Latest News
Concern Over Belo Monte Violation of Indigenous Rights
Rainforest Foundation UK's sister organisation Rainforest Foundation Norway (RFN) have today announced their deep concern that the world's third biggest hydro power dam, the Belo Monte in the heart of the Brazilian Amazon, has been granted an official environmental licence to go ahead.
RFN Director Lars Løvold stated, "There has been no proper consultation with the indigenous peoples who will be affected by this mega-project, which is in violation of Brazil's legal obligations as a party to ILO Convention 169 on the rights of indigenous peoples. The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) has been severely criticized on a number of issues, including underestimating the number of people affected and the loss of biodiversity, while overestimating the potential energy generation. It is essential that the Brazilian authorities respect the affected indigenous populations' right to free, prior an informed consent, and that such a huge construction is not rushed through as a stand-alone project, but is treated as a potential element in an overall strategic plan for energy projects the Amazon."
Read the BBC report on the licence approval HERE.
NB - It is the Foundation's Norway office that currently works within this area of Brazil. The photo above of Founding Patron Sting and Chief Raoni was taken in late 2009 at a press conference condemning this project (Credit:Beto Ricardo/ISA).
› Download our factsheet on the history, issues and concerns about the Belo Monte dam
Run for the Rainforest!
We have our 2010 London Marathon Team! We're very excited that our 2010 London Marathon Run for the Rainforest Team has been finalised and all 13 members are in training for a great year. We'll announce each runner's profile and ways you can support them shortly, so click back soon to have a look at our top 13, and if there's a run, cycle, walk or any adventure you'd like to do to support the rainforest, just drop us a line here and we'll help you on your journey!
Civil society concerned that REDD deal will not stop the forests from falling
On 17 December 2009, the penultimate day of discussions in Copenhagen, over 100 civil society organisations from all continents and most forested nations including the Accra Caucus on Forests and Climate Change (of which the Rainforest Foundation UK are members), voiced their concern that the deal on Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) is likely to fail, despite being described as the most significant likely outcome of Copenhagen. "Key unresolved issues for a successful REDD agreement are now in the hands of ministers. It is most important that they agree the strongest clauses for guaranteeing the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities, and protecting natural forests" said Samuel Nnah of the Centre for Environment and Development in Cameroon.
US sabotages negotiations on draft REDD text
Latest update from REDD Monitor reported today that discussions late into the night on Monday (14 December 2009) at the Copenhagen COP15 UN Climate Change negotiations made the REDD text worse. The main culprits were the US and Colombia. The US won two prizes in Climate Action Network International's Fossil of the Day on Day 8 of Copenhagen: first prize for blocking the inclusion of emissions from aviation and shipping in the negotiations; and joint third prize with Colombia for "moving the process backwards on the REDD text".
The latest REDD text (dated 15 December 2009) can be downloaded here: FCCC/AWGLCA/2009/L.7/Add.6). The latest REDD-Monitor update includes an overview of some of the best (and the worst) reporting on the REDD discussions in Copenhagen. (Please note that these media reports came out before the latest version of the REDD text was produced - and that the REDD text linked above is not the final version. Some text is still in square brackets.) Some of the the worst reporting came from the New York Times, on 15 December 2009, shortly after the US negotiators carried out a hatchet job on the draft REDD text, which reads: "Negotiators have all but completed a sweeping deal that would compensate countries for preserving forests, and in some cases, other natural landscapes like peat soils, swamps and fields that play a crucial role in curbing climate change."
Rainforest Foundation UK 20 Years and Counting
Blogs
Sam's been back to Central African Republic (CAR) one of the most inaccessible countries in the Congo Basin. Read about his experiences here.
Do Trees Grow on Money?
Rainforests are back on the global agenda in a big way. Governments now recognise the importance of protecting tropical forests in order to avoid dangerous climate change, and there is now much debate. As governments try to thrash out the details of a new international agreement, expected to be signed at the end of 2009, they are discussing how best to include measures to save rainforests, and thereby address one of the major causes of climate change. Worldwide, forest destruction generates more greenhouse gas emissions each year than do all the trains, planes and cars on the planet. So if we are to tackle global warming, there is an urgent need to find ways to reduce the 20% of global greenhouse gas emissions caused by forest destruction each year, and to keep the remaining forests standing.
