Prize in 1993), Kim Dae‐jung, South‐Korea (Rafto Prize in 2000), and Shirin Ebadi, Iran (Rafto Prize in 2001).

[4] For more information about the court case against Shell visit : http://www.foei.org/en/media/archive/2012/key-hearing-in-court-case-on-oil-giant-shells-nigerian-oil-pollution


]]> No publisher Niccolo Sarno climate corporate power extractive 2012-09-27T08:25:00Z News Item Key Hearing in Court Case on Oil Giant Shell's Nigerian Oil Pollution http://www.foei.org/en/media/archive/2012/key-hearing-in-court-case-on-oil-giant-shells-nigerian-oil-pollution THE HAGUE, THE NETHERLANDS, OCTOBER 10, 2012 -- For the first time in history, a European company, Anglo-Dutch oil giant Shell, will appear in a Dutch court to account for damage it caused abroad, Friends of the Earth International announced today. The court case against Shell's oil spills in Nigeria has been filed by four Nigerian plaintiffs in conjunction with Friends of the Earth Netherlands and supported by Friends of the Earth Nigeria.

 

 

Lawyers for both parties will plea at a key hearing in The Hague on 11 October at 9:30am. [1] The verdict is expected early in 2013.

 

 

“This court case will have groundbreaking legal repercussions for multinational corporations globally, and especially for European corporations,“ says Geert Ritsema, globalisation campaign leader at Friends of the Earth Netherlands / Milieudefensie.

 

 

“Due to the poor maintenance of pipelines and factories, Shell let tens of millions of barrels of oil leak in the Niger Delta, with disastrous consequences for local people and the environment. The Anglo Dutch oil giant must now stop its pollution, compensate the damage and prevent more oil spills from happening,” he adds.

 

 

Geert Ritsema and Hans Berkhuizen, the director of Friends of the Earth Netherlands, will conduct a fact-finding mission in Nigeria from September 27 – October 2.

 

 

“Nigerians have to sue Shell in The Netherlands to obtain justice. Meanwhile Shell uses the threat of legal action to attempt to silence legitimate protests, for instance the recent Greenpeace protests against Shell in Europe. They pollute with impunity, destroy livelihoods and block dissent. This is deplorable," says Nnimmo Bassey, Executive Director of Friends of the Earth Nigeria and Chair of Friends of the Earth International.

 

 

“We want to see an end to the corporate crimes committed by oil giants like Shell in Nigeria and around the world,” he adds.

 

 

In May 2008, four Nigerian fishermen and farmers [2] from the villages of Goi, Ikot Ada Udo and Oruma, in conjunction with Friends of the Earth Netherlands / Milieudefensie and supported by Friends of the Earth Nigeria / ERA, started a legal case against Shell Nigeria and its parent company in the Netherlands. [3]

 

 

The Hague court hearing will take place just 10 days after a key [October 1st] hearing of the U.S. Supreme court regarding a separate lawsuit 'Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Shell Petroleum' brought by Nigerian refugees in the U.S. accusing Shell of helping the Nigerian military to systematically torture and kill environmentalists in the 1990s. [4]

 

 

The serious contamination of the oil rich Niger Delta has had disastrous consequences for the local people and their environment. Oil leaks regularly pollute the fields, forests and water. These leaks are a heavy burden on agriculture and fishing.

 

 

“Since the spill I have lost most of my income. Now we live from hand to mouth: sometimes I go into the bush, sometimes a company gives me a day’s work for 500 Naira [3 euro], ” says one of the four plaintiffs, Alali Efanga from Oruma (Bayelsa State) in Nigeria.

 

 

Shell is the operator of Nigeria's largest oil fields and bears significant responsibility for the oil pollution. The UN, among others, has stated that Shell does not comply with legal environmental standards and has failed to clean up leaked oil – or has done so only insufficiently, for decades. Moreover, Shell’s own sustainability report stated that the number of leaks due to poor maintenance doubled in 2011, rising from 32 to 64.

 

 

In May 2012 Friends of the Earth International delivered some 70,000 signatures to Shell CEO Peter Voser from people who want Shell to start cleaning up its mess in the oil-rich and highly polluted Niger Delta in Nigeria. The signatures were collected by the organisation SumOfUs in close cooperation with Friends of the Earth and Amnesty International.

