Za Zemiata
(For the Earth), Bulgaria - FERN, Belgium – EarthLink, Germany - Worldforests,
Scotland - Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA), UK - British
Russian Eco-cultural Network, UK - International
Rivers Network, USA/Brazil - ETK, Hungary - Robin
Wood, Germany - Global Witness – BUND,
Germany - Pro REGENWALD, Germany - Friends of
the Earth, Finland - EURONATURA, Portugal -
CEE Bankwatch Network - Campagna per la Riforma della Banca Mondiale,
Italy - Ecoprojects Foundation, Bulgaria - Friends of
the Earth, Czech Republic - Estonian Green Movement-FoE, Estonia -
Center for Environmental Public Advocacy, Slovak Republic - World Rainforest
Movement - Friends of the Earth International– CED (Centre pour l'Environnement
et le Développement), Cameroon - Friends of the Earth, France - Finnish ECA Reform Campaign, Finland –
Milieudefensie/ Friends of the Earth Netherlands – ARA, Germany - urgewald, Germany
Please reply to: Barbara Happe,
urgewald eV,
Prenzlauer Allee
230, 10405 Berlin, Germany
Fax: +49 30 44 33 91 33, email: barbara@urgewald.de
European Investment Bank
President Philippe Maystadt
100 boulevard Konrad Adenauer
L-2950 Luxembourg July 18, 2003
Dear Mr. Maystadt,
The undersigning NGOs are very concerned about
the possible EIB funding of the Veracel pulp mill in the Brazilian state of
Bahia. This letter provides you with information on the potential risks of the
new pulp mill due to its negative impacts on people and nature. We urge you not
to approve finance for this project.
This joint venture of Aracruz Cellulose and
Stora Enso would be the largest single line bleached eucalyptus pulp mill in
the world. A lot of environmental and social problems already existing in the
region, will be increased with the construction of another large pulp factory.
Aracruz is already one of the world’s largest producers of bleached eucalyptus
pulp (2 million tons/year) and, unfortunately, is well-known for causing land
rights conflicts, occupying a large area of fertile agricultural lands in the
state of Espírito Santo and Bahia, preventing the land reform process and
exacerbating the land concentration issue. We would like to illustrate this by
drawing your attention to the following facts:
Ø
Last
year, a parliamentarian commission was established in order to investigate
irregularities in the licensing process of the new third factory of Aracruz in
Espírito Santo (1). In May this year, a public hearing was held by the
Brazilian Human Rights Commission of the National Parliament dealing with the
problems caused by eucalyptus plantations in Espírito Santo (2). During the
meetings of the parliamentarian commission and also of the public hearing,
witnesses accused Aracruz of excessive pesticide use and described how eucalyptus
plantations have threatened or destroyed small-scale agriculture and neglected
workers conditions and rights. Other witnesses described how Aracruz has
occupied the lands of local afrobrazilian “quilombolas” as well as of the
Guarani Indians. As result of the public hearing in the National Parliament, a
working group was established investigating the problems associated with
Aracruz’s plantations.
Ø
In
1999, Aracruz applied for a certification for sustainable forestry from the
Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), the only independent third party
certification scheme. But due to serious mistakes of certifier SCS during the
consultation process of local communities and other actors before doing the
field work, and due to a lack of transparency on the part of Aracruz by denying
information to civil society on the areas to be planted (maps, management
documents, aims of certification, etc.), the field work of SCS was not realized
without any further communication on behalf of SCS or Aracruz towards the regional
civil society groups (3). This is an indication of the extent of Aracruz
plantation management’s failure to guarantee sustainable, environmentally and
socially responsible forestry.
Ø
Aracruz
has also received negative publicity for its long conflict with the Tupinikim
and Guarani indigenous peoples in Espírito Santo. The company is still
occupying around 10500 ha lands with its eucalyptus plantations, which are
recognized as indigenous lands in governmental studies, realized by the FUNAI
(National Federal Government Foundation for Indigenous Issues) in the period
1994-1998. Only parts of the indigenous lands have been given back to the
Tupinikim and Guarani after years of struggle (4).
Ø
Thousands
of families have been removed from the areas occupied by Aracruz in the 70s.
Several thousands of these people received no compensation (5)
Ø
The
fast-growing eucalyptus plantations on Aracruz’s land have already caused
serious environmental impacts on water, soil and biodiversity. Previous studies
show how drinking water has been polluted and streams and soil have dried out
as a result of the large-scale plantations. Through the use of enormous
quantities of chemical fertilizers, pesticides and agro toxics for growing the
non-native eucalyptus, Aracruz is responsible for polluting the soil,
groundwater and streams, and affecting the health of local communities that
depend on the local water sources for their drinking waters and workers that
deal daily with the chemical products. (6)
Due to these facts and the negative experiences
with Aracruz in the past, a broad coalition of NGOs, indigenous peoples,
peasants, fisherfolk, academics and many others who are opposed to the further
expansion of eucalyptus plantations have formed the “Alert against the Green
Desert Movement” in Espírito Santo, Bahia, Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro
States, that is now also struggling against the construction of the Veracel
pulp mill in Bahia.
