back to home

back to index for this section

 

Business and Human Rights: a resource website

 

  Environment & human rights: Nov. 2001  

See also other materials on "Environment & human rights"

Nov. 2001:

TOXIC WASTE: U.N. Special Rapporteur To Visit United States -...Charged with investigating the negative impact on human rights of toxic waste disposal, Ouhachi-Vesely will visit several U.S. cities and hold discussions with representatives of government, business and nongovernmental organizations (UN Wire, 30 Nov. 2001)

ASIA-PACIFIC: Sweden, UNEP Sign $1.3M Accord To Cut Greenhouse Gases - Sweden today signed a $1.3 million agreement with the U.N. Environment Program on a project to reduce industrial greenhouse gas emissions in the Asia-Pacific region...The three-year agreement...is intended to develop governmental and industrial capacity to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, implement pilot projects in individual industry facilities and review government policies on energy use in industry. The project will be implemented in China, India, Indonesia, Mongolia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam. (UN Wire, 30 Nov. 2001)

Workers walk off job at Alcoa alumina plant [Australia]: The walkout follows union claims that emissions from Alcoa's production process is causing health problems in the workforce and in nearby residential areas...Alcoa, which operates three alumina refineries in the state, denies the claims. (Reuters, 30 Nov. 2001)

Greens to protest at 300 Exxon UK filling stations:... more than 300 UK Esso filling stations will be targeted by thousands of protesters this weekend in a bid to urge motorists to boycott the oil giant because of its stance on global warming. (Stefano Ambrogi, Reuters, 30 Nov. 2001)

Mexico City's foul air damages young lungs - study (Reuters, 30 Nov. 2001) 

Southern Company campaign contributions outpace industry [USA]: Utility increased campaign giving more than 78% in 2001 -...Southern Company...operates some of the most polluting power plants in the nation. (press release, U.S. Public Interest Research Group, 29 Nov. 2001)

Making companies behave:...where the bottom line is still profit, and the short-term flexibility often needed to achieve it, can the goal of sustainability become integral to business behaviour? ( David Lascelles, at openDemocracy website, 29 Nov. 2001)

Australian Alcoa Workers Walk Out on Concealed Cancer Risk: Some workers at Alcoa's West Australian Kwinana refinery have walked off the job after news that the US-owned company had not informed them of serious health risks at two alumina refineries...Alcoa acknowledges potentially cancer-causing compounds were produced in the emissions, but denies they are present at harmful levels. (Asia Pulse, 29 Nov. 2001)

EU approves UK pollution trading, may seek changes: A British plan to encourage firms to buy and sell the right the pollute was approved by the European Commission yesterday, but the EU body said it may have to change when a European emissions trading scheme starts (Reuters, 29 Nov. 2001)

Asia is key to saving planet from environmental disaster, experts say (Denis D. Gray, Associated Press, on Environmental News Network site, 28 Nov. 2001)

Candidates would benefit from EU environment laws [Czech Republic & Poland among the chief beneficiaries]: Candidates for European Union membership will benefit financially from adopting the bloc's strict environmental protection rules despite the high costs involved, an EU study showed yesterday..."Between 15,000 and 34,000 cases of premature death across the candidate countries will be avoided through the implementation of EU air directives in 2010," the report said. It said there would be up to 180,000 fewer cases of chronic bronchitis in the region. (Marcin Grajewski, Reuters, 28 Nov. 2001)

press release: Computer Report Card released, Shows U.S. Companies Lagging Far Behind [behind their overseas counterparts in clean production, protecting workers' health and producing environmentally superior products] - National Computer TakeBack Campaign Launched!..."E-waste (electronic waste) is one of the fastest growing and most toxic waste streams -- threatening human health and the environment" (Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition, 27 Nov. 2001)

EHS Excellence Can Provide Competitive Advantages says a new GEMI publication: Environment: Value to the Top Line - Examples of how U.S. businesses are utilizing environmental initiatives to gain a competitive advantage within their respective industries are outlined in a new publication, Environment: Value to the Top Line developed by the Global Environmental Management Initiative (GEMI). (Global Environmental Management Initiative, 27 Nov. 2001)

Gem Unions Want Industry Dialogue: World's diamond, gem, jewellery and ornament unions call for global agreements with companies - Talks should cover the full range of issues affecting workers in the industry, the unions said, including health, safety and environment, child labour and employment standards. (ICEM - the International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions, 27 Nov. 2001)

Landowners shut PNG Ok Tedi copper mine - radio [Australian Broadcasting Corp radio report about events in Papua New Guinea]: The landowners had presented a petition which calls for a share of BHP Billiton's stake in Ok Tedi to be transferred to them and for compensation for environmental damage caused by the mine (Reuters, 27 Nov. 2001)

Rio oil spill is Guanabara Bay's second biggest [Brazil]: Axel Grael, environment subsecretary of Rio de Janeiro state government, said the owners of the Manginhos refinery near Rio, local firm Peixoto de Castro, could be fined up to 3 million reais ($1.2 million). (Reuters, 27 Nov. 2001) 

OPG to spend C$250 million to cut smog emissions [Canada]: Ontario Power Generation, the province's biggest electricity producer, said yesterday it will spend C$250 million ($156 million) to reduce smog by up to 80 percent at two of its coal-fired generating stations. (Reuters, 27 Nov. 2001) 

Ancient mines cause modern pollution: Toxins produced by mines and smelters thousands of years ago may be taking their toll on the health of people living today in the Middle East, according to researchers. (Alan Mozes, Reuters, 26 Nov. 2001)

CHINA: UNDP Urges Government To Reduce Smog Emissions: "China's major cities have been characterized by some of the highest levels of air pollution in the world, often with pollutant concentrations at multiples of the levels considered safe for human health and the environment," the report says. The study, produced in cooperation with Chinese institutes, also mentions the need for "market-oriented solutions..." (U.N. Development Programme, 26 Nov. 2001)

