Malaysia: 200 Indigenous Leaders Demand Their Rights i

Rainforest Action Network (RAN)







In Kuching, our fact finding team meet with 200 leaders from Indigenous communities around the state of Sarawak. Some had traveled by boat to attend, some had traveled 8 hours or more. The meeting was sponsored by SADIA, the Sarawak Dayak Iban Association (an Indigenous peoples network), and they had only expected about 150 participants, but word got out and there was a lot of interest.

During the meeting, we presented the findings from our fact finding mission - that Indigenous people are being systematically deprived of their land and other basic human rights through collusion between the state government and oil palm companies (with support from the local police). I spoke about many of the specific abuses that I noted, and I told them that Rainforest Action Network would support them in letting people know about their struggle and in trying to put pressure on US businesses to only buy palm oil from companies that respect Indigenous People’s rights.

Throughout the meeting and in conversations during the breaks, I heard more and more examples of abuses.

Four different people told me that their communities had signed a joint venture agreement with the state investment agency (our “friends” at SALCRA) or a private company that promised them 30% of all profits. Many years later, none of these communities have received a single payment and they worry that they signed away their land for nothing. One man told me he thought that it was only his community that wasn’t being paid.

Many people also talked about going to court to try to protect their land rights and having the cases endlessly postponed or appealed. There are 173 land cases pending in Sarawak right now, and while the courts drag their feet the companies go on operating on disputed territory and blocking Indigenous communities from accessing their own farmland. This is the clearest example I’ve seen of justice delayed truly being justice denied.

Examples of abuse by the police were also common. One woman who was trying to protect her land was sexually harrassed by male police officers who arrested her, despite the fact that Malaysian law requires a woman police officer to be present whenever a woman is arrested. Naturally, her complaints to higher ups within the police department have not been answered.

Some people brought maps and legal documents to the meeting to ask what they should do. Everybody present was angry and frustrated, but this meeting felt like the beginning of more joint action to address all of these common issues. Hopefully, by banding together, people can stand up to their abusive government and protect their land, their livelihood and their future.

After the meeting, I felt a bit like a presidential candidate, as 200 people lined up to shake my hand. But as I looked them each in the eye and thanked them, is was coming from my heart.

The people I met here have truly touched and inspired me, and I’ll do everything I can to share their story with the world.

- Debra, Rainforest Action Network (RAN).

Rainforest Action Network (RAN) is made up of 43 staff members in San Francisco, CA and in Tokyo, Japan, plus thousands of volunteer scientists, teachers, parents, students and other concerned citizens around the world. We believe that a sustainable world can be created in our lifetime, and that aggressive action must be taken immediately to leave a safe and secure world for our children.

Dubbed “some of the most savvy environmental agitators in the business” by the Wall Street Journal, RAN uses hard-hitting markets campaigns to align the policies of multinational corporations with widespread public support for environmental protection. We believe that logging ancient forests for copy paper or destroying an endangered ecosystem for a week’s worth of oil is not just destructive, but outdated and unnecessary.

All eyes on Bali for a crucial breakthrough on climate change

Bali, the “island of the Gods,” is a prime example of the beauty of our natural environment. At the same time, Indonesia has first-hand experience of the extreme weather events caused by climate change. Bali is therefore a poignant setting for the forthcoming crucial international negotiations on the way forward to save our planet from the devastating effects of global warming.

Developing countries - not least in Asia - are particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change due to their large populations and their high exposure to sea level rise, storm surges and river flooding. What we are facing is, in fact, not only an environmental problem, but has much wider implications: For economic growth, water and food security, and for people's survival - especially those living in the poorest communities. The recent joint award of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize to the IPCC for its work in disseminating knowledge on climate change underlines the implications for overall peace and security.

What Bali can deliver

What is needed is a breakthrough in the form of a roadmap for a new international agreement on enhanced global action to fight climate change in the period after 2012, the year the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol expires. The Bali conference will not deliver a fully negotiated and agreed climate deal, but is aimed at setting the necessary wheels in motion. In order to avoid a gap after the end of the Protocol’s first phase in 2012, the negotiations will need to conclude in 2009 to allow enough time for ratification.

