Friends of the Earth International - english feed

Governments Urged to Limit Weed Killer Found in Humans

Niccolo Sarno — 2013-06-17T12:35:00Z

Media briefing on glyphosate and reasons for concern available at: www.foeeurope.org/glyphosate-reasons-for-concern-briefing-130613

The unprecedented tests carried out by Friends of the Earth Europe revealed that 44% of samples from 182 volunteers in 18 European countries contained traces of the herbicide [2].

Glyphosate is one of the most widely-used weed killers in the world, used by farmers, local government and gardeners, and is sprayed extensively on genetically modified crops.

In the United States and Latin America, farmers are using increased amounts of pesticides, -including glyphosate- due largely to the heavy adoption of genetically modified crops. [3]

The biggest producer of glyphosate is US biotech giant Monsanto which sells it under the brand name “Roundup”.

Lisa Archer, Food and Technology Program Director of Friends of the Earth US said:

“Discovering traces of glyphosate in Europeans raises serious questions. How did it get there? Why aren't governments testing for it? And is it also present in Americans citizens? Unlike Europe, the US grows vast amounts of glyphosate-resistant crops, which have resulted in a massive application of herbicides and superweeds.. Some of them are already out of control. Monsanto’s unauthorised genetically modified wheat recently discovered in US fields is the latest alarm bell and confirms the need for stricter controls on agribusiness.”

In May 2013 a strain of genetically-engineered glyphosate-resistant wheat was found on a farm in Oregon, USA. The wheat was developed by Monsanto which tested it between 1998 and 2005. The wheat has never been approved nor marketed. Trading partners have since introduced restrictions or testing of US wheat imports. [4]

Adrian Bebb, spokesman for Friends of the Earth Europe said:

“Agribusinesses that promote GM crops and pesticides like to pretend they have things under control – but finding this weed killer in peoples’ urine suggests we are being exposed to glyphosate in our everyday lives, yet don’t know where it is coming from, how widespread it is in the environment, or what it is doing to our health.”

“Governments around the world need to limit glyphosate use, step up their investigations, and ensure that people and the environment are put before the interests of a few agribusiness corporations,” he added.

According to 2010 figures, 70% of all the corn that was planted in the United States had been genetically modified to be herbicide resistant; as well as 78% of cotton and 93% of all soybeans. [5]

In Europe there has been widespread opposition to GM crops, with only one GM crop grown commercially, although there are 14 applications currently being considered by the EU to grow glyphosate-resistant crops.

In Argentina, 200 million litres of glyphosate-based pesticides are used yearly on soy plantations alone[6]

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT

Adrian Bebb, Friends of the Earth Europe, Tel: + 49 1 609 490 1163 or email adrian.bebb [at] foeeurope.org

Lisa Archer, food and technology program director, Friends of the Earth US, Tel: +1 - 510-900-3145 or email larcher [at] foe.org

NOTES

[1] This is the first time monitoring has been carried out across Europe for the presence of the weed killer in humans. All of the volunteers who gave samples live in cities, and none had handled or used glyphosate products in the run up to the tests.
For more information read this Wall Street Journal story: http://blogs.wsj.com/brussels/2013/06/13/study-youre-in-trouble-roundup/

[2] Urine samples were collected from 182 volunteers in Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, France, Georgia, Germany, Hungary, Latvia, Macedonia, Malta, Poland, Spain, Switzerland, The Netherlands, and the UK. Volunteers were all city-dwellers and included vegetarian and non-vegetarian diets. No two samples were tested from the same household. The samples were analysed by Dr Hoppe at Medizinisches Labor Bremen in Germany (http://www.mlhb.de/).

[3] See Reuters story “Pesticide use ramping up as GMO crop technology backfires: study” at http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/02/us-usa-study-pesticides-idUSBRE89100X20121002

[4] USDA APHIS, 29 May 2013. ‘USDA Investigating Detetions of Genetically Engineered (GE) Glyphosate-resistant wheat in Oregon’ http://content.govdelivery.com/bulletins/gd/USDAAPHIS-7d0c5e

[5] For more information see http://usda.mannlib.cornell.edu/usda/nass/Acre/2010s/2010/Acre-06-30-2010.pdf

[6] For more information see http://www.keine-gentechnik.de/fileadmin/files/Infodienst/Dokumente/2012_08_27_Lopez_et_al_Pesticides_South_America_Study.pdf

Honduran activist Berta Caceres cleared of “charges” brought against her.