Landowners blockade BHP's rat run from Ok Tedi [Papua New Guinea]: A group of women and children landowners have shut down operations at BHP Billitons' Ok Tedi Mine in Papua New Guinea. The landowners have staged a sit-down, blocking a bridge leading to the mine site, allowing mine workers to leave but not to enter the site. They have been protesting for two days over legislation apparently designed to absolve BHP of its liability for environmental damage. Damage from the mine is extremely severe and will last for the better part of this century. It is destroying food, fisheries and the forests on which people living along the Fly River (Mineral Policy Institute, 26 Nov. 2001)

UK - first country in the world to certify all its state forests under the Forest Stewardship Council scheme:...The UK is now one of the leading countries, in terms of percentage of their total forest area certified to FSC standards, along with Sweden, Poland and USA. (WWF, 23 Nov. 2001)

New Chile copper plant for rock-eating bacteria: Copper mining giants BHP Billiton and Codelco will begin construction in early 2002 of a plant in Chile for the use of bacterial technology that could revolutionize the industry, a company official said...The technology is more environmentally-friendly and cuts down on infrastructure costs, he said. (Louise Egan, Reuters, 23 Nov. 2001)

Disney magic turns sour for some in Hong Kong: Dredging and dumping to reclaim land for a planned HK$14.1 billion (US$1.8 billion) Walt Disney theme park have disrupted the lives of what is already a shrinking number of fishing families in the territory. The entertainment giant says reclamation is the government's responsibility and says there is no evidence that problems faced by the fishermen can be directly linked to the project. Fishermen and environmentalists, however, say fish stocks have dwindled even further since work began in mid-2000. Some species have disappeared and those hardy enough to survive have stopped spawning. (Tan Ee Lyn, Reuters, 23 Nov. 2001)

Crisis of conscience: Corporations are finding social responsibility boosts the planet and the bottom line - For many years, CSR was an elective rather than part of the core curriculum at business schools. Within corporations, it was often merely a synonym for philanthropy...But that is changing in response to growing protests against globalization, and rising awareness of environmental threats and social and economic disparities around the world. (Peter Sinton, San Francisco Chronicle, 22 Nov. 2001)

UK emission trading to go ahead despite EU concerns: Britain is pushing ahead with plans to allow industry to trade pollution rights despite the EU declaring the scheme fails to dovetail with its own proposed system, British officials said this week. (Reuters, 22 Nov. 2001)

Rich Countries Owe 'Eco-Debt' to Poor Ones, Say Activists: If wealthy nations only realised how much ''ecological debt'' they owe poor ones, they would drop their financial claims against the debtor countries of the developing world, say anti-debt and environmental campaigners...Ecological debt is the notion that the industrialised countries should compensate the Third World for centuries of exploiting its natural resources and should pay damages for the unsustainable consumption patterns and polluting carbon emissions that have led to global warming. (Brian Kenety, Inter Press Service, 21 Nov. 2001)

WTO Doha Conference a Setback for Labour and the Poor:...Dressed up in the language of a "development round" and rhetorical invocations of the commitment to poverty-alleviation is a significant victory for the proponents of corporate globalization...The accession of China must be seen as positive affirmation of the unlimited right of WTO member states to repress workers and elevate union busting to the level of national policy. (International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers’ Associations [IUF], 21 Nov. 2001)

Boliden says court clears it of Los Frailes crime [Spain]: Swedish mining and metals group Boliden said yesterday an appeals court in Spain had upheld a lower court decision clearing it of any crime in connection with an ecological disaster at its Los Frailes mine. (Reuters, 20 Nov. 2001)

Dutch Banks Act to Save Tropical Rainforest: Three major Dutch banks [ABN AMRO, Rabobank, and Fortis Bankhave] announced they will restrict loans for palm oil plantation development in Indonesia that results in tropical rainforest destruction. (Susan Wennemyr, SocialFunds.com, 19 Nov. 2001)

Chad-Cameroon pipeline sets precedent - World Bank: A controversial oil pipeline project in Chad and Cameroon has set new standards for ethical financing in difficult environments, a senior official at the World Bank's International Finance Corporation said last week...But environmental and human rights groups remain staunch opponents, saying they are sceptical about its benefits, while Friends of the Earth reiterated calls for a moratorium on World Bank financing for oil and gas projects. (Barbara Lewis, Reuters, 19 Nov. 2001)

Cruise lines resolve Alaska charges over smoke: In response to complaints about thick smoke belching from cruise ships into Alaska's sky, cruise ship companies [Crystal Cruises, Princess Cruises, World Explorer, Holland America, Carnival Cruise Line and Norwegian Cruise Line] have agreed to pay penalties to the state and clean up their air emissions, environmental officials said last week. (Yereth Rosen, Reuters, 19 Nov. 2001)

International meeting on biodiversity protection recognises critical importance of ancient forests: Only partial progress made on protection of primary forests and forest species (Greenpeace, 18 Nov. 2001)

Environmentalists Attempt to Dam Hydroelectric Project: Canadian energy supplier Fortis, Inc. faces strong opposition from environmentalists over its proposed hydroelectric dam on the Macal River in Belize. (William Baue, SocialFunds.com, 17 Nov. 2001) 

Pollution agreement unifies troubled waters: Greenpeace urges governments to turn words into action - Twenty Mediterranean countries and the EU agreed on the steps they need to take to rid the region of all hazardous substances by 2025, as the Barcelona Convention meeting for the protection of the Mediterranean ended in Monaco today. (Greenpeace, 17 Nov. 2001)

Vaal residents claim Iscor poisoned them [South Africa]: Residents of two tiny agricultural plots in Vanderbijlpark, an industrial town in the Vaal Triangle, will square up to iron and steel giant Iscor in the Johannesburg High Court early next week. (Khadija Magardie, Mail & Guardian [South Africa], 16 Nov. 2001)

