OUTSIDE OF THE AMAZON, Nicaragua's East coast features the largest
intact tropical rainforest in the Western Hemisphere. The lush
territory has a dispassionate name, the North Atlantic Autonomous
Region; but it is home to everything we are passionate about. The
region is a vast, old growth rainforest ecosystem with mahogany trees,
medicinal plants and countless species of animals and insects. It is
the traditional homeland of Miskito, Sumu, and Rama Indians.
The Nicaraguan Constitution recognizes the Indian populations in the
coastal rainforest as autonomous nations; however, despite their
opposition, Nicaragua's Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources
recently granted extensive logging concessions there to Solcarsa, a
subsidiary of the Korean-based transnational company Kumkyng.
This past February, however, Nicaragua's Supreme Court ruled the
concession unconstitutional. Nicaraguan law requires companies to
consult regional advisory councils in assessing the environmental
impact of logging operations. Solcarsa took a shortcut: the company
obtained endorsements only from the regional governor and the council
president.
Despite these sanctions Solcarsa is still building roads, and is still
cutting down old growth rainforest trees. Nicaragua is one of the
poorest countries in Central America, and the influx of foreign
capital gives a temporary boost to the economy. For now, neither the
government of President Arnoldo Aleman nor the Ministry of Environment
has made any efforts to enforce the Supreme Court's ruling against
Solcarsa - but when the timber is gone the logging company will move
on, leaving the economy in ruins, and the ecosystem too degraded to
provide a livelihood for its inhabitants.
According to sources in Nicaragua, the wood treatment plants Solcarsa
operates in the coastal rainforest use toxic chemicals that have been
banned in most countries. These chemicals run directly into the
rivers and streams that supply drinking water for local traditional
communities. Solcarsa has demonstrated no respect for community
interests or needs, has built logging facilities without approval, and
has relocated entire indigenous settlements that were in the path of
the company's chainsaws.
The international community is taking notice of Nicaragua's rainforest
crisis. In early October, The Human Rights Commission of the
Organization of American States ruled that the Nicaraguan government
violated international law by ignoring its own Supreme Court ruling.
On November 10 this year, a worldwide day of solidarity, activists in
communities across the U.S. and in Nicaragua called on Nicaruagua's
President Aleman to uphold his Constitution, stand up for indigenous
rights, and put an immediate end to logging concessions in the coastal
old growth rainforest.
Now is the time to let Nicaragua's government know that it must
protect the integrity of its environment and indigenous cultures.
President Arnoldo Aleman
Casa de Presidente
Managua, Nicaragua
Dear President Aleman,
Nicaragua recognizes the self-determination of
its indigenous peoples, yet despite their opposition the logging
company Solcarsa is cutting down old growth rainforests in the North
Atlantic Autonomous Region. Although ruled unconstitutional by the
Nicaraguan Surpreme Court, Solcarsa's operations have continued to
destroy ancient trees and poison local rivers.
I am asking you to make protecting your old growth rainforests a
priority, and to require that the company compensate the indigenous
community for the damage it has done to their homeland.