The Amazon forest threatened by oil palm plantation projects

[Richard D]

Oil palm plantations are expanding in South America: Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela and now Peru have joined the commercial thrust. The companies find profitable opportunities at the expense of the invaluable Amazon forest and of the lives of peasants who are displaced from their lands where they obtain their means of livelihood.

In the year 2000 the Ministry of Agriculture prepared the National Oil Palm Promotion Plan 2000-2010. With a market approach, the plan seeks to promote “clusters” in the departments of San Martin and Loreto until the consolidation of 50,000 hectares is achieved in the Amazon region which – according to draft Law 9271-- “has vast and rich lands where the palm oil industry can be developed.”

In this context, complaints have been made that 30,000 hectares of tropical forests located in the valleys of the Caynarachi and Shanusi subsidiary basins, located right in the Amazon plains and part of the cloud forest, in the district of Yurimaguas, Loreto region, will be allocated to the plantation and industrialization of oil palms by the Romero group, a powerful joint conglomerate involving Industrias del Espino S.A. (INDESA) and Palmas del Espino y Subsidiarias (PALMESA). Before the results of the project’s environmental impact assessment have been made public, it is reported that deforestation of 2,000 hectares in the Shanusi area has already started.

The State authorities (the National Environmental Council-Peru - CONAM and the National Natural Resource Institute - INRENA), have made no objections to this project not only degrading the habitat of thousands of forest species, but also carried out at the expense of the territorial rights of numerous peasant communities. In many cases the communities inhabiting the project’s area of influence since 1941 or 1961, have been unable to obtain ownership deeds for their communal lands because of the high costs involved in the process. Furthermore, obtaining deeds which takes from one to three years for a peasant or native community, has only take three months for the Romero Group and today the company has managed to obtain ownership of the peasant families’ lands.

Much more: http://www.wrm.org.uy/bulletin/109/Peru.html

[Richard D]

1. While this article is old . . .

. . . the devastation has only intensified. I post this hoping to get some awareness of this ecological disaster. I spent some time over the (our) summer at a deep jungle retreat. It was a 2 hour walk through deep virgin jungle to get to it; a beautiful valley with ancient trees, clean water, and thousands of different species of plants and animals. Now, all the jungle, right up to the property line, is gone. My friend who put his life savings and so much energy into creating his center now has no option other than to sell his land for clear cutting and more palm oil trees. This for "ecologically correct" biodiesel.