Cargill: bioterrorisme in Paraguay! Onderneem actie : Ovl IMC

find both letter actions on
http://www.regenwald.org/international/englisch/index.php
and
http://www.lasojamata.org

Greetings,
An
A SEED Europe

Real estate speculation caused soya expansion is leading to ever more
evictions of rural families and attacks on peasant communities. The
violence against the rural population is both direct and indirect. An
estimated of 90,000 people are displaced from their land every year, and
about six peasant leaders are being assassinated every year because they
support the struggle for land reform.

This year, agribusiness is getting ready for a new mega-crop and has
announced plans to cultivate 400,000 more hectares of soybean. Those
monocultures are to be established in a zone traditionally dedicated to
family agriculture, which implies the displacement of whole communities
and the substitution of food crops by monoculture crops for export –
animal feed and biodiesel feedstock.

Cargill is a leading agribusiness company in Paraguay. They market 30%
of the national production of soybean, corn and wheat and have 41 port
and warehousing facilities in the country. Now, the expansion of
agribusiness monocultures and the quest for reduced transport costs have
knocked the doors of the Paraguayan capital. A mega-port is being built,
which is called “Oil-Extraction Industrial Plant and Bulk Commodities
Terminal of Port Zeballos, Inc.”. It will have an export capacity of one
million tonnes of soybean per year, and will burn 230,000 cubic meters
of firewood annually.

This area is inhabited by a large number of shallow-water fishermen
whose livelihood depends on the fishstock in those waters. The port is
being built just 500 meter upstream from the main water source of the
public services company that provides drinking water to 1.1 million
people in and around Asunción. The diesel from barges, the disturbance
of the sediments on the river bed and the drift of dusts and pesticide
toxins from the grains will undoubtedly affect the whole of the drinking
water supply. The presence of these elements in urban water will mean an
exponential increase in the risk of diseases such as cancer, leukemia,
allergies, respiratory and intestinal tract problems, miscarriage and
congenial malformation.

Paraguayan organisations have described this development as an act of
bio-terrorism, because it will involve large-scale use of chemicals that
– no doubt – will affect the population of the region.

Cargill are known worldwide for their disrespect of environmental laws.
Just recently, a Brazilian court ordered the immediate closure of the
Santarem port in the Amazonia, until an environmental impact assessment
is submitted and approved, since it was built illegally. Likewise, and
for similar reasons, Cargill was denounced for the construction of a
river port in the area of Rosario, Argentina.

Licenses for the port in Asunción were awarded during the vacation
months, without any type of public consultation. Furthermore, the
Environmental Impact Assessment was carried out using the standard
format, without giving serious consideration to the particular
characteristics of the site or the population.

Several organizations have demonstrated their outright rejection of this
project and have submitted complaints to different agencies. Public
hearings have been convened at the Congress and the Municipality of
Asuncion. However, the authorities have denied their responsibilities
and are not offering answers or solutions. They argue that the port will
generate jobs and that Paraguay cannot turn its back on such an
important investment.

The high risks posed by a facility of this size cannot be ignored by
national, departmental or municipal authorities. In order to stop this
mega-project which threatens both the population and the environment,
the Citizens’ Assembly for Life and Health has been formed by several
social and civil organizations. Please support the Assembly and protest
against Paraguayan authorities, in order to hold them responsible and
force them to stop such a harmful project!

Send emails of protest: easy format on:

Arq. Carlos Antonio López Dose
Minister of Environment
Madame Lynch 3500
gabinete@seam.gov.py

Ing. Alfredo Molinas
Ministry of Agriculture and Cattle
Presidente Franco e/ Alberdi
gabinetemag@gmail.com

Mrs Evanhy Gallegos
Major of Asunción, Paraguay
intendente@mca.gov.py

Ing. Agr. Edgar Esteche
President of SENAVE (National Service for Quality and Vegetal Sanitation
and Seeds)
presidencia@senave.gov.py

Lic. Isabel Gamarra de Fox
Environmental Management Agency
isabeldefox@yahoo.com

Ing. Elena Benítez
Agency for the Protection and Conservation of Water Resources
dgpcrhpy001@yahoo.com

Dr. Ricardo Merlo
Environmental Prosecutor
rmerlofaella@hotmail.com

Ministry of Public Health and Social Wellbeing
Dr. Oscar Martínez Doldán
sgeneral@mspbs.gov.py

