Giant logging firms poised to attack Suriname forests
Massive rip-off may trigger bloodbath
At least five logging companies are seeking timber leases which total over
25 percent of Suriname, in northeast South America. The inhabitants of the
proposed concession areas have not been consulted. Sources in Suriname
tell us that indigenous and traditional peoples may use violence to resist
incursions onto their lands.
The chain saws are ready to rip. If approved, investments could begin as
early as March, and concessions could be fully operational in a matter of
months.
The leases are in the untouched, pristine southern half of the country.
Four-fifths of Suriname is primary tropical rainforest. Deforestation
until now has been very slow, only 0.1 percent per year. The forests are
inhabited by a diverse and unique population including five Amerindian
groups and five maroon tribes, descendants of escaped slaves who have been
living in the forest for over 200 years practicing unique African
cultures.
Some groups are armed and prepared to defend their ancestral lands. The
government signed a peace accord with these groups in 1992, following
years of civil war. Article 10 of the accord calls for recognition and
demarcation of lands, but the committee that was supposed to oversee the
process has never met.
Logging negotiations have been secret, with strong suspicions of
corruption. The marauding companies include Berjaya, from Malaysia, with a
track record of bribery and environmental destruction. Two other large
bids come from Indonesian firms. Two mainland Chinese companies are
seeking smaller concessions.
The three large proposed concessions cover 7.5 million acres and entail
more than 300 million dollars worth of investment in roads, equipment, and
processing mills.
Doesn't even make financial sense
Suriname is in economic crisis, with 500 percent inflation and no
foreign-exchange reserves. The government is trying to stave off the day
it must begin economic reform, but the concessions do not even make sense
financially.
Sources in Suriname say the government stands to lose tens of millions of
dollars a year in potential revenue from the concessions, even with full
contract compliance. That lost revenue is about the same size as the
current budget deficit, which is what drives up inflation in the first
place!
FAX NOW!
February deadline
There is no time for mailing letters. The National Assembly will consider
the Berjaya contract during February.
Send faxes to as many of the following as you can afford, AS SOON AS YOU CAN.
FAX:
Mr. Ronald Venetiaan,
President of Suriname: 011-597-475-266
Mr. Franco Demon, Suriname Ministry of
Natural Resources: 011-597-472-911
Dutch Embassy in Washington, DC: 1-202-363-1032
Embassy of Suriname in Washington, DC: 1-202-244-5878
Also send copies to:
Mr. Enrique Iglesias, President,
Inter-American Development Bank: 1-202-623-3614
e-mail: gladys@iadb.org
Mr. Lewis Preston, President, World Bank: 1-202-477-6658
e-mail: pohara@worldbank.org
Mr. Michael Camdessus, President,
International Monetary Fund: 1-202-623-4661
U.S. Vice-President Al Gore: 1-202-456-2461
e-mail: president@whitehouse.gov
Sample text:
I urge you to reject the exploitative and economically
foolish sacrifice of Suriname's forests to enrich
timber tycoons. Suriname's government may be under
extraordinary pressure, but giving up a quarter of the
country for uncertain, short-term economic gain is no real
solution.
The U.S., the Netherlands, the IDB, IMF, and
World Bank must apply their resources to provide
Suriname with wiser options for the future of the nation
and the planet.
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>From Action Alert 105, February 1995
Published by:
Rainforest Action Network
450 Sansome St., Suite 700
San Francisco, CA 94111, U.S.A.
Automatic info: ran-info@igc.apc.org
Tel: (415) 398-4404
Fax: (415) 398-2732
Rainforest Action Network works to protect
the Earth's rainforests and support the rights of
their inhabitants through grassroots education,
organizing, and non-violent direct action.