EarthAction

KREMLIN BACKS DOWN--KHIMKI FOREST SAVED (FOR NOW)

On August 26th the New York Times reported that Russian President Medvedev, reacting to the global public outcry, postponed construction of the highway through the Khimki Forest on the outskirts of Moscow. From the NY Times article: 

“Given the number of appeals, I have made a decision,” Mr. Medvedev said in a message on his video blog. “I order the government to halt the implementation of the decision to build this highway and conduct further civic and expert discussions.”

“This has flabbergasted us. It was completely unexpected,” said Sergei Ageyev, a member of the environmental group leading the opposition to the highway. “It is simply a stunning victory for civil society.”

In July, the EarthAction Network issued an Action Alert to its 2,600 Partner Organizations in over 150 countries asking them to write to President Medvedev and ask him to stop construction of the highway through the Khimki Forest. We are pleased to have helped with this "stunning victory for civil society."

Read the whole article here.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's message for the International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples: 9 August

"The world's indigenous peoples have preserved a vast amount of humanity's cultural history. Indigenous peoples speak a majority of the world's languages, and have inherited and passed on a wealth of knowledge, artistic forms and religious and cultural traditions.  On this International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples, we reaffirm our commitment to their well-being.

The landmark United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, adopted by the General Assembly in 2007, lays out a framework for Governments to use in strengthening relationships with indigenous peoples and protecting their human rights.  Since then, we have seen more Governments working to redress social and economic injustices, through legislation and other means, and indigenous peoples' issues have become more prominent on the international agenda than ever before.

But we must do even more.  Indigenous peoples still experience racism, poor health and disproportionate poverty. In many societies, their languages, religions and cultural traditions are stigmatized and shunned. The first-ever United Nations report on the State of the World's Indigenous Peoples in January 2010 set out some alarming statistics.  In some countries, indigenous peoples are 600 times more likely to contract tuberculosis than the general population. In others, an indigenous child can expect to die 20 years before his or her non-indigenous compatriots.

The theme of this year's Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples is indigenous filmmakers, who give us windows into their communities, cultures and history. Their work connects us to belief systems and philosophies; it captures both the daily life and the spirit of indigenous communities. As we celebrate these contributions, I call on Governments and civil society to fulfil their commitment to advancing the status of indigenous peoples everywhere."

Click here to make a donation to The Elders Project that is working to preserve the spiritual cultural practices of the indigenous peoples of Northern Colombia. Read more about The Elders Project here.

Protect Moscow’s Khimki Forest—the land, the trees and local environmentalists desperately need help

 

Moscow’s Khimki Forest is 2,600 acres of public conservation land that’s an urban refuge for people and wildlife. Despite laws that prohibit road building and logging, Khimki forest is being bulldozed and logged. Environmentalists working to protect this forest are physically defending the trees with their bodies while they, along with journalists, are being attacked by thugs and arrested and jailed by police. 

In Russia, Article 11 of Federal Law 172-FZ forbids the destruction and development of public forests for road building when alternative routes exist. In this case, several do, but in November 2009 Russian Prime Minister Putin made a ruling that transferred the Khimki forest from protected land status to lands zoned "for transport and infrastructure". This ruling makes it possible and profitable for the French company with the road building contract to put the road through Khimki Forest so that it can also cut down and sell its valuable timber.

In Russia today, 26 road construction projects are proposed for public conservation lands. Organizers against the projects claim that construction of these roads are being allowed to proceed by corrupt politicians for the benefit of their for-profit construction company partners which stand to make enormous sums of money. Transparency International-Russia recently conducted an analysis of the Khimki project that provides documented evidence of corruption.

The bulldozing and cutting of trees has just begun in Khimki Forest despite a lack of cutting permits and no solid financial backing.