Real World Radio — 2013-06-14T08:55:00Z

It became evident that members of the army contradicted themselves. The police had done no investigation and had merely parroted the army's version of events.

“The military officers were the ones who planted the weapon so that they could arrest us, they always look for a way to mess with our friends”, said Tomas Gomez, who was arrested at the same time as Berta, but quickly released. “If Berta hadn’t been released, there would have been huge mobilizations in several municipalities”, he added.

Berta is the latest target of the Honduran government's attempts to criminalize legitimate dissent. She has been helping communities to peacefully mobilize against government and business interests to defend their lands.

Delegates from more than 40 organizations across Honduras arrived in the city of Santa Barbara, where the trial took place, to show their solidarity with the indigenous rights campaigner.

“What bothers the regime the most is that communities are mobilizing, and are far from being afraid, because they are aware of the value of the natural resources of their territories”, said Tomas.

The humanitarian situation in Honduras worsens by the day and many organizations believe that most communities are threatened, militarized and under a permanent state of siege. This trend is expected to worsen with the coming presidential elections in November.

Image and reporting by Real World Radio

Warning sounded ahead of EU-US trade negotiations

Denis Burke — 2013-06-12T13:34:55Z

Friends of the Earth Europe, the European Consumers' Organisation (BEUC) and Eurogroup for Animals today wrote to the 27 ministers to raise concerns about the threat a deal could pose to environmental, consumer, and social regulatory standards.

The EU's Foreign Affairs Council is expected to meet in Brussels on Friday June 14 to approve a mandate for the European Commission to negotiate a trade agreement, also known as the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).

Paul de Clerck, economic justice campaigner at Friends of the Earth Europe said:

"The trade negotiations between the EU and the US will have significant impacts on regulatory standards which touch upon all aspects of life for people and the environment on both sides of the Atlantic. Considering the current economic and financial challenges, as well as the climate emergency, it is absolutely essential that any agreement builds on regulatory pillars such as the precautionary and polluter-pays principles and allows countries to introduce safeguards that go beyond those in the partnership. Specific rights for investors should absolutely be excluded from the agreement."

In the letter, the three organisations make the following points:

Negotiations should be fully open to public scrutiny, including through the publication of the negotiating texts. There should be full transparency about the exact scope of the agreement and consultation with civil society about the mandate.
Negotiations should aim at the highest common standard. Regulatory convergence should not be used to lower existing environmental, social, or consumer protection standards.
National governments should retain the rights to maintain or introduce higher standards which go beyond what is agreed in the TTIP. These should be applied in a non-discriminatory way to domestic and foreign producers and suppliers.
Investor States Dispute Settlement (ISDS) provisions should be excluded from the mandate. This mechanism allows foreign investors to legally challenge national governments, thereby elevating them to the same status as sovereign states. As both the EU and the US have well-functioning court systems, there is absolutely no need to include such provisions in the agreement.

Visit the Friends of the Earth Europe website

Friends of the Earth International demands the annulment of legal proceedings against Berta Caceres and the Honduras Civic Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations (COPINH)

Denis Burke — 2013-06-11T09:20:00Z

To the legal authorities in Santa Barbara municipality, Honduras

To the judges in the Supreme Court of Honduras

To the companies responsible for the Agua Zarca hydropower project (DESA-SINOHIDRO and FICOSAH bank)

To the Honduran and international public

On behalf of the environmental federation Friends of the Earth International, I would like to express our concern over the repeated episodes of violence against social leaders in Honduras caused by state forces and by mercenaries hired by companies, landowners and several consortia, as a variety of national testimonies and international reports confirm.

I would also like to table a petition of concern to your institutions, in light of the trial indigenous rights activist Berta Cáceres faces in your country, which I consider to be illegitimate, illegal and represents a high risk for her personal integrity and the security of her organization, the Honduras Civic Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations (COPINH).

We have been notified over the past few weeks about the persecution and criminalization of this social activist who works for the rights of Honduran indigenous peoples, their territories and culture, against whom the authorities have initiated unjustified legal proceedings accusing her of the illegal possession of a firearm without any formal evidence.

Berta Cáceres has been summoned to court in the city of Santa Bárbara, Honduras on June 13, at 9am, to defend herself against these false accusations.

Legal proceedings were initiated on May 24, 2013, following the illegal detention of Berta Cáceres and indigenous journalist Tomás Gómez, both members of the Honduras Civic Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations (COPINH), while they were traveling to the area where the Lenca indigenous people are mobilizing against the installation of the Agua Zarca hydro power dam. If this dam is built, hundreds of indigenous families of the Honduran North-West region will be displaced.

