Measured by the richness of its cultural and biological diversity, Papua New Guinea is the wealthiest of nations. As much as 10 percent of the world’s terrestrial species flourish in its tropical rainforests, and many of these species are found nowhere else.
It’s been high drama since Rai Coast residents went to trial on September 21, asking the court for a permanent injunction against a Chinese company’s plan to dump its mine and refinery waste into the sea. Since March, Ramu NiCo Management (MCC) has been under a temporary injunction that halted construction of a pipeline from its Rai Coast nickel and cobalt refinery into the Bismarck Sea.
In response to the abuse of Samburu people by Kenyan police that was documented by Cultural Survival, a Kenyan organization has initiated trainings for police who are sent to Samburu East district. Michael Tiampati, national coordinator of the Pastoralists Development Network of Kenya, reports that many of the police officers “ are ignorant because of stereotypes…They are transferred to this area and they want to convert pastoralists to suit their imagined ‘civilised’ society.
Cultural Survival congratulates new Right Livelihood Award winners Nnimmo Bassey and Erwin Krautler, both lifelong champions for Indigenous Peoples’ rights and environmental protection. Bassey, a Nigerian poet/environmentalist, and Krautler, a Brazilian Catholic bishop, are two of four recipients of this year’s award, which is widely known as the “Alternative Nobel Prize.” The Right Livelihood Award honors and supports those "offering practical and exemplary answers to the most urgent challenges facing us today." There are now 141 Laureates from 59 countries.
Chile's president, Sebastian Pinera, announced during the country's bicentenary celebration that he would spend $4 billion for development in southern Araucania, which is where most Mapuche live, and that he would open talks with Mapuche leaders on land rights issues and other concerns. The announcement comes as 34 Mapuche activists are conducting a hunger strike in prison to protest their being jailed on charges of terrorism.
After decades of protests and battles, the proposed hydroelectric Belo Monte Dam was given written approval by Brazil’s president President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. The dam is to surpass the Three Gorges Dam in China in size and volume. The hydroelectric project on the mouth of the Xingu River will devastate vast regions and ecosystems in the Amazonian state of Para and displace more than 50,000 Indigenous people.
Logging giant threatens to suspend all transport services for locals unless Penan retract sexual abuse allegations
MODEL LETTER
DATE
Ricardo Martinelli Berrocal
Presidente de la República
Presidencia de la República
Panamá 1
República de Panamá
Fax +(507) 527-9034
Email: prensa@presidencia.gob.pa
Dear Sr. Presidente,
Ministry of Finance excludes Samling Global from the Norwegian Government Pension Fund
OSLO, NORWAY. One of the world's largest institutional investors, the Norwegian Government Pension Fund, has sold all its 16 million shares of Malaysian timber giant Samling Global, worth 1.2 million US $, as a consequence of a groundbreaking decision announced today by the Norwegian Ministry of Finance.
Land Acknowledgement
We acknowledge that we are headquartered on Massachusett land, in Cambridge, MA, and we thank the past, current, and future Indigenous stewards of this territory.
