In spite of all the documented evidence regarding the destructive nature of tree monocultures, the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) has continued to certify them as properly managed “forests”. Given that the FSC will be holding its general assembly from 3-7 November in South Africa, a number of organizations from countries impacted by FSC-certified plantations have decided to disseminate an open letter to FSC members and to gather as many endorsements as possible. If you wish to support local communities struggling against tree plantations, please sign-on to the letter by sending a message to
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including name, country and organization until October 31st.
The undersigned wish to urge members of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) to urgently resolve the serious problem of FSC certification of monoculture tree plantations, at the FSC general assembly to be held in Cape Town, South Africa.
One of the topics for discussion at the general assembly is a Review of FSC Principles and Criteria, and there is therefore an opportunity for changing those principles in such a way as to exclude the certification of monoculture tree plantations by FSC.
FSC members –particularly from the environmental and social chambers- must be made aware that certification of that type of plantation is not only eroding the FSC’s credibility but –more importantly- that it is undermining local people’s struggles against plantations.
Those peoples are struggling to protect the same things that FSC members from environmental and social organizations agreed needed to be protected when they joined the FSC: indigenous, traditional and peasant communities’ rights and livelihoods; forests, grasslands and wetlands; water, soils and biodiversity.
All large scale tree plantations impact heavily on most –and usually all- of the above. There is now more than sufficient documented evidence of those impacts in a large number of countries, ranging from South Africa and Swaziland to Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Ecuador, Uruguay, Spain, Ireland and others.
The obvious conclusion must be that large scale tree monocultures are uncertifiable.
In spite of that, time and time again FSC-accredited certifiers have awarded the FSC seal to them. Little has mattered that those plantations were being opposed by local communities and that the FSC label would result in further strengthening already very powerful companies whose activities are destroying Nature and peoples’ livelihoods.
Four years after having launched the FSC Plantations Review, nothing has changed. In spite of abundant documentation demonstrating the negative social and environmental impacts of plantations, there are currently at least 8.5 million hectares of plantations already certified, as well as an unknown area within the 37.7 million hectares grouped under the category “semi-natural & mixed plantation and natural forest”, which hides a large number of plantations.
The time has now arrived for FSC members –particularly from the social and environmental chambers- to take sides: to continue to allow business as usual, or to fight for change; to protect the interests of large pulp and timber corporations or the rights of local peoples and Nature; to carry on accepting that plantations are a “type of forest” or to agree that they have nothing in common with them; to greenwash a most harmful land-use, or to oppose social and environmental destruction.
We therefore call on those FSC members who share with us the desire to protect local peoples and Nature from the damage caused by the expansion of tree plantations to raise their voices at the upcoming general assembly and to help bring about the change that is needed.
Centro de Estudos e Pesquisas para o Desenvolvimento - CEPEDES Brazil
Federação de Órgãos para Assistência Social e Educacional - FASE Brazil
CENSAT-Friends of the Earth Colombia
COECOCEIBA Friends of the Earth Costa Rica
Observatorio Latinoamericano de Conflictos Ambientales - OLCA Chile
Acción Ecológica Ecuador
Asociación pola Defensa da Ria - APDR Spain
Asociación para a Defensa Ecolóxica de Galicia -ADEGA Spain
Federación Ecoloxista Galega - FEG Spain
Grupo Guayubira Uruguay
Pesticides Action Network PAN Uruguay
REDES - Friends of the Earth Uruguay
Timberwatch Coalition South Africa
World Rainforest Movement
Copenhagen Cronology of ActionsWednesday, 23 December 2009 |
Police Search Ragnhildsgade Sleeping Space
http://indymedia.dk/ articles/1432
“The police seized many items including work tools, meeting notes and work notes, documents and permits, paint, and items for self defense including shields”
“The search follows a raid on another sleeping place, Teglholmen, on 4th December when police detained and handcuffed 15-20 people. The raid was criticized as being an attempt to intimidate and harass climate activists.”
Press release from CJA:
http://indymedia.dk/articles/1443
10... Read More
Coverage of US Chevron ActionTuesday, 08 December 2009 | Mobilization for Climate Justice West
www.mercurynews.com/ news/ ci_13949158?nclick_check=1
www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/ blogs/green/detail? entry_id=53032
Live links for stories below here:
news.google.com/news/story?ncl= http://www.mercurynews.com/ news/ci_13949158&hl=en
make sure when you do a google hit for stories, that you always hit the "more stories like this" because if the story uses the same heading, they wont automatically show you the links unless you click on "more stories"
Police arrest 29 during protest outside of Chevron
San Jose Mercury News
AP SAN RAMON,... Read More
Compilation of reports from n30 day of climate justice action!Monday, 30 November 2009 | Mobilization for Climate Justice
Today, on November 30, one week before the UN climate negotiations in Copenhagen open, and on the 10th anniversary of the World Trade Organization (WTO) protest in Seattle in 1999, major demonstrations, teach-ins and civil disobedience are taking actions place in cities around the U.S
Reports are now starting to come in from:
Chicago, Illinois: Activists target Carbon Trading @ Chicago Climate Exchange – 12 arrested
Denver, Colorado: Citizens ‘Die-in’ at Department... Read More
CALL TO ACTIONS IN COPENHAGENTuesday, 24 November 2009 |
Climate Justice Action call of action:
english : spanish : dutch : italian : german
Logistics:
www.climate-justice-action.org/practical-info/copenhagen-info
Action calendar:
www.climate-justice-action.org/mobilization/action-calendar
www.climatecollective.org/en/cop15/mobilization
Alternative Summit - KlimaForum:
www.klimaforum09.org
Collective in Denmark - Clima Collective:
www.climatecollective.org/en/start
Caravan - From WTO to COP15:
www.climatecaravan.org
CEO Angry Mermaid awards on the worst... Read More
350 Reasons Why Carbon Trading Won't Work!Saturday, 24 October 2009 | Rising Tide North America
Rising Tide North America and Carbon Trade Watch would like you to join us on the October 24th day of global climate action to spread the word about the biggest financial scam in history – Carbon Trading.
In order to stabilize the climate before billions of people around the world suffer the consequences, it is imperative that carbon-trading schemes are stopped and real, democratically determined solutions are implemented.
We cannot afford to waste any more valuable time and resources relying on such market-driven strategies to deliver science-based goals (such as 350 ppm of... Read More
IMF/WB mobilizationsThursday, 17 September 2009 | Resistanbul
01-08th October
resistanbul. wordpress.com
Spokesmen and bureaucrats of multinational capitalist corporations will be in Istanbul, Turkey on 6 – 7 October for the 2009 Annual Meetings of the Boards of Governors of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund where they will have decisions to destroy the lives of billions of people. We call for a week of global resistance and actions against IMF and WB between 1-8 October. In Istanbul we are planning to organize workshops, exhibitions, movie screenings, conversations and activities against IMF and... Read More
COP15 mobilizationsThursday, 17 September 2009 | Climate Justice Action
07-18th December
www.climate-justice-action.org
The UN climate talks will not solve the climate crisis. Emissions are rising faster than ever, while carbon trading allows climate criminals to pollute and profit. In response to this madness, a global movement for climate justice has emerged to reclaim power over our future. As part of this, the international network Climate Justice Action is mobilising tens of thousands of people across the world to take action during the international climate negotiations in Copenhagen in December 2009
Read More
2010 Carbon Trade Watch