In the operation that resulted in their arrest, over 15 members of the Honduran Army and the Police participated. They were arrested without a warrant and despite the fact that the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights has extended a precautionary measure in favor of this Honduran leader, following multiple threats against her life.

Berta and Tomás stated that the officers stopped the COPINH vehicle in which they were traveling and detained them with vehicles identified with the logos of the consortium responsible for the construction of the dam (DESA-SINOHIDRO and FICOSAH bank).

Berta was detained for almost 24 hours and is now prevented from leaving the country and has to make herself present at the police headquarters every week until the case is solved (See article).

The COPINH members’ detention testifies to the strong trend towards the militarization of the Honduran police. The actions by the Honduran armed and security forces violate the human rights of social, environmental and indigenous activists who are systematically harassed as if they were “enemies” and not citizens who are entitled to their rights.

Berta Cáceres’ life and freedom are at risk and depend on the outcome of the hearing that will take place on June 13.

Therefore, on behalf of Friends of the Earth International, the world’s largest grassroots environmental federation with national member groups in 74 countries on every continent, I am addressing you, together with organizations and individuals who fight for social and environmental justice, calling for the immediate annulment of the proceedings against Berta Cáceres’ and demanding the Honduran authorities and international human rights organizations to guarantee the necessary conditions for her to continue working as a defender of the human and environmental rights of indigenous and peasant communities and women in Honduras.

In solidarity with the Honduran people, sincerely,

Jagoda Munic

Sign this petition calling for justice for Berta and read more about her arbitrary arrest and the harassment she has faced.

El Salvador: Tourism Projects Threaten Mangroves and Communities

Niccolo Sarno — 2013-06-05T12:05:00Z

The Salvadoran government is debating a key proposal which is part of a US$ 277 million aid program from the United States and could sign it in September 2013.

A new video testimony [1] published by Friends of the Earth International on World Environment Day, June 5, shows that mangrove forests, such as the one of La Tirana in the coast of El Salvador, are part of a complex ecosystem that protects coastlines from erosion and filters coastal waters.

Communities living in and around these forests depend on this natural resource for their livelihoods and care for the biodiversity of these fragile ecosystems.

If tourism projects are developed in the protected areas, as the government expects will happen as part of the US Millennium Challenge Fund 'Fomilenio' aid program, “the mangrove forests and communities who depend on these fragile ecosystems would be seriously affected”, says Ricardo Navarro, director of CESTA/ Friends of the Earth El Salvador.

“Coastline tourism projects funded by Fomilenio would displace peasant communities that have always lived in this area because many people there have no legal security over their land” added Navarro.

The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) [2], the US government agency that promotes Fomilenio, chose El Salvador in December of 2011 for a second US$ 277 million non refundable aid package for the development of the coastal strip.

The government could definitely approve the proposal in late 2013, once the MCC has assessed the projects submitted by the country. The deal has to be approved and signed by March 15, 2014, although it could be signed as early as September 2013. [3]

Bajo Lempa is affected by floods during the rainy season, which cause deaths and loss of harvests and infrastructure. The region borders the natural Jiquilisco Bay, where several local organizations have developed important environmental and social projects to protect mangroves and other species living there.

The Jiquilisco Bay and the Jaltepeque Estuary are the country’s most important ecological corridor . They occupy an area of 112,454 hectares. Due to their vulnerability and because they area nesting area for many endangered species, the bay and estuary were declared sites protected by the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance

In 2007, the Bay was declared a biosphere reserve by UNESCO and it is estimated that along its 37 km of beaches live nearly 50% of the only 300 carey tortoises existing between Mexico and Peru.

The government has so far received 72 projects from private investors for $575 million, especially in the international services, agribusiness and tourism sectors. In order to bring about their plans, entrepreneurs offer to invest that amount while the necessary infrastructure is built.

The social organizations and communities of Bajo Lempa believe that the second Fomilenio package will lead to an increasing degradation and pollution of the country’s coastal ecosystems and to the displacement of peasant communities which traditionally belong to these territories.

The social organizations and communities of Bajo Lempa claim that the second Fomilenio fails to consider projects that the communities of Bajo Lempa have been demanding for years, such as building retaining walls, cleaning-up drainage systems and improving the streets; which shows that they have not consulted the local people.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Ricardo Navarro, Director of Friends of the Earth El Salvador / CESTA (Centro Salvadoreño de Tecnología Apropiada)/ cesta@cesta-foe.org.sv Tel: + 503 2213 1400 or +503 2213 1444 (office) or mobile + 503 7888 7567.

