UN more worried about its logo than human rights abuse 26 August

A Totobiegosode woman after she was forced out of the forest, Paraguayan Chaco. © Ruedi Suter/Survival

STOP PRESS

August 31st, 2011

Yaguarete has now reinstated the UN Global Compact logo on its website.

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Ayoreo Indians in Paraguay have been left amazed by the UN’s reaction to a formal complaint they issued against cattle ranching company Yaguarete Pora.

In May, Ayoreo leaders issued a formal complaint against the company’s involvement in the UN Global Compact, an initiative allegedly designed to encourage businesses to comply with environmental and human rights principles.

The Ayoreo pointed out that the company has been found guilty of illegally clearing forest in their ancestral territory and withholding evidence proving that uncontacted Ayoreo Indians are living there.

The UN’s response to the Indians’ request that it remove the company from the initiative stated, ‘We have neither the resources nor the mandate to conduct investigations into any of our participants.’

But now the UN has written to Yaguarete. However, far from taking issue with its human rights abuses, the UN complained that Yaguarete was displaying its logo without having filled in the necessary form, and asked it to remove the logo from its website.

Now you see it........................................................ Now you don't © Survival

The Global Compact logo immediately disappeared from the company’s website.

Uncontacted Indians could be wiped out if the cattle ranchers continue to destroy the forest on which the Indians depend for their surviva
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Forest Protection.

Climate Talks Back $100 Billion Aid Fund, Forest Protection.

“Envoys at UN talks [in Cancun] agreed to a package[known as the Cancun Agreements] aimed at limiting global warming by protecting forests, advising nations on adapting to higher temperatures and opening a $100 billion Green Climate Fund…. The Fund would manage a ‘significant share’ of the $100 billion pledged last year in climate aid from richer to poorer nations….” [Bloomberg]

AFP addsthat “…the Fund will be steered by a board of 24 members chosen evenly from developed and developing nations. For the first three years, the new international organization would be overseen by the World Bank….The EU, Japan and the US since last year led pledges of $30 billion in immediate assistance, to rise to $100 billion a year to start by 2020. A broader issue is just how wealthy nations would raise the money, with few governments enthusiastic to commit such large amounts in tough economic times. Some envoys advocated taxing airplane and shipping fuel….” [Agence France Presse/Factiva]

ABC News reports that “…one of the key agreements from the Cancun climate summit is a deal to pay poor countries to stop chopping down their rainforests. The agreement, Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD), was completed at the weekend…. One of the main sticking points was the possible inclusion of carbon markets to pay for forest protection but this has been left out…. The deal also offers Indigenous groups some limited protection that they will have access to the forests for cultural or traditional purposes….” [ABC News (Australia)]

Meanwhile, Dow Jones writes that “…the talks left in doubt the future of the Kyoto Protocol…. Japan indicated it doesn't intend to take on deeper emission-cutting obligations under a future treaty unless China and the US, too, pledge to shoulder a big chunk of the cost of a climate cleanup. China and the US say they are moving to slow their emissions growth voluntarily, through such moves as ramping up use of renewable energy. Both have declined to agree to mandatory emissions cuts….” [Dow Jones/Factiva]

Reuters adds that “…the world's governments face a new battle in South Africa in 2011 between rich and poor about slowing climate change… Cancun rejected calls by small island states, which fear they will be washed off the map by rising sea levels, to set a deadline for a treaty when environment ministers next meet in Durban, South Africa, in a year's time….Durban is likely to be the scene of a battle…about how to extend or replace the Kyoto Protocol….” [Reuters/Factiva]

Million-dollar beds fuel Madagascar timber crisis

Million-dollar beds fuel Madagascar timber crisis

Some of the ebony and rosewood, like the wood shown here, is destined for use as guitar fretboards

Soaring demand in China and political unrest in Madagascar are fuelling illegal logging for hardwoods in the African nation, a report concludes.

Global Witness and the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) talked to loggers, government agencies and traders to compile their report.
In China, they discovered beds on sale for $1m, made from Madagascan wood.
The report was launched at the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) meeting in Nagoya, Japan.
Madagascan politics is split between factions associated with ex-President Marc Ravalomana and the rival who ousted him in a 2009 coup, Andry Rajoelina.
Conservation groups have previously warned that illegal extraction of timber and wildlife could flourish in this milieu, but the EIA/Global Witness is the first investigation to show the scale of the problem.