 

 

 

NOTES TO EDITORS

 

 

[1] PHOTOS OF THE OIL SPILLS, as well as legal documents and fact sheets about the legal proceedings are available at :

 

http://www.milieudefensie.nl/english/shell/oil-leaks/courtcase/press and

 

http://www.milieudefensie.nl/english/shell/oil-leaks/courtcase/press/documents/documents-on-the-shell-legal-case

 

 

 

[2] BIOS, PORTRAITS AND STORIES OF THE PLAINTIFFS are available at : http://www.milieudefensie.nl/english/shell/oil-leaks/courtcase/plaintiffs

 

http://www.milieudefensie.nl/english/shell/oil-leaks/courtcase/press/documents/documents-on-the-shell-legal-case

 

 

[3] A TIMELINE OF THE COURT CASE is available at : http://www.milieudefensie.nl/publicaties/factsheets/timeline-courtcase-shell

 

 

[4] For more information read “Kiobel v. Shell - Justice in U.S. courts for atrocities overseas: preserving the Alien Tort Statute” at http://cja.org/section.php?id=510

 

 

FOR MORE INFORMATION

 

 

Friends of the Earth Netherlands / Milieudefensie press office: Tel: + 31 - 20 - 5507 333 or e-mail persvoorlichting [at] milieudefensie.nl

 

Nnimmo Bassey, Friends of the Earth Nigeria and chair of Friends of the Earth International: +234 803 727 4395 (Nigerian cell) or email: Nnimmo [at] eraction.org

 

]]> No publisher Niccolo Sarno corporate power extractive 2012-09-26T13:50:00Z News Item Gates foundation-led green revolution promotes false solutions to hunger in Africa http://www.foei.org/en/media/archive/2012/gates-foundation-led-green-revolution-promotes-false-solutions-to-hunger-in-africa Friends of the Earth International warns against damaging industrial farming promoted by the Gates Foundation at the Agricultural Green Revolution Forum 2012, Arusha, Tanzania on 26-28 September. ARUSHA (TANZANIA) / LONDON (UK), September 25, 2012 – Donors controlling the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) are representing the interests of biotechnology corporations rather than African small farmers, warns Friends of the Earth International on the eve of the annual AGRA Forum in Tanzania.

Multi-million dollar investments from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation -a major AGRA donor- into shares in biotech corporations, and revolving doors between donors and these corporations skew the agenda of AGRA in favor of profit-based, corporate-led farming rather than farming that benefits local people and small farmers. [1]

“It is time African Governments stop bowing to corporate donors and instead put farmers in the driver's seat. They must focus on funding ecological methods and preserving local seeds. Africa can feed itself with ecological agriculture and it is small farmers themselves who are the most important investors in farming. Through AGRA, multinational corporations are trying to control our seeds, land, food and then our lives. AGRA is not in the best interest of Africans, it is a trojan horse for agribusiness,” says Mariann Bassey from Friends of the Earth Nigeria.

The bulk of projects funded by the Gates Foundation and its brainchild AGRA favor technological solutions for high-input industrial farming methods. These include patented seeds, fertilizers and lobbying for genetically modified crops. [2]

Evidence from the roll-out of genetically modified crops in other countries shows that these crops push farmers into debt, cause irreversible environmental damage and encourage land concentration. [3]

In March 2011 the UN issued a report urging 'eco-farming' as the best strategy for improving farming in the developing world. The report's author challenged the wisdom of the Gates Foundation’s approach to agricultural development. [4]

“If AGRA carries on with its greenwash revolution, Africans will lose traditional and ecological farming that can feed people in the face of climate change. Instead they will have a toxic system that pushes farmers onto a chemical treadmill. This will be a disaster for their livelihoods and the environment and is the opposite of what we need,“ says Kirtana Chandrasekaran, Friends of the Earth International Food Sovereignty coordinator.

Sustainable family farming, agro-ecological production models and strong local markets have been recognized as the best way to feed people and protect the planet. [5]


FOR MORE INFORMATION

In Nigeria :

Mariann Bassey from Friends of the Earth Nigeria and Coordinator for the Food Sovereignty and Agrofuels Program Friends of the Earth Africa, +234 703 44 95 940 or email mariann@eraction.org

In the United Kingdom:

Kirtana Chandrasekaran, Friends of the Earth International Food Sovereignty program coordinator, + 44 79 61 98 69 56 or email kirtana.chandrasekaran@foe.co.uk


NOTES TO EDITORS

[1] For more information read http://www.seattleglobaljustice.org/agra-watch/

[2] For more information read a commentary by Mariann Bassey at http://www.foei.org/en/resources/publications/pdfs/2012/agra2019s-technology-push-in-africa/view

[3] Governments are being forced to protect farmers and citizens from genetically modified crops to combat biotech corporations’ stranglehold over farmers, and health scares from escalating pesticide use, according to a 2011 report online at http://www.foei.org/en/what-we-do/climate-biodiversity-finance/latest-news-old/who-benefits-from-gm-crops

[4] For more information read the 2011 UN report 'Agro-ecology and the right to food' at http://www.srfood.org/index.php/en/component/content/article/1-latest-news/1174-report-agroecology-and-the-right-to-food