Getting WTO's Attention Activists, Developing Nations Make Gains: Considering this was a meeting of the World Trade Organization, an institution often vilified as an agent of multinational corporate capitalism, some of the results evoked surprisingly joyful reactions among advocates for the world's oppressed. (Paul Blustein, Washington Post, 16 Nov. 2001)

Toxic waste in Bangladesh lake kills fish: Thousands of fish suspected to have been poisoned by industrial waste have been dying each day in a lake in Bangladesh's capital, posing a health risk to slum dwellers who have been collecting the dead fish for food. (Reuters, 16 Nov. 2001)

EU Parliament calls for widespread chemicals tests: The European Parliament endorsed yesterday a report calling for widespread testing of chemicals to assess their health and environmental impact despite strong opposition from industry. (Lisa Jucca, Reuters, 16 Nov. 2001)

Court says Italy failed to assess pollution risks: The European Court of Justice found Italy failed to fully identify and monitor bodies of water subject to nitrate pollution from livestock farming. (Reuters, 16 Nov. 2001) 

Shell's Phil Watts becomes chairman of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development:...The WBCSD was created in 1992 to provide business input to the Rio Earth Summit, and has since become the leading business advocate on sustainable development issues. (World Business Council for Sustainable Development, 15 Nov. 2001)

Thirsty China to divert the mighty Yangtze: China has unveiled plans for the largest water water-diversion in its history and possibly one of the world's most expensive at $60.4 billion. The project will channel water from the country's longest river, the Yangtze, to three rivers in the north, the Yellow, Huai and Hai, whose basins are running dry...Environmental experts say the new project could cause widespread corruption, human hardship and environmental damage, and could dry up the Yangtze in 30 years...The potential benefits of the project outweigh the downside environmentalists fear, Zhang told Reuters...China is also playing down the burden facing several hundred thousand people due to be moved for the 1,246 km (780-mile) middle route. (CNN, 15 Nov. 2001)

Environmental Issues Make Significant Progress At Key Trade Talks [WTO meeting in Doha]: For the first time, trade ministers from over 140 countries have firmly accepted that globalization of trade and the reduction of trade barriers must take into account environmental issues. (United Nations Environment Programme, 15 Nov. 2001)

WTO launches "broad and balanced" trade round:...ENVIRONMENT - on an issue which developing countries had long refused to consider, there will be negotiations on the relationship between WTO rules and specific trade obligations included in international environmental agreements like the Convention on Bio-Diversity and the CITES convention on protecting endangered species. (Robert Evans, Reuters, 15 Nov. 2001)

Rising Sea Level Forcing Evacuation of Island Country: The leaders of Tuvalu--a tiny island country in the Pacific Ocean midway between Hawaii and Australia--have conceded defeat in their battle with the rising sea, announcing that they will abandon their homeland. (Lester R. Brown, Earth Policy Institute, 15 Nov. 2001)

British Engineering Company Withdraws from Ilisu Dam Project [Turkey]: Balfour Beatty, the international engineering, construction and services group, has decided to pull out of the controversial Ilisu Dam project in Turkey. The decision follows a thorough and extensive evaluation of the commercial, environmental and social issues inherent in the project, the company said in a statement Tuesday. (Environment News Service, 14 Nov. 2001)

Satellite data confirms warming of Earth's climate (Environmental News Network, 14 Nov. 2001)

Greenpeace exposes scandal of African rainforest destruction and demands governments to act now: Undercover investigations by Greenpeace have discovered that wood products coming from logging companies operating in a destructive and illegal way in West Africa are flooding European ports. These investigations have recently uncovered logs and timber from two companies in particular, which have some of the worst environmental and human rights records of any logging company in the world. These two companies, the Oriental Timber Corporation (OTC) and Société Forestère Hazim (SFH), are actively logging in Liberia and Cameroon respectively. The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) recently reported OTC's involvement in illegal arms-smuggling to the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebels in neighbouring war-torn Sierra Leone. SFH has been found guilty for repeatedly logging outside legally defined areas by the Cameroon government, and has been involved in serious social conflicts with forest dwelling communities there. Both companies have repeatedly operated with flagrant disregard for national forestry law, and for the social and environmental impact of their operations. (Greenpeace, 14 Nov. 2001)

Triumph for world trade talks:...Developing countries have the right to produce drugs cheaply in the case of a medical emergency...WTO members have accepted EU demands that investment, competition and environment rules be put on the agenda. (Steve Schifferes, BBC News, 14 Nov. 2001)

WTO agrees to launch new trade round: One of the Doha talks' biggest achievements was an agreement to shelter poor countries' access to medical supplies from the threat of legal challenge in the WTO. The deal partly resolves a bitter dispute fuelled by poor countries' complaints about difficulty in obtaining treatments for HIV/Aids and other diseases...One of the biggest stumbling blocks was France's refusal to accept wording in the draft agenda that called for "elimination" of farm subsidies. France dropped its opposition only when the EU succeeded, after all-night talks, in inserting a qualification and in obtaining a stronger WTO commitment to negotiate on trade and environment. (Guy de Jonquières, Financial Times, 14 Nov. 2001)

EU deputies to call for widespread chemicals tests: The European Parliament is expected to call today for widespread testing of chemicals to assess their health and environmental impact, a move likely to face opposition from the industry (Reuters, 14 Nov. 2001) 

BP Australia warns against clean fuels backsliding: BP Australia managing director Greg Bourne warned yesterday against any backsliding in moving toward cleaner fuel standards..."It is too easy for people to settle on the lowest common denominator and to go up to a high standard requires leadership by the governments, the car industries and the oil industries," he said. BP...has invested heavily in its Perth and Bulwer Island refineries to produce cleaner fuels, moving ahead of its competitors in Australia to meet new federal fuel standards being phased in to 2006. (Reuters, 14 Nov. 2001)