The proposed Veracel pulp mill in
Bahia will increase the already existing social and environmental problems in
the region. The proposed 900000 tons per year - mill will increase the demand
for eucalyptus. Aracruz already depends on pulp from Veracel in Bahia to feed
its own mills in Espírito Santo. The proposed project will have much more
negative than positive effects on the regional local economy, because
large-scale monoculture plantations have serious consequences and add to the
unsolved problems concerning the violation of land rights, the land
concentration process, the displacement of small scale agricultural use, loss
of native “mata atlantica” forest, unsustainable development and environmental
pollution.
Besides this, it is also important to note that
almost 95 percent of the pulp from Veracel’s pulp mill will be exported.
Monoculture tree plantations in Brazil serve only the interests of
multinational companies and the global “needs” of the pulp and paper industry
at the cost of sustainable regional development. The Veracel project also
ignores political pressure within Brazil for genuine land reform and food crops
production. Veracel is thus
threatening the livelihoods of local communities and farmers in the region.
Due to the above-mentioned socially and
environmentally negative impacts of large-scale eucalyptus plantations we,
again, strongly urge you not to approve finance for the Veracel pulp mill.
Please, find attached a Declaration from the 2nd National Meeting of the „Alert against the Green Desert“ Network, a
Brazilian movement struggling against the expansion of large-scale monoculture
eucalyptus tree plantations in their regions in the Southeast and Northeast of
Brazil.
Yours faithfully,
Barbara Happe – Urgewald, Germany
Anelia
Stefanova - Za Zemiata (For the Earth), Bulgaria
Berenice
Muraille – FERN, Belgium
Bernhard
Henselmann – EarthLink, Germany
Bill
Ritchie, Worldforests, Scotland
Dave Currey –
Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA), UK
Feja Mira
Lesniewska - British Russian Eco-cultural Network, UK
Glenn
Switkes - International Rivers Network, USA/Brazil
Ivona Malbasic -
ETK, Hungary
Jens
Wieting Robin Wood, Germany
Jon Buckrell -
Global Witness
Klemens Laschefski – BUND, Sprecher für den
Regenwald
László Maráz, Pro REGENWALD, Germany
Leo
Stranius - Friends of the Earth, Finland
Luís Galrão -
EURONATURA, Portugal
Magda
Stoczkiewicz - CEE Bankwatch Network
Martin Koehler -
Campagna per la Riforma della Banca Mondiale, Italy
Mika-Petri
Lauronen / Maan ystävät - Friends of the Earth, Finland
Milena Bokova -
TIME - Ecoprojects Foundation, Bulgaria
Pavel
Pribyl - Hnuti DUHA/Friends of the Earth, Czech Republic
Peep Mardiste -
Estonian Green Movement-FoE, Estonia
Peter Mihok -
Center for Environmental Public Advocacy, Slovak Republic
Ricardo Carrere -
World Rainforest Movement
Ricardo Navarro -
Friends of the Earth International
Samuel Nguiffo –
CED (Centre pour l'Environnement et le Développement), Cameroon
Sebatien Godinot
- Friends of the Earth, France
Tove
Selin - Finnish ECA Reform Campaign, Finland
Willemijn Nagel –
Milieudefensie/Friends of the Earth Netherlands
Wolfgang Kuhlmann – ARA, Germany
References cited:
(1) Jornal do Brazil (National daily
newspaper from Rio de Janeiro). Título: O Conflito Ambiental (title: the environmental conflict).
Subtítulo: Grande exportadora e beneficiária de incentivos fiscais, a Aracruz
Celulose enfrenta uma CPI e vetos à expansão em três estados. (subtitle: big exporter and beneficiary of
fiscal incentives, Aracruz Celulose, faces a CPI – parliamentary investigative
commission – and vetos to expansion in three states). Alberto Komatsu,
14/04/2002
(2) Correio Brasiliense (National
daily newspaper from Brasília). Título: Questão de Justiça (title: matter of justice). Subtítulo:
Governo investiga denúncias contra Grupo Aracruz no Espírito Santo. Ambientalistas acusam a empresa de envenenar terras com agrotóxico, desviar
o curso de rios e córregos e de se apropriar de terras indígenas. (subtitle: the government
investigates denunciations against the Aracruz Group in the Espírito Santo state. Environmentalists accuse the
company of poisoning lands with agrotoxins, detouring the course of rivers and
streams and taking possession of indigenous lands). 13/05/2003
(3) Internet page http://www.wrm.org.uy
Plantations Campaign. Documents on certification: Aracruz certification.
Accessed on 07/07/2003.
(4) Despacho do Ministro da Justiça Iris Rezende. (Act of the Minister of Justice Iris Rezende). Processes no.
08620.1352/97 and 08620.1353/97, published in the National State Gazette (DOU)
of 06/03/1998
(5) Report on the Violation of Economic, Social, Cultural and Environmental
Rights through the monoculture of eucalyptus: Aracruz Cellulose and the
Espírito Santo state. FASE (Federation of Organizations for Social and
Educational Assistance). Rio de Janeiro, 13/08/2002.
(6)
Master Degree thesis of Simone Raquel Batista
Ferreira about Socio-Environmental Impacts of eucalyptus cultivation in the
north of Espírito Santo called: Da Fartura à Escassez: a agroindustria de
celulose e o fim dos territórios comunais no Extremo Norte do Espírito Santo (from abundance to shortage: the cellulose
agro-industry and the end of the communal territories in the Extreme North of
the Espírito Santo state) – Federal
University of São Paulo (USP),.2002.