NOTES TO EDITORS

[1] The video testimony filmed in the mangrove forests is available at http://www.foei.org/en/media/resources-for-journalists/world-environment-day-tourism-projects-threaten-mangroves-and-communities-in-el-salvador

There are also photos of Bajo Lempa communities members.

A second video testimony shows how, by saving and exchanging his seeds, a small farmer in El Salvador preserves biodiversity and contributes to fighting hunger.

In May 2013 social organizations and communities of Bajo Lempa declared their intention to continue developing a ‘Food Sovereignty’ process with an agroecological focus that includes protecting local seeds, defending the soil and preserving water sources.

[2] The US and El Salvador signed the first Fomilenio in 2007, which delivered US$ 461 million to build a highway and to fund other projects in the North of the country. If the second Fomilenio is approved, it will amount to US$ 413 million and will develop infrastructure in the coastline region of El Salvador.

One of the goals of Fomilenio is to build a bridge that connects the ports of the Pacific coast with those of the Central American Caribbean, thus facilitating trade from Asia to the US and Europe. The new highway called ‘carretera Longitudinal del Norte’ built as part of the first Fomilenio package connects port Cutuco de la Union with Puerto Barrios in Guatemala.

The second Fomilenio package will improve the coastline highway in El Salvador in order to connect other Salvadoran ports. It will also develop new sectors, such as tourism. The MCC was created by the US Congress in 2004 to help poor countries overcome poverty and it has so far provided US$ 8.4 billion in aid around the world. For more information: http://www.mcc.gov/pages/about

[3] For more information, read this recent article by Edgardo Ayala for IPS News Agency: http://www.ipsnews.net/2013/04/activists-fight-u-s-aid-to-develop-el-salvadors-pacific-coastline/

World Environment Day: Tourism projects threaten mangroves and communities in El Salvador

Denis Burke — 2013-05-29T13:30:00Z

A video testimony released on June 5, 2013 shows that mangrove forests, such as the one of La Tirana in the coast of El Salvador, are part of a complex ecosystem that protects coastlines from erosion and filters coastal waters. Communities living in and around these forests depend on this natural resource for their livelihoods and care for the biodiversity of these fragile ecosystems.

A second video testimony shows how, by saving and exchanging his seeds, a small farmer in El Salvador preserves biodiversity and contributes to fighting hunger.

Communities living in and around these forests depend on these natural resources for their livelihoods and care for the biodiversity of these fragile ecosystems.

High resolution photos of Bajo Lempa communities members are available here

The Salvadoran government is debating a key proposal, which is part of a US$ 277 million aid program from the United States, and could sign it in September 2013.

In May 2013 social organizations and communities in Bajo Lempa declared their intention to continue developing a ‘Food Sovereignty’ process with an agroecological focus, which includes protecting local seeds, defending the soil and preserving water sources.

FoE Indonesia / WALHI

Denis Burke — 2013-05-29T09:10:00Z

We oppose the current model of economic globalization and corporatization. We promote solutions that help to create environmentally sustainable and socially just societies. We get enormous strength and knowledge from our work with communities that have been marginalized and victimized.

Tumpak Winmark hutabarat is WALHI's new media and publishing officer. He has been working there since January 1, 2012. He works to promote WALHI's work through a variety of media and publications for the public and coordinates outreach through journals, e-newsletters and bulletins.

He also helps to organise monthly discussions about WALHI and the environmental themes it works on to help further WALHI's knowledge and communication networking with various institutions.

Tumpak believes that the power of civil society and organisations like WALHI can help to realise ecologically just changes.

Image: Administrators of WALHI's national member groups, representing 28 Indonesian provinces. Credit: WALHI/ FoE Indonesia

Annual Report 2011

Denis Burke — 2013-05-28T09:21:52Z

Free Trade and Investment Agreements Under Fire By Civil Society

Niccolo Sarno — 2013-05-27T16:29:11Z

The statement [2] calls for an alternative legal framework for international economic relations. Its signatories welcomed the radical steps announced by Latin American and Caribbean governments in a Ministerial Declaration which had been issued at the first Ministerial Conference of Latin American States affected by transnational interests, held in Guayaquil, Ecuador, on 22 April. [3]

International Investment Agreements (IIAs) – such as the Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs) and investment chapters in the Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) as well as Association Agreements – undermine peoples’ rights as well as the sovereignty and constitutions of nations, democracy and the public interest, according to the signatories.

