[Onthebarricades] Ecological protests, global South and East, Apr-Aug 2008
Andy
ldxar1 at tesco.net
Thu Aug 28 20:19:54 PDT 2008
ON THE BARRICADES: Global Resistance Roundup, April-August 2008
https://lists.resist.ca/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/onthebarricades
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/globalresistance/
* CHINA: March against petrochemical plant over pollution
* CHINA: Protests as Three Gorges Dam completed, one protester jumps in
dam
* EGYPT: Protests against fertiliser plant succeed: plant cancelled
* GLOBAL: Via Campesina protests at biodiversity conference
* PHILIPPINES: Protest at Korean embassy over controversial mine
* SOUTH AFRICA: Police stop protest cycle ride
* KENYA: Politicians protest destruction of forest
* BULGARIA: Activists protest resort development, threats to national park
* PHILIPPINES: Protest to save mountain from miners
* INDIA: Orissa anti-mining protest
* HAWAII: Protests at landfill
* PHILIPPINES: Iloilo coal site protested by Greenpeace
* BANGLADESH: Tree felling in capital opposed
* THAILAND: Villagers launch paper lanterns over airport in noise protest
* INDIA: After ongoing campaign, partial success for Bhopal protesters
* SOUTH AFRICA: Protests over water pollution from mining
* INDIA: Rallies against destruction of coastal areas for corridor
* INDIA: Protest in Kerala against granite quarry
* INDIA: Villagers protest development which threatens shrine
* INDIA: Protests in Karnataka for and against conservation officer
* US: Boaters fight to save lower Rio Grande from border fence
* INDIA: Greenpeace climate change protest in New Delhi
* PHILIPPINES: Protests grow over logging go-ahead
* INDIA: Protests stall tree-cutting in Kerala
* INDIA: Lakeside road protested
* CZECH REPUBLIC: Greens protest over new building project
* CZECH REPUBLIC: Greenpeace protests over nuclear power
* PERU: Greenpeace protests biofuels at Machu Picchu
* INDIA: Ganga anti-dam protesters chased off by locals, move to capital
* PAKISTAN: Protest over unloading of cement and coal, pollution of
villages, islands
* TAIWAN: Environmental groups protest road-building
* BANGLADESH: Sit-in protest against university building project
* NAMIBIA: Ecological group protests plans for regular concert in green
area
* UGANDA: DDT spraying causes controversy
* PHILIPPINES: Farmers protest GM crops
* INDIA: Bangalore residents protest against traffic intrusion, hazard
* INDIA: Protest against bauxite mining by bow-wielding protesters
* INDIA: Women clean diamond tank in novel protest
* LEBANON: Greenpeace protests Sidon rubbish heap
* PAKISTAN: Tuticorn fisherfolk protest commercialisation
* TAIWAN: Protest against electromagnetic radiation as PM visits WiMAX
convention
* PHILIPPINES: Greenpeace holds protest at energy ministry against coal
* INDIA: Dharna against thermal power plant
* PHILIPPINES: Activists climb off-limits mountain to oppose oil
extraction threat
* ISRAEL: School students protest condition of Acre beaches
* NIGERIA: Community Protests Sale of Burial Ground
* TURKEY: Nuclear power plant plan protested
* LEBANON: High-voltage power lines draw protest over health risk
* INDIA: Greenpeace protest to save olives, oppose steel company
* BRAZIL, MEXICO: Nude cyclists protest pollution, danger in Sao Paolo and
Mexico City
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/05/05/asia/AS-GEN-China-Environment-Protest.php
Report: 200 demonstrate in southwest China against petrochemical plant
The Associated Press
Published: May 5, 2008
BEIJING: About 200 people demonstrated in southwestern China against the
building of a petrochemical plant they say will pollute their city, state
media reported Monday.
The Beijing News said the protest march Sunday in Pengzhou, near the
provincial capital of Chengdu in Sichuan province, lasted two hours and was
peaceful.
The protesters oppose plans to build an 800,000-ton-a-year ethylene plant
and oil refinery, it said. The refinery would process 10 million tons of
crude a year, the newspaper said.
"Because they are concerned that these two plants will seriously pollute
Chengdu's air and water, the people of Chengdu used today's walk as a way to
protest," the newspaper quoted one unidentified resident as saying.
China's National Development and Reform Commission approved the refinery's
construction at the end of April. The contract was signed in March 2007 with
the local government.
A spokesman for the Sichuan Environmental Protection bureau defended the
project, saying it meets government environmental standards.
"Scientists and experts have already researched the potential impact the
project will have on the environment and have determined that the factory
will not harm its surrounding environment," said the official, who gave only
his surname, Peng.
"Public and media concern over the issue is a positive thing, but they are
not the experts, and we must respect the opinion of these experts," he said.
Ethylene is a common industrial chemical that can be fatal in high
concentrations.
A spokesman for the Pengzhou government who refused to give his name said he
had not heard of the protest. Officials who answered the telephone at the
Chengdu police and government offices also said they had not heard of it.
Environmental protests have grown in China, especially among members of the
growing middle class concerned about the effect of pollution on their
quality of life.
Last May, Tenglong Aromatic PX (Xiamen) Co. Ltd. was forced to halt
construction of a US$1.4 billion (€910 million) facility to produce the
petrochemical paraxylene in the southern port city of Xiamen after residents
sent more than 1 million text messages warning of possible pollution
problems.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/06/world/asia/06china.html?_r=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&oref=slogin
In China City, Protesters See Pollution Risk of New Plant
Associated Press
Protesters wore masks as a symbolic gesture against the construction of a
polyethylene chemical factory in Chengdu, China, on Sunday.
By EDWARD WONG
Published: May 6, 2008
Correction Appended
BEIJING — Residents took to the streets of a provincial capital over the
weekend to protest a multibillion-dollar petrochemical plant backed by China’s
leading state-run oil company, in the latest instance of popular discontent
over an environmental threat in a major city.
The protest, against a $5.5 billion ethylene plant under construction by
PetroChina in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan Province, reflected a surge in
environmental awareness by urban, middle-class Chinese determined to protect
their health and the value of their property. A similar protest last year,
against a Taiwanese-financed petrochemical venture in Xiamen, in China’s
southeast, left that project in limbo.
The recent protest, which was peaceful, was organized through Web sites,
blogs and cellphone text messages, illustrating how some Chinese are using
digital technology to start civic movements, which are usually banned by the
police. Organizers also used text messages to publicize their cause
nationally.
The protesters walked calmly through downtown Chengdu for several hours on
Sunday afternoon to criticize the building of a combined ethylene plant and
oil refinery in Pengzhou, 18 miles northwest of the city center. Some
protesters wore white masks over their mouths to evoke the dangers of
pollution. About 400 to 500 protesters took part in the march, witnesses
said.
Organizers circumvented a national law that requires protesters to apply for
a permit by saying they were only out for a “stroll.”
Critics of the Pengzhou plan said in interviews on Monday that the
government had not done proper environmental reviews of the project, which
could pollute the air and water and lead to health hazards.
“We’re not dissidents,” said Wen Di, an independent blogger and former
journalist living in Chengdu. “We’re just people who care about our
homeland. What we’re saying is that if you want to have this project, you
need to follow certain procedures: for example, a public hearing and
independent environmental assessment. We want a fair and open process.”
Fan Xiao, an environmental advocate who is a geologist with the Chinese
Academy of Social Sciences in Chengdu, sent out a mass cellphone message
that had been written by one of the movement’s leaders and was being widely
circulated across the country. “Protect our Chengdu, safeguard our
homeland,” it said. “Stay away from the threat of pollution. Restore the
clear water and green mountains of Sichuan.”
In an interview, Mr. Fan said, “People have been hoping this issue would get
more attention.”
The protest captured the national spotlight on Monday when it was reported
in The Beijing News, a newspaper that is popular with intellectuals and
sometimes reports on issues that other state-run publications do not
mention.
The plant is a joint venture of the Sichuan provincial government and
PetroChina, the publicly traded subsidiary of the state-owned China National
Petroleum Corporation, the country’s main oil producer. Approved last year,
the plant is expected to produce 800,000 tons of ethylene and refine 10
million tons of crude oil a year, according to a Web site set up by the
Pengzhou city government. Ethylene is widely used in the production of goods
like packaging and trash liners.
Repeated calls to the joint venture company, PetroChina Sichuan Petrochem
Industry, went unanswered. The project’s Web site said that $565 million of
the total investment would be dedicated to environmental protection.
The march appears to have put government officials on the defensive. A brief
front-page article arguing the merits of the project appeared Monday in a
state-controlled newspaper, Chengdu Business News. The article said the
project had been approved by the National Development and Reform Commission
as part of a long-term plan to expand the country’s refining industry.
“The Sichuan refinery project will install advanced equipment and improve
environmental protection facilities with strict pollution prevention,” the
article said.
Police officials in Chengdu, reached by telephone, declined to comment on
the march.
Rural protests by farmers have taken place for years, sometimes prompting
heavy-handed suppression. Civil action by wealthier urban residents are
still relatively rare, but the movement in Chengdu is at least the third
widely publicized groundswell in the past year.
Construction of a Taiwanese-financed chemical plant outside the city of
Xiamen, a port in Fujian Province, was halted last year after thousands of
residents held street protests. Last winter, residents in Shanghai protested
construction of an extension to the high-speed rail line called the Maglev,
forcing officials to put that project on hold as well.
In each of those cases, residents complained that the project was situated
too close to a major population center and had received only cursory
environmental review despite serious environmental and health risks. The
protests in Xiamen and Shanghai got prominent attention on Web sites and in
the Chinese news media, which, despite state control, have sometimes
encouraged more public participation in environmental issues.
Protest organizers in each city appear to have no formal links, but they
have formed a tight-knit blogging network that they use to trade ideas in an
online world that the police, particularly at the local level, have trouble
trying to control.
One outspoken critic of the Chengdu project posts regularly on one site that
is frequented by Lian Yue, a blogger who was instrumental in organizing the
Xiamen protests.
“We’re definitely inspired by the events in Xiamen and Shanghai,” said the
critic, who asked to be identified only by her family name, Wu, because she
said she worried about attracting the attention of the authorities.
“Chengdu is in a basin,” she said. “If there’s a chemical plant there, it’ll
bring pollutants. Also, Pengzhou is upstream from Chengdu, and the river
provides the city’s drinking water.”
On Sunday night and Monday, a flurry of messages and photos from protesters
excited by the march appeared across the Internet. One person calling
himself Devil Xiaomi seemed to sum up the complaints of Chengdu residents.
“What Chengdu people demand is very simple,” he said. “This is a policy
closely related to people’s interests, so why was it not open to the
public?”
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2008/07/25/2003418411
Police fish protester from Three Gorges Dam site
AFP, BEIJING
Friday, Jul 25, 2008, Page 5
Chinese authorities had to drag a woman from the water as she protested the
evacuation of the last town to be submerged by the Three Gorges Dam project,
a local campaigner said yesterday.
The last residents in Gaoyang, Hubei Province, were removed from their homes
on Tuesday to make way for the reservoir that will expand behind the giant
dam that sits astride the Yangtze river.
They are the last of the more than 1.4 million people the government says
have been displaced by the dam.
“A few hundred people came to dismantle the houses from [July] 18 to the
22nd [of July],” said a resident of Gaoyang by telephone, who did not want
to be named for fear of reprisals by authorities.
The final evacuees were deeply unhappy about moving, said the resident, who
is also a leading campaigner for the rights of the displaced people.
“Many people have no place to stay now. We have to stay at relatives’
places. The compensation is not what we expected, it is not enough,” the
campaigner said.
“One local resident was too upset, she jumped into the water and was rescued
by government officials and is still recovering in the hospital,” he said.
Xinhua news agency said Gaoyang, with 988 households, had been cleared to
make way for the water to rise, saying it was the last town to be evacuated.
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/darticlen.asp?xfile=data/theworld/2008/July/theworld_July1331.xml§ion=theworld&col=
The evacuation will allow the water level behind the 22-billion-dollar dam
to rise from 156 metres to 175 metres (512 to 574 feet), and the campaigner
said it had already started to climb into the village.
At least 1.4 million people have been forced to resettle from now-submerged
areas, according to official figures.
A further four million have been ‘encouraged’ to move by 2020, officials
said last year, although the government now insists those relocations are
unrelated to the dam.
Critics of the dam have long alleged massive corruption in the resettlement
programme, while many displaced people have been forced to leave their rural
lifestyles to live in cities without adequate training or compensation.
At 2,309 metres wide and 185 metres high, the Three Gorges Dam is the
world's largest and is set to become fully operational in 2009.
http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/223665,egypt-cancels-fertilizer-plant-dogged-by-protests.html
Egypt cancels fertilizer plant dogged by protests
Posted : Tue, 05 Aug 2008 18:53:36 GMT
Author : DPA
Category : Middle East (World)
Cairo - Egypt cancelled Tuesday a nitrogen fertilizer plant that Canadian
company Agrium was planning to build near a beach resort on the
Mediterranean coast after months of protest by residents, the official MENA
news agency reported. The Egyptian Supreme Council for Energy (SCE) decided
to cancel the controversial industrial project and never to build another
without the approval of civil society in Damietta governorate.
The council said after a meeting chaired by Egyptian Prime Minister Ahmed
Nazif that "no industrial projects will be allowed on the site previously
allocated to Agrium. Tourist projects should be given first priority."
Agrium, Canada's second largest fertilizer producer, announced in May 2007
that it would build the Egyptian plant which will boost its nitrogen
production by 20 per cent by 2010.
However, the local community was alarmed by what it perceived as potential
hazards to public health. The public, joined by local environmental
campaigners, staged protests to stop the construction of the
850-million-dollar Egyptian-Canadian project.
Protestors also said the plant, which would have produced 1.2 million tonnes
of urea a year, would have harmed the environment of the resort which is
hugely popular among middle-class Egyptians who flock to it for their summer
holidays.
Although a parliamentary committee said earlier that the plant would be
safe, it recommended the project be moved to another site.
The SCE said state-owned Misr Oil Processing Co. (MOPCO) would acquire the
shares of the Agrium Egypt subsidiary and carry out Agrium's plans on
another site.
