Untitled Document
NEW MOON UPDATE
June 2006
UPDATES FROM THE SOUTH
Amazonian Indigenous Leaders Bring Their Message to Texas
One of the greatest threats to the indigenous partner organizations of Pachamama is the entrance of petroleum companies into their ancestral territories. These large and powerful corporations are a source of constant worry for the Nationalities and Federations of indigenous peoples throughout all of Ecuador, and have been implicated in numerous human rights and environmental policy debates with indigenous groups over the past several decades. Conflicts have been especially prevalent in the northern part of the Ecuadorian Amazon—perhaps most notably with the Huaorani. Having witnessed the destructive impacts of oil on their northern neighbors, a group of indigenous leaders from three nations in Ecuador’s south central Amazon and neighboring Peru recently traveled to Houston with support from Pachamama to inform a major petroleum company that, under no circumstances, would they permit oil exploration and drilling on their territories.
On 31 March 2006, the Houston-based oil and gas company ConocoPhillips completed its acquisition of Burlington Resources, another oil company also based in Houston. The result of the merger is the third largest oil and gas company in the United States. The former Burlington, whose assets ConocoPhillips now controls, held oil concessions referred to as Block 23 and Block 24 in Ecuador, and Lot 104 in Peru. These concessions add to around 2 million acres—all of which are located on the ancestral lands of the Shuar, Kichwa and Achuar of Ecuador and Peru. Since 2000 Burlington has been involved in an aggressive campaign to enter and extract oil from these concessions in the face of opposition from indigenous inhabitants.
During the week of May 8th, two indigenous leaders from Ecuador, Domingo Ankuash (Shuar) and Jose Gualinga (Kichwa from Sarayaku), and one from Peru, Andres Sandi (Achuar), traveled to the headquarters of ConocoPhillips in Houston—a journey made possible in part by Pachamama funding. On Monday the 8th, the leaders spoke at the Artery art space about the 10 year struggle to keep oil industries out of the territories and were present for the premier of the “Conoco at the Crossroads” a new documentary film produced by Amazon Watch. On the morning of Wednesday the 10th Mr. Ankuash, Mr. Gualinga, and Mr. Sandi led a protest joined by supporters and local residents at the annual shareholder meeting of ConocoPhillips at the Omni Houston Hotel Westside. The leaders concluded their ultimatum to ConocoPhillips as follows: “Considering everything we have mentioned, we demand the nullification of the concessions made in our territories and the definitive withdrawal of the oil companies from our territories. The earth is our mother. You do not sell nor buy your mother.”
Learn more about the trip and about Burlington Resources from the Amazon Watch website, including: a transcript of the leaders’ declaration, the press release, and the new film “Conoco at the Crossroads”
Ecuador: Indigenous Leaders Exchange Experiences in Protecting Biodiversity and Traditional Territories
From Amazon Alliance: On April 18-20, indigenous leaders from eleven countries from Mexico through Chile met in the Ecuadorian town of Puyo to share their experiences defending their territories and environment and to evaluate their relationships with international conservation organizations. The exchange, entitled “Biodiversity and territorial rights: towards new relationships between indigenous peoples and conservationism,” was organized by the Amazon Alliance with the collaboration of Ecuador’s Fundacion Pachamama, the University of Autonomous Regions of the Nicaraguan Caribe Coast (URACCAN), and US-based Center for Support of Native Lands.
Participants in the meeting reflected on current trends in biodiversity conservation including how it is financed, how priorities are set internationally, and how the conservation community views indigenous peoples and their territories. The leaders then presented what their organizations are doing to defend their territories from a variety of threats including extractive industries, harmful government policies, and top-down development schemes. Indigenous leaders expressed frustration with external conservation models that do not take into consideration their vision of territory and which regularly fail to address the underlying political and economic forces that are destroying their environment and cultures.
A public panel showcased three dramatic examples of how indigenous peoples from Awas Tigni - Nicaragua, Sarayaku - Ecuador and Raposa Serra do Sol – Brazil have resorted to the InterAmerican Human Rights system in order to defend their territories from environmental destruction. Others described the challenges that indigenous peoples face when protected areas are created over their traditional territories. Examples include Williche people of Chile who were able to redraw the borders of the Chiloe National Park and the Miskito and Tawahka of Nicaragua and Honduras who have not been adequately consulted in the creation of the Transborder Biosphere Reserve.