"The pre-existing problem of illegal logging was turned into a flood of tree-cutting in national parks, and a flood of wood out of Madagascar to China and the West," said Alexander von Bismarck, EIA's executive director.

Felling the three species concerned - ebony, rosewood and pallisander - is forbidden, but the government has issued permits cheaply for traders to export stockpiles, which led to further logging.
The two organisations were asked by Madagascar's national parks service to conduct the investigation.
This official endorsement enabled them to access records in government departments, such as cargo manifests and trade data.
But most of the details emerged through contact with the loggers and traders, who appeared - in written accounts and in video produced during the investigations - not at all concerned with keeping their activities under wraps.
Instead they were keen to take the investigators, posing as buyers, into the heart of the logging zone.
"Within one day we had the staff of the top boss in [the town of] Antalaha saying 'we'll take you into the National Park and show you where we cut wood for this German buyer'," Mr von Bismarck recounted.
The result was a four-day trek into Masoala National Park, part of a Unesco World Heritage Site - one where logging is seen to have been so serious that it was recently placed on the World Heritage In Danger list.
EIA and Global Witness also went undercover in China and other countries, discussing with people in the furniture trade where the wood came from and how much it was worth.
In China, its prime use is as reproduction furniture that can fetch extraordinary prices - such as the $1m bed.

The EIA found beds such as this one selling for $1m

An estimated 98% of the wood ended up in China, with the remainder going to the US and EU nations.
The recently-implemented Lacey Act, which makes an offence of importing illegally-logged timber, has reportedly deterred many buyers in the US. Last year it led to authorities mounting a raid on the world-famous Gibson guitar company over allegedly illegal Madagascan rosewood.
Broken promises
Speaking to BBC News at the CBD meeting here, Madagascar's director-general of forests, Julien Noel Rakotoarisoa, acknowledged the report broadly gave a "pretty accurate account" of the situation as it was.
But, he said, things were changing.

“Start Quote

Even more serious is the illegal hunting of some of the country's most endangered and most charismatic flagship species that inevitably accompanies these logging activities”

End Quote Russ Mittermeier Conservation International

The last export permit was issued a year ago, and no more would be forthcoming.

A few months ago, he said, a consignment of 300 tonnes of rosewood that had left Madagascar without going through customs was intercepted in the Comoros Islands nearby - a sign that illegal exports would be tackled.
He appealed to China to block the imports.
"If only they try to to work with the international community [on this]," he said.
"If they could... forbid importation, that would be a big step towards improving the situation."
This was a theme taken up by Alexander von Bismarck.
"In 2009, China issued a code of conduct for timber companies overseas," he said.
"If there is one example of a code of conduct being broken, it is clearly the companies that are stealing Madagascar's wood."
According to EIA's calculations, less than 1% of the wood's final value remains in Madgascar.
The Chinese delegation at the CBD meeting here did not respond to requests for comment.
Track record
Meanwhile, the Madagascan authorities are asking for the three woods to be placed on Appendix Three of the Convention on Interntional Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), which would require importing countries to obtain certificates tracking the wood from its point of origin.

An estimated 98% of illegal wood ends up in China

Such certificates could not then be issued in Madagascar, as harvesting the trees is illegal.
But John Scanlon, CITES secretary-general, said the government had yet to submit the information required to secure listing.
"Madgascar has indicated an interest in putting these species on Appendix Three, but a number of things have to be done before they're eligible for listing," he told BBC News.
"We haven't yet got enough information to be able to proceed."
Mr Rakotoarisoa said he hoped the requisite documents would be with CITES early in the New Year.
Meanwhile, despite the withholding of export permits, illegal logging continues, according to Alexander von Bismarck.
"Less than two weeks ago, we had reports, with GPS co-ordinates, of logging within the National Park," he said.
Russ Mittermeier, president of Conservation International which runs a number of projects in Madagascar, said the country's political instability was having an impact on nature that went far beyond hardwood species.
"Perhaps even more serious is the illegal hunting of some of the country's most endangered and most charismatic flagship species that inevitably accompanies these logging activities," he said.
"For instance, the report provided evidence of lemur hunting in Masaola National Park, with the preferred target being the spectacular red ruffed lemur, a species found nowhere else in the world.
"The loss of this animal and many others threatened by such hunting would have serious consequences for Madagascar's ecotourism industry, one of its most important long-term sustainable sources of foreign exchange."