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=42739
EGYPT: Protests Rise Against Fertiliser Plant
By Adam Morrow and Khaled Moussa al-Omrani
CAIRO, Jun 11 (IPS) - For the last two months, controversy has raged over
planned construction of a massive fertiliser plant near the port city of
Damietta. Residents fear the plant could adversely affect the local
environment.
With a popular campaign against the project gaining momentum, some critics
blame poor planning on the part of the government.
"The government should never have approved construction of an industrial
zone only six kilometres from the city," Hamdi Abdelazim, economist and
former head of the Cairo-based Sadat Academy told IPS. "Industrial areas
should be built at least 40 kilometres from population centres."
Last year, the government initially approved the project, which is to be
built and operated by Canadian-Egyptian joint venture firm E Agrium at a
total cost of 850 million dollars. Construction began on the nearby island
of Ras al-Barr, about 200 km from Cairo, shortly afterwards.
In April, however, residents began voicing concern over the plant's
potentially negative impact on public health and the local environment.
Civil society groups expressed fears that factory emissions could cause
cancer among those living nearby, and damage the coastal area's fragile
marine ecosystem.
Such concerns quickly led to a popular campaign against the project, which
was soon joined -- with the help of popular networking website Facebook --
by a number of local political activists and environmentalist groups. In
late April, with most homes in Damietta draped with black banners reading
'No to the factory of death', thousands of residents held demonstrations
demanding that the plant be relocated.
Company officials hastened to vouch for the project's environmental
friendliness.
"Our plant achieves the highest environmental safety levels," E Agrium
managing director Craig McGlown was quoted as saying in the local press.
"Emissions from the plant will be half the maximum stipulated in (Egyptian)
environmental laws."
Company officials pointed out that some 500 million dollars had already been
spent during the project's initial phase of construction. Should the factory
be relocated, they said, the firm would expect substantial reimbursements
from the government.
According to Abdelazim, relocating the plant at this stage would have
disastrous effects on the country's image as a safe destination for foreign
investment.
"Moving a major industrial project after construction has begun would
further undermine Egypt's imperfect reputation," he said. "The local
investment climate is already hampered by an overabundance of red tape and
administrative corruption."
Along with trade 'liberalisation' and the privatisation of state assets,
attracting foreign investment to Egypt remains a central plank of the
government, which -- under pro-business PM Ahmed Nazif -- includes a number
of prominent businessmen. In a recent policy statement, Nazif announced that
Egypt had lured a total of 11 billion dollars worth of foreign investment
capital over the course of 2007.
Abdelazim blamed government mismanagement rather than the Canadian firm, or
the local population, for the impasse.
"The coastal region around Damietta should be slated for tourism, not
industrial investment," he said. "That the government chose the area for a
heavy industrial project shows a lack of intelligent overall investment
strategy."
Despite rumours that the factory would be moved elsewhere, Damietta
residents were disappointed last month when company officials reaffirmed
their intention to complete the project at the original location.
"The people of Damietta have expressed their concern over the plant's impact
on public health, and we listened carefully to them," McGlown said at a
press conference in mid-May. Nevertheless, he added, construction of the
factory in Damietta was set to continue, as relocation would require
"starting from scratch."
An environmental consultant for the company went on to stress that the
project did not represent a danger to public health or the environment,
noting that the firm had obtained the approval of "all concerned
governmental agencies."
The row, however, did not end there.
In the weeks since, residents and environmentalist groups have sent numerous
petitions to the office of President Hosni Mubarak, urging him to call off
the project. One member of Damietta's municipal council reportedly filed a
lawsuit against the company alleging it had secured approval for the factory
by paying kickbacks to government officials.
Meanwhile, popular demonstrations against perceived government unwillingness
to halt the project continue to be held both in Damietta and Cairo.
On Friday (Jun. 6), thousands of Damietta residents participated in another
major protest organised by the recently established Popular Committee to
Protect the Environment. "If the factory isn't removed, we'll remove it with
our own hands," demonstrators chanted, according to the Jun. 7 edition of
independent daily al-Dustour.
The issue has served to highlight the widening fissure between the
pro-business orientation of Mubarak's ruling National Democratic Party and
public exasperation with a government seen to be out of touch with public
interest.
"It's as if the government were in a coma," Magdi Hussein, general secretary
of the frozen Labour party who participated in Friday's demonstration told
IPS. "It appears to be completely unaware of the public mood on this issue."
"The entire episode proves the failure of this government of businessmen,"
said Abdelazim. "Its policies work in the interests of a small ruling
elite -- not for the average citizen." (END/2008)
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/05/399514.html
Via Campesina protests at the Convention on Biological Diversity
Almuth Ernsting | 25.05.2008 11:54 | Bio-technology | Ecology |
Globalisation | World
During the current Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) conference in
Bonn, Via Campesina and other social movements and activists have been
organising a series of protests under the motto "Nature for people, not for
business". 22nd May saw a banner protest, with noise and leafletting during
the official celebrations of Biodiversity and at an agribusiness industry
lunch.
On 'Biodiversity Day', members and supporters of Via Campesina held a banner
protest during the official celebrations at the CBD Conference, following a
message by UN secretary general Ban Ki Moon which was read out by the
Programme Officer of the Secretariat of the CBD. The banners read "No
Agrodiversity Without Farmers" and "Nature for People, Not for business."
Earlier in the day, a lunch sponsored by agribusiness was disrupted by a
'party' where "agro-industrialists" congratulated each other for their
excellent job at monopolising farm seeds and destroying biodiversity.
See here for more information and photos:
http://www.globaljusticeecology.org/connections.php?ID=133
Throughout the past two weeks, social movements, including Via Campesina,
and activist networks have been protesting against corporations using the
biodiversity negotiations to increase their control over natural resources.
There have been protests against against biopiracy, the commodification of
nature, against agrofuels and genetic engineering. See here for more:
http://biotech.indymedia.org/
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryID=121380
Protestors picket S. Korean embassy in Manila over mine
Agence France-Presse
Environmentalists picketed the South Korean embassy in Manila on Wednesday
to demand the closure of a controversial Korean-controlled mine in the
eastern Philippines, witnesses said.
The protesters urged LG International and Seoul's investment arm, the Korean
Resources Corp. (Kores) to pull out of the project.
The South Koreans took over control of the project in April after its
previous operator, Lafayette of Australia, pulled out over environmental
issues.
"There is no reason to continue the Lafayette mining project. It's
three-year operation in Rapu-rapu island has brought so much environmental
destruction, community displacements, human rights violations and livelihood
loss," the environmental group Kalikasan claimed in a statement.
Officials of the mission ignored the protest, which later dispersed
peacefully, an Agence France-Presse photographer said.
The LG Group and Kores acquired Lafayette's majority stake shortly after the
mine was fined for spills which contaminated surrounding waters in 2005.
The Rapu-rapu project was the first foreign-operated Philippine project to
reach the production stage after the Supreme Court upheld the legality of a
1995 mining law which opened the sector to foreign investment.
President Gloria Arroyo has called for more foreign capital into the sector,
which she says has huge potential to reduce poverty in hinterland areas
where most of the Philippines' mineral wealth is located.
http://www.thestar.co.za/?fSectionId=129&fArticleId=nw20080805121830688C737306
Metro cops stop cycle protest ride
5 August 2008, 12:23
Related Articles
Hit-and-run driver still on the run
The plight of cyclists
Dead cyclist described as a gentleman
Metro police attempted to stop cyclists who converged at Durban's King's
Park pool on Tuesday for a "protest ride" which police said was illegal.
The protest action by Cyclesafe comes after retired dentist Willem van
Heerden was killed in a hit and run last week, while another four cyclists
were injured in a similar incident days later.
The organisation's Lyndon Kelly said they wanted government to create a
safer environment for all in the cycle community.
Kelly said the protest ride would end at city hall where a memorandum
detailing their concerns would be handed to the municipality.
The Daily News reported that city authorities had denied cyclists the right
to stage the protest ride as cyclists gathered for it on Tuesday morning.
In a letter sent to Cyclesafe KwaZulu-Natal, the municipality's health,
safety and social services cluster advised the cyclists that should the
protest ride go ahead, it would be deemed illegal because the city had not
been given the adequate seven-day notice.
Newly appointed metro police spokesperson Superintendent Joyce Khuzwayo was
not available for comment.
A police officer at metro police radio control confirmed that attempts had
been made to stop the cyclists from proceeding with their protest ride.
"We barricaded certain parts near Kings Park pool but some of them managed
to go through," the police officer said. - Sapa
http://allafrica.com/stories/200807240113.html
Kenya: Protests Over Mau Invasion
The Nation (Nairobi)
24 July 2008
Posted to the web 24 July 2008
George Sayagie And Kennedy Masibo
Nairobi
Sixty councillors on Wednesday called for urgent action to stop the
destruction of Mau Forest.
Led by Narok county council chairman Solomon Moriaso, the civic leaders said
the rape of the water catchment was an ecological disaster that must be
stopped. They also supported plans to evict farmers from the Mau.
The group claimed that illegal settlers were trooping to the forest hoping
to be resettled alongside genuine squatters.
"If more illegal immigrants are allowed into the catchment area and those
who were settled are not evicted, Tourism at the Masaai Mara Game Reserve
and the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania will collapse in a short
period," said Mr Moriaso at a Press conference in Molo Town.
The councillors said more than 10 million people in Ololongoi, Olpusimoru,
Olokurto, Ololulunga, Ewaso Nyiro, Mulot, Bomet and other areas depended
directly on the 12 rivers originating from the Mau Forest and would be
adversely affected by the destruction.
Task force
Meanwhile, the Ogiek Welfare Council has criticised the newly-formed
taskforce on the Mau, saying it ought to have included more interest groups.
The coordinator of the lobby group, Mr Kimaiyo Towett, said the taskforce's
report would have far reaching effects on communities such as the Ogiek. The
community is already represented in the team picked by Prime Minister Raila
Odinga.
Mr Towett said the various individuals in the taskforce had competing
interests which were bound to affect its mission. The official also
suggested that the names of the beneficiaries be made public and that
genuine squatters be given alternative land.
He said that some parts of the Mau were not water catchment areas and could
be used as farmland. According to him, the Government should also give those
affected reasonable time to move out.
Compensated
He agreed with National Heritage minister William ole Ntimama that
speculators were trooping to Western Mau and Masaai Mau following the
Government's directive that settlers in the forest would be compensated.
"We suspect the influx has got to do with the pending eviction so that there
is a huge population to deal with in the affected area," Mr Towett said.
The taskforce is expected to give its report before October, by which time
settlers are required to have left the forest.
http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=95661
Eco Activists Stage New Protests against Tsarevo Sea Resort Development Plan
31 July 2008, Thursday
Eco Activists Stage New Protests against Tsarevo Sea Resort Development
Plan: About 60 eco-activists gathered Thursday in front of the Environment
Ministry building in Sofia to stage a protest against a plan for development
of Bulgaria's Black Sea resort of Tsarevo.
The protesters insist that all illegal construction on the Bulgarian Black
Sea coast and in the areas included in the NATURA 2000 ecological network is
immediately stopped.
They say that the new plan for development of Tsarevo contradicts European
directives. If the plan is approved that would mean the natural park of
Strandzha will be destroyed, the ecologists say.
http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=95536
Bulgaria Environmental Activists Protest in Rila National Park
27 July 2008, Sunday
Members of "Citizens for Rila" and "For the Nature" participated Sunday in a
protest in "Rila" National Park Photo by forthenature.org
Representatives of two non-governmental organizations organized Sunday a
protest demonstration against violators of environmental laws in the "Rila "
National Park.
Members of "Citizens for Rila" and "For the Nature" participated in the
protest, which has been triggered by signals that trees have been cut in the
area of the park.
At 12:00 pm bout 50 citizens and rangers from the park blocked automobile
assess at the park's entrance between the chalets "Pionerska" and Rislki
Ezera" where there is a sign prohibiting such access.
According to the protesters, the Ploice not only did not assist them, but
had sabotaged their actions against the violators of the law.
Attorney Svilen Ovcharov has prepared photo materials with evidence, which
will be given to the Park's management so that the can penalize the
violators.
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/regions/view/20080726-150768/Group-protests-destruction-of-mountain-in-Zambales
Group protests destruction of mountain in Zambales
By Robert Gonzaga
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 02:59:00 07/26/2008
PALAUIG, ZAMBALES – The Olongapo-Zambales civil society network, composed of
nongovernment organizations pushing Mt. Tapulao here as a mining-free area,
staged a protest march in this town on Wednesday to save the mountain from
miners and turn it into an ecotourism site.
Mayor Generoso Amog said he is leading moves to declare Tapulao, which
Americans used to call “High Peak,” into a “protected area or protected
landscape.”
Local officials said pine trees abound in Tapulao, one of the highest peaks
in Central Luzon, and its unspoiled environment could rival the attractions
of Baguio and Tagaytay cities. They said the mountain has at least eight
waterfalls.
Amog said because of mining activities in some of its sections, Tapulao is
now “in grave danger.”
“Right now, the miners are tunneling all over the mountain in search for ore
and they are putting the summit in danger of collapsing,” he said.
Councilor Eric Alba said mining companies have long been in the area because
of chromite ore abundant in Mt. Tapulao.
Amog said the local government and other groups are appealing for the
cancellation of the license issued to the C-Square Mining Co., which, he
said, has been operating in Mt. Tapulao since he was a boy.
“We are trying to move [to] declare the area a ‘mine-free area,’” he said.
Amog said he hopes to turn Mt. Tapulao into an ecotourism site when C-Square’s
permit expires next month.
“That’s why we are appealing to President Macapagal-Arroyo to declare Mt.
Tapulao as a protected area so we can turn this into an eco-site for future
generations,” he said.
“If we lose Mt. Tapulao to miners, then we would lose a very beautiful spot
in Zambales. I hope it doesn’t go to waste,” he said.
Zambales Gov. Amor Deloso said the mining permit granted to C-Square came
“from the national level.”
“They have been there for a long, long time,” he said
http://story.londonmercury.com/index.php/ct/9/cid/15665b944045da4a/id/393492/cs/1/
Desperate villagers in Orissa stage anti-mining protest
London Mercury
Tuesday 12th August, 2008
(ANI)
Gandhmardhan (Orissa), August 12 : Desperate villagers in the famous
Gandhmardhan hills of Orissa protested to prevent mining in the area by
London based Vedanta Group who got the green signal from the Supreme Court
to go ahead with its 800 million dollars project to mine bauxite from the
area.
