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Informing NGOs, MEPs, |
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European
financing for the controversial Turkish Ilisu Dam project appears to be in
jeopardy after reports1 showed that it is not complying with World
Bank and OECD environmental and resettlement standards. Export credit
agencies (ECAs) in Austria, Germany and Switzerland are now considering
dropping guarantees that were granted in March 2007. The
project, which is presently backed by EUR1.2 billion of European export
credit funding, will forcibly displace up to 80,000 people (2 per cent of the
regional Kurdish population), cause significant environmental damage, flood
one of the most important archaeological and cultural heritage sites in
Europe – the city of Hasankeyf, and fuel conflict around water and resources
in the Middle East.2 ECAs have attempted to allay protestor’s
concerns about these issues and bring the project in line with World Bank and
OECD standards, by hiring a committee of experts to investigate whether
project developers fulfilled the terms of reference designed to mitigate the
negative social, environmental and cultural impacts. The experts
visited the project region for the first time in December 2007 and made their
report public in March 2008. Their findings validated virtually all of the
concerns previously raised by NGOs. These included that: environmental
studies are missing; there is no income restoration plan, grievance
mechanism, or proper archaeological survey; and that villagers were not
informed. Particular
deficiencies were found in the area of resettlement. Contracts were signed 18
months ago and expropriation has already begun, yet the vast majority of
mitigation measures are yet to start. Also worrying was that Turkish
officials in charge of implementation were shown to be largely unaware of the
increased social and environmental requirements. The experts stated that up
to 250 additional full time staff would have to be hired and work for two
years before construction and resettlement could even begin. 1. The Committee’s report is available at www.ilisu-wasserkraftwerk.com 2. For more
information on the Ilisu dam in the context of Turkish accession to the EU
see: FERN’s briefing note available at
http://www.fern.org/media/documents/document_3773_3776.pdf |
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Much
to learn from the VPA process For three days
beginning 31 March 2008, FERN hosted a seminar for civil society NGOs from
countries involved in Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT)
voluntary partnership agreements (VPA) between their governments and the EU.
Organisations came from Cameroon, Ghana and Malaysia (in official
negotiations) and Congo, Gabon and Liberia (in the pipeline). Although it
became clear at the meeting that there were striking differences between the
countries, they all saw VPAs as a tool to highlight the need for civil
society participation in policy making; to improve formal recognition of
community rights; and to address corruption and lack of transparency. To this
extent, all organisations saw the EU as an ally in the process. It was
inspiring to hear Ghana representatives outline the real successes that have
already been achieved, such as a new legality definition which will hopefully
be adopted by the government and EU. This definition secures a higher
standard of community rights, which includes free prior and informed consent
for logging of community land, and improves Ghana’s felling permits regime.
In Malaysia however the situation has been much more negative, to the extent
that most social NGOs left the VPA process in March 2008, citing that the
consultation did not allow for genuine civil society participation. European
NGOs sent a letter1 to the Malaysian government requesting that
they open their process to participation such as is happening in other
countries. Whilst not
as concerning as Malaysia, the process in Cameroon has yet to clarify whether
issues such as corruption and community rights will be sufficiently
recognized in a new definition of legality. Participants
from countries that will shortly start to negotiate a VPA with the EU are
taking home many lessons learned from colleagues further down the line of
negotiations. They also had a request to the EU: ensure that the VPA
incorporates the draft community rights law (under development in Liberia)
and the draft indigenous peoples rights law (under development in Congo). A short
overview of the meeting will soon be available at www.fern.org. 1. Letter available at www.fern.org |
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EC to finally act on environmental issues? Over the years,
independent watchdogs and the European Commission’s own audit body have often
criticised the EC’s failure to address the environmental issues that threaten
its aid objectives.1 Commitments to improve have been implemented
sluggishly and there have been many disappointments such as the July 2007
decision not to develop the communication on integrating environmental issues
into the EC aid programme (see FW 117). Despite this, the first quarter of
2008 may finally see the EC implementing major improvements. Numerous calls
