The UN Convention on Biological Diversity urged the governments on November 29th to conduct strict risk assessments and consult indigenous people and other local communities before releasing organisms into the environment with “exterminator technology” such as gene drives. The decision to consult the people about this dangerous genetic modification of organisms was celebrated by Friends of the Earth and the…
Days before the first anniversary of the murders of eight indigenous people of the Philippine village Datal Bonglangon, Mindanao Island, on December 3rd, 2017, one of the lawyers supporting the local community, Pochoy Labog, directly accused the company that has been occupying this native territory since early 1990s. He is also accusing Rodrigo Duterte´s administration, due to its policies complacent…
Monday marks the first anniversary of the massacre of eight indigenous people in Datal Bonglangon village, South Cotabato province, on the southern Philippine island of Mindanao. The inhabitants of the small community paid with their lives the demands for their ancestral lands and the resistance to the coffee and mining industry for export. Their blood taints the company and Rodrigo…
With certain advances in the recognition of the role of indigenous people and local communities in terms of the conservation of biological diversity, the 14th Conference of the Parties (COP 14) to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity came to an end in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. Nevertheless, some environmental organizations are worried about the role of corporations in the official…
This November, the West African Caravan on Water, Land and Seeds is traveling through West Africa to promote food sovereignty and agroecology. People are joining the caravan to defend small-scale food producers' access to natural resources. The Caravan represents hundreds of victims of land and water grabbing and exposes the failings of industrial food production. The Caravan is passing through…
An ancient forest in the West of Germany was on the verge of destruction to expand a coal mine - until the hard work of activists from local communities and further afield paid off.
The 14th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) started on Saturday in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, under the theme “Investing in biodiversity for people and planet”. The event will take place through November 29th. Environmental activist Isaac Rojas, Friends of the Earth International´s Forests and Biodiversity program coordinator, who is present at the COP, warned that…
“It´s a sham” saying that the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) is solving the serious socioenvironmental effects of this industry, said Nigerian environmental activist Rita Uwaka. “There are more environmental abuses, human rights abuses in countries where most of these RSPO certified companies exist”, she added. The annual conference of the RSPO is taking place from Monday to Thursday…
On October 27-28, Friends of the Earth Spain, together with La Vía Campesina Europe and other agrarian, cattle farming, environmental and consumption groups celebrated “The Days of Action for Good Food” demanding changes in the food system based on policies that promote healthy food for the people and the planet. “We´ve been seeing for years that the European food system…
The resolutions and conclusions of the Intergovernmental Working Group submitted by Luis Gallegos, permanent representative of Ecuador at the UN and chair of the negotiations, were approved, but the representatives of the European Union were the only ones there who did not agree with the conclusions. Now the chair will present a revised version of the binding instrument before June…