[5] In April 2008 a study by 400 multi-disciplinary scientists and several international organisations (the International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development, or IAASTD) concluded that agro-ecology, local trade and supporting small farmers is the best way forward to combat hunger and poverty.
For more information read the assessment at http://www.agassessment.org/

]]> No publisher Niccolo Sarno food soberanía alimentaria soberanía corporate power 2012-09-25T09:30:00Z News Item Rio+20 Summit Condemned as Sell Out of People and the Planet http://www.foei.org/en/media/archive/2012/rio-20-summit-condemned-as-sell-out-of-people-and-the-planet RIO DE JANEIRO (BRAZIL), June 22, 2012-- Friends of the Earth International today strongly condemned world leaders for selling out people and the planet in their Rio+20 declaration which falls way short of the action needed to tackle the planetary crisis we face, and does not include any of the real solutions demanded by the people at the alternative Peoples Summit. [1] According to Friends of the Earth International, the lack of political will from governments is rooted in the undue influence of corporations over governments and UN institutions. But pressure from civil society groups and movements and developing countries prevented world leaders from agreeing an even worse Rio+20 declaration that would have taken the world further backwards than we were twenty years ago.

 

“Once again corporate polluters have held UN decision-making hostage to furthering their economic interests, at the expense of peoples wellbeing and the planet. But real solutions to the crises exist and were presented by the alternative Peoples Summit. They include economic justice, climate justice, and food sovereignty,“ said Nnimmo Bassey, chair of Friends of the Earth International.

 

Friends of the Earth International has been a key player in the People’s Summit – an alternative space independent from the UN Summit supported by over 200 civil society groupings who have worked together over the past nine days to generate ideas for the change needed to tackle the crisis we face.

 

“Friends of the Earth International and our allied social movements will keep fighting the corporate capture of the UN which is stopping our governments from listening to the voices of the 99 percent of the people. These voices include not only the Peoples Summit voices here in Rio but also the voices of the Occupy and Indignados movements around the world,” said Lucia Ortiz, Economic Justice International Program Coordinator at Friends of the Earth International.

 

“Peoples power is the solution to the crises we are facing. The alternative People’s Summit in Rio was an example of peoples voices uniting to demand real solutions.  We need to build on our strengths and organise ourselves to resist corporate power, false solutions, and reclaim our democracies and UN decision-making” said Isaac Rojas, Friends of the Earth International coordinator of the Forest and Biodiversity Program,

 

Friends of the Earth International’s analsyis of key issues on the table in Rio:

 

GREEN ECONOMY

 

The European Union block tried to impose in Rio the corporate-driven green economy agenda --which is a front for our broken and unfair economic system and for selling out nature—as the main tool for achieving sustainable development. Civil society and developing countries managed to prevent this agenda from being adopted and partially stopped its imposition in the Rio declaration, allowing, for now, individual countries to continue define their own vision of what a truly fair and sustainable economy might look like.

 

Unfortunately the declaration still recognizes the green economy as an important tool and does not include any recognition that developed countries, whose unsustainable consumption patterns caused the bulk of our environmental problems, should take the lead on sustainable consumption and production. The Rio+20 declaration also fails to recognise that multinational corporations are a main cause of the multiple crises the world is facing.

 

 

THE RIO PRINCIPLES

 

The Rio+20 declaration reaffirms the so-called 'Rio Principles' first agreed at the 1992 Earth Summit but does not go any further.

 

The Rio+20 declaration ignores the need of the industrialised world to repay its ecological debt through provision of new and additional public finance and through technology transfer.

 

The Rio+20 declaration does not tackle the need to phase out fossil fuels through a just transition to clean and affordable community-controlled energy.

 

 

CORPORATE CAPTURE OF THE UN

 

The Rio+20 declaration includes a voluntary approach to sustainability reporting – something that was on the table 10 years ago and is wholly insufficient to address corporate abuses and crimes.

 

The Rio+20 declaration unfortunately states that governments should support initiatives including “promoting the contribution of the private sector” and the only reference to mobilizing public finance was made in connection to public-private partnerships.

 

The Rio+20 declaration does not include any of the steps raised in a statement issued on June 4 by Friends of the Earth International and other organisations and signed by more than 400 organisations.

 

The steps that should be taken include:

 

Limiting the privileged status that business currently has in official UN negotiations and policy-making; limits on the role of the “business and industry” major group; disclosure of existing relations and links between the UN with the private sector; a code of conduct for UN officials; a review of existing partnerships with corporates and trade associations, and a halt to entering into any new such partnerships; increased transparency around lobbying; and the establishment of a legally binding framework to hold companies accountable to environmental, human rights and labour rights law.

