Showing posts with label conflict. Show all posts
Showing posts with label conflict. Show all posts
24 March 2012
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Children sit with water jugs at a refugee camp near Mardan, in northwest Pakistan on May 9, 2009. (UPI Photo/Aajjad Ali Qureshi) 12 March 2012
Vignettes of a year in Borneo: land in dispute
This book tells a story. We lived in the middle of Borneo, as a family, working on the first year and a half of a Conservation Project. The book is partly the story of our personal adjustment. We found that creating a life in the middle of Borneo was not always easy—even when one member was an experienced anthropologist!
By Carol Colfer | Blog CIFOR | March 9, 2012
Sentarum Lake, West Kalimantan. Photo by Yayan Indriatmoko/ CIFOR
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10 March 2012
Carbon Blood Money in Honduras
With its muddy roads, humble huts, and constant military patrols, Bajo Aguán, Honduras feels a long way away from the slick polish of the recurring UN climate negotiations in the world’s capital cities. Yet the bloody struggle going on there strikes at the heart of global climate politics, illustrating how market schemes designed to “offset” carbon emissions play out when they encounter the complicated reality on the ground
By Rosie Wong | Foreign Policy in Focus | March 9, 2012
28 February 2012
Pakistan: Orchestrated anarchy
The Taliban are not a homogenous whole and the Islamic parties have no fundamental ideological differences with imperialism. The conflicts erupt when competing groups of these zealots are sponsored by imperialism
by Lal KhanMonday | In Defence of Marxism | 27 February 2012
Read more... Sphere: Related Content04 February 2012
5 shot in conflict over oil palm plantation in Sumatra
Five villagers were shot in Indonesia's Riau Province on the island of Sumatra during a clash in a land dispute over an oil palm plantation, reports The Jakarta Post and Republika
mongabay.com | February 03, 2012
Read more... Sphere: Related ContentAfrica land grabs 'could cause conflicts'
The stampede by wealthy states for arable land across Africa and other developing regions could trigger a series of conflicts if governments fail to protect the rights of their people, two recent studies on land grabs warn
United Press International | Feb. 3, 2012
Read more... Sphere: Related Content14 January 2012
Oil's Trouble Spots
At a time of rising dependence on oil, the potential for supply disruptions and the stability of energy-rich regions pose major concerns. While disruptions can happen anywhere along the supply chain, certain areas are particularly vulnerable
Toni Johnson | Council on Foreign Relations | January 13, 2012
Read more... Sphere: Related Content12 January 2012
How European Banks Fuel Hunger
A new report by Friends of the Earth Europe has faulted European banks, pension funds and insurance companies for increasing global hunger and poverty by speculating on food prices and financing land grabs in poorer countries
By Jaya Ramachandran | IDN-InDepth NewsReport | January 11, 2012
11 January 2012
Canadian natives warn against pipeline to Pacific
Aboriginal leaders opposed to a C$5.5 billion ($5.4 billion) oil sands pipeline backed by Canada's government warned on Tuesday that the project could devastate fishing and traditional life on the rugged Pacific Coast and called for it to be stopped
By Jeffrey Jones | Reuters | Jan 10, 2012
Hereditary Chief of the Haisla First Nation, Sam Robinson (L), testifies next to Henry Amos, a band councillor, before the Enbridge's Inc's Northern Gateway pipeline Joint Review hearing in Kitamaat Village, British Columbia, January 10, 2012. Aboriginal leaders opposed to a C$5.5 billion ($5.4 billion) oil sands pipeline backed by Canada's government warned on Tuesday that the project could devastate fishing and traditional life on the rugged Pacific Coast and called for it to be stopped. Credit: Reuters/Robin Rowland
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10 January 2012
Possible U.S., China trade dispute looms
Strained trade relations between the world's largest economies will be further tested this year as the U.S. weighs anti-dumping duties on a range of Chinese products
By Kathy Chu | USA TODAY | Jan 9, 2012
Read more... Sphere: Related Content02 January 2012
Exxon wins $908m from Venezuela in oil dispute
Oil giant Exxon Mobil has won $908m (£586m) from an arbitration panel after the nationalisation of its Venezuelan oil project in 2007
BBC News | 2 January 2012
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The ruling may be a boost to President Hugo Chavez