The benchmark for success

A new international climate deal that addresses the interests of both developed and developing countries will make everyone a winner. The world is now watching and waiting for results. If a decision to launch negotiations is taken, if an agenda for negotiations is agreed, and if an end-date for completing negotiations is set, then Bali will have been a success. Anything short of that will constitute a failure. The spirit of Bali lies in the appreciation of its people for “Ibu Pertiwi” (mother earth) and also in the principle of collectivity. In this spirit, we must take a collective step forward.

Meanwhile, the U.S. government of President George W. Bush is heading for a rough ride during a major international conference about the planet's future that began this week on the Indonesian resort island of Bali.

The most visible pressure is expected to come from environmental groups assembled at the United Nations Climate Change Conference, which runs from Dec. 3-14. The activists' choice to single out Washington was made easier on the first day of the summit, with an announcement by Australia's newly-elected government that it was breaking ranks with the United States and joining nations that had ratified the 1997 Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

That Washington has not budged on the international front was clear during the opening day of the U.N. conference, which has attracted some 10,000 government officials, delegates from international organisations, private sector representatives and activists. There was hardly a hint that the U.S. government was expected to bridge the divide on the crucial issue of greenhouse gas (GhG) emissions spelled out in the Kyoto Protocol.

The Bush administration has refused to ratify the protocol due to language that calls on 36 industrialised countries to impose mandatory cuts on GhGs, which have contributed to global warming. The target set was a five percent cut below the 1990 GhG emission rates by 2012.

Washington favours voluntary cuts on emissions, despite the U.S. being a leading emitter of these heat-trapping gases that are expected to wreck havoc across the planet in coming years. All 27 member nations of the European Union, on the other hand, have embraced the binding commitments of the protocol and have introduced plans to cut GhG emissions by 20 percent by 2020.

''The administration is hoping to package its old voluntary policies by bringing some new faces to Bali to sell them,'' Angela Anderson, director of NET's climate programme, said in an e-mail interview from Nusa Dua. ''They are proposing ideas that were wisely rejected at (the 1992 U.N. summit in) Rio (de Janeiro) as unworkable.''

''The U.S. claims it wants to be constructive, so we hope that they continue to participate in the UNFCCC discussions on adaptation and deforestation and stay out of the discussion of (GhG) emissions ranges that is taking place among the Kyoto signatories,'' she added. ''The U.S. should be held responsible for trying to derail the mitigation discussion if that's what they do.''

The Bali summit is expected to secure commitments to cut GhGs after the Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012. U.N. officials hope that negotiations for the post-Kyoto agreement will take two years to finalise, thus giving countries sufficient time to ratify the agreement for a smooth transition.

This challenge was highlighted by Rachmat Witoelar, Indonesia's environment minister and the president of the current conference, on the opening day.

''The scientific debate has been conclusively laid to rest by the latest scientific findings from the U.N.'s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC): climate change is unequivocal and accelerating,'' he said. ''Whilst the launch of negotiations and a clear deadline of 2009 to end the negotiations would constitute a breakthrough, anything short of that would constitute a failure.''

In their report, the global network of scientists who are members of the IPCC warned that the level of GhGs emitted into the atmosphere must stabilise by 2015 and then start declining to avoid an environmental catastrophe. Failure, they added, would lead to the deaths of millions of people, mostly in the developing world, from extreme climate conditions ranging from a rise in sea levels to natural disasters and droughts.

Little wonder, then, why environmentalists fear Washington's position in Bali may put a brake on the negotiations and help make the grim forecast of the IPCC a reality.

''All nations have a vital self-interest in getting the next round (of the protocol) going, and they shouldn't let the same old story from the U.S. be an excuse for a weak start to the post 2012 negotiations,'' said Anderson of NET.


World to Bali: Climate Action Now

The most important climate change summit in years has just begun in Bali, Indonesia.This week and next, delegates from every nation will either launch the urgent negotiations for a new binding, global treaty to solve this crisis --or they will blow this historic opportunity and waste years of progress, imperiling us all. With powerful forces lobbying for the status quo, the outcome here is still very much up for grabs.