Since 1992, at least 80% of new protected areas in Latin America have been created on indigenous peoples’ traditional territories. The concept of free prior and informed consent appears in many international instruments such as the Convention on Biological Diversity, ILO Convention 169, not to mention the policies of a few international conservation organizations. However in practice, it is not applied in many conservation projects which tend to be designed by states in concert with NGO’s.
Participants in the Exchange in Puyo came from 11 countries from North, Central, and South America.
The exchange has prompted the creation of an international network that will enable indigenous organizations to further share their experiences with conservation and to help them gain direct access to funding for the environmental protection of their territories. For more information contact intercambio@amazonalliance.org.
UPDATE FROM THE NORTH
Awakening the Dreamer Initiative Goes Global
About a year after its initial launching, the Awakening the Dreamer Initiative is experiencing its most rapid expansion to date with 544 people participating in a Symposium this month alone. And with several requests to bring the Symposium to international audiences this spring, the Initiative has now entered the global arena.
The first two international Symposiums took place at the beginning of this month at the Quest for Global Healing Conference in Ubud, Bali: one at the Global Youth in Action gathering, attended by youth under age 30 from around the world, and the other as a post-conference offering. Both were well received and the diverse feedback was found to be very useful in shaping the future of the Symposium for international audiences. The third Symposium was presented at the Be the Change Conference in London, UK on May 14th. The venue was filled over-capacity with 116 people in attendance and it generated a large demand for a Facilitator Training in the UK, which we are working to organize there in the fall.
Domestically, the Symposium has been rapidly expanding across the United States. Symposiums have been held all over the Bay Area, in the Southwest, the Northwest and in Northeast. In Washington DC recently, a creative Symposium was presented at a peace vigil across from the White House at the invitation of Code Pink Founder, Medea Benjamin. One was also held in South Dakota and others are planned in Texas and Florida. We have requests to bring the Symposium to Indiana, Michigan and southern California. As May 2006 comes to an end, there have been 59 Symposiums with a total of 2, 145 participants.
This exponential growth is primarily due to the 41 Facilitators trained last summer who began presenting Symposiums in their own communities and beyond. This spring there were two more trainings that completed, a third on the west coast and the first one on the east coast. We currently have close to 100 trained Facilitators - some with plans to bring the Symposium to Australia, France, Greece and Czechoslovakia this year.
We are also finding that there is a hunger and a longing for this type of material and message to get out into the mainstream. With the help of the Symposium Facilitators and all the organizations and individuals participating in this great emergence, we may find that the dream of the modern world changes faster than we thought was possible.
Symposium Facilitator Training: West Coast Summer Session to Begin on June 16
Join a growing body of nearly 100 committed and connected individuals who are trained and actively delivering the Awakening the Dreamer, Changing the Dream Symposium to communities across the country. The only prerequisite for being trained is to have attended a Symposium, and the willingness to make a difference in the world. To see dates for the west coast summer and fall sessions, and the east coast fall session, click here...
To attend the June 3 Symposium in San Francisco, to rsvp call 415-561-4522 or email...
UPCOMING EVENTS
Awakening the Dreamer, Changing the Dream Symposium
Saturday, June 3, 2006 - 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM San Francisco: Come find out about the unique work of Pachamama both in the rainforest and here at home, and what you can do to bring forth an environmentally sustainable, spiritually fulfilling, and socially just human presence on this planet. Space is limited; to reserve your place, please call 415-561-4522 or email...
The New Great Dream - An Evening with John Renesch
Tuesday, June 13- San Francisco: Join us for our June monthly gathering as businessman-turned-futurist, John Renesch, facilitates a conversation on the potential we have to collectively create a world that works for all life - something he calls the "New Great Dream." He will explain why he thinks it is possible to achieve this vision at our current stage in human evolution, offering suggestions for individual, organizational and societal action that increase the probability of such a transformation and exploring activities and attitudes which thwart such a shift. John has published several books on consciousness and business, his most recent being "Getting to the Better Future: A Matter of Conscious Choosing". He is currently working on a new book that he is calling, "The New Human: Beyond the Naked Ape", where he details the "New Great Dream" and how we can achieve it.
