http://www.ecoearth.info/rss/alert.xml Curent Cyber Actions at http://www.ecoearth.info/shared/alerts/ Earth Action Network a project of Ecological Internet, Inc. info@ecologicalinternet.org (Dr. Glen Barry) http://www.ecoearth.info/shared/images/eilogo85.gif http://www.ecoearth.info/rss/alert.xml ![CDATA[The Dongria Kondh are an indigenous tribe who have lived since time immemorial around the mountain Niyamgiri in the Indian state of Orissa. Because they revere this mountain as their god, it has not thus far suffered the deforestation and degradation experienced by similar areas in that part of the world but contains an elephant reserve with Sambar, Leopard, Tiger, Barking Deer, various species of birds and other endangered species of wildlife.  However now Vedanta Resources, a British (or perhaps Indian, not entirely clear) mining company, is set to destroy the forests, wildlife and way of life of the Dongria Kondh people. The Dongria Kondh have been struggling with all their might to protect their mountain but are being overpowered by the  financial and political might of this multi-billion dollar company. In 2006, thousands of tribal people armed with bows and arrows came out to protest against the alumina refinery being set up by Britain's Vedanta Resources Plc. Local vociferous and effective protest continues to this day. To support these local efforts, we believe that the key to stopping this from happening is for many people from around the world to write to the banks that finance Vedanta’s operations  and the UK’s Department of International Development who have key roles to play to prevent this disaster from taking place. Many groups from around the world  have been campaigning to persuade  Vedanta's  shareholders and financiers to distance themselves from the company. As a result of their good work, the Church of England,   the Norwegian government's sovereign pension fund and several other of Vedanta's shareholders  have now sold their investments in the company, citing human rights concerns. A group of international NGO's wrote to Vedanta's bankers in April this year asking them to dissociate themselves from the company. None of the banks have done so, so now it’s time to name and shame them, time for people from all around the world to send emails expressing our disgust that they continue  bankroll this disgraceful project. Please click on "Take Action",  add your name, country and email and, with a few clicks of the mouse,  you can send emails to people who could, if they wished, prevent this ecological destruction and injustice from taking place. Please share this action alert with your friends and ask them to do the same. ** Your email will go to the following banks who have invested in Vedanta. There are two additional alerts to send. WestLB,  ANZ, Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ, Barclays, BNP Paribas, China Construction Bank, China Ex-Im Bank, Citigroup, Crédit Agricole CIB, Deutsche Bank, HSBC Group, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Intesa Sanpaolo, JPMorgan Chase, Macquarie bank, Merrill Lynch, Mizuho, Morgan Stanley, Natixis, Royal Bank of Scotland, Scotia Bank, Société Générale, Standard Chartered, State Bank of India, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation ]] http://www.ecoearth.info/shared/alerts/send.aspx?id=india_mine http://www.ecoearth.info/shared/alerts/send.aspx?id=india_mine 13 Jul 2010 11:00:00 PST | | info@ecologicalinternet.org (Dr. Glen Barry) ![CDATA[They are at it again: Madagascar's corrupt government is secretly trying to circumvent their own illegal log export ban, using a different French shipping company to transport timbers hacked from protected rainforests to China, to be processed for European and United States' inequitable and ecocidal over-consumption. This time French La Ligne Scandinave Agency Maritime (SEAL/PIL) shipping company is the one transporting wood, using the same excuse used previously by others, that they have "received orders from the Government of Madagascar, so they were obliged to execute". The logs left Madagascar on the ship Terra Bonna earlier this month. There are a further 10,000 tons of already illegally logged rosewood – some 1,500 containers - that will almost certainly be exported as 'exceptions' and 'personal authorizations’ to the ban. And given the government’s failure to live up to its word, expect logging of Madagascar's biodiversity rich rainforest National Parks to resume and escalate. Madagascar's rainforest parks were pillaged in the aftermath of the March 2009 coup, after which reserves were ravaged by illegal loggers. Armed bands, financed by foreign timber traders in collusion with local and national officials, went into Marojejy and Masoala national parks, harvesting valuable hardwoods including rosewood and ebonies. All told, logging affected 27,000-40,000 acres of protected rainforest, in a country already 90% deforested. More than $200 million worth of timber was cut. In March, after months of international protest, a rosewood shipment finally left Madagascar. This caused even a further intense international outcry and led Interim President Rajoelina to issue a two-year moratorium on timber shipments. Ecological Internet has previously stopped Delmas of France from shipping