Group items tagged

Piovesan has been scathing about his opponents, particularly international organisations such as Survival International and the WWF, which he accuses of profiting from keeping the tribes in isolation.

"These international organisations gain money because they present themselves as the saviours of the Indians, this is what it's all about. So if the Indians evolve, they [the NGOs] lose their business," he said on a recent radio show. Last week he told the Observer that the reality was that the indigenous people were being kept in a condition of "captivity and slavery incompatible with the true ecology".

Rebecca Spooner, Survival International's Peru campaigner, said building the road would devastate entire peoples: "These uncontacted tribes live either side of the Peru-Brazil border. Building this road through their forest tramples over their rights, imposing so-called 'development' upon them. Congress has the opportunity to step in before it's too late. This road should not be approved."

"We therefore, recommend the following: (1) there must be transparent and effective national forest governance structures, (2) there must be Respect for the knowledge and rights of indigenous peoples and local communities, (3) there must be the full and effective participation of all relevant stakeholders, specifically affected local communities and (4) there must be Conservation of natural forests and biological diversity," the group amongst other things added.

The proposed deal was between the Liberian government and Carbon Harvesting Corporation (CHC). CHC sought a 400,000-hectare forest concession, or one fifth of Liberia's forests, from which to sell carbon credits. One news report explained that this deal could have bankrupted Liberia, which is still recovering from years of violent civil war.