 

 

FOR MORE INFORMATION

 

Nnimmo Bassey, chair of Friends of the Earth International
+234 803 727 4395 (Nigerian cell), or email Nnimmo (at) eraction.org

 

Lucia Ortiz, Economic Justice International Program Coordinator, Friends of the Earth International (in Brazil)
Tel: + 55 51 98 41 87 07 or +55 21 6968 7826 or email lucia (at) natbrasil.org.br

 

Isaac Rojas, Friends of the Earth International coordinator of the Forest and Biodiversity Program,
Tel: +55 21 6968 7885 or email isaac (at) coecoceiba.org

 

Paul de Clerck, Corporates Campaign Coordinator, Friends of the Earth International
Tel + 32 494 38 09 59 or email paul (at) milieudefensie.nl

 

 

NOTES TO EDITORS

 

[1]  The solutions promoted at the People’s Summit include:

 

  • Small scale and local renewable energy production
  • Investing in energy efficiency
  • Shifting from export oriented large scale food production to food sovereignty to serve local food needs
  • Implementing a global financial transaction tax
  • Implementing internationally binding rules for companies and sanctions if they violate them
]]> No publisher Joukje Kolff 2012-06-23T21:50:13Z News Item Rio+20: Protest Against ‘The Future Corporations Bought’ http://www.foei.org/en/media/archive/2012/rio-20-protest-against-2018the-future-corporations-bought2019 RIO DE JANEIRO (BRAZIL), June 22, 2012 – Friends of the Earth International delegates joined on June 21 a key protest by a group of young people and civil society organisations denouncing world leaders’ failure to tackle the planetary crisis at the UN Rio+20 Summit. [1] Hundreds of people condemned the failed Rio+20 Summit process as “the future corporations bought, first sitting down at the entrance of the Rio+20 Summit and then tearing up copies of the Rio+20 Summit text. They later walked out of the conference centre, handing in their badges, and chanting 'the future we want is not here'.

 

The protestors said that the voices of people and in particular the young people are being ignored at this UN Summit in the interest of corporations that continue to promote a business-as-usual model based upon dirty fossil fuels, and social and environmental exploitation.

 

“The solutions to the planetary crisis are well known and are being promoted by communities across the world. They are on the table at the alternative Peoples Summit in Rio. What is lacking at this UN Summit is the political will to bring about the solutions the people need,” said Jagoda Munic of Friends of the Earth Croatia, who took part in today’s protest.

 

“Today’s protest sent a strong signal that change will come from the people and not from this Rio+20 Summit where world leaders are rubber stamping a document that will be viewed by future generations as a suicide ;note for the planet," she added.

 

On June 22 Friends of the Earth International chair Nnimmo Bassey met UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and delivered a civil society statement denouncing the corporate domination of the United Nations, during a meeting with the organisers of the alternative Peoples Summit in Rio, which includes Friends of the Earth International. [2]

 

More than 400 civil society organizations representing millions of people from around the world signed the statement -initiated by Friends of the Earth International and nine other organisations- which will be delivered in the sidelines of the UN Rio+20 Earth Summit.[3]

 

“Young people have shown great leadership by walking out of the Rio+20 Summit today. The future belongs to them and today we share their outrage. Their voices must be heard. World leaders should not trash their future,” said Nnimmo Bassey, chair of Friends of the Earth International.

 

The statement is part of a Friends of the Earth International campaign 'Reclaim the UN' which included the launch on June 19 of a report exposing the increasing influence of major corporations and business lobby groups within the UN. [3]

 

The report 'Reclaim the UN from Corporate Capture' presents a number of cases that clearly expose how UN policies and agencies are excessively influenced by the corporate sector, for instance oil company Shell, Dow Chemical, Monsanto, the Coca Cola company, and the Chinese oil giant PetroChina.

 

 

FOR MORE INFORMATION

 

Lucia Ortiz, Economic Justice International Program Coordinator, Friends of the Earth International (in Brazil)
Tel: + 55 51 98 41 87 07 or +55 21 6968 7826 or email lucia@natbrasil.org.br

 

Nnimmo Bassey, chair of Friends of the Earth International
Tel: +234 803 727 4395 (Nigerian cell), or email Nnimmo@eraction.org

 

Paul de Clerck, Corporates Campaign Coordinator, Friends of the Earth International

Tel + 32 494 38 09 59 or email paul@milieudefensie.nl

 


NOTES TO EDITORS

 

[1] The Summit website is http://www.uncsd2012.org

[2] More information about the statement and the signatories is online at
http://www.foei.org/end-un-corporate-capture

[3] The new report is online at
http://www.foei.org/reclaim-the-UN-report/view

]]> No publisher Joukje Kolff 2012-06-22T12:41:32Z News Item