An introduction to The Pachamama Alliance will begin the evening at 6:30 pm, followed by dinner (no host) and the evening's presentation. This month's venue is Pena Pachamama, located at 1630 Powell Street, in North Beach, San Francisco, CA. To rsvp, please call 415-561-4522 or
email...
Pachamama’s 2nd Annual East Coast Fundraising Luncheon
Tuesday, June 13th, 12 Noon - 1:30 pm - Westin Copley Place Hotel - Boston, Massachusetts: Come find out about the unique work of Pachamama both in the rainforest and here at home, and what you can do to bring forth an environmentally sustainable, spiritually fulfilling, and socially just human presence on this planet. Space is limited; to reserve your place, please contact Natalie Doel at 415-561-4522 ext. 109 or email...
As a follow-up to last month’s Pachamama gathering, the following workshop is being held on July 6th
The Common Ground Approach - Transforming Our Approach To Conflict
July 6th, 6 - 9pm, Sausalito, CA: Our ability to find creative solutions to personal, national and international issues depends on our capacity to handle conflict. Search for Common Ground (SFGG) is offering a new workshop to teach universal principles and practices of responding to conflict in new ways that are applicable to everyone, regardless of issue or scope. Understand the parallel between personal and global interactions. Training led by Susan Collins Marks, Exec. Vice Pres. of SFCG and world-renowned expert in conflict resolution and peace building. For more information, contact Susie Dillon - sdillon@sfcg.org, 202-777-2231. $50 registration fee. No one turned away for lack of funds.
NEW MOON ACTION
This Summer - Power Green, Travel Green
Did you know that 98 percent of the electricity produced in the U.S. comes from nonrenewable resources? This is the leading cause of industrial air pollution, greatly contributing to climate change. The remaining 2% is generated from renewable resources, such as solar, geothermal, small hydro, biomass, and wind. One option for supplying your home with clean energy is through the purchase of renewable certificates (TRCs or "green tags"), which help replace nonrenewable sources from electric grid with renewable ones. To learn more and to purchase, click here...
Each year, Green Globe 21, based on principles for sustainable development that were endorsed by 182 heads of state at the United Nations Earth Summit in Rio, provides companies, communities, and citizens with an independent, certifying standard for sustainable tourism. It certifies everything from accommodations and adventure activities to vineyards. The standard ensures that these tourist destinations apply ecologically sustainable development principles and practices to their operations. To learn more and to identify sustainable destinations and activities, click here...
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Pachamama Wish List
One way that you can support the work of Pachamama is by donating useful
items that the organization has a need for. Our list includes: Mac computers
(OS 10), portable printers, frequent flyer miles, portable
speakers, flip chart easel (heavy duty), conference and director chairs, and
music stands. To make a donation, please contact Rhiannon Gillespie at
415-561-4522 x101 or email...
RELATED NEWS
Multi-National Mining Project in Chile Threatens Pristine Glaciers and Indigenous Populations
In the Valle de San Felix, the purest water in Chile runs from 2 rivers, fed by 2 glaciers. Indigenous farmers use the water for community needs and farming. Under the glaciers huge deposits of gold, silver and other Minerals have been identified. To get at these, it would be necessary to to destroy the glaciers by creating two mountainous holes - one for extraction and one for the mine's waste.
The project is called PASCUA LAMA and the company involved is Barrick Gold. The Chilean Government has approved the project to start this year and it has been delayed due to the farmers achieving a temporary stay of execution. If they destroy the glaciers, they will not just destroy the source of pure water, but they will permanently contaminate the 2 rivers which will never again be fit for human or animal consumption due to the use of cyanide and sulfuric acid in the extraction process. All the gold will go abroad, leaving poisoned water and illness for the local inhabitants.
If you feel moved to take action, please send a message declaring your support by requesting that the mining project be cancelled. The message can be sent to noapascualama@yahoo.ca. A sample email is:
I ask the Chilean Government not to authorize the Pascua Lama project in order to protect the pristine glaciers, the purity of the water of the San Felix Valley and El Transito, the quality of the agricultural land in the Atacama region, the
quality of life of the Diaguita people and of the entire population of the region.
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