Plantations, poverty and power - Critical Information Collective

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33 make way for its tree plantations. 137 Veracel acknowledges that it cleared 64 hectares of forest in 1993. “That was the only time in Veracel’s history when it acted against good environmental practice,” according to Veracel’s Vitor da Costa. 138 In fact, Veracel does not know how much forest it cleared to make way for its plantations. At an NGO meeting in Sweden in October 2003, I asked João Fernando Borges, Veracel’s Corporate Planning Manager, exactly how much forest Veracel cleared to make way for its plantations and other operations. Borges did not answer the question, instead explaining that there were areas of forest, bush and shrub in the area before Veracel started its operations. Ricardo Carrere, World Rainforest Movement’s international coordinator, repeated the question. Borges did not answer the question. I tried again. Carrere tried again. Borges still did not answer the question. This went on for some time, much to the amusement of the others at the meeting. Eventually Borges promised to investigate and to send us the details of the area of forest, bush and shrub that was cleared. WRM is still waiting for Borges’ answer. There are several documented cases since 1993 where Veracel has cleared forest. In 2003, two researchers with SwedWatch, a Swedish NGO, photographed an area where Veracel had cleared forest to make way for a timber standing area. 139 In December 2003, officials from the federal environmental bureau, IBAMA, pointed out that a large area of forest had been logged to make way for eucalyptus plantations for Veracel. Two years later, IBAMA fined Veracel US$136,000 for preventing “regeneration of the Atlantic Rainforest on 1,200 hectares”. The company denies the allegations. 140 Veracel often refers to its Veracruz Station, a 6,000 hectare forest conservation area, to show how environmentally friendly its operations are. The forest area was part of the land that Veracel bought for its plantation operations in the south of Bahia state. In fact, Veracel would be in breach of Brazilian law if it did anything other than protect this area of forest. 141 Veracel also makes a big deal of its programme to restore areas of the Mata Atlântica. Its plantations cover less than half of the area the company owns. However, much of the area not planted with eucalyptus is in valleys, gullies and on slopes – land which in any case would be difficult to harvest mechanically. 142 “Within Veracel’s area it is very hard to find pieces of good forest, but it is those good parts that Veracel show on their homepage and in their publications,” says Pedro Rocha, who works in the biology department at the Federal University of Bahia in Salvador, conducting research into the relationship 137 “Brazil: The short memory of Veracel and the power of Aracruz”, World Rainforest Movement bulletin no. 39, October 2000. http://www.wrm.org.uy/bulletin/39/Brazil.html 138 Hannu Pesonen (2004) “Right as rain forest”, Tempus, Stora Enso Quarterly Magazine, 1, 2004, page 24. 139 Måns Andersson and Örjan Bartholdson Swedish Pulp in Brazil: The case of Veracel, Swedwatch, 2004, page 34. http://www.swedwatch.org/swedwatch/content/download/157/721/file/Rapport%20Swedwatch.Vercel.pdf 140 “Veracel’s position regarding a news item published on the IBAMA web site”, Veracel website: http://www.veracel.com.br/web/en/outros/noticias0064.html 141 “Brazil: The short memory of Veracel and the power of Aracruz”, World Rainforest Movement bulletin no. 39, October 2000. http://www.wrm.org.uy/bulletin/39/Brazil.html 142 Måns Andersson and Örjan Bartholdson Swedish Pulp in Brazil: The case of Veracel, Swedwatch, 2004, page 36. http://www.swedwatch.org/swedwatch/content/download/157/721/file/Rapport%20Swedwatch.Vercel.pdf
34 between eucalyptus plantations and natural forest. 143 In June 2008, the federal court in the city of Eunápolis passed a sentence ordering Veracel to plant with native trees 96,000 hectares of land covered in licences granted between 1993 and 1996 for planting with eucalyptus. Veracel was also fined US$12.5 million for deforesting areas of Atlantic forest. Once again, the company denies the charge and plans to appeal. 144 Veracel claims that its guidelines which are supposed to prevent planting close to water sources or streams prevent any impact on local water sources. Yet farmers interviewed in 2003 by SwedWatch said that the water level in creeks, ponds and lakes was significantly lower than before Veracel started planting. In some cases, watercourses have completely disappeared. Fishing and irrigation of agricultural farmland became impossible. 145 In November 2005, I visited the Veracel area with colleagues from the Brazilian NGO network Alert Against the Green Desert Movement. A local government official in Eunápolis told us how several thousand people had moved into the area to work on the construction of the pulp mill. When the construction work was finished, about five thousand people were left unemployed. Many of them stayed in the area. The local authorities have to provide services for them, but Veracel contributes little in taxes. Under a 1996 Brazilian law, exports are exempt from state sales tax. Veracel exports almost all its pulp. The government official suggested that a law insisting that pulp companies sell at least 30 per cent of their produce in Brazil would at least mean that the local authorities saw some benefits from pulp mills. We visited the community of Maneco, not far from Eunápolis and spoke to villagers about how things had changed since Veracel started planting its eucalyptus. “People have moved away since the eucalyptus arrived,” one man told us. “In one commune everyone has moved away.” This used to be a very rich area, villagers told us. One of the villagers we spoke to used to plant papaya and passion fruit and had employed many people on a small area of land. But since Veracel arrived, “There are no jobs here now and no money from the eucalyptus,” a villager said. The village shop owner told us that business was down by about 80 per cent. The river near the village is drying up, and is increasingly polluted by agrochemicals from the plantations. Plantation workers clean their tractors in the river which further pollutes the water. Fish and even cattle have died as a result. “Animals and birds have disappeared from the area, but now there are many snakes in the village,” a villager told us. The villagers from Maneco took us to see their cemetery. It is now completely surrounded by eucalyptus plantations. We had to drive between the rows of trees to get there. Villagers told us of people getting lost in the plantations on their way to a funeral. Veracel has even planted trees on part of the cemetery. 