Here's what we can do to help:

Avaaz is working with groups around the world to organize a massive citizen's march--a virtual march online, and dozens of local marches in communities around the world--this Saturday, Dec. 8th. Our goal? One million participants demanding that their representatives at Bali start working right away towards a new binding climate treaty.

To ensure the delegates hear our voice, Avaaz members will march through the actual conference site in Bali on Saturday, holding high the flags from nations where Avaaz members have signed the climate petition. To join the global virtual march on Bali and help get your flag included in the march, click below to automatically add your name... and then forward this email to all your friends and family so we can hit 1 million by Saturday!

http://www.avaaz.org/en/virtual_march_bali/12.php

Hundreds of thousands of people have already joined Avaaz's campaign for a new global treaty on climate change, and donated funds to fuel Avaaz's climate campaigning this fall.

Thanks to this support, we're able to work around the clock, on the ground here in Bali, to deliver our urgent message to governments and the media. Only a new global agreement can stop catastrophic climate change, and such treaties can take time to negotiate and implement--time that scientists tell us c ould not be in shorter supply.

We simply cannot allow the forces of denial and delay scuttle these all-important negotiations. We're in a race against time to save our planet, and this week, it's up to us to pull ahead.

Please click below to automatically add your name to our virtual march and we'll personally make sure every voice is heard.

http://www.avaaz.org/en/virtual_march_bali/12.php

With hope and determination,

Ben, Iain, Ricken, Galit, Pascal and the whole Avaaz team

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ABOUT AVAAZ
Avaaz.org is an independent, not-for-profit global campaigning organization that works to ensure that the views and values of the world's people inform global decision-making. (Avaaz means "voice" in many languages.) Avaaz receives no money from governments or corporations, and is staffed by a global team based in London, New York, Paris, Washington DC, Geneva, and Rio de Janeiro.

Don't Expect Shark's Fin Soup At Ministry Functions

Sorry, no more Shark's Fin Soup At Ministry Functions !

Malaysiakini reported that Malaysia's Natural Resources and Environment Ministry has struck off shark's fin soup from the menus at official functions, to help conserve the species,

Minister Azmi Khalid told the official Bernama news agency that the ministry had made the commitment to the Malaysian Nature Society.

"By refraining from the consumption of shark's fin soup, it is hoped that the ministry would contribute in one way or another towards the current conservation efforts for sharks species," he said.

"Their demise would start off a domino effect, which at each stage could result in the depletion or overpopulation of other fish and marine species leading to an imbalance in the marine ecosystem," he said.

The marine group has embarked on a series of activities and programmes to promote awareness about the plight of the shark, its importance as a key component of the marine ecosystem, and to correct popular misconceptions about shark's fin soup.

The statement did not say whether the ministry might consider a wider ban on shark's fin soup.

Conservationists say shark's fins are cut from sharks that are thrown back into the ocean to die. Tens of millions of sharks are estimated to be killed each year for their fins.

Shark's fin soup is widely served in many restaurants in Malaysia, which has a large ethnic Chinese minority.

ENVIRONMENT: Worst Places on Earth Are Home to Millions

Rapidly industrialising India and China have claimed four of the top 10 most polluted places on the planet for the first time, according to a report by U.S. and European environmental groups.

In 2006, Russia topped the list with the three sites in the top 10, but this year, two very large toxic sites affecting hundreds of thousands of people in India and China were included that had been missed in the previous global survey, said Richard Fuller, director of the New York- based Blacksmith Institute, a independent environmental group that released the list Sep. 12 report in partnership with Green Cross Switzerland.

"We were surprised these sites had not been reported before," Fuller told IPS.

One is Tianying in the Anhui Province of China, which produces about 50 percent of the country's lead, often from low-level and illegal production facilities. A lack of environmental enforcement has resulted in severe lead poisoning, with soil and homes contaminated at levels 10 to 24 times China's national standards.

Up to 140,000 people may be affected, suffering from brain damage and mental retardation.

"The Chinese government says it is one of the worst environmental sites in the country," says David Hanrahan, Blacksmith's director of global operations.