Alberto Villarreal from Friends of the Earth Uruguay / REDES said: “International Investment Agreements grant unprecedented rights to foreign corporations and investors, including the right to sue sovereign States and challenge their public interest policies in international arbitration tribunals that only look after the interests of the investors. They are deadly weapons against democratic rule and the protection of peoples' rights and environmental justice. Any steps taken by governments to put peoples' rights before the rights of investors and transnational corporations need to be supported.“

Bill Waren from Friends of the Earth US said: “Agreements such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership are trojan horses reinforcing the power of transnational corporations and weakening government efforts to protect their citizens and the environment. There is an urgent need for an alternative to the model of the Trans-Pacific Partnership.”

Any country can be sued by a Transnational Corporation if it takes part in an IIA. For this reason the countries signing IIAs lose the freedom to implement laws and policies that favour people and the environment, if these laws or policies go against the interests of corporations.

Signatories propose advancing an alternative legal framework for international economic relations that is based on democratic principles, and prioritises human rights over corporate interests.

Signatories thus recommend that States annul, denounce and stop signing IIAs that have unlawfully subjected them to foreign jurisdictions and violate peoples' rights, and welcome the creation of an International Observatory on investment disputes, agreed by governments at the Guayaquil Ministerial Conference.

Civil society organisations have called on those governments to take swift and concrete steps towards the creation of mechanisms for ongoing dialogue with social movements and organisations in their discussions on investment rules and disputes, as they pledged to do in their Ministerial Declaration, and offered their support to contribute to the task at hand.

FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT

Alberto Villareal from Friends of the Earth Uruguay / REDES : email comerc@redes.org.uy or call +598 98 556360 (Uruguay phone number)

Bill Waren from Friends of the Earth US : email wwaren@foe.org or call +1 202.222.0746 (U.S. phone number)

NOTES

[1] The negotiations ended on May 24 after ten days of closed meetings.
A video explaining the problems of the Trans-Pacific Partnership is online at http://www.foei.org/en/what-we-do/economic-justice/peril-in-the-pacific
The 11 member states of the Trans-Pacific Partnership announced their intention to finalize their trade negotiations by the end of 2013. The member states of the Trans-Pacific Partnership so far are: Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, United States of America, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Singapore, Vietnam and Peru. Other countries are being encouraged to join the agreement but without reopening decisions made at previous rounds of negotiations.

[2] The civil society statement is online at: http://bit.ly/YwwVMQ
The final list of signatories is online at: http://bit.ly/12jCL3x

[3] The Latin American countries committed to the Guayaquil Declaration are Ecuador, Bolivia, Cuba, Nicaragua, Dominican Republic, St. Vincent and Grenadine and Venezuela.

Their Ministerial Declaration is online in Spanish at: http://cancilleria.gob.ec/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/22abr_declaracion_transnacionales_eng.pdf

UPDATE: Guatemalan human rights defender Rubén Herrera has been released!

Denis Burke — 2013-05-27T15:25:00Z

Rubén Herrera's most recent hearing resulted in a provisional decision to grant his release. Friends of the Earth International will continue to monitor the situation. Family and friends have expressed their thanks to everyone around the world who sent an email to the Guatemalan authorities calling for his release.

Rubén Herrera was arrested as he left his house in Huehuetenango district, Guatemala on March 15 this year.

Rubén has been an active community organiser, working on many environmental and social justice campaigns and bringing together networks and organizations commited to social good for most of his adult life.

The flimsy reasons for his arrest – including incitement and kidnapping – were decisively refuted by Rubén and his defense during a hearing on March 19. However, despite requests by Guatemala's Public Prosecutor to dismiss the case due to a lack of evidence, the judge ordered that the case continue and that Rubén Herrera return to court at the end of May. Following this hearing, the judge decided to release him.

Rubén's case is part of a deeply disturbing cycle of criminalization of human rights and environmental activists in his part of Guatemala (Barillas, Huehuetenango). Spanish company Hidralia SA is building a hydroelectric dam in the area, despite 90% of local community members voicing their opposition to and voting against the implementation of hydroelectric and mining projects in a 2007 consultation. Local communities have repeatedly implicated the company in political repression, intimidation and manipulation of local and national legal processes in recent years. Rubén has been involved in efforts to demand that the company pull out of the area.

Read about another recent case in Guatemala, involving Hidralia's dam.

Read an interview with the director of Friends of the Earth Guatemala