Sierra Club Study Shows Cities Fail to Reduce Car & Truck Smog [USA]: A Sierra Club report released today found a clear connection between cities' investments in public transportation and their success at cutting smog per person from cars and trucks...Twenty percent of Americans live in areas where scientists say the air is not safe to breathe. Breathing smog has been implicated in a range of illnesses from asthma to pneumonia. (Sierra Club, 13 Nov. 2001) 

Carbon Trading Market Expands to Chicago, Mexico City:...The city of Chicago and Mexico City are joining the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX), a voluntary market for trading emissions of greenhouse gases which are linked to global warming. (Environment News Service, 13 Nov. 2001)

Arab environmentalists call for adoption of Earth Charter (Ruba Saqr, Jordan Times, 13 Nov. 2001)

EU says environment must be in new trade talks: The European Union insisted on Sunday that environmental issues must be part of a new round of global trade negotiations and said it did not see why it should make concessions in other areas to win agreement on this. (Reuters, 13 Nov. 2001)

60,000 plant species may vanish by 2025 threatening ecosystem (Independent [Bangladesh], 13 Nov. 2001)

Starbucks says program will reward responsible suppliers: Starbucks Coffee on Monday unveiled a plan to pay coffee suppliers up to 10 cents more per pound if they protect the environment and abide by local minimum wage and worker safety laws. (Allison Linn, Associated Press, 12 Nov. 2001)

Lakes: Global Experts Highlight Trend Of Overuse, Pollution - Delegates at the International Conference on Conservation and Management of Lakes in Shiga, Japan, warned today that up to 1 billion people are at risk worldwide because of overuse and pollution of the planet's lakes. (UN Wire, 12 Nov. 2001)

Forests: UNEP Urges Countries To Address Causes Of Deforestation - The U.N. Environment Program Thursday urged countries to address poverty as a major cause of deforestation in anticipation of this week's meeting of international experts in Montreal to discuss threats facing the world's forests. (UN Wire, 12 Nov. 2001)

Shell called negligent in Brazil toxic waste case: The Public Ministry of the Brazilian state of Sao Paulo says a subsidiary of Anglo-Dutch group Royal Dutch/Shell was negligent in the exposure of at least 156 people to toxic pesticides...Shell officials reached by Reuters last week dismissed the report as baseless. (Sharon Cohen, Reuters, 12 Nov. 2001)

Mexican environmentalists vow to keep on fighting: Two Mexican peasant ecologists freed from jail this week by a presidential pardon vowed on the weekend to continue their fight to protect the environment despite death threats from powerful interest groups. (Elizabeth Fullerton, Reuters, 12 Nov. 2001) 

FACTBOX - What was agreed in Marrakesh? [explanation of the agreement on rules governing the Kyoto Protocol on climate change] (Reuters, 12 Nov. 2001)

Exxon Valdez ruling frustrates Alaska plaintiffs: Plaintiffs in the 12-year court battle over the nation's worst oil spill say they are frustrated that the case will continue to drag on now that an appeals court has struck down the landmark $5 billion punitive fine assessed for the Exxon Valdez oil disaster. (Yereth Rosen, Reuters, 12 Nov. 2001)

Hunger fighters see biotech hope for poor nations:..."You have two choices," Borlaug [plant scientist and Nobel laureate Norman Borlaug] told Reuters in an interview. "You need it to further improve yields so that you can continue to produce the food that's needed on the soil that's well-adapted to agricultural production. Or, you'll be pushed into cutting down more of our forests."...GM crop pioneers like Monsanto, fighting to win hearts and minds for the crop technology, have now turned actively to addressing the problems of the developing world. (Julie Ingwersen, Reuters, 12 Nov. 2001)

US carbon dioxide emissions up 3.1 pct in 2000: Carbon dioxide emissions spewed by the United States and its territories jumped 3.1 percent last year, one of the biggest annual increases in a decade, a government report said last week. (Reuters, 12 Nov. 2001)

Trade and Environment: What Europe really wants and why - The European Union is among the most active supporters of a positive "environment" and "sustainable development" agenda in WTO. (European Union, 11 Nov. 2001)

Greening Doha : the EU's Trade and Environment Agenda (speech by European Union Commissioner Pascal Lamy, delivered to the Greenpeace 'Safe Trade' Seminar, 11 Nov. 2001)

'Historic' deal saves Kyoto, but America stays outside (Anthony Browne, Observer [UK], 11 Nov. 2001)

UN climate treaty salvaged:...The draft compromise gave enormous concessions on forestry demanded by Russia...Environmentalists had angrily opposed this, warning that polluting countries could simply buy cheap Russian carbon quotas to meet their targets rather than reduce their greenhouse gases. (Agence France-Presse, in Daily Star [Bangladesh], 11 Nov. 2001)

Asia's economic problems bad news for environment: Cleaner air, water take second place to dealing with the financial crisis - Research by the Asian Development Bank, World Bank and United Nations agencies found almost every Asian government has cut spending for environmental protection, and some tend to turn a blind eye to violations of pollution standards, illegal logging and overfishing. Cleaner technologies are not being introduced. (Associated Press, in Baltimore Sun [Maryland, USA], 11 Nov. 2001)

India criticizes WTO over ignoring needs of poor countries: India sharply criticized the World Trade Organization here on Saturday, accusing it of ignoring the needs of poor countries and badgering them to take positions against their will...Among the new issues being considered are proposed moves to link the protection of the environment and workers' rights to trade pacts, a position vigorously advocated by the European Union. Maran [Indian Minister of Commerce and Industry Murasoli Maran] reiterated that poor countries firmly reject any such connections, seeing in them a transparent bid by the West to use alleged abuses of labour and the environment as pretexts for blocking exports from the developing world. (Dawn [Pakistan], 11 Nov. 2001)