About 500 people living in the foothills of Gandhmardhan hill staged a
protest against mining in the hills by offering water to Lord Shiva on
Tuesday.
The activists of Gandhmardhan Suraksha Yuva Parishad fear that the opencast
mine would wreck the rich biodiversity of the hills and disrupt key water
sources that supply springs and streams in the area and feed two rivers,
which irrigate a large area of farmlands.
The activists believe that nothing can deter them from stopping Vedanta to
set up the mine.
"This is a war of the people," said Pradeep Kumar Purohit, Advisor
Gandhmardhan Suraksha Samiti.
Purohit also said that they would not allow any company to enter the area.
But, both the state and the central government back the mining project by
the Vedanta Group, as efforts to industrialise and exploit the mineral
resources of Orissa.
Earlier also, demonstrations were held when Bharat Aluminium Company (Balco)
tried to take the lease for bauxite mining in the region.
http://www.kitv.com/health/16633892/detail.html?rss=hon&psp=news
Group Protests Nanakuli Landfill
Some Residents Concerned About Dust's Impact On Health
POSTED: 8:58 am HST June 17, 2008
UPDATED: 9:30 am HST June 17, 2008
NANAKULI, Hawaii -- Some Nanakuli residents on Monday protested outside a
construction waste landfill in Nanakuli that they are concerned poses a
health risk.
They want the landfill to cut down on dust. They are worried about the
health of people who live only a few feet away from the property.
The landfill is owned by PVT Land Co. It is located on Lualualei Naval Road,
just off Farrington Highway.
It is not Waimanalo Gulch Landfill, where the city dumps garbage. This
landfill is a few minutes away from that one.
People in Nanakuli said they are tired of having all the island's landfills
in their community.
Children from a summer youth program protested outside the PVT landfill at
midmorning as a steady stream of trucks brought in construction and
demolition waste. The 100-acre landfill is also licensed to accept materials
with asbestos and dirt.
"All of the dumps are here in our community, and enough is enough for our
Nanakuli people," Nanakuli Hawaiian Homestead President Kamaki Kanahele
said.
Some people who live nearby said dust and debris from the landfill is making
them sick, giving them rashes and upper respiratory problems. A 2005 state
Department of Health study found dust and soil from the landfill do not pose
a "significant health risk" to neighboring residents.
State lawmakers met with the landfill's general manager at midmorning. Among
their concern are dust barriers full of big holes that are just a few feet
from homes.
"Perhaps, I'd like to see a little bit more in the way of the dust barriers.
There are large holes in the dust barriers," Rep. Karen Awana said.
The company said it used wiliwili trees to block the dust before. Now, only
stumps remain because small wasps are killing the trees statewide.
So the company said it plans to plant new trees. However, it is waiting on
permits to install electricity for an irrigation system along its property
line.
The landfill said it is using a portable machine to spray water mist to keep
dust on the ground.
Area lawmakers said there are other concerns.
"We want to see the records, for example, car batteries. We're talking not
one or two, probably hundreds. We want to see who's dropping it off, if they
receive it, what do they do with it," Rep. John Mizuno said.
A landfill spokesman called the location a "relatively benign" landfill,
since it is mostly construction waste like old concrete and drywall. He said
up to 30 percent of the materials are recycled and is not buried there.
The company has a state health permit to continue operating in Nanakuli
until February 2010.
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/topstories/topstories/view/20080616-142960/Greenpeace-dumps-charcoal-to-protest-Iloilo-coal-plant
Greenpeace dumps charcoal to protest Iloilo coal plant
BI: Foreigners can’t take part in protests in RP
By Nestor P. Burgos Jr.
Visayas Bureau
First Posted 14:11:00 06/16/2008
ILOILO CITY -- (UPDATE) Greenpeace activists dumped around 20 sacks of
charcoal in front of a Metrobank branch in Iloilo City Monday to protest a
proposed coal-fired power plant project here.
The Bureau of Immigration (BI) reacted to the protest, saying it is
investigating the possible involvement of foreigners in the actions against
a proposed coal-fired power plant in this city.
BID regional director Francisco Artuz inspected the Greenpeace ship Rainbow
Warrior on Sunday to check whether members of the ship's crew have violated
regulations and laws governing foreigners.
"We received reports that foreigners and crew members were seen joining the
protest actions and we want to check if their papers are in order," Artuz
told the Philippine Daily Inquirer before boarding the ship that was
anchored near the shores of Barangay (Village) Ingore in La Paz District
here where Greenpeace activists had set up a protest camp at the site of the
proposed coal plant.
The activists dumped the charcoal in front of the bank along General Luna
Street around 10:30 a.m. after they ended a three-day protest camp-out at
the site of the proposed coal plant in La Paz District.
A Metrobank subsidiary, the Global Business Power Corp (GBPC), together with
Panay Power Corp (PPC), is pushing for the construction of a 164-megawatt
coal plant, a proposal by energy officials, business groups and most local
officials.
Energy officials, business groups and most local officials support the power
project but environmental and church groups oppose it, citing health and
environmental hazards.
"We are giving Global Business Power Corp. a taste of what it feels to be
dumped with coal even as charcoal is safer than the coal used in coal
plants," said Jasper Inventor, Greenpeace climate and energy campaigner.
Greenpeace is an international environmental organization that works for
environmental conservation and the preservation of endangered species.
Artuz said members of the Rainbow Warrior’s crew could not leave the ship
without a shore pass and could not join political activities like protest
actions.
Foreigners joining political activities may be liable for deportation for
violations of these regulations, Artuz said.
The Rainbow Warrior has 12 crewmembers, 10 of them foreigners, and 15 guests
onboard. It has been here since June 7 as part of an international tour to
campaign against coal-fired power plants.
Greenpeace climate and energy campaigner Jasper Inventor said it was within
the authority of the BI to inspect the ship and its crew and to verify their
papers.
"But we hope this is not meant to pressure us and Greenpeace activists from
other countries to stop our protest against the project," said Inventor.
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storyPage.aspx?storyId=119452
Greenpeace calls off protest at Pagbilao coal plant
The environmental advocacy group Greenpeace called off its three-day protest
at the Pagbilao coal-fired power plant Sunday after it is assured of
political support to stop coal-based power expansion in the country.
The organization's flagship Rainbow Warrior has been in Pagbilao since
Friday as part of its "Quit Coal, Save the Climate" tour of the Philippines,
which aims to call government's attention to the effects of coal on climate
change.
In a statement, the group said they called off their protest because they
are assured that they have initiated a "strong political movement" towards a
moratorium on coal power expansion in the country.
The group is calling on the government to instead tap the "massive
potential" of clean, safe, and renewable energy instead of relying on fossil
fuels.
According to Greenpeace, Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri said he would be seeking
for a moratorium on the expansion of coal power in the countries through a
resolution, and also expressed his support for the organization's campaign
to "quit coal."
In a communique to Rainbow Warrior, Zubiri said he will "file a resolution
in the Senate seeking to halt the construction of new coal-fired power
plants in the country," adding that it will be partnered with a strong
Renewable Energy Bill that will allow for a shift to a low carbon economy.
"We welcome Senator Zubiri's intervention and call on our decision makers in
government to take responsibility and lead us away from this deadly reliance
on dirty fossil fuels," Greenpeace Southeast Asia executive director Von
Hernandez said in a statement.
"In the process of calling attention to the deleterious impacts related to
the expansion of this coal plant, we may have committed some infractions,
but we believe what is at stake here is more serious than the alleged
violations. Our intention is to alert all Filipinos about the hazards posed
by coal fired power plant and climate change," Rainbow Warrior Captain Mike
Fincken said.
On Saturday, activists aboard the ship, anchored near the coal plant,
painted the words "Quit Coal" on the hull of the coal transport ship Sam
John Spirit, which was on standby to unload a shipment of coal for use by
the power plant.
The group's ship, however, did not block the operations of the power plant
nor the coal supply ship, Greenpeace explained.
According to Greenpeace the energy sector is responsible for some two-thirds
of the world's greenhouse gas emissions, and cited coal-fired power plants
as the biggest offenders. Burning coal, the group said, is the single
biggest source of carbon dioxide emissions and a major cause of climate
change. Coal emits 29 percent more carbon per unit of energy than oil and 80
percent more than gas.
Greenpeace's Rainbow Warrior is in the country to spearhead the "Quit Coal
Tour" in Southeast Asia and the Pacific, which aims to promote solutions to
climate change.
The ship's first port of call in the country was Legazpi City, where the
province was declared a coal-free zone.
http://rss.xinhuanet.com/newsc/english/2008-06/03/content_8307115.htm
Environmentalists protest coal plant expansion in Philippines
MANILA, June 3 (Xinhua) -- Greenpeace activists staged a street protest
before the seat of Philippine energy authority on Tuesday, calling for a
haul of the country's coal plant expansion and speedy passing of a
legislation that encourages renewable energy usage.
Environmentalists painted the words "Quit Coal" on the driveway of the
Department of Energy and unfurled a banner that describes Energy Secretary
Angelo Reyes as a "coal lover and climate killer."
Greenpeace said under Reyes' term, the Philippines is expected to expand
its coal-fired capacity to over 2,000 MW, while new renewable energy
projects are projected at less than 100 MW.
The burning of coal has been identified by scientists as the main source
for climate change.
"To lead the Philippines toward a future of reliance on dangerous
coal-fired power plants is unacceptable," said Greenpeace Southeast Asia
Climate and Energy campaigner Jasper Inventor.
Greenpeace said meanwhile, the country's Renewable Energy Bill has been
"languishing" in Congress for more than a decade, even though Philippine
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo named it as an urgent bill to pass in
2007.
Since Congress reconvened in April, the bill has yet to be raised in
both Houses of Congress.
"As chair of the Task Force on Climate Change, Sec Reyes should end his
love affair with coal. He should show clear leadership in stopping climate
change, first by canceling all coal-fired power plants currently in the
pipeline, and second by putting together a program that would enable the
country to move away from fossil fuel dependence towards clean, renewable
sources of energy," Inventor said.
Also on Tuesday, 500 energy experts, policy makers financiers, and
project developers from across Asia-Pacific gathered in Manila for a
three-day Asia Clean Energy Forum organized by Asian Development Bank (ADB)
to scale up investments in clean energy solutions that enhance energy
security and address global warming.
http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=47214
Published On: 2008-07-24
Metropolitan
DCC move to fell trees protested
Staff Correspondent
Save The Environment Movement (SEM) and Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers'
Association (Bela) yesterday condemned the move of the Dhaka City
Corporation (DCC) to fell 52 trees at Gulshan, Banani and Baridhara areas in
the city.
The leaders of the SEM during a visit near Road-89 of Gulshan Avenue, where
about six trees were felled, protested the move by chanting slogans.
Chairman of SEM Abu Naser Khan who led the visit at the area also met DCC
Chief Executive Officer Md Alauddin.
Alauddin assured them of taking steps after consulting with
environmentalists.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers' Association also issued a
letter of concern to the DCC Mayor Sadeque Hossain Khoka and director
general of the Department of Environment to this end yesterday.
In the letter they said such activities are against the interest of the
people and against the law.
They demanded the authorities stop felling the trees and take alternative
initiatives to reduce waterlogging.
The DCC gave work order to fell 52 trees in Gulshan, Banani and Baridhara on
July 17 in the name of beatification and improvement of drainage system.
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/04/24/asia/AS-GEN-Thailand-Airport-Protest.php
Thai police arrest 2 for launching paper lanterns near Bangkok's main
airport
The Associated Press
Published: April 24, 2008
BANGKOK, Thailand: Police arrested two Thai villagers for endangering air
traffic after they allegedly sent lighted paper lanterns into the night sky
near Bangkok's main international airport to protest noise pollution,
authorities said Thursday.
The men were arrested Wednesday at their village near Suvarnabhumi Airport,
a day after three lanterns were spotted floating near the airport, said
police Col. Dusit Marengsaeng. The pair denied the charges against them,
which carry a five-year jail term, and were released on bail.
The airport's control tower spotted the lanterns south of the airport
Tuesday evening, said control tower official Warawut Rapipat.
"We could not tell how high the lanterns were but we alerted airplanes to
what we had seen," Warawut said.
Residents who live near the airport, which opened in 2006, have complained
about having to endure constant noise and exhaust from planes taking off and
landing.
The lantern launching followed a Tuesday meeting between residents affected
by airport noise and representatives from the Transport Ministry and
Airports of Thailand, the Bangkok Post reported.
The government has promised to compensate the residents who suffer most from
the noise by building new houses and helping to relocate families to quieter
neighborhoods.
But residents say the compensation is not adequate and only helps a small
portion of those affected. Angry residents had threatened in the past to
float balloons near the airport to block airplanes but had never followed
through.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080808/wl_sthasia_afp/indiabhopalenvironmentaccident
Bhopal victims end protest after Indian govt pledge
Fri Aug 8, 12:45 PM ET
NEW DELHI (AFP) - Victims of India's 1984 Bhopal gas leak which killed
thousands of people ended months of sit-in protests on Friday after the
government promised new assistance.
About 70 people affected by the gas leak had camped on a New Delhi pavement
for more than three months after walking 800 kilometres (500 miles) from
Bhopal city to the capital.
The government would set up a powerful commission to ensure better
"rehabilitation" for victims and their families, chemicals minister Ram
Vilas Paswan told the protesters.
The Bhopal disaster occurred when a storage tank at a pesticide plant spewed
deadly cyanide gas into the air, killing more than 3,500 people immediately.
The death toll has since climbed to more than 15,000, the government says.
Activists and protesters want the site to be cleared of thousands of tonnes
of toxic waste embedded in the soil, as well as jobs and compensation.
"The government today promised to set up a new panel with more powers to
look into medical, environmental and economic support," said Rachna Dhingra,
spokeswoman for a Bhopal victims group.
Activists said survivors would be represented on the panel.
"I was 28-years-old then. Our fight has been going on for 24 years, and we
will keep up the pressure on the government," said survivor Hazari Bee.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/7384344.stm
5 May 2008 16:39 UK
Police detain Bhopal protesters
Bhopal protesters say babies born since the disaster suffer illnesses
Police in India's capital have detained dozens of protesters demanding more
help for victims of the world's worst industrial disaster, at Bhopal in
1984.