for transparency2 have finally been heeded and country
environmental profiles are now accessible online by the public. This is a key
step to ensuring that environmental problems are being openly discussed. It
also seems that lack of staff capacity will be addressed because in an
unpublished document on its training framework, EuropeAid states “Training
courses on environment… will be made obligatory for all operational staff”.3 1. See FERN Briefing Note ‘Court of Auditor’s Report: The environmental aspects of the Commission’s development cooperation’, September 2006 2. See FW 118: ‘Commission does its homework – but leaves it at home!’ 3. EuropeAid “Strategic Training Framework” for
2008, unpublished document |
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Fortress Europe In the name of security, civil society groups from the South face increasing problems to meet their European colleagues in any Schengen1 country. FERN invited 11 partners from Africa and Asia for a meeting on the VPA process (see article on page one). In order to attend, the majority of them had to gain a Schengen visa, which for many was only available by travelling to a neighbouring country. Even after spending this precious time and money, in two cases the visa was refused without any clear reasons and even those who obtained them continued to experience difficulties. One participant was not allowed out of his country whilst another was arrested on arrival in Brussels. It did not stop there, as a third was then held in the UK on suspicion of being involved in unlawful demonstrations. If five of our 11 colleagues experienced such difficulties, one can only imagine what the overall picture is for those of non-European origin leaving for or entering the Schengen area. 1. Fifteen countries (13 from the EU) who operate a
shared visa system. |
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Agrofuel target ‘a risky experiment’ In its opinion published on 10 April 2008, the European Environment Agency’s Scientific Committee recommends suspending the 10 per cent agrofuel target proposed by the European Commission on 23 January (see FW 124). The committee states that “[t]he overambitious 10 per cent biofuel target is an experiment, whose unintended effects are difficult to predict and difficult to control.”1 The recommendation to suspend the target not only echoes calls from NGOs, but also the conclusions of the Commission’s in-house Joint Research Committee report which has belatedly been made publicly available.2 The published version differs slightly from the version leaked shortly before the Commission presented its proposal, but the report’s conclusion remains - the target is a bad idea. As the European Parliament is preparing its amendments to the proposed Directive, NGOs are urging the EU’s elected body to heed the warnings that the Commission’s DG TREN ignored when it added the 10 per cent target to its Communication on Renewable Energy. 1. http://www.eea.europa.eu/highlights/suspend-10-percent-biofuels-target-says-eeas-scientific-advisory-body 2. http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/jrc/downloads/jrc_biofuels_report.pdf |
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NEWS IN BRIEF Local
environmental groups campaigning against Sakhalin II celebrated victory in
March 2008, when Sakhalin Energy Investment Company, Ltd. told Dow Jones that
it was withdrawing applications for hundreds of millions of dollars from the
US Export Import Bank and the UK Export Credit Guarantee Department. A
coalition of national and international environmental NGOs had been formed to
block financing due to the chronic environmental impacts of the project.
These included threats to critically endangered Western Grey Whales, damage
to wild salmon spawning grounds, and negative impacts to indigenous and
fishing cultures. The withholding of financing greatly increases the
political, financial and reputational risks of banks that are considering
financing for the controversial project, such as the Royal Bank of Scotland
and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation. FERN’s
series of reports looking at forest governance from an NGO perspective was
added to with the release of Forest Governance in Liberia by Tom Lomax.
Liberia is at a turning point in terms of forest governance and this report
shows how Liberia, and indigenous peoples in particular, can benefit from
negotiations for a Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) with the EU. The
paper is available at:
http://www.fern.org/media/documents/document_4113_4121.pdf The
12-14 March World Biofuels Market in Brussels advertised that 1000+ senior executives had
registered for the occasion. What the executives won’t have been expecting
was the level of protest this “must attend event for serious players” would
arouse. On the opening day, the activist group “Agrofools” sealed four sets
of double doors with padlocks and chains and barred access. A battle ensued
between protesters and security at the fifth set of doors. Outside the
conference center the gates were also locked by a chain, and banners were
hung reading “Agrofuels are a Scam” and “No Solution to Oil Addiction.” |
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