50 injured as blast sparks 'chemical rain' [Shanghai, China]: More than 50 people were injured when a "rain of chemical liquid" fell on them on Tuesday evening following a furnace blast in a chemical factory on Huajin Road in the city's southwest Xuhui District. (Shanghai Daily, 11 Nov. 2001)

Kyoto is the key - now use it! At the close of COP7, the latest negotiations on the Kyoto Protocol, the international agreement aimed at preventing dangerous climate change, Greenpeace today described the outcome as a hard won battle for a token outcome...[T]he Kyoto Protocol is just a small start in what must be an ongoing and ever increasing commitment to reduce greenhouse gases globally. Now that the architecture of the Protocol is in place, parties have no excuse to delay ratifying and implementing it. (Greenpeace, 10 Nov. 2001)

Groups Sue U.S. Trade Representative for Concealing Trade Negotiations - Protection of Domestic Environment and Health Laws at Stake: While the Bush administration pushes Congress to approve “fast track” trade negotiation authority, environmental and public interest groups filed suit today in US District Court in Washington, DC, against US Trade Representative Robert Zoellick for stonewalling public access to the US negotiating position on the US-Chile Free Trade Agreement...The lawsuit was filed by Earthjustice on behalf of the Center for International Environmental Law, Friends of the Earth and Public Citizen. These groups are concerned that the new international trade rules could weaken US and Chilean environmental and health standards. (Earthjustice, 9 Nov. 2001)

Mexico frees two jailed environmentalists: Mexican President Vicente Fox freed two prominent environmentalists from prison yesterday amid widespread allegations that they had been tortured into signing false confessions on bogus charges. Rodolfo Montiel and Teodoro Cabrera had led protests against illegal logging activities in the southern state of Guerrero before they were jailed in May 1999 on weapons and drugs offenses. Both men say they only confessed after being tortured for several days and claim they were being punished for their attempts to defend the forests of the Sierra Madre mountain range from rapacious logging. (Kieran Murray, Reuters, 9 Nov. 2001)

Environmental Issues At The Doha Wto Trade Talks: A successful outcome in Doha would be the launch of a new trade round that builds mutually supportive trade and environment policies - "Environmental issues, seen by many as a controversial topic, must not be sidelined at the fourth WTO Ministerial Conference that begins today in Doha, Qatar," said Klaus Toepfer, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). (United Nations Environment Programme, 9 Nov. 2001)

Exxon Valdez appeals ruling stuns Alaskans: Exxon Mobil Corp.'s reprieve this week from a $5 billion punitive fine stunned and angered Alaskans who had sued the energy giant for punitive damages from the 1989 Valdez oil spill disaster (Yereth Rosen, Reuters, 9 Nov. 2001)

Three die in oil pipeline fire in southeast Nigeria: At least three people died after an oil pipeline owned by Shell burst into flames in southeastern Nigeria, police said yesterday...Police said they were investigating whether the pipeline burst was because of erosion over time or whether villagers vandalised it to claim compensation...The Nigerian government has directed multinationals producing the country's mainstay crude oil to submit reports on the state of their pipelines many of which are aged as well as their plans to combat oil pollution. (Reuters, 9 Nov. 2001)

BP introduces anti-smog gasoline in Washington state: BP Plc, the British oil giant, introduced a lower-sulfur gasoline in Washington state yesterday designed to fight air pollution. BP said the newly formulated fuel is expected to reduce vehicles' nitrous oxide emissions by about 4 percent. (Reuters, 9 Nov. 2001)

Mexico: Mexican Environmentalists Released - Groups Call for Perpetrators of Abuses to be Brought to Justice: Amnesty International and Sierra Club believe that the arrest and conviction of the two environmentalists stem solely from their efforts to stop the rampant logging in the southern state of Guerrero, Mexico. (Amnesty International USA and Sierra Club, 8 Nov. 2001)

Climate Change: Billions Across The Tropics Face Hunger And Starvation As Big Drop In Crop Yields Forecast -...Harvests of some of the world's most important food crops could fall by as much as a third in some crucial parts of the planet as a result of climate change, scientists are warning. The decline comes at a time when there is an urgent need to raise yields to feed as growing, global, population. (United Nations Environment Programme, 8 Nov. 2001)

CLIMATE CHANGE: Ministers Clear Important Hurdle On Kyoto Compliance (UN Wire, 8 Nov. 2001)

Mexican lawyer's death seen tied to logging fight: The killing last month of top Mexican rights lawyer Digna Ochoa is probably linked to a fierce battle between loggers and ecologists in the western state of Guerrero, Mexico City Prosecutor Bernardo Batiz said this week. (Reuters, 8 Nov. 2001)

Report cites dangerous air on US - Mexico border: Pollution from assembly plants on the U.S.-Mexico border, coupled with desert dust, has millions of people on both sides of the Rio Grande breathing particles linked to heart and lung disease, a study soon to be released by U.S. and Mexican environmental agencies shows. (Deborah Tedford, Reuters, 8 Nov. 2001)

Earth on edge of a precipice - UN report: The human race is plundering Earth at an unsustainable rate, but the growing power of women over their own futures could save the planet from destruction, the United Nations said yesterday...The report, "Footprints and Milestones: Population and Environmental Change", said bluntly more people were using more resources more intensively than ever before. (Jeremy Lovell, Reuters, 8 Nov. 2001)

Global warming to hit key food crops - UN agency: Harvests of some of the world's key food crops could drop by up to 30 percent in the next 100 years due to global warming, a U.N. agency [United Nations Environment Programme] said. (Reuters, 8 Nov. 2001)