They were briefly taken into custody after an unauthorised protest outside
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's office.
They are demanding more compensation and a better clean-up of the site.
Several thousand people died in Bhopal on the night of the gas leak from a
Union Carbide factory. Thousands more died in the weeks that followed.
Compensation
The protesters wanted to meet the prime minister to press their case for
more to be done to clean up the site around the former factory, which still
contains thousands of tonnes of toxic chemicals.
Dozens of demonstrators, including a number of children, were taken to a
nearby police station but were freed two hours later.
Police said the protesters had no appointment with the prime minister and
demonstrations around the official residence were not permitted.
Many of the demonstrators have been in Delhi for more than a month, after
walking 800km (500 miles) from the site of the 3 December 1984 disaster.
The BBC's Chris Morris in Delhi says one key issue is the plight of children
born in Bhopal since the disaster who suffer from a variety of mental and
physical disorders.
Union Carbide was bought by the Dow Chemical Company in 2001. Dow says it is
not responsible for cleaning up the site, which sits on land owned by the
Madhya Pradesh state government.
Union Carbide paid $470m in compensation to victims in 1989.
http://news.indiainfo.com/2008/06/10/0806102331_bhopal-protest.html
Bhopal gas survivors launch global hunger strike Tuesday, June 10, 2008
23:28 [IST]
New Delhi: Bhopal gas survivors today launched an indefinite global hunger
strike with Man Booker shortlisted author Indra Sinha joining them from
France.
Three organisations working for the Bhopal gas survivors have organised the
programme in a bid to attract global attention and pressurise the Indian
government to fulfil their demands, which include a special empowered
commission for rehabilitation.
"The Prime Minister underestimates the emotive power of the Bhopal struggle.
The hunger strike will catalyse global opinion against the Prime Minister s
refusal to yield to the Bhopalis justified demands," Sinha said in a
statement from France.
Sinha, who won the nomination for his fiction "Animal's People", joined the
protesters from his residence in south-west France, a spokesperson for the
protesters said.
In New Delhi, nine survivors and other activists began their agitation at
Jantar Mantar while their supporters in 18 other countries started their
hunger strike simultaneously demanding comprehensive rehabilitation plans
for the survivors.
http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?from=rss_Development&set_id=1&click_id=124&art_id=nw20080526170059556C156831
Residents protest against tainted water
May 26 2008 at 05:13PM
Communities affected by mining in Limpopo will be filing papers on Tuesday
to sue the government for allowing their water to be contaminated, Jubilee
South Africa said.
Residents claim the water is contaminated by radioactive material in
Bekkersdaal and Dominionville.
According to Jubilee SA community members would testify on the condition of
the water. Residents plan to protest at the PPL mine in Limpopo on Tuesday.
Jubilee SA claims that requests and demands of communities affected by
mining continue to go unanswered by government and by the mining companies,
including Anglo Platinum, Impala, Lonmin, African Rainbow Minerals, and
Mmakau Mining.
A commemoration service would take place at the river in Ga-Pila which had
been the only water source for residents since their water was cut off due
to the Amplats PPL Mine, and which was now allegedly contaminated by heavy
metals.
Mining community representatives from Limpopo, Gauteng, North West and
Mpumalanga would talk on water tests, the presence of heavy metals in water,
and the cut-off of basic services by the government , said Jubilee SA. –
Sapa
http://www.thehindu.com/2008/07/15/stories/2008071554430500.htm
Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad
APRS protest ‘jathas’ from today
Special Correspondent
HYDERABAD: Andhra Pradesh Rythu Sangham will launch week-long protest
‘jathas’ (rallies) in the coastal districts to highlight the impending
destruction of coastal areas in the name of coastal corridor.
The jathas will commence from Ichapuram in Srikakulam on July 15 and from
Tada in Nellore district on July 16. They will conclude with a public
meeting at Vijayawada on July 21.
The GO.No.34 issued for coastal corridor construction would displace farmers
from lakhs of acres of well irrigated farm lands triggering foodgrain crisis
in the near future, said Rythu Sangham president K.Ramakrishna and general
secretary R.Venkayya in a media conference here on Monday.
“The rallies are a prelude to future course of action against indiscriminate
land acquisition for coastal industrial corridor that would do irreparable
damage to coastal environment, reserve forest cover and livelihoods of
farmers and fishermen,” they added.
About five lakh acres were proposed to be acquired in the name of industrial
coastal corridor in nine districts.
http://www.thehindu.com/2008/07/30/stories/2008073053310300.htm
Kerala - Pathanamthitta
Protest against granite quarry at Avolimala
Staff Reporter
Residents exposed to silicosis due to dust from crusher units
- Photo: Leju Kamal
Eloquent silence: Members of the People’s Action Council protesting against
the granite quarry and crusher unit at Avolimala hills at Chunkappara near
Mallappally on Tuesday.
PATHANAMTHITTA: Local people under the banner of the People’s Action Council
(PAC) at Chunkappara in Kottangal panchayat, near Mallappally, staged a
dharna in front of the panchayat office, demanding immediate closure of the
granite quarry and crusher unit at Avolimala, on Monday.
As many as 125 action council workers, majority of them women, took out a
march from the foothills of Avolimala to the panchayat office, their mouths
symbolically covered with green cloth.
In memoriam
According to the organisers, the action council chose the foothills of
Avolimala as the starting point of the protest march in memory of a
12-year-old boy who was killed there a year ago when he was hit by a piece
of broken granite flying from the quarry in an explosion. Panchayat member
Francis George flagged off the march.
Renowned environmentalist C.R. Neelakantan inaugurated the dharna. Mr.
Neelakantan stressed the grave need to protect the remaining hills, water
bodies and forest cover in the State. He said availability of potable water
is going to be a big problem facing humanity across the globe and the State,
known as a land of rivers, will not be an exception.
Violation of all the prevailing laws, rules and regulations have become the
order of the day in quarrying granite, sand and other natural resources.
Granite crusher units function without taking pollution control and other
public safety measures, he alleged.
Mr. Neelakantan said the local residents were exposed to the threat of
silicosis due to dust from the crusher units. He said local self-government
institutions should not shy away from their duty of ensuring the local
people’s right to live in a safe and secure environment.
Addressing the dharna, PAC secretary Professor George Sebastian alleged that
the panchayat was yet to implement the High Court directives in this regard.
Advocate K.P. Ramachandran; K.A. Verghese, member of the State-level
committee for protection of wetlands and conservation of rivers; Manimalayar
Samrakshana Samiti general secretary V.N. Gopinatha Pillai; Haritabhoomi
leaders James Kannimala and Joseph Nedumpram also spoke.
http://www.thehindu.com/2008/07/14/stories/2008071452420300.htm
Kerala - Pathanamthitta
Protest against operation of granite quarry
Staff Reporter
Action council plans indefinite agitation
‘Tahsildar yet to submit report to Rights’ panel’
Dwellings hit by flying rock pieces: action council
PATHANAMTHITTA: The people’s action council at Kombonoly, near Ranni, will
launch an indefinite agitation, demanding immediate cancellation of licence
given to an ‘illegal’ granite quarry and crusher unit at
Kombonoly-Thekkummala.
At a press conference here on Sunday, Human Rights Protection Council
president R. Jayamohan and the action council leaders Prasanth V. Kurup and
Rajamma Sadanandan alleged that the private quarry and crusher unit had been
posing a threat to life and property of the residents of a Scheduled Caste
colony.
They alleged that the illegal operation of the quarry as well as the crusher
unit had been going on for a decade with the patronage of certain political
and official quarters.
Almost all human dwellings in the surroundings of the quarry had been hit by
broken pieces of rocks flying in the blast at one time or the other. Though
the Human Rights Commission had sought a report from the Ranni Tahsildar on
the details of the quarry and the crusher units a few months ago, the
official was yet to provide the details.
In this context, the action council had decided to lay siege to the grama
panchayat office at Vadasserikkara on Tuesday, demanding immediate closure
of the quarry and crusher unit, they said.
Mr. Kurup said the agitation would be extended to the district office of the
State Pollution Control Board and the Collectorate in Pathanamthitta.
http://www.thehindu.com/2008/05/15/stories/2008051551660300.htm
Construction near shrine protested
Kishtwar (J&K): Villagers in Kishtwar district on Wednesday held a
demonstration against the construction of a road on the foothills of the
Sarthal Devi shrine, alleging it was damaging the temple.
Hundreds of people hailing from different areas of the district took to the
streets and held demonstrations at Sarthal against the alleged threat to the
safety of the shrine due to construction of the road. They feared occurrence
of landslides near the shrine.
A deputation has already met the district Deputy Commissioner and submitted
a detailed representation.
http://news.indiainfo.com/2008/05/14/0805141457_protest.html
Villagers protest construction of road near shrine Wednesday, May 14, 2008
14:56 [IST]
Kishtwar, JK: Villagers in the district today held a demonstration against
the construction of a road on the foothills of the Sarthal Devi shrine here,
alleging it was damaging the temple.
Hundreds of people hailing from different areas of the district took to the
streets and held demonstrations at Sarthal against the alleged threat to the
shrine due to construction of the road.
"There is a threat to the safety of shrine due to road construction. The
rocks of the mountain have become loose and there are also apprehension of
landslides near the shrine," Kuldeep Kumar, one of the activists leading the
protestors, said.
A deputation has already met the Deputy Commissioner, Kishtwar, and
submitted a detailed representation.
http://www.thehindu.com/2008/07/29/stories/2008072950330300.htm
Karnataka - Madikeri
Protest and counter-protest
Staff Correspondent
Madikeri: In a strange incident here on Monday, two organisations held a
protest and a counter-protest at the Forest Office, with one group demanding
the cancellation of the posting of the Conservator of Forests, Kodagu, G.A.
Sudarshan, and the other objecting to it.
The Cauvery Sene, supported by the Coorg Wildlife Society, staged a protest
in front of the Forest Office and demanded that Mr. Sudarshan’s posting
should be cancelled as he was “not an environment-friendly official”. They
burnt the effigy of Mr. Sudarshan to vent their ire.
On the other hand, representatives of the Kodagu Small Growers Association
and the Kodagu Swabhimana Samrakshana Vedike, including Nanda Subbaiah and
B.T. Dinesh respectively, staged a counter-protest against the sene, in
support of the official. Mr. Sudarshan should stay back in Kodagu as he was
a people-friendly officer, they contended.
Both groups shouted slogans against one another. When the situation seemed
like reaching a flashpoint, the police intervened and averted a clash.
http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/07/14/10342/
Published on Monday, July 14, 2008 by Associated Press
Paddlers Protesting Border Fence
Boaters Don’t Want Lower Rio Grande Blocked
by Christopher Sherman
MISSION, Texas - The federal government’s border fence plans in South Texas
have been attacked by property owners, wildlife advocates and land
conservationists. The next wave of opponents could come from the water — and
they’re carrying paddles.
Kayakers and canoeists will descend on the lower Rio Grande for events this
fall aimed at raising the river’s profile as a recreation hub and at drawing
attention to the impact the border fence could have by blocking access to
the river.
The Rio Grande forms Texas’ 1,255-mile border with Mexico from El Paso to
the Gulf of Mexico. But most of the river, with the notable exception of Big
Bend National Park, is forgotten by the state’s tens of thousands of
recreational paddlers. Those who do use the river share the water with
Border Patrol agents patrolling in bulletproof vests and with smugglers of
drugs and people.
In a recent letter to Roma Mayor Rogelio Ybarra, the president of the Texas
Rivers Protection Association expressed his support for a planned river
festival and his concern about the border fence. But perhaps most telling
was the clear illustration of how novel the idea of using the lower Rio
Grande was even for people dedicated to the state’s rivers.
“It has come to our attention recently that the Lower Rio Grande is indeed a
safe and legal place to paddle, and that rights for all U.S. citizens to do
so are guaranteed by the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo,” association
president Tom Goynes wrote. “It’s ironic that we only learned that the
resource was available to us as a result of the government’s plans to take
it away.”
Los Caminos del Rio, a nonprofit group based in McAllen, recognizes that its
Healthy Living Festival planned for Nov. 1 — to capitalize on any attention
the border could receive before the national election three days later — is
unlikely to affect the 85 miles of border fence slated for completion in
Texas this year.
While not backing off its fence plans, the Border Patrol supports Los
Caminos’s efforts to get more people on the river.
“The more eyes we have out there, the better job we can do,” said Dan Doty,
spokesman for the local Border Patrol sector.
For Los Caminos del Rio, more legal activity on the river — kayaking,
canoeing, fishing — will discourage the illegal smuggling activity.
Executive director Eric Ellman says Friends of Santa Ana National Wildlife
Refuge have been giving canoe tours for years without incident, and his own
group has had hundreds on the river in the past couple years without
problem.
Mexicans have a tradition of using the Rio Grande for recreation.
Already, anyone traveling the river is more likely to see people on the
Mexican shoreline — fishing, swimming, boating. There are more public access
points and someone has even opened a water skiing academy upriver from
Mission on the Mexican side.
Aleida Flores Garcia is trying to get something going on the U.S. side as
well, but the border fence could kill it.
She and her husband, Jorge Garcia, have been working on their property along
the river in Los Ebanos for years. They’ve cleared brush, put in a park and
built a boat ramp. They plan to build a large thatched pavilion and hold
fishing tournaments and dances. Garcia recently incorporated her business as
the La Paloma Ranch Retreat.
But the federal government has sent her a condemnation letter. The border
fence is planned to run across her property, leaving most of it in the no
man’s land between the fence and river.
Garcia has a lawyer and is fighting the government, but other challenges
have so far been unsuccessful.
“I need to fight for this little town,” she said. “The nature itself is just
too beautiful to be blocked by a wall.”
http://story.indiagazette.com/index.php/ct/9/cid/701ee96610c884a6/id/353706/cs/1/
Greenpeace activists protest against climate change problem
India Gazette
Tuesday 29th April, 2008
(ANI)
New Delhi, Apr 29 : Greenpeace activists on Tuesday staged a doom scenario
in the National Capital to depict the problems arising from climate change.
"We are depicting the scenario that will unfold in Delhi in 2050. If we
don't take steps to control climate change it would surely displace about
120 million people. Basically coastal cities would be affected first because
of the rising sea levels, and people will migrate to other cities," said
Vinuta Gopal, Greenpeace Climate and Energy campaigner.
