[asia-apec 258] APEC '93 WATCH "ECO" Issue 4, Part 2, Seattle, WA

[Northwest FOE Office]

NOTE: Issue #4 was to large and bounced back.  I've split it into two parts.
NW Friends of the Earth



APEC '93  WATCH "ECO"  ISSUE #4  Part 2 of 2
Seattle, WA
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APEC INVESTMENTS THREATEN RUSSIAN TAIGA

Numerous developing countries in the Pacific Rim, who are members
of the Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), face the burden
of servicing enormous foreign debts.  In a struggle to gain hard
currency to meet debt payments these countries have been forced
to export natural resources such as timber and valuable minerals
in an unsustainable manner.

Although Russia is not a member of APEC it serves as an excellent
example of unsustainable resource management in the Pacific Rim. 
Russia's current economic malaise and need to service its debt
threats to accelerate destruction of the Taiga, Russia's boreal
forest in Siberia.

The Taiga

The Taiga is situated in the sub-Arctic region of Siberian
Russia.  Its size is unparalleled measuring 1.6 billion acres and
is about three times the size of Brazil's rainforest.  There are
about 30 million inhabitants, including 24 indigenous groups
numbering one million people.  The Taiga has 54% of the world's
coniferous forests, 37% of the world's temperate forests and
makes up 21% of the world's total forest area.  The Taiga is also
home to many rich mineral resources such as deep reserves of oil,
natural gas, coal, diamonds and gold.

Besides being endowed with valuable economic resources, the Taiga
also serves an important global environmental function.  Combined
with the Tundra, the Taiga contains well over one-half of the
total amount of carbon held in forests and soils globally, far
grater than the amount stored in the Amazon.  The Taiga is home
to numerous rare animal species such as the Siberian tiger, the
great grey owl and reindeer.

Unfortunately the Taiga is undergoing unprecedented development. 
The Taiga is currently being cut at the rate of 5 million acres
per year.  This deforestation is a substantial contributor to
global warming and a threat to its biodiversity.

The rare animal species will continue to be displaced and are in
danger of extinction if this destructive development pattern
continues unabated.

APEC Countries and the Taiga

Deforestation of Southeast Asia and the depletion of forests in
the United States have forced foreign countries to search
elsewhere for a constant supply of timber.  The Taiga with its
expansive quantity of wood has been an attractive location for
foreign timber companies, mainly from APEC member countries, to
supply their timber and paper industries.  In fact, after the
fall of the Soviet Union, timber and paper companies from the
United States, Japan and South Korea began offering Russia modern
equipment, expertise and hard foreign currency in the Taiga
region:

* The Russian Supreme Court recently blocked operations by the
Hyundai Corporation from South Korea.  Hyundai had a contract to
cut 6000,000 of Siberian timber over the next 30 years beginning
in 1991.  However, Russia's Regional Committee on Ecology and
Natural Resources (RCENR) reported that South Korean loggers had
been poaching wildlife, reneging on their obligation to reforest
and overcutting in some areas of the region.  Hyundai had also
received numerous negative environmental impact assessments on
their activities from the local Goskompiroda, the State Committee
on Nature Protection.

* Weyerhaeuser, from the United States, is discussing the
possibility of a logging, processing and replanting operation in
the region.  In exchange for a nursery and restoration project,
Weyerhaeuser wants a 20 year lease to cut on more than 40,000
acres in the region.

*  U.S. timber companies Louisiana Pacific and Georgia Pacific
have also approached the Russians for timber contacts in the near
future.

Russian cannot afford to continue to rely on the fragile Taiga as
a source of hard currency to relieve its debt burden of 80
billion U.S. dollars.  The increased deforestation presents a
special problem for the Taiga region.  The clearcutting methods
employed by timber companies make it more difficult for the Taiga
region to reforest due to its severe conditions.  Roughly half of
all forests similar to the Taiga become swamps after enormous
timber harvests.  The resulting damage from such unchecked
development is unfathomable and counters Russia's ability to
achieve sustainable development.
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YOU ARE INVITED:

In the absence of a Pacific Rim town meeting hosted by President
Clinton, the Seattle Citizens Host Committee invites people to
the following rallies:

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 19th - NOON -
"CLEARCUT COSTS OF PACIFIC TRADE"

Pike Place Market/Victor Steinbreuck Park with:

MITCH FRIEDMAN - Director, Greater Ecosystem Alliance
MICHAEL DONNELLY - Friends of Breiten Bush Cascades, Oregon
PAUL CIENFUEGOS - Friends of Clayoquot Sound, B.C.
PETE KNUTSEN- Puget Sound Gillnetters Association/ AND MORE. . .
Contact: Josh Marks, Western Ancient Forest Campaign  632-6041

SATURDAY - 20th NOVEMBER - 7:00 am.  PIER 62 off of Alaskan Way
"FAIR TRADE FLOTILLA"

APEC BLACK ISLAND SUNRISE SENDOFF RALLY

Come and watch Greenpeace and the Puget Sound Gillnetters
Association FLOTILLA. Depart 7:30 pm. FLOTILLA RETURNS at 10:30
am and will join the BIG RALLY AT WESTLAKE CENTER AT NOON. 
Contact: Cynthia Rust or Nick Morgan, Greenpeace 632-4326

SATURDAY - 20th NOVEMBER - 11:30 am March from IBEW Local 46 Hall
- 2700 First Ave, Seattle, to a NOON Rally- WESTLAKE PLAZA - Down
Town Seattle
THE HIDDEN COSTS OF FREE TRADE- PEOPLE'S APEC RALLY HUMAN
RIGHTS - ENVIRONMENT - LABOR FAIRNESS

Speakers: Dolores Huerta, Co-founder and first vice president,
United Farm Workers of America, AFL-CIO -  Rev. Dr. Robert L.
Jeffrey, Sr., Executive Director, Black Dollar Days Task Force -
Run Judd, Executive Secretary, King County Labor Council, AFL-
CIO, Mark Dubois, Ex. Director, WorldWise
Contact: Washington State Jobs with Justice, 206-448-7348
-----
  
GREMLIN

* The best technology war does not go to Boeing, but to the push
button espresso/latte machine in the Press Lounge.  A bit large
for your kitchen, but it might fit on Air Force One.

*  Gremlin is no weather forecaster, but notes that Seattle and
your home city have this in common: Mount Rainier can't be seen
from either place.

* Gremlin is no tour guide, either, but before you leave check
out the famous Underground Seattle tour of Pioneer Square. 
Approximately 40 square blocks of Seattle that lie beneath your
feet, a portion of which you can explore as a part of a guided
tour.  While your are down in the deep depths of this fir city,
see if you can find some of these missing APEC terms:  STAINABLE
DEVELOPMENT - POLLUTER PAYS - GLOBAL WARMING - GREENING OF THE
GATT - RIO EARTH SUMMIT.

* Gremlin salutes this week's "Great American Smokeout" designed
to help U.S. citizens quit smoking.  How ironic that in 1992
Washington State's eighth biggest export was CIGARETTES,
accounting for $451.6 million dollars.  There is something wrong
with a trade system that values products that kill the same way
as medicine that heals.
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JAPANESE REACTION TO NAFTA AND APEC

"The Debate about the NAFTA included the environmental impact of
the agreement as a high priority.  But APEC is virtually ignoring
the environment in its discussions.  Let's see a bit more
commitment to the long-term well-being of the Asia Pacific
region, not just to trade growth.

"We are disappointed that this meeting of APEC has committed no
time to cover environmental concerns.  It is only a year after
the UNCED meeting in Rio de Janeiro, where governments expressed
their commitment to solving environmental problems.  The next
meeting of APEC in Indonesia would ensure that environment is
high on the agenda."

Aya Saitoh, Friends of the Earth Japan

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ECO is a publication of the Non-Governmental Organizations
present at the APEC Meeting to present alternative trade models
that incorporate sustainable development, poverty alleviation
measures and the protection of the environment.

Staff:

Karen Fant
Alex Hittle
Emily Kaplan
Hug Llamas
Nick Morgan
David E. Ortman
Ita Rachmita
John Reese

The editorial office can be reached at 206-XXX-XXXX, FAX XXX-XXXX
e-mail: foewase at igc.apc.org

ECO wishes to thank the organizers of the Seattle Citizens' Host
Committee, who seized the opportunity to work together as members
of an umbrella coalition of environmental groups, human rights
advocates and labor organizations under the theme - THE HIDDEN
COSTS OF FREE TRADE.