Lithuanian Mazeikiu approves pollution measures: Lithuanian oil concern Mazeikiu Nafta said yesterday it was starting a series of pollution control measures to reduce emissions and lost product to meet European Union standards. (Reuters, 8 Nov. 2001)

US court rules $5 bln Exxon Valdez award excessive: A federal appeals court yesterday overturned a $5 billion punitive damages award against Exxon Mobil Corp. in the worst oil spill in U.S. history - the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster - and ordered a district court to set a new, lower amount (Andrew Quinn, Reuters, 8 Nov. 2001)

Statement of Carl Pope [Sierra Club Executive Director] Regarding Court Ruling $5 Billion Exxon Valdez Award Excessive [USA]:..."A high punitive fine is necessary for one of the world's largest corporations that acted in an irresponsible fashion. Exxon harmed the environment and threatened the livelihood of Alaskans" (Sierra Club, 7 Nov. 2001)

Exxon Corp. ordered to pay $225,000 fine: Exxon Mobil Corp. was ordered to pay $225,000, the largest fine ever handed down by Texas' oil-industry regulators, for a pipeline blast last year in West Texas that killed a local police officer. (Calgary Herald [Canada], 7 Nov. 2001)

Toxic chemical spill in Central China contained: A potentially disastrous chemical spill into a river in central China has been contained and neutralised after injuring one farmer and killing livestock, local media and environmental officials said yesterday. (Reuters, 7 Nov. 2001)

Groups Protest Post-September 11 Corporate Stance [USA]: Big corporations are using the "war against terrorism" to push billions of dollars in tax breaks and other benefits through the United States Congress, according to a growing number of civic, environmental and consumer groups..."For corporations to loot the U.S. Treasury and prey on the environment while wrapping themselves in the flag is an act of sheer treachery, one Americans will not soon forget," declared John Passacantando, director of Greenpeace USA (Jim Lobe, OneWorld U.S., 6 Nov. 2001)

PHILIPPINES: Citing U.N. Findings, Farmers Seek Pesticide Probe - ...a group of Philippine farmers who say toxic pesticides are still being used in the country are calling for a congressional investigation into smuggling and indiscriminate distribution of banned pesticides and fertilizers...Despite their serious health and environmental effects, at least 23 "dirty" pesticides, including DDT, have been allowed into the country, Agricultural Irrigators Association of South Cotabato Chairman Rene Lozada said. "This matter needs to be resolved immediately, because it has been slowly killing the small farmers," he said, adding that multinational companies are dumping rejected U.S. and European pesticides onto the Philippine market. (UN Wire, 6 Nov. 2001) 

Kilimanjaro set to lose its ice field by 2015 due to climate change: Mount Kilimanjaro, one of the few places in the world where ice and snow can be found on the equator, could lose its entire ice field by 2015 because of climate change, Greenpeace said today. This loss symbolises the fact that climate change may be felt first and hardest by the environment and people of Africa..."In Morocco the country is suffering crippling drought for the third successive year which is affecting two-thirds of the country; the snow fields in the Atlas Mountains are disappearing and water supplies are at extremely low levels." (Greenpeace, 6 Nov. 2001)

Cultivating Environment-Friendly Coffee: Shade-grown coffee is an option for environmental and economic sustainability in El Salvador -...As an outcome of the project, 224 coffee plantations will be certified with the ECO/OK seal, which the Rain Forest Alliance grants to farmers who cultivate coffee in a manner consistent with biodiversity preservation. Four coffee-processing plants will be certified as well. (Development News, World Bank, 6 Nov. 2001)

Critics of Kyoto talks say air now a commodity:...Sounding a more favourable note, Mark Kenber of the World Wildlife Fund said emission trading was not the evil capitalistic scheme presented by some. "If emission trading delivers what you want it to deliver one would be in favour, but if it does not do that and expands the loopholes that exist, we would be against it," he said at a workshop on the sidelines of the conference. Speaking at a news conference, the NGOs' representatives gathered under a broad-based coalition called Climate Justice insisted on the need for big corporations to effectively adhere to guidelines that would protect the environment. "Only 122 companies in the world are responsible for 80 percent of all carbon dioxide emissions," said Amit Srivastava, of San Francisco-based CorpWatch. "And just four private global oil corporations produce 10 percent of all CO2 emissions". (Gilles Trequesser, Reuters, 6 Nov. 2001)

Green groups plan fresh Esso garage protests in UK: Green activists said yesterday they will descend on hundreds of Esso garages across Britain and Ireland on December 1 to urge motorists to boycott the oil giant because of its stance on global warming. (Reuters, 6 Nov. 2001)

GMO crops - here to stay or gone with the wind? Consumer pressure will not force North and South American farmers to abandon genetically modified crops but it could blight the development of a new generation promising many medical or nutritional benefits. (Peter Bohan, Reuters, 6 Nov. 2001)

UNEP Manual for the International Year of Ecotourism (United Nations Environment Programme, 5 Nov. 2001)

Wanted - global authority to tame big business: British charity Christian Aid last week urged delegations heading for next week's World Trade Organisation conference in Qatar to consider the need for a new global regulator to bring corporations under legally binding control. (Reuters, 5 Nov. 2001)

Montedison to pay 525 bln lire pollution settlement [Italy]: Agro-energy conglomerate Montedison has agreed to pay 525 billion lire ($245.5 million) to clean up environmental contamination at a chemical plant near Venice...The settlement was disclosed a day after 28 former executives of Montedison, and its two units Enimont and Enichem were acquitted of manslaughter charges in the cancer deaths of 157 workers at the Petrochimico factory in Marghera, in northern Italy. (Reuters, 5 Nov. 2001)