Demanding to set up a National Climate Action Plan (NCAP) to prevent climate
change, they set up a mock migrant colony indicative of the disastrous
effects when people would be displaced due to climate change.
"We want to say that in the coming few decades, almost 125 million people
will be displaced due to climate change. So we demand that a national policy
should not adapt with climate change but, rather the policy should avert the
possible negative effects and mitigate it," said Rabbi Shergil, a Punjabi
singer.
Activists fear that in the absence of serious measures, the situation may
turn worse.
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/regions/view/20080430-133507/Protests-growing-over-Atienza-OK-of-logging
Protests growing over Atienza OK of logging
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 00:28:00 04/30/2008
CITY OF SAN FERNANDO – An information caravan in the nine villages of
Dinalungan, Aurora, started to gather support on Monday for the protest
against the approval by Environment Secretary Lito Atienza of a five-year
logging plan by a firm in the province.
Fr. Ceferino Valenzuela, the town’s parish priest, said the caravan mounted
by the Concerned Citizens of Dinalungan started at 8 a.m., holding short
programs in every village it passed.
The 200 participants were expected to reach the logging areas of Industries
Development Corp. (IDC) in Barangays Ditawini and Abuleg in Dinalungan,
Dinadiawan in Dipaculao town, and at the Aurora-Quirino boundary before
dusk.
IDC vice president Michael Ong and general manager Isaias Noveras have not
replied to the Inquirer’s calls and text messages since Sunday seeking
reactions to the protest.
Romulo Palma, IDC chief security officer, promised to alert Noveras on the
request for interview. Noveras has yet to call on Monday.
Registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission in 1961, IDC holds
two Integrated Forest Management Agreements (Ifma). Ifma No. 14 covers 9,466
hectares and Ifma No. 2001-06 spans 48,877 hectares in Dinalungan, Casiguran
and Dilasag.
The areas covered by the two Ifma are more than half of the 110,228 hectares
of forests in the three towns, documents showed.
Of the nine companies that have obtained Ifma for 150,774 hectares in
Aurora, IDC manages a large portion of Aurora’s forest.
Following the deadly landslides in the province in November and December
2004, former Environment Secretary Michael Defensor allowed IDC to harvest
logs on Aug. 17, 2005, after a review team found its performance
“satisfactory.”
Valenzuela said he and the Concerned Citizens of Dinalungan had opposed
legal and illegal logging because the town had been suffering from frequent
floods and landslides since 1998.
The calamities have killed at least five people and buried or washed out
about 50 houses, according to Mayor Tito Tubigan in a phone interview on
Sunday.
Tubigan said he met Atienza on April 17 to appeal for a review of the
secretary’s approval on the renewal of the operation plan over the
48,877-hectare area.
“I opposed it because after consultations with various sectors, the
overwhelming sentiments of my constituents is that they do not want legal or
illegal logging because those degrade our natural environment,” he said.
Tubigan said Noveras did not inform him about the plan to renew the
operation plan. “All that [Noveras] showed me were applications for mayor’s
permit and business permit. I refused both,” he said.
“We were deprived of our right to be consulted,” Tubigan said.
He said the municipal council also opposed the renewal of the operation
plan.
Tubigan said Atienza promised a review.
The environment secretary confirmed that illegal logging had resumed in
Dingalan, Aurora in reaction to reports, which quoted a leader of Task Force
Sierra Madre.
“I have personally confirmed the report from my independent sources in the
area and I have found that it has sufficient basis,” Atienza said in a
statement.
He said he ordered the immediate relief of Meliton Vicente Jr., the
community environment and natural resources officer (Cenro) in Dingalan.
Vicente was replaced by Joselito Blanco, former Cenro of Cabanatuan City.
“Like as I always told our officials, Vicente will not only be relieved of
his duties but we will also make him answerable for all these charges of
illegal logging in his area of responsibility,” Atienza said.
He said the resumption of illegal logging in Dingalan “must be stopped at
all costs.”
Atienza said a team of legal and law enforcement agents from the DENR would
be sent to Dingalan and other areas in Central Luzon to gather more
information about illegal logging activities.
“To allow illegal logging to continue is like begging for a catastrophe with
epic proportions to happen,” he said. Reports from Tonette Orejas, Inquirer
Central Luzon; and Jocelyn Uy, in Manila
http://www.thehindu.com/2008/08/18/stories/2008081859110300.htm
Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram
Protests stall cutting of tree for green cover: The police removing a
protester who tried to block the cutting down of an avenue tree in front the
University College on Sunday.
Thiruvananthapuram: A move to cut down an avenue tree in front of the
University College for the development of Mahatma Gandhi Road had to be
aborted on Sunday following protests by the Communist Party of India and the
Shiv Sena.
The protests started in the morning as soon as workers engaged by a
contractor started lopping off the lower branches of the tree.
The work came to a halt after CPI and Sena activists squatted on the road
shouting slogans.
Revenue Divisional Officer K. Ramachandran arrived on the spot and tried to
negotiate a settlement with the protesters, but the attempt failed. The
police later removed the activists. Mr. Ramachandran said the move to cut
down the tree was put on hold. The effort would resume only after the issue
was sorted out.
On the warpath
Environmental organisations and political parties have been on the warpath
against the efforts to cut down avenue trees for widening the road.
Thiruvananthapuram Road Development Company Ltd. (TRDCL), the agency
executing the City Roads Improvement Programme, has finalised a compensatory
tree-planting programme.
But environmentalists point out that not a single sapling was planted on the
Pattom-Plamoodu and the Karamana-Killipalam roads developed by the PWD.
http://www.thehindu.com/2008/08/14/stories/2008081454510300.htm
Kerala - Kollam
Residents protest against axing of trees
Staff Reporter
KOLLAM: The Kollam Residents’ Apex Council and the Kadappakada Nagar
Residents’ Association on Wednesday submitted a memorandum to District
Collector A. Shajahan requesting his intervention in the row over the axing
of trees along the Kadappakada-Asramam Road.
The memorandum points out that the Kollam Corporation authorities and the
Forest Department had unilaterally decided to axe one hundred and fifty
three trees along this road to develop it into a four lane one.It also
pointed out that the road could be developed without axing the trees.
http://www.thehindu.com/2008/06/26/stories/2008062658030200.htm
Road along Medikunta lake draws protest from civic groups
Staff Reporter
Citizens Coalition for Saving Lakes charges APIIC with breaching norms
Lake was given to Wipro Technologies Ltd.
APIIC claims road work was approved by State
-PHOTO: K. RAMESH BABU
Spoilsport: Road under construction alongside the HUDA lake.
HYDERABAD: The HUDA road from Rayadurg police station to Gopanapalli is
become a bone of contention with civic action groups protesting against it.
A part of the road is being built on Medikunta Lake opposite Wipro SEZ at
Gachibowli by the Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation
(APIIC).
The Citizens Coalition for Saving Lakes in Hyderabad, an alliance of civic
action groups, and others protesting against the construction, have charged
the Government bodies with allowing the work to continue on the road,
despite it going against the existing buffer zone rules.
The voluntary organisations claimed that the APIIC’s action was nothing but
an encroachment since it was breaching the HUDA’s own provision of
maintaining a 30 meters buffer zone around water bodies. “As per the Water,
Land and Trees Act and Master Plan norms, a buffer zone has to be maintained
all along the lake boundary but it has been approved by HUDA,” said Dr.
Jasween Jairath, of the Coalition.
Medikunta Lake belongs to HUDA and it had handed over the lake to Wipro
Technologies Ltd. for green maintenance. However, the IT giant has been
asked to stay out of the issue by the Government last Friday.
The organisations are also contesting the Full Tank Level (FTL) boundaries
marked. “HUDA is making mockery of FTL limits as the water flows beyond the
FTL poles even before rains come in,” said Umesh Varma from Concerned
Citizens, another protesting body. When contacted, the Chief Engineer of
APIIC, Parthasarthi Rao, said the road work was approved by Government
taking all the issues into consideration.
http://aktualne.centrum.cz/czechnews/clanek.phtml?id=603423
Prague 3 to have a new quarter. Green Party protests
This is a new "face" of Žižkov´s freight stationvětší obrázekAutor: Archiv
16:55 | 24.4.2008 | Aktuálně.cz national news reporters
Praha - The old train freight station in Žižkov will be replaced with a
brand new quarter.
Žižkov´s town hall has been planning to change the quarter but the final
version of the plan has caused furore among the town hall politicians.
The Green Party representative Ondřeje Růt says the plan has been altered in
last minute.
"The original intention was to build a park and now they want to build
20-floor buildings. The design does not include any park or trees, neither
public services nor school. Its is going to be just full of buildings, no
free space," said Ondřej Růt.
However, Civic Democrats´ Ondřej Pecha argues that the urban plann is a
result of long-term negotiations between the developers and the town hall.
He also says it is not a new version of the plan.
"It was an agreement between the town hall and the investor with whom we
agreed on a compromise solution," said Pecha.
"The requirements for the green are included. We have not cut down
anything," added Pecha.
The Greens however claim that unlike the orginal plan of 8,000 people, the
new homes should accomodate 13,000 people, which is an increase by one
fiith.
"The number of inhabitants is hard to predict," said Peach.
All Prague municipalities have been compiling their ideas and proposals how
to develop the city of Prague. They are to send these to Prague's city
council that is to draw the urban development plan of Prague with the help
of the proposals. Soon the city of Prague will undergo major changes in some
localities.
http://www.ceskenoviny.cz/news/index_view.php?id=313998
Greenpeace protest at prague castle against nuclear energy
Prague- Seven Greenpeace activists yesterday protested against the
forthcoming European Nuclear Forum by projecting giant slogans warning of
the risks of nuclear energy on the panorama of Hradcany, the Prague Castle
that is the seat of Czech heads of state, from the nearby Legii bridge.
They wanted to warn of the inadmissible effort of the industrial lobby to
influence the forum's conclusions and to weaken nuclear safety standards in
the EU.
The forum, that starts in Prague on Thursday, is to result in
recommendations for the European Commission as far as the future of nuclear
energy is concerned.
Its participants will include Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek, Slovak Prime
Minister Robert Fico, chairman of the European Commission Jose Barroso and
other senior officials of the EU and European institutions.
Head of the nuclear campaign of Greenpeace Jan Beranek told CTK further
protests of similar nature would be staged on Thursday.
Greenpeace activists have staged a number of unorthodox protests in the
Czech Republic. This April, they occupied the planned site of the U.S. radar
in the Brdy mountains.
In December 2007, they occupied a 300-metre smokestack of the power plant
Prunerov II in protest against global pollution by greenhouse gases.
http://www.monstersandcritics.com/science/news/article_1405816.php/Greenpeace_protests_biofuels_at_Machu_Picchu_citadel
Greenpeace protests biofuels at Machu Picchu citadel
European Union (EU) Commission President, Portuguese Jose Manuel Barroso
looks over ruins of Machu Picchu near Cuzco, in Peru, 15 May 2008, during a
cultural tour prior the V Latin American, Caribbean and the European Union
Summit (LAC-EU). EPA/Sengo Perez
May 16, 2008, 12:11 GMT
Lima - The environmental organization Greenpeace protested biofuel
production at the Inca citadel of Machu Picchu, in south- eastern Peru on
Thursday, claiming ethanol will have a severe impact on the native forests
of Latin America.
Ahead of the European Union-Latin America and the Caribbean summit in Lima
Friday and Saturday, Greenpeace called upon leaders to protect the Amazon
rainforest from the encroachment of farmland due increased farming of sugar
cane for ethanol.
Members of the organization displayed placards on the ruins - known as one
of the New Seven Wonders of the World - with slogans like 'Save the forest,
save the planet.' They were later forced to leave by security personnel.
Greenpeace said in a statement that cutting down and burning the forest to
produce biofuels releases greenhouse gases.
The leaders of Brazil, Venezuela, Ecuador and Bolivia, which like Peru have
rainforest areas, were expected to attend the summit in Lima.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday signed a deal on biofuels with
Brazil, amid criticism within both countries over the deal's possible impact
on the rainforest and over the conditions of workers in plantations that
grow sugar cane for biofuels.
European Commission President Jose Manuel Durao Barroso also visited Machu
Picchu on Thursday.
http://story.indiagazette.com/index.php/ct/9/cid/701ee96610c884a6/id/373670/cs/1/
Activists against dams on Ganga forced to wind up protest
India Gazette
Saturday 21st June, 2008
(IANS)
Noted environmentalist G.D. Agarwal and fellow activists, on a hunger strike
since June 13 to protest construction of dams on the river Ganga, had to
wind up their agitation Saturday evening after a crowd of 400 people shouted
slogans against them.
'The demonstrators were virtually gheraoed (cricled) by the crowd who
claimed themselves to be locals and said stoppage of the dams would harm
their interests and of the people of the hill state,' Vyomesh Chitranvansh,
a spokesperson for the fasting activists, told IANS on phone.
The crowd reportedly consisted of former Uttarakhand chief minister Bhagat
Singh Koshiyari's supporters.
The demonstrators would leave for Delhi Sunday morning. 'But the agitation
would continue and Agarwal says he will continue his fast in the national
capital though his health had deteriorated,' he said.
The incident followed a media statement by the former chief minister that
the suspension of work on two dams as announced by the Uttarakhand
government Thursday evening, in the wake of Agarwal's protest, was not in
the interest of the people of the state.
Agarwal, 76, an alumnus of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) and
former secretary general to the Central Pollution Control Board, launched
his hunger strike against plans to construct six dams over the Ganga in a
100-km stretch from Gangotri, the source of the river, and Uttarkashi in
Uttarakhand.
He was accompanied by 10 environmentalists, lawyers and rights activists,
while many others joined in the demonstrations every day. They believe that
damming of the Ganga would restrict the river's natural flow and this would
have serious environmental repercussions.
Chitravansh said Koshiyari issued his statement after the Bharatiya Janata
Party (BJP) government in the state Thursday night announced, following
Agarwal's protest, that two of the dams on the Ganga would be suspended.
Koshiyari, also from the BJP, said the government's decision was not in the
interest of the people of the hill state.
'Today evening, some 300 to 400 people claiming to be locals came to the
Manikanika Ghat in Uttarkashi where Agarwal and others were on fast and
gheraoed them. They shouted slogans against him asking him to go back,' he
said.