Newsmedia Department
prensa@mspbs.gov.py

Mr. Agustín Perdomo
National Senator, Honourable Chamber of Representatives
President of the Commission for Ecology, Natural Resources and Environment
Email: cecologia@diputados.gov.py
Email: aperdomo@diputados.gov.py
Tel: +595 21 414 4842

Comisión de DDHH del Senado.
Presidenta: Ana María Juanita Mendoza de Acha
Email: ddhh@senado.gov.py
Fax : 595 21 447 967
Teléf: (595 21) 414-5025; 414-5065

Defensoría del Pueblo.
Defensor del Pueblo, Manuel María Páez Monges
Email: defensor@defensoriadelpueblo.gov.py
Teléf.: (595 21) 452 602/5

Protest letter: Spanish version below.
To The Authorities

We wish to declare our deep concern about the initiation of the
construction of the “Oil-Extraction Industrial Plant and Bulk
Commodities Terminal of Port Zeballos, Inc.”, also known as Puerto
Union. This will a very polluting facility located just a few meters
from the drinking water intake for the whole of the capital and
surrounding areas, located in a area where thousands of people live in
an extremely vulnerable situation.

One of the basic recommendations given by the World Health Organization
in order to insure the right to drinking water is to protect the sources
from possible pollutants, to avoid the use of complicated and not always
safe technologies and to ensure decontamination. With the industrial
facility and the port planned just a few meters upstream from the
drinking water intake, the threat of a sanitary and contamination
emergency is increased exponentially and will be even greater over time
given the inevitable accumulation of silt and sediment.

The activities at this development will affect not just the water.
Another direct impact will be suffered by the population of nearby
communities, due to air, noise, vibration contamination, as well as an
increase in the population of rodents and insects, amongst others.
However, most concerning undoubtedly, will be air pollution from the oil
plant and from the trucks. It should be mentioned that, although it will
be food grains that will be processed and transported, those contain
uncontrolled doses of powerful agro-chemicals that, in many cases, will
be toxic to humans. The whole population, not only in the surrounding
community but also along the route of trucks, will be exposed to either
acute or chronic contamination. Several known cases in Argentina
demonstrate the unhealthy and even lethal direct and indirect influence
of a dry bulk port on the population. We hope that these ill-fated
experiences will not be repeated in Paraguay.

Indirect impacts from this facility will not be less concerning.
Needless to say that this will give a strong boost to the expansion of
the agro-export frontier, that for years has been devastating forests,
land and waters in the territory, and decimating peasant and indigenous
communities in the country. Recent history demonstrates that frenzied
adoption of such models of development have only generated more poverty,
more exclusion, more inequality and more emigration, plus the
deterioration of social linkages that these situations produce.

Cargill, the company behind the project, are internationally known for
their disrespect for environmental laws. Just recently, a Brazilian
court order the immediate closure of the Santarem port in Amazonia,
until an environmental impact assessment is submitted and approved,
since the plant was built illegally. Likewise, and for similar reasons,
Cargill was denounced for the construction of a river port in the area
of Rosario, Argentina.

For the aforementioned reasons, we demand that:

1. The construction of the port and the industrial plant is immediately
stopped, and full environmental monitoring is carried out in order to
assess in detail the impacts of those ports already in operation.

2. The Municipal Ordinance 15/02 is observed, which stipulates that the
construction and the activity of polluting activities should not be
permitted due to the housing and high landscaping and environmental
value characteristics of the area.

3. To apply the country’s legal planning which regulate the sitting of
new ports and industrial plants.

4. Diversification of production is promoted, addressing the domestic
needs for food, controlling the expansion of the agro-export business
and, following the UN guidance, an urgent moratorium is declared in
regard to the production of agro-fuels.

Signatures

In spanish
Sres Autoridades

Ante el inicio de las obras de construcción de la “Planta Industrial Aceitera y Terminal Granelero de Puerto Zeballos S.A.” conocida como Puerto Unión, queremos manifestar nuestra profunda preocupación. Se trata de unas instalaciones sumamente contaminantes que estarán ubicadas a pocos metros de las tomas de agua potable de toda la Capital y alrededores, además, en un barrio habitacional con miles de pobladores en situación extremadamente vulnerable.