30 December 2011
Indonesia: Land conflicts multiply in 2011
The Indonesian Farmers Union has said that the number of land conflicts across the nation multiplied by more than five times this year to 120 cases, compared with 22 cases recorded last year
The Jakarta Post | 12/29/2011
Read more... Sphere: Related ContentThe Future of Indonesian Palm Oil
If there were any doubts about the fierceness of the debate over Indonesia's palm oil controversy, they were silenced effectively outside the Jakarta's House of Parliament on December 21. Ten protestors joined 18 of their fellow migrants and activists from Riau province in the ultimate act of protest against a government concession to a pulp and paper company near their land on Padang Island. They sewed their mouths shut
Joseph Kirschke | Wordpress.org | December 29, 2011
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On Nov. 19, 2008, an orangutan with a tranquilizer dart in his side is made to sleep before rangers relocate him to another place on Borneo island, away from this palm oil plantation. (Photo: AFP, Getty Images)
29 December 2011
Iran threatens to block Strait of Hormuz oil route
Iran says it may close a vital oil-trade route if the West imposes more sanctions over its controversial nuclear programme
BBC News | 28 December 2011
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Admiral Habibollah Sayari says Iran could easily close the Strait of Hormuz
25 December 2011
Oil, guns, and money: Libya's revolution isn't over
Ali Tarhouni, Libya's former minister of finance and acting prime minister, has had a busy year. He began 2011 as a professor of economics at the University of Washington, only to rush back to his home country, from which he had been exiled for decades, as the revolution gained steam. He was charged with establishing some semblance of order over the Benghazi-based government's finances during the war, and then took the first steps to incorporate the rebel militias into a national army in the capital of Tripoli
By David Kenner | Foreign Policy | December 21, 2011
20 December 2011
Goa’s activists show they can bite
Faced with an adversary that has substantial resources, activists are using research more than ever before
Ruchira Singh | LiveMint | Dec 19 2011
Read more... Sphere: Related Content26 November 2011
Concerns standoff between Borneo forest community and Malaysian palm oil developer may turn violent
A conflict between villagers in Indonesia's East Kalimantan province and a palm oil developer could turn violent over the company's decision to press forward with clearing of forest land used by the community, warns the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) and its Indonesian partner Telapak
mongabay.com | November 23, 2011
Read more... Sphere: Related Content17 October 2011
The forest companies of the future
Forests could increasingly act as a backbone of sustainable economies. Companies that recognise this can advance their own bottom line, and help ensure that forests thrive
Göran Persson and Janet Ranganathan | Guardian Professional Network | Tuesday 23 August 2011
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Forests can provide a multitude of renewable goods and services and forward thinking companies will realise this opportunity. Photograph: Duncan Willetts / Allstar/Sportsphoto Ltd. / Allstar
07 April 2010
PRESS RELEASE: South Africans say "no" to Eskom coal
Community members from South Africa's Limpopo Province filed a complaint with the World Bank Inspection Panel today due to the proposed $3.75 billion loan to Eskom
Bank Information Center | 6 April 2010
AFRICA ACTION PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
South Africans say “no” to Eskom coal
Project-affected communities take their case to the World Bank Inspection Panel
Tuesday, April 06, 2010 (Washington, DC) – Residents located near Lephalale in South Africa’s Limpopo Province today filed a complaint with the World Bank’s independent complaint body, the Inspection Panel, stating that a proposed $3.75 billion World Bank loan to help finance the Medupi coal-fired power plant will significantly damage their health, livelihoods and the environment. The complaint, submitted by Earthlife Africa and groundWork on behalf of affected community members, alleges that the project violates numerous World Bank policies and poses considerable threats to local communities and to the South African society at large. The clock is ticking, as the proposed Eskom loan is expected to go before the World Bank’s board of directors for approval on April 8th.