The police soon arrived on the scene and asked Agarwal and others to pack up
before things slipped out of hands. All of them had to leave the place and
they reached Kuriyal Bhawan at the office of the Ganga Mukti Abhiyan,
Chitravansh said.
http://www.indianexpress.com/story/326233.html
Save Ganga protest shifts to Delhi
Express News Service
DEHRADUN, JUNE 22: Environmentalists and social activists led by G D
Aggarwal are headed for Delhi to continue with their campaign against
construction of power projects between Gangotri and Uttarkashi.
After the Uttarakhand Government decided to halt work on the Pala Maneri and
Bhiron Ghati projects, the campaigners are now targeting the 600-mw Lohari
Nagpala project being executed by the National Thermal Power Corporation.
Aggarwal’s fast unto death entered its 10th day on Sunday when he left the
Manikarnika ghats of Uttarkashi to shift base to Delhi.
His departure was preceded by a large scale demonstration on Saturday by
some locals angered by the state Government’s decision to stall work on the
two projects. The locals shouted slogans against Aggarwal and his supporters
asking them to hold their Save Ganga campaign in the plains where the river
was most polluted.
Locals believe stalling work on the two projects will threaten their
livelihood as a large number of them were directly or indirectly employed
there. Social activist Pavitra Singh claimed the protests were fuelled by
contractors who had invested in the projects. Aggarwal, while on way to
Delhi, said that the locals were misled by the materialistic forces present
in the area.
Earlier, at the start of the agitation, Uttarakhand Chief Minister B C
Khanduri had also tried to deflect the matter to the Centre saying his
Government was willing to stall the projects if the Centre agreed to
compensate for the energy loss incurred by the state. The environmentalists
are demanding that no projects be made between Gangotri and Uttarkashi and
the river be allowed to flow freely on this 125-km stretch.
http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=112522
Protest staged against unloading of dumpers near jetty Wednesday, May 14,
2008
Karachi
A large number of youth belonging to Baba, Bhit, Salehabad island villages
and Keamari neighbourhood blocked the way of the dumpers near Keamari Jetty
on Tuesday. This left the Karachi Port Trust (KPT) authorities with no
choice but to stop unloading ships carrying white cement and coal near the
old jetty. The youth said that it caused environmental problems and affected
the business of the passenger boat owners and created disturbances for the
tourists.
This was the second time the local people blocked the road in protest to
save human lives, who are endangered by the careless drivers of dumpers.
Besides they staged a protest against the off-loading ships, carrying white
cement and coal near the old Jetty.
Around 600 passenger boats are operating from the Keamari Jetty for islands.
“We have written letters to the KPT Chairman, met with the concerned
authorities, and presented memorandums to them several times to build a
bifurcation wall from the Boating Basin up to the Keamari Groyne. However,
they have failed to pay heed to this,” said Asif Bhatti, President of Bona
Fide Fishermen and Boat Owners Welfare Association. According to Bhatti,
they have also approached the elected national and provincial assembly
members of their constituency to take the issue seriously but it seems all
is going in vain.
“The authorities are pushing the locals to live or die as they have nothing
to do for the betterment of the community people, who have been residing at
these scattered islands even long before the independence,” Bhatti reacted.
The people on the passenger boats suffer due to the black powder or white
cement in the entire area and face breathing problems. Another problem which
the activists pointed out is the small passage the local people and visitors
use for entering and going out that has been occupied by dumpers carrying
coal and cement. People in daytime face problem in crossing the passage to
reach main road leading to the Native Jetty Bridge.
The KPT authorities in its letter dated March 17, 1992 responding to local
people’s cry said, “Keeping in view the requirements of Baba, Bhit and
Manora islands population, the KPT has provided gates in the security wall
at Boat Basin near berth No 2 entrance gate. These gates can be utilised day
and night without any problem and even the trucks can be taken-in through
these gates.” It further said the KPT has spent Rs150 million on the
development of Container Complex in the Keamari Groyne area to meet the port’s
increased storage requirements for handling containers and other general
cargo. Since its completion in 1982, the Keamari Groyne Complex Yard is not
being properly utilised due to heavy tank lorries’ traffic and unauthorised
parking of the vehicles on the Keamari Groyne road, it added.
Moreover, the KPT clarified that the inner section of the road about
35-feet-width will be utilised for movement of the containers and cargo from
the East Wharves berths to Keamari Container Cargo Complex and vice-versa.
The outer section of the road will be used for the vehicular traffic
visiting the Oil Installations Area. To implement this scheme, the KPT has
also started reconstruction of 80-ft-wide road in front of OP-1 and
50-ft-wide connecting road along plots No 21, 22, 59 and 60.
According to the KPT authorities with the construction of all these roads
and security wall, a better and effective traffic management with safe truck
movement, without any hindrance, will be obtained and the KPT will be able
to utilise its 25 acres developed area at Keamari Groyne Container Complex.
However, the local people said the KPT is violating the promises it made
with the people long ago. Asiya Yousuf, a labour councillor, union council
(UC) 4, reminding the KPT authority to keep its promises made in 1992, has
written a letter to the KPT Chairman, requesting him not to allow dumpers
utilise the small passage, because owing to careless driving several
accidents have taken place. The letter also said that the off-loading of
ships carrying cements and coal are badly affecting the livelihood of
passenger boats. Furthermore, the dumpers should assure proper covering of
material it carries in order to avoid environmental pollutions and save the
business of passenger boats.
Besides this, the off-loading of ships carrying white cement and coal at the
Keamari Jetty is creating problems for picnickers and the residents of
island villages. The coal and cement is not packed on ships and huge cranes
load it openly on trucks and dumpers, creating environmental hazards for
visitors and local residents.
Meanwhile, the local people have demanded to construct bifurcation wall that
the KPT had ensured so that the grievances of local residents, picnickers
and passenger boat owners can be removed.
http://www.taiwanheadlines.gov.tw/ct.asp?xItem=126184&CtNode=39
Environmental groups protest alternative road plan
07/08/2008 (Taiwan News)
Following environmental groups' protest made against Premier Liu
Chao-shiuan's (劉兆玄) announcement on the "alternative road plan" that belongs
to part of the construction of the controversial Suhua Freeway, the
Presidential Office came forward on Monday and toned down the disputes by
saying Liu's statement was merely a concept rather than an action.
"What Liu said was an idea, and it would not be pushed for immediately.
Liu's idea would only be realized after the Environmental Protection
Administration approves it," said Presidential Office Spokesman Wang Wu-chi
on Monday afternoon after President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) met with Liu, Vice
President Vincent Siew (蕭萬長), and Kuomintang Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung (吳伯雄) at
a lunch appointment on the same day.
During a visit to Hualien County Government Sunday, Premier Liu, accompanied
by Hualien County Commissioner Hsieh Shen-shan, said the Cabinet decided to
begin the construction of the long-stalled, controversial Suha Freeway by
upgrading the most dangerous and less controversial sections that is on the
planned route of the Suhua Freeway. Liu said the decision was made to help
boost the economy of the region and build a safer road for people living in
the eastern part of Taiwan, and that the construction is expected to be
undertaken before the end of this year, starting with the 18-kilometer
Nanao-Heping section.
More than 10 environmental groups who have long cared for the development
and environment of eastern Taiwan, yesterday protested in front of the
Executive Yuan to express their strong opposition to Liu's decision to
construct the alternative road, saying the proposal was "old wine in a new
bottle."
They contended that the premier was simply repacking a controversial plan to
build the Suhua Freeway, and criticized that Liu's decision broke Ma's
promise made during the presidential campaign that the new government would
carefully assess the construction of the controversial Suhua Freeway.
"The route of the alternative road plan passes what is outlined in the
construction of the Suhua Freeway route. The Executive Yuan's true intention
was to let part of the expressway be built first, then the whole freeway can
be completed later. The Executive Yuan was just playing with word games,"
said Pan Han-sheng, secretary-general of the Green Party Taiwan.
Pan said the premier considers the EPA's environmental impact assessment
panel a rubber stamp if he thinks that the construction project can be
started before the end of this year.
Robin Winkler, president of the Wild at Heart Legal Defense Association who
is a naturalized Taiwanese from the U.S., stressed that the construction of
the Suhua Freeway is not a conflict between the economy and the environment,
but a conflict between a lack of foresight and long-term development.
The construction plan is "meant only to temporarily boost the gross domestic
product to benefit a few people, rather than the majority of Hualien
people," Winkler claimed.
In response, Environmental Protection Administration Minister Shen Shu-hung,
stressed during a press conference yesterday afternoon that whether the
Ministry of Transportation and Communications submits a new plan for an
alternative road or uses the original Suhua Freeway plan, an environmental
impact assessment will be required.
He also indicated that construction is unlikely to start by the end of the
year, but he declined to give a specific timeframe.
The plan was rejected by an environmental impact assessment panel last
April, leaving the Ma administration to decide whether or not to proceed
with the project.
The NT$100 billion-project or 86-kilometer Suhua Freeway will connect
southern Ilan with Hualien County and will contain 40 kilometers of tunnels
and 37 kilometers of bridges.
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/world/view/20080707-147020/Protesters-blast-plans-for-Taiwan-freeway
Protesters blast plans for Taiwan freeway
Agence France-Presse
First Posted 22:14:00 07/07/2008
TAIPEI -- Environmental activists protested Monday against a government plan
to build a freeway in eastern Taiwan, saying it could do irreparable
environmental damage to an area known for its lush parks.
About 20 demonstrators chanted slogans outside the cabinet office in Taipei,
demanding that Premier Liu Chao-shiuan abandon the plan and threatening
bigger rallies if he moves forward.
On Sunday, Liu announced plans to build a freeway on the island's east coast
to help ease Taipei-bound traffic and divert cars from a section of existing
road that is susceptible to landslides.
Liu said residents of southeastern Hualien had appealed to the government
for a better road, telling reporters: "We must provide them a safe way to go
home."
Residents often complain about the existing narrow highway that leads up the
island's eastern coast from Hualien towards Taipei, saying the dangerous
road conditions lead many to opt for a 3.5-hour train journey.
But environmentalists say the increased traffic brought by the highway would
pollute the area's rivers and ocean waters, and damage the Taroko National
Park, a major Taiwanese tourist attraction.
"The decision is improper and unacceptable," Chang Tzu-chien of the Taiwan
Environmental Protection Union told Agence France-Presse.
A previous project to build a longer highway linking Hualien and Suao in the
northeast has been shelved
http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=36487
Published On: 2008-05-14
Metropolitan
New building plan at SAU research plot protested
Staff Correspondent
Teachers and students of Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University (SAU),
members of Save the Environment Movement, and Bangladesh Environment Lawyers
Association (BELA) jointly organised a seat-in protest programme yesterday
protesting the plan of erecting a building in a research plot of the
Horticulture department of the university, says a press release.
The students and teachers of the university said the authorities have been
planning to construct a library building cutting trees of the research plot.
But in the master plan of the university there has separate space for the
library building.
They said destroying trees would hamper the research work of Horticulture
department. The sewerage system of the new building, which will be connected
with the pond, will hamper the irrigation system for farms of the
department.
Prof Ruhul Amin, chairman of Horticulture department, Abu Naser Khan,
chairman of Save the Environment Movement, Prof AKM Mahtabuddin, Prof MA
Mannan Mia, other teachers, students and lawyers form BELA took part at the
seat-in programme.
http://allafrica.com/stories/200805220634.html
Namibia: Earthlife Protests Rock Concert At Spitzkoppe
The Namibian (Windhoek)
22 May 2008
Posted to the web 22 May 2008
Windhoek
BERTCHEN Kohrs of Earthlife Namibia is asking Government to deter the
holding of a planned rock concert in the Spitzkoppe area.
The environmental group said it was the fourth time that an event like this
would happen there and a huge event was planned with about 300 visitors
expected and 13 rock bands performing. "The overall aim of the organisers is
to increase the magnitude of this event gradually and eventually create a
cultural festival which can be compared with the 'Oppiekoppie' in South
Africa", said Kohrs in a press release yesterday.
Earthlife added that "protection of our unique environment for present and
future generations is Earthlife Namibia's main objective" but what they
termed questionable activities of local and foreign companies and
individuals, in many cases sanctioned by Government, had destructive and
irreversible impacts on our nature.
"Take for instance mining in protected areas. How will our once pristine
Namib-Naukluft Park look after uranium and other deposits have been
exploited by mining companies? As a visitor one needs a permit to enter
certain areas of the park while at the same time massive damage is done
through mining of uranium, granite and marble.
Earthlife members fail to see the logic behind this. "It is most upsetting
that the beauty and uniqueness of pristine environment like the protected
Namib-Naukluft Park, the Skeleton Coast Park and in fact the whole coastal
area, just to name a few, are spoiled by mining and other destroying
activities, so-called 'development'.
"Earthlife's concern is the massive negative impact the sensitive area of
the Spitzkoppe will be exposed to.
Visitors will arrive in cars and on motorbikes, they will have to overnight,
they will have to be fed, they will have to relieve themselves.
It is unavoidable that the presence and activity of so many people will have
severe impacts on the natural environment.
There will be massive pollution by means of litter - including human
excrement - and noise, disturbance to fauna and flora and other major damage
to a prime tourist area."
Earthlife urgently requested the Ministry of Environment and Tourism to look
into the situation and act to stop such destructive activities.
http://allafrica.com/stories/200805230851.html
Namibia: Enviro Group Protests City Decision to Develop Avis
The Namibian (Windhoek)
23 May 2008
Posted to the web 23 May 2008
Brigitte Weidlich
Windhoek
AN environmental group is up in arms about a Windhoek City Council decision
to allow part of the Avis Dam recreation area to be developed for a hotel
and restaurant, despite an alternative spot being proposed for such a
facility.
Last Thursday the Council decided at a meeting, which was called at short
notice, to go ahead with the development of the four-hectare Erf 2882
opposite the Windhoek Dog Club, apparently bowing to pressure of eager
developers.
It might cost up to N$7 million to service the plot with water, sewerage,
electricity and an access road.
"We deplore the decision and will take the Council to task," said a
committee member of the organisation Greenspace, which is leasing the area,
except for the plot in question. Greenspace members on Wednesday night
decided at their annual general meeting to protest the Council decision. "We
asked several times to give a presentation of development proposals to the
City Council, but were never granted the opportunity," the member, who spoke
on condition of anonymity, told The Namibian yesterday.