Una de las recomendaciones básicas de la Organización Mundial de la Salud para garantizar el derecho al agua es que se protejan las fuentes de abastecimiento de posibles contaminantes, evitando usar tecnologías complicadas y no siempre seguras para descontaminarlas. Con una planta industrial y puerto de la magnitud de aquel que se proyecta, pocos metros aguas arriba de las tomas, aumentará exponencialmente la amenaza de una emergencia sanitaria y, con el tiempo y la acumulación de desechos, los niveles de contaminación se harán mucho más densos.

No solo el agua se verá afectada por las actividades de esta industria. Otro impacto directo lo sufrirán las poblaciones que viven en los barrios aledaños por la contaminación del aire, los ruidos, vibraciones, el aumento de roedores e insectos, entre otras cosas. Lo más grave entre esto es sin duda la contaminación del aire que producirá tanto la aceitera como el tráfico de camiones. Cabe mencionar que, por más que se transportarán y procesarán alimentos, los mismos tienen dosis no controladas de potentes agroquímicos que resultan tóxicos para el ser humano. Se estará pues exponiendo a toda la población no solo de los alrededores sino también a aquella cercana a la ruta de los camiones a intoxicaciones, agudas o crónicas. Varios casos en Argentina muestran lo insalubre y hasta letal de vivir en áreas de influencia directa e indirecta de un puerto granelero. Ojalá en Paraguay no se dé pie a que se repitan estas funestas experiencias.

Los impactos indirectos de esta obra no son menos preocupantes. Indefectiblemente esto dará un fuerte impulso a la expansión de la frontera agroexportadora que viene arrasando desde hace años los bosques, las tierras y las aguas del territorio, y diezmando a las comunidades campesinas e indígenas del país. La historia reciente muestra que la adopción frenética de este modelo de desarrollo solo ha generado más pobreza, más marginación, más desigualdad y más emigración, y la corrosión de los vínculos sociales que todo ello implica.

La empresa Cargill involucrada es famosa internacionalmente por no respetar las leyes ambientales. Recientemente, un tribunal brasileño ordenó el cierre inmediato del puerto de Santarem en la amazonía, hasta que sea presentada y aprobada la evaluación de impacto ambiental, ya que fue construido ilegalmente. Así también, y por similares motivos Cargill fue denunciado por la construcción de un puerto en la zona de Rosario, Argentina.

Por todas estas razones exigimos que:

1. Se frene inmediatamente la construcción del puerto y planta industrial, y se desarrolle un monitoreo ambiental de la zona para evaluar detalladamente los impactos que generan los puertos ya operantes

2. Se respete la ordenanza municipal 15/02 que estipula que no se permite la instalación de actividades poluyentes por ser una área característica de tipo habitacional con alto valor paisajístico y ambiental

3. Se trabaje en instrumentos legales para el ordenamiento territorial del país que regulen la instalación de nuevos puertos y plantas industriales de acuerdo con la planificación de la producción.

4. Se promueva una diversificación productiva atendiendo las necesidades internas de soberanía alimentaria, controlando la expansión de la frontera agroexportadora y, siguiendo las recomendaciones de la ONU, se establezca una moratoria urgente a la producción de los agrocombustibles.

A la espera de una respuesta de su parte acerca de cómo se van a tratar los reclamos que se plantean,

Muy atentamente,

PARAGUAY-FILM: FARMERS TELL ABOUT DARK SIDE OF SOY BOOM
By David Vargas
ASUNCIÓN, Paraguay, Nov. 8, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- A sea of green stretches as far as the eye can see on both sides of the dirt road leading to the Paraguayan communities of Lima, Capiibary and Guayaibí. The huge fields are planted with genetically modified soy, Paraguay’s leading export product.

As it takes over more and more land, the crop is leaving sick people, displaced communities and trampled rights in its wake, according to the documentary "Soberanía violada," which means “Violation of Sovereignty.”

The documentary, produced by a Paraguayan team, portrays the drama of campesino (small farmer) communities that experience the spread of soy plantations as a threat to their survival. Many of these plantations are located 250 kilometers from the capital, in the northern Paraguayan department of San Pedro, one of the country’s poorest provinces.

"The economic interests of large landowners -- most of them foreigners -- and multinational corporations are destroying entire communities, felling forests, polluting streams and rivers, making children sick, causing miscarriages, killing campesinos and forcing them to abandon their land and their culture," according to the synopsis of the 40-minute documentary.