Under pressure from citizens and organizations the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the European Investment Bank (EIB) have announced they are reconsidering their plans to provide funding for the motorway through Khimki. However, the banks have not yet officially refused to fund the construction of this road through the cherished woodland. Now is a very important time to send a message to the banks asking them to not lend any funds for this project. Without funding the road cannot be built, and the bank is under enormous scrutiny due to international headlines decrying the treatment of the activists and the dubious nature of the project.

TAKE ACTION:

If you are a defender of nature and justice, we hope you will join us in taking action. Ask the Presidents of the EBRD and the EIB to refuse to provide funding for this project. Click here for the Bankwatch Network website where you can sign a letter that will be immediately delivered to EBRD & EIB bank officials.

The second and equally important action you can take is to send a letter to Russian President Medvedev. Ask him to reverse Putin’s November 2009 ruling that transferred the Khimki forest from protected land status to lands zoned "for transport and infrastructure", and immediately halt the road project in Khimki Forest and ensure that projects like this throughout Russia abide by Article 11 of Federal Law 172-FZ which forbids the destruction and development of public forests when alternative routes exist.

President Medvedev
Il'ynka street, 23
103132 Moscow, Russia

Thanks in advance for your support,

The EarthAction Network

For more information:

Mikhail Matveev, Movement to Defend Khimki Forest (English and Russian) Mobile + 7 965 392 28 14 Vladlena Martsynkevych, CEE Bankwatch Network (English and Russian) Mobile + 38 066 731 26 57

Erik Hoffner, Orion Grassroots Network, (English) grassroots@orionsociety.org

Click here to read more on this desperate situation. Khimki Forest is just the first of dozens of Russian forests set to be bulldozed for profit. Stopping this project could put an end to the destructive trend. Please forward this message to fellow activists near and far so we can help stop it now.

The Elders Project Report: The Black Line Journey, January 2010

The Elders Project (TEP) was born out of a series of meetings between the Mamos (traditional authorities) of the Koguis, Arhuacos and Wiwas of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta (SNSM), Barbara Threecrow and Rick Harlow.  The elder Mamos expressed their desire to find funding for projects that would strengthen their traditions and support their spiritual work as “caretakers of the water and the life of the planet”.  They asked for our help and we signed an agreement with them.

The Black Line Journey of January 2010 was the first and most urgent of these projects. Mamo Seukukwi (Norberto Torres, a 90 year-old Arhuaco, known as the spiritual geographer of the SNSM) was grateful for the opportunity to pass along his vast knowledge to two generations of Kogui, Arhuaco and Wiwa mamos and apprentices. Among the delegation was one of Mamo Seukukwi’s sons and one of his grandsons.
                       
The journey began on January 16, 2010 in Valledupar at the site known as Pozo Hurtado on the Guatapuri River and ended ten days later at the same site. The group of thirteen mamos and apprentices accompanied by TEP support staff made the journey around The Black Line, visiting a total of forty sacred sites or “points of payments” (puntos de pagamentos) where spiritual offerings were made in accordance with “The Law of Origin.” 

EarthAction Partners with Solutions Magazine

 
Solutions , a new print publication and online forum dedicated to publishing innovative ideas about our interconnected global environmental, economic, and social systems has signed a Partner Agreement with EarthAction, a global network of over 2,600 environment, peace, and human rights organizations in 145 countries. “EarthAction and Solutions is a great match,” states Lois Barber, EarthAction’s Co-founder and Executive Director. “We can collaborate on issues, and support each other’s work to find and implement solutions to our most critical global problems.”  

Solutions brings together the best ideas from world leaders in academia, business, journalism, government and civil society to create and discuss long lasting and whole-system solutions. Editorial Board members include: David Orr, Paul Hawken, Elinor Ostrom, David Suzuki, Bill McKibben, Ray Anderson, Jacqueline McGlade, Wes Jackson, Richard Heinberg, and many more. Click here to view Solutions website.