Another newly "discovered" toxic community is in India's Sukinda Valley in the state of Orissa, home to 2.6 million people and one of the largest open cast chromite ore mines in the world. Twelve mines continue to operate without any environmental management plans. Over 30 million tonnes of waste rock are spread over the surrounding area and untreated water is discharged into the local river.

The ore is mined and refined for use in the many chrome-plated products enjoyed in North America and Europe, said Hanrahan.

Approximately 70 percent of the surface water and 60 percent of the drinking water contains hexavalent chromium at more than double national and international standards, and sometimes up to 20 times higher. In villages less than one kilometre from the sites, 24.47 percent of the inhabitants were found to be suffering from pollution-induced diseases.

"The fact of the matter is that children are sick and dying in these polluted places, and it's not rocket science to fix them," said Fuller.

The 10 sites in seven countries documented in the "World's Worst Polluted Places 2007" affect a total of 12 million people.

It's easy and often cheap to clean up these sites, experts say. The Blacksmith Institute's efforts are directed towards helping local groups find ways to address the problems. Most are old industrial sites that operated without any pollution controls and there was little attempt to clean them up before being abandoned.

Cleanup efforts that can take a decade or more appear too big, too costly and too complicated for local governments.

"There has been little action in terms of new funding or programmes. We all need to step up to the plate and get moving," Fuller said.

Russian authorities continue to deny there are any health problems in Dzerzhinsk, a city of 300,000 people where chemical weapons like sarin, VX gas, Mustard gas, and phosgene were manufactured for 50 years. At least 300,000 tonnes of waste from their manufacture were disposed of in the groundwater.

Birth defects are very common and the average lifespan of residents has fallen to the low 40s in a city where chemical manufacturing is still the major employer.

"There's been an absolutely frightening impact on people due to the huge amounts of toxics in the area," said Hanrahan.

Dzerzhinsk and another Russian city Norilsk, site of the world's largest metal smelting operations remain in the top 10 from last year.

The Top Ten list is based on scoring criteria devised by an international group of experts including researchers from Johns Hopkins University, Hunter College, Harvard University, IIT Delhi, University of Idaho, Mt. Sinai Hospital, and leaders of major international environmental remediation companies. Specialists from Green Cross Switzerland also participated in this year's assessment.

The methodology for 2007 Top Ten list was refined "to place more weight on the scale and toxicity of the pollution and on the numbers of people at risk," according to the report.

Another new feature of the 2007 report is the "Dirty 30", a more comprehensive group of polluted locations around the globe that includes the Top Ten. The four sites from the 2006 Top Ten that do not appear in the 2007 list are: Haina, Dominican Republic; Ranipet, India; Mailuu-Suu, Kyrgyzstan; and Rudnaya Pristan, Russia. All remain in the larger list.

The majority of the Dirty 30 sites lie in Asia, with China, India and Russia having the greatest number.

More than 400 sites were surveyed for inclusion and this only represents perhaps one-third to two-thirds of all the major toxic areas in the world, estimates Fuller.

"We don't have much information from Central Asia or Latin America," he says.

However, the mining town of La Oroya in Peru remains on the list from last year. The site of a poly-metallic smelter owned by the Missouri-based Doe Run Corporation, the plant has been largely responsible for the dangerously high lead levels found in children's blood.

The problem is well documented, but action to clean up and curtail this pollution has been delayed for the area's 35,000 inhabitants, the report found.

"Governments and others don't seem to realise that toxic pollution has a huge impact on their economies," said Stephan Robinson of Green Cross Switzerland, an NGO that works to overcome damages caused by industrial and military disasters.

People who die prematurely or who are sick in their most productive years represent a significant economic loss to their countries, Robinson explained.

"A healthy environment and healthy citizens are key for any countries' future," he said.

The Ten "Killer Communities" for 2007, in alphabetical order by country, are: Sumgayit, Azerbaijan; Linfen, China; Tianying, China; Sukinda, India; Vapi, India; La Oroya, Peru; Dzerzhinsk, Russia; Norilsk, Russia; Chernobyl, Ukraine; and Kabwe, Zambia.

Source: Stephen Leahy, IPS News, via One World