Plantations, poverty and power - Critical Information Collective

More documents

Recommendations

Info

93 sectors need to reduce by 21% compared to 2005, not by 100%.” 476 CEPI argues that the costs to the industry in Europe would benefit competitors in the South and “will ultimately harm the competitiveness of Europe”. Teresa Presas, CEPI’s Managing Director explained in CEPI’s press release that “The sector can not pass these extra costs on to final consumers, as it does not set world market prices. Manufacturing costs are already high. The profits and success of European companies is therefore very dependent on their local, European, manufacturing.” 477 As usual with CEPI, industry profits come ahead of everything. Including the biggest challenge that humankind has ever faced: addressing runaway climate change. 476 “Energy intensive industries need clarity soon in EU ETS”, Confederation of European Paper Industries, press release, 24 January 2008. 477 “Energy intensive industries need clarity soon in EU ETS”, Confederation of European Paper Industries, press release, 24 January 2008.
94 Asian Development Bank: Plantations are increasing poverty in Asia The Asian Development Bank was established in 1966. It has 67 members, of which about three-quarters are in the Asia-Pacific region.478 The largest shareholders are Japan and the US.479 The president of the ADB is always Japanese.480 Since its first loan for a forestry project in 1977, the ADB has handed out more than US$1 billion in loans for forestry projects. Most of the Bank’s recent forest projects were rated “partially successful or unsuccessful”. 481 More than 80 per cent of the Bank’s loans for forestry projects went on establishing plantations. The Bank acknowledges “problems with project design and implementation” and that “its [forest] sector investments have had a minimal positive impact on forest loss and degradation”. 482 Even this “minimal positive impact” is a result of defining a plantation as a forest. According to the Bank, clearing villagers’ forests and farmlands and replacing them with monoculture tree plantations is “positive” because the Bank can claim to be reducing “forest loss and degradation”. In fact, the ADB’s forestry loans have both increased deforestation and led to increased poverty. Plantations have repeatedly failed due to poor selection of species, fire, disease or because the land on which they are planted is already in use by local people. Many of the ADB’s plantation projects were poorly designed and weakly monitored. The ADB’s own documents reveal the problems, as the following selection of Bank-funded plantation projects indicates. Western Samoa In Western Samoa, the ADB’s Forestry Development Project “fell short of achieving its major objectives”, because of “poor plantation results”, according to a 1994 ADB report on forestry sector lending. “[T]he design was based on unproven technology and a lack of sociological understanding.” The project planned to plant a total area of 2,475 hectares of which only 787 hectares was actually planted. The area planted was subsequently badly damaged by cyclones. 478 “Our Vision - an Asia and Pacific Free of Poverty”, Asian Development Bank website. http://www.adb.org/About/default.asp 479 “ADB Basics Asian Development Bank Profile”, Asian Development Bank brochure, May 2008. http://www.adb.org/Documents/Brochures/ADB-Profile/ADB-profile.pdf 480 The ADB’s charter states that the president must be from a regional member country. All the Bank’s past presidents have been men from Japan. “Membership and Staffing”, Asian Development Bank website. http://www.adb.org/About/FAQ/members.asp 481 Javed H. Mir (2006) “A 5900–REG: Regional Study on Forest Policy and Institutional Reforms, Project Completion Report”, Asian Development Bank, Manila. http://www.adb.org/Documents/TACRs/REG/33119-REG-TACR.pdf 482 “Technical Assistance for the Regional Study on Forest Policy and Institutional Reforms”, TAR:STU 33119, Asian Development Bank, Manila, December 1999, page 2. http://www.adb.org/Documents/TARs/REG/33119-REG-TAR.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 34 and 35:
33 make way for its tree plantation
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
Page 84 and 85: 83 Pöyry’s role in the Baikal Pu
Page 86 and 87: 85 Under carbon financing, Pöyry o
Page 88 and 89: 87 Pöyry is working on second gene
Page 90 and 91: 89 The Confederation of European Pa
Page 92 and 93: 91 CEPI Eurokraft states that “it
Page 96 and 97: 95 The ADB’s report notes that th
Page 98 and 99: 97 Nepal In Nepal, the target area
Page 100 and 101: 99 loan for the second plantations
Page 102 and 103: 101 International Finance Corporati
Page 104 and 105: 103 •In December 2000, IFC approv
Page 106 and 107: 105 firm’s activities. After his
Page 108 and 109: 107 safeguards are in practice.
Page 110 and 111: 109 Bank projects are approved by a
Page 112 and 113: 111 •€80 million to Portucel to
Page 114 and 115: 113 The Food and Agriculture Organi
Page 116 and 117: 115 Nevertheless, Poore and Fries n
Page 118 and 119: 117 failure to define industrial tr
Page 120 and 121: 119 FAO’s guidelines recommend th
Page 122 and 123: 121 Rosengren did not reply to my e
Page 124 and 125: 123 Forest Stewardship Council: Mis
Page 126 and 127: 125 body that rubber stamps operati
Page 128 and 129: 127 Criterion 1.6, for example, sta
Page 130 and 131: 129 fast wood plantations have take
Page 132 and 133: 131 Principle 10.8 should prevent t
Page 134 and 135: 133 By April 2004, FSC had, at last
Page 136 and 137: 135 plantations, because it creates
Page 138 and 139: 137 integrated set of common Princi
Page 140 and 141: 139 for clearing areas of Atlantic
Page 142 and 143: 141 Colombia were certified by SGS.
Page 144 and 145:
143 The dissociation became necessa
Page 146 and 147:
145 4. Future planned pulp mills As
Page 148 and 149:
147 Planned pulp projects: 698 Comp
Page 150 and 151:
149 UPM and Sveza Group Vologda Rus
Page 152:
151 paper industry along ecological
show all

Plantations, poverty and power - Critical Information Collective

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?