Biodiversity is the term used to describe the incredible variety of life that has evolved on our planet over billions of years. So far 1.75m present day species have been recorded, but there maybe as many as 13m in total.

The term "biodiversity" refers to diversity of ecosystems, species and genes. In wetlands, for example, you might find different types of fish, frogs, crabs and snails; and within each species, differences in the genes which determine disease resistance, diet and body size. Research shows that ecosytems containing more variety are more productive and more robust.

Biodiversity loss affects most of the major branches of life on Earth. Amphibians and corals are among some of the most threatened. Rising human populations, habitat loss, invasive species and climate change all take their toll.

Around half of the planet's natural environments had been converted for human use by 1990. The IUCN projects that a further 10-20% of grass and forest land could be converted by 2050.

Deforestation represents one of the most serious threats to biodiversity. The map shows the extent of the planet's remaining frontier forests - which exist in a state untouched by human interference - and the original extent of forest cover.

The rising population and economic growth mean that natural resources are used at less and less sustainable rates. WWF calculates that by 2050, humanity's resource use would need two-and-a-half Earths to be sustainable.

The economic benefits of preserving the natural world

Nature's gift: The economic benefits of preserving the natural world

Forests and the insects than live in them provide huge economic benefits

Slowing down the destruction of the Earth's natural resources is essential if the global economy, and the businesses that drive it, are to prosper long term.

The current rate of destruction is estimated to cost the world trillions of dollars every year, and the damage will only get get worse unless wide-ranging measures are taken to stop it.
The reason is simple - population growth is the main driver behind those factors that are causing biodiversity loss.

Biodiversity: The threat to nature

There are currently about 6.7 billion people living on Earth, and this number is projected to grow to 9.2 billion by 2050 - that's roughly the population of the UK being added to the planet every year.

This means we'll need 70% more food, according to the United Nations (UN), just one of the many additional pressures on Earth's finite resources.
If left unchecked, these pressures will lead to the ever-faster destruction of nature, which could cost the world $28.6tn (£18.2tn), or 18% of global economic output, by 2050, according to the UN-backed Principles of Responsible Investment and corporate environmental research group Trucost.
That's about twice the current output of the US, the world's biggest economy.
Valuing nature
So what can be done?
A vital step has already been taken - for the first time in history, we now have at least a rough idea of the economic cost of depleting the earth's natural resources.

The economic value of mangroves is often greater than the shrimp farms that replace them

This not only means that governments, businesses and consumers can understand the gravity of the problem, but it also means the value of nature can be factored into business decisions.
As Will Evison, environmental economist at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), says: "No-one is saying we should just stop converting pristine land, just that the value of the environment is recognised".
For example, a study on the conversion of mangroves to commercial shrimp farms in southern Thailand estimated the net economic returns at $1,122 per hectare a year.
The conclusion, at least for the shrimp farmer, is clear - there is an economic benefit of converting the mangroves.
But once the wider costs of the conversion - what economists call externalities - are taken into account, a very different conclusion is reached.

Directors' bonuses don't have to be included [in company accounts] from a pure profit and loss point of view, but they are. Environmental externalities should be the same”

End Quote Pavan Sukhdev Teeb

The economic benefits from the mangroves of collecting wood, providing nurseries for offshore fisheries and protection against storms total $10,821 a hectare, far outweighing the benefits of converting them into a shrimp farm.