Greenspace was part of a special committee set up by the municipality about
two years ago to jointly map out development proposals for one of the few
recreational spots left in the city. People walk their dogs at the dam, a
nearby riding club uses the area and the sight of kudus and dozens of bird
species delights nature lovers.
Council resolved that a hotel should be built on the plot in question
although Greenspace and the joint Avis Development Committee proposed that
the plot should remain unspoilt and that a small hotel and restaurant rather
be built on the northern side of the Avis valley.
Council further resolved that no new residential developments would be
permitted in the low-lying areas of the valley, as it is flood prone.
http://allafrica.com/stories/200805140095.html
Uganda: Districts Protest DDT Spray Over Organic Cotton
New Vision (Kampala)
13 May 2008
Posted to the web 14 May 2008
Patrick Okino
Kampala
Lira, Amolatar and Dokolo districts have protested the planned spray of DDT
in their area, saying it would affect the production of organic cotton.
Johnson Engole, the chairman of Lango Cooperative Union, told the
parliamentary committee on tourism, trade and industry last week that the
use of DDT in Oyam and Apac districts was expected to reduce the volume of
organic cotton this year.
"We are urging people in these areas (Oyam and Apac) to grow conventional
cotton, not organic, because of the DDT that was sprayed," Engole told the
committee headed by Rose Munyira Wabwire at Ngetta ginnery.
DDT was sprayed in the districts last month to fight malaria. The MPs were
touring cotton ginneries and historical places in Bugisu, Teso and Lango.
http://www.breitbart.com/image.php?id=iafp080511175858.th8gydq4p1&show_article=1
File photo shows a farmer protesting at the Department of Agriculture in
Manila. With food prices hitting record highs the debate in Asia about
whether genetically modified crops can ensure food security remains
unsettled
http://www.thehindu.com/2008/05/23/stories/2008052361360300.htm
Residents protest traffic intrusion
Staff Reporter
Bangalore: Many residents of R.V. Layout on Thursday staged a protest
against allowing of traffic from the BDA underpass through their layout,
which is a residential locality.
While welcoming the underpass built by the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara
Palike (BBMP), the residents of the layout demanded that the service road on
the left side of the underpass be changed to two-way instead of one-way to
avoid vehicles from passing through their area.
‘Major hazard’
“We have tolerated this intrusion for as long as we could. The constant
traffic, besides being an irritant, also poses a major hazard to the retired
citizens of the locality and the children. Two-wheelers zooming around the
bends is a source of worry for parents. We do not have a problem with the
magic box, in fact it is a commendable project, but it should not be
operated at the cost of the resident’s peace of mind,” said Sapna Mahesh, a
resident R. V. Layout.
“It is a public road so cars and two-wheelers will use it. The residents
should not demand the road to themselves. Trucks and other heavy vehicles
have been banned from entering the lane,” said K. Eshwar Prasad, Assistant
Commissioner of Police (Traffic-Central division).
The police officer told the residents to submit their alternative plan to
police which would be considered keeping in mind the interest of public at
large.
Problems
Meanwhile, two-wheelers riders had a tough time riding their vehicles on
road over BDA underpass on Thursday as the road had become slippery with
gravels spread over it as the Bruhat Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) could not lay
final coat of bitumen due to heavy rain on Wednesday evening.
The vehicle users also confused on taking turns — from Sankey Road to Kumara
Krupa Road and from Kumara Krupa Road to Sankey Road towards High Grounds —
at Windsor Manor junction as the BBMP had converted it into a signal-free
rotary. Movement of vehicles was affected to certain extent.
http://andhracafe.com/index.php?m=show&id=33751
CPI launched padayatra protesting bauxite mining
Updated: 05-09-2008 Email this Page
HYDERABAD : CPI activists launched `maha padayatra’ carrying bows and arrows
protesting against the proposed bauxite mining at Jerella in G K Veedhi
agency mandal in Visakhapatnam district.
CPI state secretary, who flagged off the padayatra said that the people
would make the ruling party to sit in opposition if it goes ahead with the
mining proposal as they did in the case of Telugu Desam.
He warned the ruling Congress party asking them to take a clue from the
bitter experience of the Telugu Desam party. He said that the TDP tried to
mine bauxite in the Visakhapatnam agency area, when they were in power. As a
result, he said the people taught them a lesion and now the same TDP leaders
are sitting in the opposition.
The samd would be the case with the Congress party, if they do not roll back
their decision, he said. HE asked the tribals to take inspiration from
martyrs like Alluri Sitarama Raju in fighting for their rightful demands and
rights.
He said that nothing can be achieved without agitations and added that their
party was always in the forefront to take up people’s issues and agitate
against them for the benefit of poor.
Around 50 tribals led by the CPI district secretary, J.V. Satyanarayana
Murthy started their marathon at Jerella where the bauxite reserves are said
to be in plenty. The padayatra team will reach district collectorate in
Visakhapatnam on May 14 passing through various villages those would be
affected by the proposed mining.
The CPI activists in large numbers would lay siege to the district
collectorate on May 14 after the padayatra team reaches the collectorate.
http://www.thehindu.com/2008/06/04/stories/2008060460130300.htm
Novel protest by women
Staff Reporter
They begin to clean up the diamond tank and its environs to protest alleged
inaction on the part of the authorities
— Photo: Lingaraj Panda
Residents of Gopalrao Gorda, Jayantipetta and others clean up Diamond Tank
in Berhampur .
BERHAMPUR: A group of women preferred to clean up the diamond tank and its
surroundings rather than spending more time pleading before the local
municipal authorities to take up the same measures.
Large number of women and small children of the area with the help of some
youths have started this operation as a mark of protest against inaction of
local municipality. This tank is used for bathing by the women of poor
section of the area. But since past few years its water and surroundings had
become a garbage dump. A. Raju a woman who led the cleaning operation said
they had approached the local councillor and municipal authorities several
times in the past with the request to clean up the tank and its
surroundings.
Similar move
“Women who work as menial labourers or domestic help are compelled to use
this pond for bathing as tap water is a dream for them in this water scarce
city,” said Yashoda another woman of the area. According to these women the
municipal authorities can never understand the importance of getting this
tank cleaned as they are not compelled to use it. So, they decided to use
the Gandhian way and clean up the tank which they use rather than waiting
for the municipality to do the job. Bubu Gouda, a resident of the area said
they have decided to clean up the tank and its adjoining area regularly as
they have lost faith on the local municipality. He hoped their action would
spark some insight in the minds of municipal authorities.
In a similar move the Cyclerickshaw Trolley Drivers’ Association has also
decided to donate Rs. 400 each to get the road between Pitagundi street and
Desibehera street repaired. Despite several requests the local municipality
is not repairing the road which is used by them as it leads to wholesale
grocery and vegetable market. They say their vehicles are getting damaged by
plying on this extreme unusable stretch of road.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=1&article_id=92800
Greenpeace protests over Sidon's coastal trash heap, state of Mediterranean
By Mohammed Zaatari
Daily Star staff
Friday, June 06, 2008
Greenpeace activists led a peaceful protest on the occasion of World
Environment Day Thursday in front of Sidon's sea-side landfill, reminding
politicians of the plight of the Mediterranean Sea and demanding the
establishment of marine reserves and the closure of all coastal dumps.
http://www.thehindu.com/2008/06/06/stories/2008060651370300.htm
Black flag protest by fishermen in Tuticorin
Staff Reporter
Tuticorin: The National Union of Fishermen (NUF) observed the World
Environment Day by hoisting black flags at coastal hamlets across the
district on Thursday.
The members protested the proposed move by the Centre to replace the Coastal
Regulation Zone Notification 1991 with a Coastal Zone Management (CZM)
Notification.
G. Anton Gomez, president of NUF, said that the new notification would open
coastal resources for commercial exploitation, threatening the livelihood of
millions of fishermen.
He said that instead of showing interest for a new notification, the
Government should take steps to take stern action against those who had
breached the CRZ Notification 1991 under the Environment Protection Act.
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/biz/archives/2008/06/04/2003413738
Activists protest as Ma visits WiMAX Expo
By Crystal Hsu
STAFF REPORTER
Wednesday, Jun 04, 2008, Page 12
An environmental group protested outside the WiMAX Expo over the potential
health impact of electromagnetic radiation as President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九)
visited the trade show at the Taipei World Trade Center.
Ma, who took pride in his efforts to boost wireless Internet service in
Taipei during his two terms as mayor, pledged to use Worldwide
Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) technology to bridge the
digital divide between urban and rural areas.
Over the past three years the government has pumped more than NT$20 billion
(US$647.5 million) into developing WiMAX and opened WiMAX frequencies to six
operators.
But environmentalists yesterday urged more caution, saying electromagnetic
radiation linked to WiMAX technology may have a negative impact on human
health.
“WiMAX is a policy mistake,” Chen Jiau-hua (陳椒華), president of the Taiwan
Electromagnetic Radiation Hazard Protection and Control Association, shouted
before Ma left Exhibition Hall II of the trade center.
Chen, a professor at the Chia Nan University of Pharmacy and Science, said
the government should think twice about boosting WiMAX technology because
electric and magnetic fields from power lines, wiring and appliances are
harmful to human health.
She cited an international study that found exposure to electromagnetic
radiation may cause cancer and was likely responsible for an increase in
childhood leukemia, although more research was necessary to establish the
link.
Chen’s association has called on the legislature to pass a law banning the
installment of wireless antennas in residential areas or near school
campuses.
Mike Lin (林智清), who works for the Taipei Computer Association (TCA,
台北市電腦公會), dismissed the health fears, saying that electromagnetic radiation
associated with WiMAX is lower than that for mobile phones. He said the
National Communications Commission was of the same opinion.
WiMAX can transmit wireless data at high speed over long distances for
computers or mobile phones. The wireless Internet service currently in use
cannot maintain normal operations if a laptop is being used in a vehicle
traveling at a speed of more than 50kph, but WiMAX chipsets enable laptops
to remain connected to the Internet while moving as fast as 80kph.
http://www.gmanews.tv/story/98864/Greenpeace-holds-protest-outside-DOE-office-to-push-renewable-energy
Greenpeace holds protest outside DOE office to push renewable energy
06/03/2008 | 12:48 PM
MANILA, Philippines - Environmental activists on Tuesday blocked the
driveway to the Department of Energy (DOE) in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City to
push the halt in the use of coal to meet the country's energy needs.
Radio dzBB reported that members of Greenpeace painted "Quit Coal!" on the
driveway of the DOE, temporarily blocking vehicles from entering the
compound, as the group reiterated its call on government to switch to
alternative forms of energy such as wind, solar and hydro.
They also called on both houses of Congress to pass immediately the
renewable energy bill.
But DOE Sec. Angelo Reyes said that while the government is all for the
passage of the renewable energy bill, the reality is that the country is
still dependent on coal for its energy needs saying coal-fired plants supply
a considerable chunk of the country's power requirements.
Meanwhile, in Malacañang, at least 10 residents from Metro Manila were
chosen to be the first to benefit from a lifeline power subsidy. The subsidy
came from some P2 billion in value-added tax (EVAT) for power collected by
the government.
Radio dzBB's Aileen Intia reported that the beneficiaries came from Metro
Manila areas that included Pandacan and Sampaloc in Manila, and Project 4 in
Quezon City. - GMANews.TV
http://www.thehindu.com/2008/08/17/stories/2008081756680300.htm
Karnataka - Mysore
Protest held against Chamalapura plant
Staff Correspondent
Demand: Activists of the Mysore Yuva Vedike and members of ACICM staging a
dharna in Mysore on Saturday.
MYSORE: Activists of the Mysore Yuva Vedike and members of the Association
of Concerned and Informed Citizens of Mysore, led by freedom fighter
Seetharama Iyengar, staged a dharna in front of the residence of
Parliamentary Secretary to the Chief Minister S.A. Ramdas here on Saturday
to protest against the proposed thermal power plant at Chamalapura.
They urged Mr. Ramdas to prevail upon the Government to drop the
controversial project.
The protesters held placards that read “Drop Chamalapura project, save
Mysore”, “Down with anti-people project” and raised slogans urging people to
save Mysore from pollution.
They demanded that the Government respect the people’s voice on the project
and drop it without any second thoughts.
A police team rushed to the spot on hearing about the protest.
Mr. Iyengar urged Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa to drop the project as it
would cause pollution in and around Mysore.
Addressing the protesters, Mr. Ramdas reiterated his stand on the issue and
said that he would not allow the plant to be set up at Chamalapura.
“It is not appropriate to stage a protest in front of my residence when I
have already opposed the project and expressed my stand on it on many
occasions,” he said.
ACICM Convener M. Lakshmana, who was present, said protests would be held in
front of the residences of other elected representatives here.
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storyPage.aspx?storyId=121159
Trekkers climb Mt. Kanlaon to protest PNOC-EDC project
At least forty members of the Green Alert Negros held a two-day protest
climb at the no-entry zone of Mt. Kanlaon Natural Park.
They assailed the local government of Negros Occidental and other government
agencies for allowing the Philippine National Oil Company-Energy Development
Corporation (PNOC-EDC) to explore at the 169-hectare buffer zone.
The environmentalists gathered in front of the San Sebastian Cathedral at
about 6 a.m. Friday last week, carrying a flag and their mountaineering
equipment.
Rusty Biñas, Green Alert Negros founder, said the protest climb was their
way of declaring that the park should only be for recreational, scientific
and educational use.
Joining the protest was a family of trekkers led by prominent women's
leader, Atty. Andrea Si. She brought along three of her children.
Si said the province does not need help from PNOC-EDC since it has
sufficient power supply.
Si’s daughter, Sarah Stephanie, echoed her mother’s sentiments, adding that
PNOC’s presence in the area could destroy the forest.
After the gathering, the group headed to Minoyan, Murcia where they began
the four-hour climb to Kanlaon, even without a permit.
Group coordinator Mark Cervanter said what they did was part of "civil
disobedience."
The climb was concluded on Sunday.
The group also launched a similar protest in 1998 to prevent the
construction of a geothermal power plant in Barangay Mailum, Bago City. -
Nicolas Delfin, ABS-CBN Bacolod
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/regions/view/20080606-141219/Green-protesters-scale-Mt-Kanlaon
Green protesters scale Mt. Kanlaon
By Carla Gomez
Visayas Bureau
First Posted 21:22:00 06/06/2008
BACOLOD CITY, Philippines -- About 35 environmentalists carrying Philippine
flags and streamers with the message "Mt. Kanlaon is non negotiable" began a
protest climb on Friday.