Illinois scrap smelter to shut doors-trade sources [USA]: Chemetco Inc., a privately held secondary copper refiner, is planning to close its smelter in East Hartford, Illinois and file for Chapter 11, according to market sources...Another source familiar with the situation said she understood that Chemetco's problems with toxic-waste dumping was it's ultimate undoing. In October last year, a federal judge fined Chemetco $3.8 million for installing a secret pipe and illegally dumping hazardous metal-filled water into a local creek for a decade. (Carole Vaporean, Reuters, 5 Nov. 2001)

Businesses Convey Interest in Sustainable Mobility - Report on the challenges of achieving long-term sustainable transportation offers multinational automotive and energy companies, as well as governments, food for thought...The study, entitled “Mobility 2001,” was issued by the World Business Council on Sustainable Development’s Sustainable Mobility Project. The Sustainability Mobility Project is a cooperative effort of eleven multinational automotive and energy companies seeking to develop a global vision for sustainable mobility. (Mark Thomsen, SocialFunds.com, 5 Nov. 2001)

US firms said to need govt plan on global warming: U.S. companies investing billions of dollars to reduce pollution emissions could be at a competitive disadvantage in the future if the government does not come up with a formal plan to fight global warming, environmentalists warned last week. (Christopher Doering, Reuters, 5 Nov. 2001) 

Big firms buy pollution rights ahead of Kyoto: Big firms are buying permits to pollute from countries that are installing clean energy, hoping to profit from an "emissions trading" scheme that has yet to be created, the World Bank said last week. (Robin Pomeroy, Reuters, 5 Nov. 2001)

Canada blasts greens for attacking Kyoto stance: Canada, blasting green groups for criticizing its approach to a new round of global warming talks, denied environmentalists' accusations last week that Ottawa wanted to back away from a legally binding treaty to cut the emission of greenhouse gases. (David Ljunggren, Reuters, 5 Nov. 2001)

Canada says Kyoto doesn't need legal sanctions: Canada's top official at global warming talks said last week it did not matter whether sanctions for countries that fail to comply with the Kyoto pact were made legally binding, an issue green groups say is key. (Robin Pomeroy, Reuters, 5 Nov. 2001)

Japan set to ratify Kyoto climate pact without US (Teruaki Ueno, Reuters, 5 Nov. 2001)

Worst flag of convenience dumps Antarctic fish pirates: The world's most fish pirate-friendly country, Belize, has been forced to start cleaning up its act. Belize has struck five notorious fishing pirates from its shipping register, buckling under pressure from Greenpeace and governments. (Greenpeace, 2 Nov. 2001)

New centre shows Kenya's industries how to cut pollution: The Kenya National Cleaner Production Centre demonstrates how smart management can cut industrial waste and pollution. UNDP, the UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) joined with the Kenya Research and Development Institute last year to set up the centre, officially launched in Nairobi recently. (United Nations Development Programme, 2 Nov. 2001)

EPA [U.S. Environmental Protection Agency] Program Recognizes Better Corporate Environmental Performance: Performance Track motivates and rewards businesses that exceed EPA's environmental standards. The National Environmental Performance Track program, launched by the EPA in June of 2000, recognizes the companies and facilities whose environmental performance surpasses the minimum standards set by the government...Performance Track requires participants to have an environmental management system in place, a history of sustained compliance, a foundation of community outreach, and a commitment to continuous environmental improvement. At this time, 251 facilities (listed on the website) have been accepted as Performance Track participants with 300 anticipated by 2002. The company with the most Performance Track facilities by far is Johnson & Johnson, with over 50. Other companies include toolmaker Snap-On with 9 facilities, IBM with 7 facilities, and 3M with 5 facilities. (Trevor Snorek-Yates, SocialFunds.com, 2 Nov. 2001)

WTO talks could make things worse - environmentalists: Global trade rules are damaging small farmers, local food producers and rural communities and next week's World Trade Organisation meeting could make things worse, Friends of the Earth said in a report yesterday. The environmentalist group said that food and farming policy were now loaded in favour of big farmers and transnational companies, which makes the poor poorer. (Reuters, 2 Nov. 2001)

Kyoto climate talks face new hurdle: Negotiators hoping to wrap up a deal to bring the Kyoto accord on global warming into effect faced a new hurdle yesterday as a handful of countries sought to delay fixing rules for punishing excessive polluters. Conference documents circulated at U.N. talks in Marrakesh showed Japan, Russia, Canada and Australia, less enthusiastic about the pact than the European Union, had proposed that rules to enforce compliance with national targets for cutting greenhouse gas emissions should not be decided on until 2003. (Robin Pomeroy, Reuters, 2 Nov. 2001) 

Insurers see more disasters due to climate change: Global warming will cause a massive increase in weather-related disasters such as hurricanes in coming decades, major insurance companies said yesterday. Big insurers and banks like Swiss Re, Munich Re and UBS told delegates at a United Nations climate change conference yesterday that they had already seen a huge increase in the number of floods and hurricanes. (Reuters, 2 Nov. 2001)

Malaysia to help Jakarta fight log smuggling: Malaysia yesterday pledged to help neighbouring Indonesia combat timber smuggling, after Jakarta banned all log exports in a bid to halt the lucrative illegal trade. (Reuters, 2 Nov. 2001)

Dead cellphones reborn after EU order to recycle:...Europe now has a plan to encourage the recycling of the phones, for both economic and environmental reasons, with new European Union recycling regulation coming into force...After a debate between EU agencies, responsibility will likely fall on equipment makers to take care of their own products (Anna Peltola, Reuters, 2 Nov. 2001) 

UK launches 3 million pound solar energy scheme: Britain is offering energy companies three million pounds ($4.39 million) to help develop solar power systems for public buildings like schools, churches and hospitals, the government said yesterday (Reuters, 2 Nov. 2001)

Where giants may tread, rumblings will follow: The destructive - and dangerous - behaviour of Australian mining companies overseas should be controlled by law, writes Geoff Evans. (Geoff Evans, Director of the Mineral Policy Institute, in Sydney Morning Herald, 2 Nov. 2001)