IMPACTS ON COMMUNITIES
Communities living near the Medupi plant contend that if the proposed loan is approved, they would be the ones to bear the burden of hidden costs in terms of health impacts from air pollution, elevated SO2 levels, and mercury residues in their water, air and land; constrained access to water; and the livelihood impacts from degradation of land and water in this largely agrarian area. Already illegal sand mining operations are taking place in the area for the building of Medupi.
The community members who filed the complaint argue that the problems will be compounded by plans for a number of new coal mines and plants in the area; cumulative impacts that the World Bank failed to consider in its assessment of the project.
Caroline Ntapoane, who hails from South Africa’s polluted industrial heartland near Sasolburg, insisted that her concern with the loan is personal. “I know first-hand what the communities have to look forward to, because we experience it every day. We live it in the polluted air we breathe, when our water taps run dry, and when our children get sick. We shouldn’t have to choose between electricity and our health.”
ACCESS FOR THE POOR
While the project’s proponents claim it will provide energy access for the poor, in reality, the project would largely benefit major industries that consume electricity below cost, and whose apartheid-era secret agreements prevent them from sharing the costs associated with construction of the project and repayment of the loan.
Tristen Taylor of Earthlife Africa emphasized that, "With massive disconnections looming due to a doubling of electricity tariffs, a million jobs lost last year, and an effective 40% unemployment rate, one would think that poverty eradication would be foremost in the World Bank and the South African Government's mind. None of Medupi's output will be for the poor, but will be used to service multinational firms.”
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
Not only will industries benefit, but the ruling party, the African National Congress, is set to reap major profits from the loan through its investment in Hitachi Power Africa, which was awarded a dubious contract – an obvious conflict of interest. World Bank approval of the loan will help further entrench the ANC off the backs of the poor.
The project is expected to go before the World Bank’s board of directors for approval on April 8th amidst serious questions about the viability of the project. “We are shocked at the speed with which the World Bank is attempting to push the loan through while these and other outstanding issues remain unresolved,” adds Gerald LeMelle, Executive Director of Africa Action.
The fundamentals of the project are being questioned. “This project is to secure uninterrupted electricity for large corporations, such as smelters and mining houses under secretive special pricing agreements. It is not for the millions of poor people who cannot afford or do not have access to electricity. South Africa does not need this loan,” says Bobby Peek, Director of groundWork, Friends of the Earth, South Africa.
- For additional information, please visit www.africaaction.org
- To receive a copy of the Inspection Panel complaint, send a request to:michael.stulman@africaaction.org and jklemm@bicusa.org.
CONTACTS
- Michael Stulman, Africa Action, 202 546 7961
- Sunita Dubey, groundWork USA, 703 732 2559
- Bobby Peek, groundWork South Africa, +27 82 464 1383
- Tristen Taylor, Earthlife Africa Johannesburg, +27 84 250 2434
© 2010 Bank Information Center
Read more... Sphere: Related Content06 April 2010
Pakistan wrong on water claims, India says
India has suffered from shortages of water along with its neighbors in Pakistan, the Indian high commissioner to Pakistan said
United Press International | April 5, 2010
Pakistan said it would launch a formal challenge to plans by India to build a hydroelectric dam on a tributary to the Indus River because of the irrigation problems for area farmers.
Sharat Sabharwal, the Indian high commissioner to Pakistan, said Islamabad was wrong to point fingers over water shortages in the region, the Khaleej Times in Dubai reports.
"It is wrong to blame India for the current water shortage in Pakistan," said the high commissioner. "In fact India too suffered serious droughts in 2009 and the rainfall during the monsoon season was 20 percent less than normal."
New Delhi said it has the legal right to build the dam, blaming Pakistani water shortages on weather issues and mismanagement.
Pakistan has its own plans for hydroelectric power from the river. Islamabad complains the project in India would reduce the flow of the Indus River by more than 30 percent.
Sabharwal said the Pakistani allegations have "nothing to do with reality."
The water issue complicates efforts by the two nuclear-armed foes to settle their differences.
A bilateral treaty signed in the 1960s governs water access from the Indus River and its tributaries.
© 2010 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved
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