illegal rosewood, and was instrumental in achieving the two-year moratorium on timber which appears now to be little more than a public relations ploy by a corrupt post-coup interim government. With Sunday's shipment by SEAL/PIL of 79 containers of rosewood, it is now clear the government does not intend to maintain the ban. SEAL has been asked by local campaigners to stop abetting the illegal timber trade by transporting rosewood. They responded by saying they had the authorization of the Minister of Environment and Forests, despite being presented with clear evidence that the merchandise they are transporting is of illegal origin. Given widespread corruption and government involvement in the logging of rainforest protected areas, we have identified shipping companies as the best pressure point. SEAL has loaded rosewood for illegal export previously, including at least 526 tons in 2009.  A group of some two dozen “timber mafia” have and continue to make countless millions of US$ from a completely illegal trade in precious timber, while 19 million of their countrypersons remain in abject poverty. Their logging degrades and ultimately destroys the forests, many of which are National Parks and/or World Heritage Sites, ruins watersheds, has led to disintegration of any kind of order in society, and has had a multitude of other negative consequences for Madagascar. The vast majority of precious woods that leave Madagascar are bound for a few cities in Southern China: Hong Kong, Dalian, Shanghai, Ganzhou. Between 1998 and 2008, Chinese imports of tropical wood nearly quadrupled, to 45 million cubic meters annually, making it by far the world's largest consumer of tropical timber. Over half of these imports are thought to be sourced illegally. Much of this goes to make wood products that will eventually be sold in Europe and the United States. The situation clearly demonstrates that in an era of hyper-capitalism and growth in population, economy and consumption; no rainforests are truly protected for long (if ever). We must remain vigilante and go after these root causes of ecocide.]] http://www.ecoearth.info/shared/alerts/send.aspx?id=madagascar_landgrab http://www.ecoearth.info/shared/alerts/send.aspx?id=madagascar_landgrab 19 Jun 2010 11:00:00 PST | | info@ecologicalinternet.org (Dr. Glen Barry) ![CDATA[The Brazilian government continues with plans to build the massive Belo Monte Dam on the Xingu River in the Amazon rainforest, despite intense and growing domestic and international opposition. The 11.2 billion dollar dam will devastate an extensive area of the Amazon rainforest and threaten the survival of tens of thousands of indigenous and traditional peoples who depend on the Xingu River for their livelihoods. It is estimated 500 square kilometers of intact Amazon rainforest land would be flooded by the dam. Last week Brazil awarded the construction contract to Norte Energia, a domestic consortium of companies; and construction of the dam, which would be the world’s third largest, could begin this year. The Xingu River in northeast Brazil is a tributary of the Amazon River. The Belo Monte Dam, meant principally to fuel the expansion of aluminum foundries and other industrial plants in the Amazon, would require diverting nearly the entire flow of the Xingu, drying up the “Big Bend” of the Xingu and its tributary, the Bacajá, home to thousands of indigenous people. Native people upstream would also be affected by the dam´s impacts on fish stocks, their principal food source. In recent weeks the areas indigenous people, in addition to social movement and environmentalists including Avatar movie director James Cameron, gathered to protest the plans for the Belo Monte dam. Cameron called the dam an ecological disaster and said there were alternatives. Indigenous people have not been adequately consulted about the project and are concerned that their rights will be violated if the project goes forward as planned. The project will directly affect two indigenous reserves along the Big Bend of the Xingu, and will indirectly affect indigenous reserves throughout the Xingu Basin. The Kayapó leader Raoni Metuktire, who gained international exposure touring the world with Sting, said indigenous men from the Xingu were preparing their bows and arrows in order to fight off the dam. "I think that today the war is about to start once more and the Indians will be forced to kill the white men again so they leave our lands alone," he said. "I think the white man wants too much, our water, our land. There will be a war so the white man cannot interfere in our lands again." The Amazon basin with its intact rainforests and rivers is a critical ecosystem that must remain intact for Brazil’s sustainable advancement and for the Planet to remain habitable. Please tell Brazil´s President Lula and other decision makers in the Brazilian government that you support the position of indigenous peoples of the rainforest - that Brazil has better ways of providing its future energy needs than destroying the mighty Xingu River, its rainforests and its peoples.]] http://www.ecoearth.info/shared/alerts/send.aspx?id=brazil_xingu http://www.ecoearth.info/shared/alerts/send.aspx?id=brazil_xingu 25 Apr 2010 11:00:00 PST | | info@ecologicalinternet.org (Dr. Glen Barry)