Related Posts
Amazon dam project pits Brazil’s quest for renewable energy against environmental and indigenous rights
Plans for the construction of a massive hydroelectric dam in the Brazilian Amazon have experienced some recent setbacks...
2,000 attend banned concert for Russian forest preservation
Environmental activists have been fighting to save Russia’s Khimki forest from plans to build a federal highway through...
Sign petition to prevent destruction of Brazil’s AmazonJoin Brazilian environmental and human rights organizations, along with the WWF and Greenpeace to stop Brazil’s new ‘forest...
The fight for right in Brazil
Today on Facebook, I’ve noticed a lot of posts with the picture of Chief Raoni, an indigenous Brazilian...
Brazilian govt approves Amazon hydroelectric dam construction
To the disappointment of environmental and indigenous rights groups, the construction of a massive hydroelectric dam in the...
Tip of the Day
Keep eggs out of the fridge to save energy when cooking them
Bolivia: Amazon highway plans on hold
photo by Pablo Rivero (payorivero on Flickr CC)
Plans for a proposed highway that would cut through Bolivia’s Amazon rain forest, linking Brazil to ports in Chile and Peru, have been put on hold following protests by activists and allegations of excessive police force.
Indigenous and environmentalist activists are staunchly opposed to the highway’s construction, which is being financed by Brazil and would run through preserved Amazon forest. The rainforest is home to some 15 thousand indigenous Bolivians.
About 1,000 protesters were staging a 500km march on the main city La Paz when they were stopped by riot police on Sunday in the Yucumo region.
–BBC News
The outcry against both the construction of the road and the violence used by police has prompted Bolivian president Evo Morales to halt plans for the highway, despite his strong support for the plan.
The residents fear an influx of settlers would destroy their habitat, felling trees and polluting rivers. Environmentalists say the road would mostly benefit Brazilian commercial interests such as timber exporters while endangering a pristine nature preserve.
–AP
Morales attempted to distance himself from the controversy by announcing on Monday night that the decision will be left in the hands of the governments of the regions where the highway is planned.
See reports from the BBC and AP for more on the story and check out this short video report from Euronews:
Tags: amazon, Bolivia, Brazil, highway, La Paz, Morales, protest, rain forest
2 Comments
You can also log in to post a comment.
Other Greenfudge.org posts
The Story of Cosmetics with Annie Leonard
Toxics in, toxics out. Once again, Annie Leonard asks important questions about things that most people may not even consider, but are nonetheless important to the safety and wellbeing of every single one of us. Leonard, who brought us the informative films The Story of Stuff, The Story of Bottled Water and The Story of Cap and Trade, also explores the issue of toxic chemicals present in many common personal care products in her latest work, entitled The Story of Cosmetics. If you’ve...
Trash Becomes Kenyan Wildlife Art
Once again, there is an innovative way of turning waste and recyclables into sculptures. This past summer, student volunteers from the NGO Camps International coordinated 7 cleanups along the Kenyan coastline. Throughout the cleanups, they managed to collect over 200 bags of trash, including over 7,000 flip-flops. Volunteers then worked with local artists to turn all the lost shoes into a life-sized sculpture of a whale shark—the world’s largest fish. Along with the creation of the whale shark sculpture, conservationist and artist...
eBay’s Green Instant Sale: recycling just got easier!
I don’t know about you, but I like eBay. Like most I suppose, I’m not so fond of all the tiny hidden costs for every tiny little feature the site offers, but then again every business needs to be sustainable. Apart from that, I love the recycling philosophy that lies at the base of this business concept. And now, with the Green Instant Sale launched last week, eBay just became even more eco-friendly (so I’ll forget about the tiny hidden...
Sustainable energy: Goodbye Canada, hello Africa?
According to Yale University’s 2010 Environmental Performance Index (EPI) Canada ranked as the 46th greenest country in the world, a shameful and sudden drop from #12 in 2008. Why? Mostly due to Canadian ‘tar sands’ or ‘oil sands’ in the province of Alberta, where huge petroleum reserves lie in the form of bitumen, a heavy black form of crude that is energy intensive, highly polluting and more greenhouse gas intensive than conventional oil extraction. And now Canada has pulled out of...
New research shows herbicide causes sterilization and sex change in frogs
Atrazine, a common weed killer in much of the world, has been shown to turn male frogs into fully functioning, egg-laying females, according to a recent study. Illegal in the European Union since 2004 – but widely used in the U.S. and elsewhere – the agricultural herbicide is what's known as an endocrine disruptor, meaning it interferes with hormone function – in this case in the reproductive systems of amphibians. According to an article in National Geographic, a study of 40 genetically...
Greenpeace created a granite shield against bottom trawling in Sweden
It’s another eventful time for international organization Greenpeace, as they staged more actions this month as part of their campaigns to save the earth. In an effort to stop bottom trawling in Sweden, Greenpeace’s activists dropped giant granite boulders at the bottom of the sea in Lilla Middelgrund. Bottom trawling is the practice where fisherman drop weighted nets to the sea floor and drag them (usually tied to 2 boats) across the sea, to catch fish indiscriminately, while the nets...
TCM quackery fuels brutal rhino poaching
So far this year poachers have killed 265 rhinos in South Africa, quickly approaching last year’s record 333 killings. To put this number in perspective, only 13 rhinos were poached in 2007. The cause for this carnage is the skyrocketing trade in rhino horn, due to the false belief that it cures cancer, headaches and fever. This unscientific notion is widespread in China, as well as in some communities in South East Asia, where increased affluence is fueling the illegal rhino...
GPS Used to Track Shifts Caused by Chile’s Earthquake
The recent 8.8 Chile earthquake is the 5th most powerful on record. It sent out a wave of tsunamis, shifted the earth’s figure axis, and even shifted several places from their original points. Concepcion—one of the hardest hit places in Chile—was moved at least 10 feet (3 meters) to the west. The quake shifted a number of places throughout South America, ranging from the Falkland Islands to Brazil. Other significant shifts that occurred include: • Santiago (Chile’s capital) moved 11 inches (28 cm)...
The Easy Fix That Isn’t: White Roofs May Increase Global Warming
If you’re interested in staving off climate change without trying too hard, painting your roof white seems like a complete no-brainer. It’s far cheaper than trading in your SUV for a Prius, and it turns the laws of physics to best advantage. Dark roofs absorb sunlight that heats up your house, office tower, or apartment building. That means you’re bound to crank up the energy-intensive air conditioner to keep pace in the summer months — and since electricity in the...
Poison Apples – Is the world’s hottest tech firm a blood-fueled, polluting sweatshop brand?
Many of us who use Apple computers have a hard time imagining using any another machine. Likewise, most iPhone users probably loathe the thought of switching to a “normal” mobile phone. My own MacBook is 4 ½ years old and held together by Duck Tape, but still works a charm. And I’ve no intention of bloody going back to a clunky PC either. But there are some ethical points about Apple that bother me, despite their clean, forward-thinking image. For one, the...
View all articles
The Bolivian president has been seen as a symbol of climate justice and indigenous rights, up in till this point at least. Unfortunately he is still burdened with trying to lead a very poor country. Leaving the decisions in the hands of ‘local governments’ is of course a political cop out.
I feel sad for these people who came up with this infrastructure project, coz despite all these climate changes going on still they remained inconsiderately dumb. Same thing here, they keep on reclaiming the sea, I wont be shocked if one day people will reclaim the hell make it an official mall for all daredevil out there!