"We are entering Mt. Kanlaon Natural Park without a permit from the
Department of Environment and Natural Resources as a manifestation of our
defiance to the support and submission of DENR to a private corporation like
PNOC-EDC," Mark Cervantes of Green Alert said.
The environmentalists, along with Bacolod Bishop Vicente Navarra, have
opposed the entry of the Philippine National Oil Corp.-Energy Development
Co. into the buffer zone of the Mt. Kanlaon Natural Park to tap more
geothermal power for its Northern Negros Geothermal Power Plant in Mailum,
Murcia.
The Department of Energy, DENR and the Negros Occidental Sangguniang
Panlalawigan have granted the PNOC-EDC entry into the buffer zone on
condition it protects the environment.
"This protest climb is also our independence climb. This will be a start of
the liberation of our natural resources from the chains of capitalist
control. The start of freeing our flora and fauna from any forms of
destruction due to unprincipled policy decisions," said Ryan Bancolo, also
of Green Alert.
The protest climb also elevates outdoor consciousness that is centered on
environmental activism and protection contrary to the traditional concept of
climbing as a mere sport, Bancolo added.
He also urged other mountaineering organizations to join in the efforts to
protect the Mt. Kanlaon Natural Park.
"We are holding this protest climb to show that we disagree with the
decision of the SP, DENR, DOE and PAMB (Protected Area Management Board) in
endorsing the project of PNOC-EDC. If DENR and other forces will stop us
from entering the park they should also stop PNOC-EDC from entering the
buffer zone," Cervantes said.
Green Alert, in a statement, said it would not stop in its fight to reclaim
Mt. Kanlaon.
"We will reach the summit and banner the cause so the whole world will know
that small voices like us stood guard to protect and defend it," the Green
Alert statement said.
http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1451698/hundreds_of_pupils_protest_polluted_acre_beaches/index.html?source=r_science
Hundreds of Pupils Protest Polluted Acre Beaches
Posted on: Thursday, 26 June 2008, 12:02 CDT
By STEPHANIE RUBENSTEIN
Hand-in-hand, around 200 elementary school pupils stood along the Acre
shoreline on Sunday, in protest of the water pollution that has left the
beaches there subject to closures for a second summer.
The children, who were joined by other locals, the Zalul Environmental
Association of Israel and an organization of 40 environmentalists called the
Green Cell, sought to bring attention to environmental damage in the city.
Sewage traveling down the Na'aman River from Karmiel to Acre Bay is
polluting the area and endangering the health of Acre residents, said Ezer
Fischler, deputy manager of the Zalul NGO.
The group refused to let the city, which is an UNESCO World Heritage Site,
become a "garbage place," Fischler said.
"Most of the people in Acre are very poor," he said. "So for them, closing
the beach is a huge problem. It is the only place they can have fun. They
don't have money to go to a country club or a car to go to another beach...
They want the ability to swim and to have a beach like everybody else."
Fischler said he sent a letter on Sunday to Karmiel Mayor Adi Eldar,
Environmental Protection Minister Gideon Ezra and Interior Minister Meir
Sheetrit, to alert them to the problem, but that he thinks the Karmiel
Municipality "[doesn't] care about the problem" since it is 25 kilometers
from Acre Bay.
The pollution was entering Acre Bay because equipment supposed to process it
for use in agriculture lacked the capacity to deal with the volume,
according to Karmiel Municipality spokeswoman Leviah Shalev-Fisher.
"We have a plan to make it bigger," she said. "The problem is that there is
a plan, but the government does not give us money to do it."
Originally published by STEPHANIE RUBENSTEIN.
(c) 2008 The Jerusalem Post. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning.
All rights Reserved.
Source: The Jerusalem Post
http://allafrica.com/stories/200807180962.html
Nigeria: Community Protests Sale of Burial Ground
Vanguard (Lagos)
18 July 2008
Posted to the web 18 July 2008
Vincent Ujumadu
Awka
SOME women and youths in Umunze community in Orumba South local government
area of Anambra State, has protested the alleged sale of the town's burial
ground by some high placed indigenes of the town.
As a result, a large number of police men have been despatched to the area
to maintain peace.
The protesters wondered why a monument like that which had existed for over
400 years, would be sold to one of the rich sons of the area by those yet to
be identified.
Traditional ruler of the town, Igwe Promise Eze has however appealed to the
people of the community to remain calm as the problem would be sorted out
soon.
He said that as the custodian of culture and tradition of Umunze, everything
possible would be done to ensure protection of lives and property in the
area.
The royal father commended the Nigerian Police for ensuring that lives and
property were not destroyed during the protest.
http://www.setimes.com/cocoon/setimes/xhtml/en_GB/newsbriefs/setimes/newsbriefs/2008/08/24/nb-05
Activists in Turkey arrested during protest over nuclear power plant
24/08/2008
ANKARA, Turkey -- More than 30 activists were arrested on Saturday (August
23rd) during a protest against government plans to build a nuclear power
plant in the Black Sea port city of Sinop. All but one of them were foreign
nationals, including citizens of the US, Germany and France. Authorities
arrested them for "non-sanctioned" organisation of a protest. The government
plans to build a nuclear power plant in Sinop, after the first such plant in
the country is built near the Mediterranean port of Mersin. (AP, Biamag -
23/08/08)
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/08/23/europe/EU-Turkey-Nuclear-Protest.php
29 foreign protesters detained in Turkey
The Associated Press
Published: August 23, 2008
ANKARA, Turkey: Turkish police on Saturday detained 29 foreigners and three
Turks during a peaceful protest against plans to build a nuclear power plant
near a Black Sea port city.
The police broke up the protest in front of the governor's office and
"forcibly took" the protesters to a police station, said Niklas Hartmann of
European Youth for Action, an environmentalist group.
Police officers confirmed the detentions during what they called an
unauthorized protest.
The detained included at least two American citizens and several German and
French ones, along with other European nationals, Hartmann said by telephone
from Sinop. The group has been camping near Sinop since Aug. 9.
The protesters posed as dead bodies on the ground to warn the people about
what they consider the dangers of nuclear power plants.
"The Turkish state seems to be very afraid of their citizens learning how
dangerous nuclear power is. That is why authorities do not tolerate any
protest," Hartmann said in a statement. "We are seriously concerned about
the denial of freedom of speech in Turkey."
Turkey has announced plans to build a nuclear plant near Sinop after the
construction of its first nuclear power plant near the Mediterranean port
city of Mersin.
http://www.naharnet.com/domino/tn/NewsDesk.nsf/getstory?openform&3CE195332150201FC22574AB0020CA12
High-Voltage Power Lines Draw Strong Protests in Metn
Ain Saadeh-Mansourieh residents in the Metn province kept up their pressure
on the government for the fourth day in a row to prevent the installation of
high-voltage power lines above residential areas and educational
institutions.
Residents expressed fear that the power lines could cause cancer, urging the
government to install them underground.
Change and Reform Bloc MPs Ghassan Mukhaiber and Ibrahim Kanaan, Sami
Gemayel from the Phalange Party, Lebanese Forces member Eddy Abi Lamaa and
Father Marwan Tabet, the secretary general of Catholic schools in Lebanon
also joined the protesters.
"We will continue to work with the residents to reach the solution that
satisfies them," said Mukhaiber during Tuesday's protest. "We want executive
decisions by the Council of Development and Reconstruction and the cabinet."
Kanaan said MPs and Metn residents would start meeting with Premier Fouad
Saniora, the ministers and the CDR to reach a suitable solution.
"This is a humanitarian matter and not a political one," he stressed.
Abi Lamaa also urged the water and energy ministry to stop the process of
installing the high-voltage lines.
Beirut, 20 Aug 08, 09:04
http://www.thehindu.com/2008/08/21/stories/2008082160601300.htm
Protest to save olive ridleys
Rahi Gaikwad
Dhamra project in Orissa a threat to environment, says Greenpace
— Photo: Vivek Bendre
Environmentalists’ concern: Greenpeace activists stage a sit-in outside the
Tata Group headquarters in Mumbai on Wednesday in protest against the
company’s upcoming port at Dhamra in Orissa. Greenpeace has been campaigning
against the port which, it says, is too close to the nesting grounds of the
highly endangered Olive Ridley turtles.
Mumbai: Greenpeace activists sat in protest outside ‘Bombay House’,
headquarters of the Tata Group here, on Wednesday to draw the attention of
its chairman Ratan Tata to the impact of the Dhamra Deepwater Port project
in Orissa on the environment.
Tata Steel is in a joint venture in the project which, according to
Greenpeace, will endanger olive ridley turtles in the area by damaging their
nesting ground and wrecking biodiversity.
Around 70 protesters formed a human chain, their hands fastened with thick
pipes. Some wore green turtle costumes. With juice bottles strapped to their
bodies, they sat at each of the three entrances to the building. They
sported the slogans, ‘Turtles over Turnover’ and ‘Extinction is Forever’.
The protests lasted for three hours. The police later removed the activists.
The activists wanted open talks with Mr. Tata. “We have sent several mails
to the Tatas, but they have been avoiding us,” said an activist.
While Greenpeace had been voicing concern over the project for four years,
there was no upfront dialogue between the two sides, said Sanjiv Gopal,
campaign manager, Oceans, Greenpeace.
He said that Tata Steel earlier stated that in the light of due evidence,
the project would not go ahead. However, the work was progressing. A
Greenpeace study highlighted the ecological threats but the company now said
it would try to control damage. This was a harmful shift in position, said
Mr. Gopal.
Tata Steel statement
Tata Steel, however, condemned the protest. In a statement, it said that
based on various studies, “it can be clearly established that the port
limits of the upcoming Dhamra port are clearly outside the turtle nesting
area as well as the National Marine Sanctuary and the Bhitarkanika National
Park. This has also been confirmed by the National Environmental Appellate
Authority, who had visited the site. Tata Steel has had discussions with
Greenpeace on the Dhamra port and the issue of turtles. All issues stand
clarified. Tata Steel would be willing to engage in further discussions,
should Greenpeace desire to do so.”
Scientists and academicians have petitioned Orissa against the Dhamra
project.
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_world/view/354202/1/.html
Nude cyclists protest car pollution in Brazil's Sao Paulo
Posted: 15 June 2008 0828 hrs
Photos 1 of 1
An aerial view shows the Itaim Bibi neighbourhood in the middle of Sao Paulo
SAO PAULO: Some 200 semi-nude bicycle riders snarled traffic Saturday in
downtown Sao Paulo to protest car pollution and dangerous riding conditions
in the city.
The demonstration drew the attention of motorists and passers-by alike with
no incident reported other than the arrest of one of the riders who had
decided to take all his clothes off, city traffic officials said.
"Our nakedness shows how we feel as cyclists riding in traffic next to
motorists well protected inside their vehicles," a demonstrator who
preferred to remain anonymous told AFP.
The naked pedal pushers were part of the World Naked Bike Ride, an
organization holding similar events in some 70 countries to protest
"indecent exposure to cars."
"We face automobile traffic with our naked bodies as the best way of
defending our dignity and exposing the unique dangers faced by cyclists and
pedestrians as well as the negative consequences we all face due to
dependence on oil, and other forms of non-renewable energy," the group said
on its website. - AFP/ac
http://www.chinapost.com.tw/international/americas/2008/06/09/160226/Mexico%2DCity.htm
Mexico City cyclists ride nude to protest cars
By Eduardo Quiros, Reuters
Monday, June 9, 2008
MEXICO CITY -- Hundreds of naked cyclists rode through the streets of
Mexico's capital on Saturday to demand respect from drivers in a city choked
with some 4 million vehicles.
More than 500 men and women, half of them nude, pedaled along Mexico City's
historic Reforma Avenue to the vast Zocalo Square, chanting, "Save your
planet, use a bicycle!"
Some had "emission-free vehicle" painted on their backs.
"We're riding nude to see if this way they'll see us, so they don't run over
any more of us," said student Alejandro Hernandez, standing naked before the
ride.
"Being naked means we aren't invisible. The motorists don't respect us, they
see us as a nuisance," he said.
To combat daily gridlock and chronic air pollution in the sprawling
metropolis of about 20 million people, the capital's leftist government is
promoting bicycle use and has begun building a network of cycling lanes.
But the lanes are still few and far between, so the city's growing number of
cyclists must ride alongside old buses, trucks and stressed motorists.
Mexico City is one of the world's most polluted capitals, along with
Beijing, blighted by its thin, high-altitude air and a ring of surrounding
mountains that traps exhaust fumes from buses and factories on the city
outskirts.
Authorities have worked to remove the worst-polluting vehicles from the
road. But as the capital's population grows, the city gains up to 250,000
new cars each year.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/World/Cyclists_ride_nude_in_anti-car_protest/articleshow/3111535.cms
Cyclists ride nude in anti-car protest
8 Jun 2008, 1938 hrs IST,REUTERS
MEXICO CITY: Hundreds of naked cyclists rode through the streets of Mexico's
capital on Saturday to demand respect from drivers in a city choked with
some 4 million vehicles.
More than 500 men and women, half of them nude, pedaled along Mexico City's
historic Reforma Avenue to the vast Zocalo Square, chanting, "Save your
planet, use a bicycle!" Some had "emission-free vehicle" painted on their
backs.
"We're riding nude to see if this way they'll see us, so they don't run over
any more of us," said student Alejandro Hernandez, standing naked before the
ride. "Being naked means we aren't invisible. The motorists don't respect
us, they see us as a nuisance," he said.
To combat daily gridlock and chronic air pollution in the sprawling
metropolis of about 20 million people, the capital's leftist government is
promoting bicycle use and has begun building a network of cycling lanes. But
the lanes are still few and far between, so the city's growing number of
cyclists must ride alongside old buses, trucks and stressed motorists.
Mexico City is one of the world's most polluted capitals, along with
Beijing, blighted by its thin, high-altitude air and a ring of surrounding
mountains that traps exhaust fumes from buses and factories on the city
outskirts. Authorities have worked to remove the worst-polluting vehicles
from the road.
But as the capital's population grows, the city gains up to 250,000 new cars
each year.
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