Damage limitation
There are a number of initiatives, some already introduced and some in the pipeline, that are specifically designed to ensure that the economic value of nature is recognised.
One example is reduced emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, or REDD, under which forest owners are paid not to cut down trees. A number of governments across the world have committed hundreds of millions of dollars to these projects.
Another is habitat banking, the market for which currently stands at around $3bn in the US, where companies that degrade natural areas are forced to restore nature elsewhere.
Trade in forest conservation obligations in Brazil and ground-water salinity credits in Australia have also proved successful.
Alongside these schemes and those like them, there are various compensation arrangements that make those causing environmental damage pay for it, just like carbon credits that currently exist.
Exemptions from these various taxes, charges and fees, as well as subsidies, are also used to encourage environmentally responsible behaviour.
There is also growing pressure for companies to begin incorporating the costs of the damage that they do to the Earth's natural resources into their profit and loss accounts.

Governments have committed hundreds of millions of dollars to preserving rainforests

Only by incorporating these costs into their accounts, many argue, will companies be forced to reduce their impact on the natural world.
"Directors' bonuses don't have to be included [in company accounts] from a pure profit and loss point of view, but they are. Environmental externalities should be the same," says Pavan Sukhdev, a career banker and team leader of the United Nations' The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (Teeb) study.
"This is not a straightforward process and needs standard methodologies accepted by everyone, but it could be achieved within 10 years."
The next step would be to incorporate environmental assets into national accounts.
Protecting assets
But many companies already do acknowledge the costs of biodiversity loss.
A survey conducted by PwC earlier this year found that 27% of chief executives were either "extremely" or "somewhat" concerned about biodiversity loss, but there was a large disparity between those operating in developed economies and those in emerging markets.

Indeed many multinational companies have made significant investments in protecting the natural resources upon which their success depends.
These include investments to mitigate the impact of tighter regulation, such as shipping giant Swire's decision to buy up swathes of rainforest to offset the possible introduction of pollution taxes in the shipping industry.
Indeed those companies that are well prepared for more stringent regulation, and have made the necessary investment in protecting the natural assets that serve them, will gain an important competitive advantage.
But it's not just a question of risk mitigation - there are also opportunities for companies that act in an environmentally responsible manner.
Brewing giant SABMiller has made considerable investments in reforestation in Columbia and South Africa, as well as setting stringent targets for reducing water consumption - commitments, it says, that helped the company secure licences to brew in Australia, "because the authorities trust that we will be water efficient", says Andy Wales, the brewer's global head of sustainable development.
Contrast this with mining group Vedanta, which has been denied permission both to expand its aluminium operations and to mine bauxite in India after campaigners claimed the company had ignored the needs of indigenous peoples.
Consumer attitudes
Companies also recognise that they need to react to increasing customer awareness of environmental issues.
For example, another survey conducted by PwC in May found that more than half of UK consumers were willing to pay between 10% and 25% more for goods up to £100 to account for their impact on the natural world.

More companies are investing in sustainable practices to meet consumer demand

Such changing consumer attitudes mean that more and more companies are investing in reducing their impact on nature.
For example, the world's biggest retailer Walmart has introduced sustainability criteria as part of its official product sourcing process.
Coffee giant Starbucks has also invested millions of dollars in protecting natural resources because "we know maintaining biodiversity makes a difference to our coffee drinkers" according to Tim McCoy, the company's head of communications.
Natura, the Brazilian cosmetics group with a turnover of $2.4bn, has committed to sourcing products sustainably from natural sources in order to appeal to consumers, while French energy group GDF Suez has invested in conserving biodiversity on its landfill sites purely as part of its "reputational risk management".
Google Maps has even launched a service that allows users to track changes in forest cover across the world.
Sub head
Not everything some companies say about their environmental commitments can be believed, but the fact that they are saying it at all is what's important, says Mr Sukhdev.
"Once you get away from denial, you pass through a phase of understanding and then one of empty rhetoric before you arrive at action. The stage of empty rhetoric is part of the process."
And those companies that do take action will win out in the long run.
The costs of failing to protect the Earth's natural resources and the services they provide, and the price of failing to grasp the opportunities that investing in nature present, are simply too great for those that do not.

This is the third in a series of three articles on the economic cost of human activity on the natural world.

The first looked at the full impact of the degradation of the natural world on the global economy - both on business and consumers.
The second looked at the direct costs to businesses, both large and small.