143 Måns Andersson and Örjan Bartholdson Swedish Pulp in Brazil: The case of Veracel, Swedwatch, 2004, page 31-32. http://www.swedwatch.org/swedwatch/content/download/157/721/file/Rapport%20Swedwatch.Vercel.pdf 144 Winnie Overbeek (2008) “Brazil: Historic federal court decision sentences Veracel Celulose (Stora Enso-Aracruz) for environmental violations”, World Rainforest Movement Bulletin 132, July 2008. http://www.wrm.org.uy/bulletin/132/viewpoint.html#Veracel 145 Måns Andersson and Örjan Bartholdson Swedish Pulp in Brazil: The case of Veracel, Swedwatch, 2004, page 37. http://www.swedwatch.org/swedwatch/content/download/157/721/file/Rapport%20Swedwatch.Vercel.pdf
Page 2 and 3: 1 Plantations, poverty and power: E
Page 4 and 5: 3 CONTENTS Introduction 1. Plantati
Page 6 and 7: 5 New investors have emerged recent
Page 8 and 9: 7 1. Plantations do not plant thems
Page 10 and 11: 9 plantations established on grassl
Page 12 and 13: 11 Nations Food and Agriculture Org
Page 14 and 15: 13 Another reason for the move to t
Page 16 and 17: 15 In his book, “Khor Jor Kor, Fo
Page 18 and 19: 17 Between 1991 and 2006, the numbe
Page 20 and 21: 19 are asking for”, notes WWF. 60
Page 22 and 23: 21 consume fewer goods. Less advert
Page 24 and 25: 23 credit crunch, unstable oil pric
Page 26 and 27: 25 Investment in plantations in the
Page 28 and 29: 27 possible price. Subsidies, linke
Page 30 and 31: 29 2. The anatomy of five pulp proj
Page 32 and 33: 31 However, while the Bank confirme
Page 36 and 37: 35 In April 2004, about 2,000 famil
Page 38 and 39: 37 Sappi, Swaziland: 50 years of in
Page 40 and 41: 39 after an assessment by the Soil
Page 42 and 43: 41 impact of the plantations on wat
Page 44 and 45: 43 Advance Agro, Thailand: Deforest
Page 46 and 47: 45 confiscation and liquidation of
Page 48 and 49: 47 management was facing a bankrupt
Page 50 and 51: 49 Indah Kiat, Asia Pulp and Paper,
Page 52 and 53: 51 company owners want profits to b
Page 54 and 55: 53 • US$4.5 billion owed by APP i
Page 56 and 57: 55 explained that “association wi
Page 58 and 59: 57 Indah Kiat faces a series of lan
Page 60 and 61: 59 logging. While the investigation
Page 62 and 63: 61 experimental areas and not from
Page 64 and 65: 63 Staples and Office Depot in the
Page 66 and 67: 65 “the exhaustive studies have c
Page 68 and 69: 67 CEDHA has also filed complaints
Page 70 and 71: 69 of converting grasslands to indu
Page 72 and 73: 71 3. Pulp Inc. Profiles of seven p
Page 74 and 75: 73 Thailand, a power plant for a Ne
Page 76 and 77: 75 Management’s experts the possi
Page 78 and 79: 77 A year after Aracruz’s third p
Page 80 and 81: 79 In January 2003, Pöyry announce
Page 82 and 83: 81 Bank in the early 1990s. Groome
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83 Pöyry’s role in the Baikal Pu
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85 Under carbon financing, Pöyry o
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87 Pöyry is working on second gene
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89 The Confederation of European Pa
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91 CEPI Eurokraft states that “it
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93 sectors need to reduce by 21% co
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95 The ADB’s report notes that th
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97 Nepal In Nepal, the target area
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99 loan for the second plantations
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101 International Finance Corporati
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103 •In December 2000, IFC approv
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105 firm’s activities. After his
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107 safeguards are in practice.
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109 Bank projects are approved by a
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111 •€80 million to Portucel to
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113 The Food and Agriculture Organi
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115 Nevertheless, Poore and Fries n
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117 failure to define industrial tr
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119 FAO’s guidelines recommend th
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121 Rosengren did not reply to my e
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123 Forest Stewardship Council: Mis
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125 body that rubber stamps operati
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127 Criterion 1.6, for example, sta
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129 fast wood plantations have take
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131 Principle 10.8 should prevent t
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133 By April 2004, FSC had, at last
Page 136 and 137:
135 plantations, because it creates
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137 integrated set of common Princi
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139 for clearing areas of Atlantic
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141 Colombia were certified by SGS.
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143 The dissociation became necessa
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145 4. Future planned pulp mills As
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147 Planned pulp projects: 698 Comp
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149 UPM and Sveza Group Vologda Rus
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151 paper industry along ecological
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