Skip to content or view mobile version

Home | Mobile | Editorial | Mission | Privacy | About | Contact | Help | Security | Support

A network of individuals, independent and alternative media activists and organisations, offering grassroots, non-corporate, non-commercial coverage of important social and political issues.

The legality of illegal logging.

GS & JNP | 12.04.2008 14:43 | Ecology | Globalisation | Repression | World

The companero pictured below talks not only of the legal battle to secure the future of the forest but also about the corruption they are fighting at the highest level. It seems more than probable that someone in the local municipal environmental offices is being paid a backhander by the loggers to break the laws that he or she is paid to uphold. Another fear the villagers have which seems well founded is that the tree disease (which the loggers use as an excuse for their activity) was deliberately introduced into the forest. It certainly seems convenient for the loggers that a previously healthy area of woodland has suddenly suffered an unexpected blight, which has given a green light to their activities.

The companero explains that the tree disease...
The companero explains that the tree disease...

...was previously unheard of in these parts.
...was previously unheard of in these parts.

So was this done deliberately?
So was this done deliberately?

To justify this?
To justify this?


Translation by Bea Lopez:

“So once more, we started again, with the Agriculture Tribunal, at our request they studied the same documents they had seen before which outlines our claim to protect the forest. On June 28th 2006 a ruling was passed in favour of San Isidro in which 104 comuneros from San Isidro are acknowledged plus another eleven with rights [over the land]. That was the ruling. It was made on the 2nd Tribunal of the 13th jurisdiction of Oaxaca. And it was ratified as legal, definitive ruling on January 22nd of the current year.
And so we at present are the owners of about 13.518.43/4 hectares of communal land in this area.
San Miguel Aloapam is acting illegally with the deforestation they are causing. Last year we arrived at SEMANART offices, and PROFEPA, we went there to ask for the treatment of the outbreak* because it was a small area (tree disease being used by the loggers as an excuse to violate the law). As my companeros said, we are protecting the forest. There are virgin areas around here with trees as big as 4mtrs in diameter. We started to suspect, and now are even more suspicious that these people from San Miguel Aloapam brought this poison to this area. This was a healthy forest it’s been only a few years this plague seems to be affecting it. We think they are trying a different way to exploit the forest.

And so this is the way we live now in San Isidro, we are not defeated yet, we are being killed, yet in peace, but while we remain alive, standing or falling, we will not allow them to continue. The water we were drinking yesterday at the village, all comes from here. If we allow the end of the forest, what kind of mother land will we leave to our children?

So I say that San Miguel Aloapam vilely wants to ignore us. But we act according to documents in our power. Last year we arrived at SEMARNAT offices and CONAFOR, where we solicited the treatment of this outbreak. We have the act from an assembly, signed by all of us, asking for the treatment of this outbreak to be managed by National Commission – CONAFOR – as this is a conflictive area of land. But it does not suit them. Why? – Because San Miguel Aloapam is offering money.

And so from there, in a meeting attended by the Secretary General from the government, SEMARNAT, PROFEPA and CONAFOR, we reached an agreement of peace and tranquillity in a resolution signed by the municipal authorities, whereby the comuneros from San Isidro Aloapam will be acknowledged. And in an assembly to take place on October 18th we will be formally registered. SEMANART authorised San Miguel Aloapam the exploitation of an area not affected by the plague.

You have to realize the extent of the complicity between the federal and state government. The National Secretary General and the Secretary from SEMARNAT signed the minutes, authorizing San Miguel Aloapam. It was also signed by The Commission for Common Wealth, and Adria Mendez, now campaigning for deputy, but then as president of the municipality. All signed the minutes.
Soon they obtained the authorisation, for what’s about 37000 cubic metres, or the equivalent to approximately 39 million pesos. Companeros please take this message to those places where you come from. We are not talking blind here, we know from documents in our power. Last year San Miguel Aloapam pocketed 39 millions pesos from the 37000 cubic metres of wood.

Of those, at least 3 millions go to someone in SEMARNAT, surely it is just one, it is not 2 or 10 to pay. It’s just one crook. Ortiz Rodea was there, that is the lady that signs, authorises the permits. When they come to enter, we can do nothing. They have documents. It is the complicity of the authorities.

I do not want to bore you as there are many more instances we can tell you about, but perhaps we can walk around to see other places were they have been logging around here.
Finally, I’m just going to say that last year as soon as they obtained the permits, the assembly for our registration was never mentioned again. There is a ruling but no one is signing it because it is not in their interest. It is more on their interest to devastate the forest. Thank you to all of you.”