Brazil, Greenpeace Raid Illegal Mahogany Operation: Brazilian police, acting on information gathered by Greenpeace International, raided illegal mahogany logging operations in the heart of the Amazon region this week, seizing some seven million dollars worth of the valuable hardwood...The raids--the most extensive since the Brazilian Congress enacted a moratorium on the logging of mahogany in 1996--followed the release last week of a Greenpeace report that disclosed the existence of logging operations on lands belonging to the Amazon's Kayapo Indians. (Jim Lobe, OneWorld U.S., 1 Nov. 2001)

ENVIRONMENT-PAKISTAN: New Funds Boost Green Action Plans [42.78 million U.S. dollar agreement between the Ministry of Environment and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)] (Muddassir Rizvi, Inter Press Service, 1 Nov. 2001)

WTO and the Fate of the World's Forests:...Global forestry corporations, like Boise Cascade, International Paper, Mead, and Weyerhaeuser, all would like expanded WTO rules to ensure unfettered access to forest resources and consumer markets. They use industry groups, like the American Forest and Paper Association (AF&PA), to lobby Washington and, in essence, help write the US position on trade and shape the WTO agenda on forest issues...The new global corporate regime is designed to accelerate industrial logging for export, to concentrate corporate control over forest resources, and to reduce protections for forest ecosystems and forest peoples. (Victor Menotti, Program Director of the International Forum on Globalization, for CorpWatch, 1 Nov. 2001)

The WTO, Forests and the Spirit of Rio:...Since its inception, the WTO has undermined the agreements reached in Rio by replacing the environmental agenda with the corporate push for indiscriminate international trade...[I]n the tropics...increased trade of all sorts of goods -- ranging from logs to aluminum, from shrimp to palm oil to soya beans -- results in forest destruction and the impoverishment of local communities. (Ricardo Carrere, International Coordinator of the World Rainforest Movement, for CorpWatch, 1 Nov. 2001)

Reducing Greenhouse Gases by Making Fizz: An innovative venture enables a Shell subsidiary to sell excess carbon dioxide for soft drink manufacturing, but social investors should know that the company is still miles away from being socially responsible...Royal Dutch Shell's dealings with the people of Norco, Louisiana and its real contribution to global CO2 production were partly behind CorpWatch's decision to give the company a "Greenwash Award" last year. According to CorpWatch, the award was in recognition of the company's deceptive advertising in its "Profits or Principles" campaign. (Mark Thomsen, SocialFunds.com, 1 Nov. 2001)

Interview with Mark Wade, Shell Sustainable Development Group -...How is Shell going about becoming a truly sustainability-supporting company?...What are institutional investors asking for from Shell today that they didn’t ask for 5 years ago? (Ethical Corporation Magazine, 1 Nov. 2001)

CLIMATE CHANGE: Greenland Ice Cap Thinning Fast, Study Says - Greenland's ice cap is melting faster than in the past and at higher altitudes than previous studies predicted, two scientists say in a study published today in Nature. (UN Wire, 1 Nov. 2001)

Chile environmentalists combat Noranda aluminum plant: Environmentalists this week launched an official complaint with Chilean authorities to stall plans by Canadian base metals group Noranda Inc. to build an aluminum plant in isolated southern Chile. (Reuters, 1 Nov. 2001)

new book: Everybody's Business: Managing risks and opportunities in today's global society - Issues which until now have been 'soft' for business, such as environment, diversity and human rights - are now hard; hard to ignore, hard to manage and very hard to control if they go wrong (David Grayson & Adrian Hodges, Nov. 2001)

Coastal communities hit hard by fishing industry [Indonesia]: Communities who depend upon coastal resources for their livelihoods are being pushed aside - sometimes by violent means - as entrepreneurs rush to maximise profits from the seas. (Down to Earth Newsletter, Nov. 2001)

The shrimp industry [Indonesia]: The shrimp industry, with its use of antibiotics and high levels of chemicals, has proven particularly harmful to coastal communities in many countries, including Indonesia...Coastal land rights held by local communities have been swept aside (Down to Earth Newsletter, Nov. 2001)

Sand mining destroys community resources [Indonesia]: The mining of coastal sands for export is blighting the livelihoods of small-scale fisherfolk in Riau. (Down to Earth Newsletter, Nov. 2001)

Forest Law Enforcement and Governance (FLEG) conference [international conference] - Log export ban [Indonesia] (Down to Earth Newsletter, Nov. 2001)

FSC teak certification suspended [Indonesia]: A decision to suspend the certification of teak plantations in Java has highlighted major problems with the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) eco-labelling scheme in Indonesia. (Down to Earth Newsletter, Nov. 2001)

Court orders Freeport to clean up its act [West Papua]: WALHI, Indonesia's leading environmental organisation, has scored a landmark victory in its court case against copper and gold miners PT Freeport Indonesia [Freeport, which denies the charges, will appeal.]  Meanwhile, militarisation is being intensified at the mine, as the Indonesian security forces pledge to protect it from alleged threats from "separatist groups". (Down to Earth Newsletter, Nov. 2001)

full report: The Limitations of Corporate Social Responsibility on Zambia’s Copperbelt - Konkola Copper Mines (KCM): Environmental Management Plan (May 2001) - People living on Zambia’s Copperbelt are confronted with a barrage of toxic chemicals and other pollutants all of which undermines their right to health and damages their livelihoods. But the development agreements between the Government of Zambia (GRZ) and the new owners of Zambia’s recently privatised copper mines, the UK-registered Anglo American Corporation and First Quantum (a Canadian company) give a green light to pollution...Anglo American has to do much more to prove that it is serious about corporate social responsibility. (Patricia Feeney, Oxfam, Nov. 2001)