Paraguay has become the world’s fourth largest exporter of soy, after the United States, Brazil and Argentina. According to the Agriculture Ministry, soy is grown on 2.4 million hectares of land and accounts for 38 percent of the country’s agricultural production.

The Paraguayan Chamber of Cereals and Oilseeds Exporters announced that its goal for 2008 is to expand soy cultivation to 4 million hectares and to double export revenues from the commodity, which in the first quarter of 2007 amounted to $780 million.

But that figure fails to reflect the social and environmental consequences of the expansion of soy cultivation, which are reflected in the documentary through dozens of testimonies from campesinos.

"The idea for the film came from the provincial Coordinating Committee for the Defense of Sovereignty, an umbrella group for representatives of organizations and leaders of different communities in San Pedro," said Arturo Peña, one of the producers of the documentary.

"Soberanía violada" is scheduled to be screened Nov. 18 at the One World Berlin Film Festival, which will be held this month in the German capital.

The filmmaking team’s general coordinator was Catalina Servín, and the documentary was written, directed and filmed by Malu Vázquez and edited by José Elizeche, with music by W. Krauch.

Members of the team said their aim was to create a tool that could be used to raise awareness on the problem, which has worsened over the last five years as transgenic soy has expanded in the area.

"Thousands of families have already left the province after selling their land, usually because they were surrounded by the soy crops and endangered by the spraying of toxic agrochemicals. They had no choice," Peña said.

The soybean boom has also brought unemployment. It requires little labor, and in the east of Paraguay soy has displaced cotton, which used to employ large numbers of people, according to the documentary.

Small-scale farmers, who make up a large proportion of the country’s 6 million people, have been displaced by large-scale soy producers.

According to a study by the nongovernmental social research organization Base-IS, 70 percent of Paraguay’s farmland is presently in the hands of foreign landowners, who are mainly Brazilian.

Some small-scale farmers, however, have refused to budge. One example is Manuel Cuevas, who has cultivated beans, maize and other subsistence products near the village of Lima for 30 years. His 10-hectare property is surrounded by Brazilian-owned soy fields. Cuevas has received several offers for his land, but he and his family have turned them all down. "So far we’re doing all right," he said in a resigned tone of voice.

"I will never leave. I have everything I need here: land, running water, electricity. There is no reason for me to leave my land," said Reinaldo Casco, another farmer, who added proudly that his parents were among Lima’s first settlers.

"These are just two testimonies out of the dozens shown in the documentary, which reflect the abandoned state of these rural villages, left to fend for themselves for decades, with obsolete health systems, authorities who serve the interests of the big landowners and roads in terrible condition," Peña said.

"And now they are also threatened by the crushing advance of the agroexport model," he said.

Sociologist Tomás Palau, one of the authors of the book "Los refugiados del modelo agroexportador" (Agroexport Refugees), described the main effects of the rise of soy monoculture on rural communities.

"There is strong pressure on the campesinos’ land, because the market value has skyrocketed," he said. The campesinos are displaced in various ways: their land is bought or leased, or they are forced to leave because of massive spraying with agrochemicals.

"There are also armed groups operating in the area. It’s really an eviction army," he said.

Spraying with toxic agrochemicals has negative effects on both human and animal health, "causing illnesses ranging from allergies and respiratory problems to cancer, fetal malformation and miscarriage," Palau said.

The environment also suffers. The toxic chemicals “poison rivers and the earth, kill microorganisms in the fertile layers of soil and increase deforestation," he said.

But according to Palau, the least visible aspect of soy agribusiness is the fact that the revenues from soy exports do not remain within the country, because they belong to large foreign producers and corporations.

"Without realizing it, we’re finding ourselves in a situation where an extremely high percentage of Paraguayan exports is controlled by three or four multinational corporations: Monsanto, which supplies seeds to 90 percent of the producers, and companies like Cargill, Louis Dreyfus and ADM,” he said.

Soy cultivation in Paraguay began to expand in the mid-1960s and boomed in the late 1990s with the introduction of genetically modified seeds by companies such as Monsanto.

Intensive soy production has caused a decrease in traditional activities such as timber extraction, cattle ranching and even the production of cotton, which used to be the country’s main agricultural export. The area under cotton cultivation has dropped from 509,000 hectares in 1990 to only 160,000 hectares in 2006.