Images and words © the authors. Please contact to reproduce.
 guy@guysmallman.com
 jasonnparkinson@googlemail.com


GS & JNP

Upcoming Coverage
View and post events
Upcoming Events UK
24th October, London: 2015 London Anarchist Bookfair
2nd - 8th November: Wrexham, Wales, UK & Everywhere: Week of Action Against the North Wales Prison & the Prison Industrial Complex. Cymraeg: Wythnos o Weithredu yn Erbyn Carchar Gogledd Cymru

Ongoing UK
Every Tuesday 6pm-8pm, Yorkshire: Demo/vigil at NSA/NRO Menwith Hill US Spy Base More info: CAAB.

Every Tuesday, UK & worldwide: Counter Terror Tuesdays. Call the US Embassy nearest to you to protest Obama's Terror Tuesdays. More info here

Every day, London: Vigil for Julian Assange outside Ecuadorian Embassy

Parliament Sq Protest: see topic page
Ongoing Global
Rossport, Ireland: see topic page
Israel-Palestine: Israel Indymedia | Palestine Indymedia
Oaxaca: Chiapas Indymedia
Regions
All Regions
Birmingham
Cambridge
Liverpool
London
Oxford
Sheffield
South Coast
Wales
World
Other Local IMCs
Bristol/South West
Nottingham
Scotland
Social Media
You can follow @ukindymedia on indy.im and Twitter. We are working on a Twitter policy. We do not use Facebook, and advise you not to either.
Support Us
We need help paying the bills for hosting this site, please consider supporting us financially.
Other Media Projects
Schnews
Dissident Island Radio
Corporate Watch
Media Lens
VisionOnTV
Earth First! Action Update
Earth First! Action Reports
Topics
All Topics
Afghanistan
Analysis
Animal Liberation
Anti-Nuclear
Anti-militarism
Anti-racism
Bio-technology
Climate Chaos
Culture
Ecology
Education
Energy Crisis
Fracking
Free Spaces
Gender
Globalisation
Health
History
Indymedia
Iraq
Migration
Ocean Defence
Other Press
Palestine
Policing
Public sector cuts
Repression
Social Struggles
Technology
Terror War
Workers' Movements
Zapatista
Major Reports
NATO 2014
G8 2013
Workfare
2011 Census Resistance
Occupy Everywhere
August Riots
Dale Farm
J30 Strike
Flotilla to Gaza
Mayday 2010
Tar Sands
G20 London Summit
University Occupations for Gaza
Guantanamo
Indymedia Server Seizure
COP15 Climate Summit 2009
Carmel Agrexco
G8 Japan 2008
SHAC
Stop Sequani
Stop RWB
Climate Camp 2008
Oaxaca Uprising
Rossport Solidarity
Smash EDO
SOCPA
Past Major Reports
Encrypted Page
You are viewing this page using an encrypted connection. If you bookmark this page or send its address in an email you might want to use the un-encrypted address of this page.
If you recieved a warning about an untrusted root certificate please install the CAcert root certificate, for more information see the security page.

Global IMC Network


www.indymedia.org

Projects
print
radio
satellite tv
video

Africa

Europe
antwerpen
armenia
athens
austria
barcelona
belarus
belgium
belgrade
brussels
bulgaria
calabria
croatia
cyprus
emilia-romagna
estrecho / madiaq
galiza
germany
grenoble
hungary
ireland
istanbul
italy
la plana
liege
liguria
lille
linksunten
lombardia
madrid
malta
marseille
nantes
napoli
netherlands
northern england
nottingham imc
paris/île-de-france
patras
piemonte
poland
portugal
roma
romania
russia
sardegna
scotland
sverige
switzerland
torun
toscana
ukraine
united kingdom
valencia

Latin America
argentina
bolivia
chiapas
chile
chile sur
cmi brasil
cmi sucre
colombia
ecuador
mexico
peru
puerto rico
qollasuyu
rosario
santiago
tijuana
uruguay
valparaiso
venezuela

Oceania
aotearoa
brisbane
burma
darwin
jakarta
manila
melbourne
perth
qc
sydney

South Asia
india


United States
arizona
arkansas
asheville
atlanta
Austin
binghamton
boston
buffalo
chicago
cleveland
colorado
columbus
dc
hawaii
houston
hudson mohawk
kansas city
la
madison
maine
miami
michigan
milwaukee
minneapolis/st. paul
new hampshire
new jersey
new mexico
new orleans
north carolina
north texas
nyc
oklahoma
philadelphia
pittsburgh
portland
richmond
rochester
rogue valley
saint louis
san diego
san francisco
san francisco bay area
santa barbara
santa cruz, ca
sarasota
seattle
tampa bay
united states
urbana-champaign
vermont
western mass
worcester

West Asia
Armenia
Beirut
Israel
Palestine

Topics
biotech

Process
fbi/legal updates
mailing lists
process & imc docs
tech