"It's exactly what we need! Careful and accurate accounts of the next steps that we need to take. We know the problems--now we need the answers." ~ Bill McKibben

Look out for Solutions’ special issues: July/August issue on Appalachia showcases the writings of Wendell Berry, John Todd, Adam Lewis, Sarah Forbes, Eric Reese, and is dedicated to presenting innovative and alternative solutions for the challenges facing Appalachia. September/October issue on “Getting to 350ppm” includes pieces on the smart grid, ecosystem services, democracy in China, open source information, geo-engineering, and much more. Authors include Bill McKibben, Gus Speth, Peter Fox-Penner, Joe Passacantado, Chuck Green, and the entire 350.org group.

US Institute for Peace—Call for Proposals

The Grant Program of the US Institute for Peace increases the breadth and depth of the Institute's work by supporting peacebuilding projects managed by non-profit organizations throughout the world including educational institutions, research institutions, and civil society organizations.

From their website: "In over twenty years of grantmaking, the Grant Program's Annual Grant Competition and Priority Grant Competition have received nearly 10,000 applications and awarded more than 2,000 grants. The Institute has provided funding to grantees located in more than 46 U.S. states and the District of Columbia, and in 81 foreign countries." 

Deadline for Annual Grant Competition: October 1, 2010

Read More

African Countries Top List of 20 Countries Making Most MDG Progress

From End Poverty 2015:

As G-8 and G-20 leaders prepare to gather in Canada, new analysis issued by the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) and the United Nations Millennium Campaign finds that, in absolute terms, many of the world’s poorest countries are making the most overall progress towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) – the set of promises world leaders made to significantly reduce extreme poverty, illiteracy and disease by 2015. Particularly relevant for G-8 countries are the findings which underline the importance of open trade and effective and timely aid in driving this success. For poor countries, political leadership, accountability and adequate budgetary allocations for the Goals are cited as key criteria to drive sustained progress.

Eleven of the 20 countries making the most absolute progress on the MDGs are amongst the poorest countries in Africa; half of African countries are on track to meet the target of halving poverty by 2015.

Read more.

Guatemala Communities Hit Hard by Tropical Storm Agatha

From Cultural Survival:

Cultural Survival's Community Radio Project director Mark Camp reports from Guatemala that Tropical Storm Agatha  devastated many of the communities that we are working with there. After more than three feet of rain fell, mudslides and flooding now have killed 123 people, and the death toll is expected to rise. Community radio stations did what they always do, worked to serve the community by  putting out calls for blankets, plastic sheeting, drinking water, clothing and food to distribute to makeshift shelters. Read more.   

Save the Hikers

From the petition:

On July 31, 2009, Shane, Sarah and Josh were hiking near the Ahmed Awa waterfall in Iraqi Kurdistan when news reports say they mistakenly crossed the unmarked border into Iran. Since then, they have been detained in Iran and have had only one phone call with their families.


Shane, Sarah and Josh were in Iraqi Kurdistan on a hiking vacation and had no intention of entering Iran. They all have great respect for different cultures and societies and for the law. If they did enter Iran, it can only have been by accident.

They have now been imprisoned for over 300 days.

Learn more, and take action: Sign the petition to free the hikers!

Right Relationship: Building a Whole Earth Economy

EarthAction friend Peter Brown recently co-authored Right Relationship: Building a Whole Earth Economy, with Geoffrey Carver.  As reviewer Jack Santa Barbara wrote, the book suggests that we need attend only to those relationships that preserve the integrity, resilience and beauty of the commonwealth of life.  Barbara's review, originally published online by Resurgence Magazine, follows below.  

Right Relationship is a book for the ‘worrying-about-collapse’ weary. It is a book for those of us who realise that the world we live in is in great peril and that something fundamental has to change to ensure that the human story continues and flourishes.

While there are many features of the book that make it hopeful, two in particular stand out. The book lays out a broad framework for change, including a moral base, that encompasses all arenas from the local to the global, and it arises from a Quaker tradition which has had remarkable successes in the past – the abolition of slavery being only one noteworthy example.