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chain
Issue #138
reacti n
May 2020
RRP $6.50
The National Magazine of Friends of the Earth Australia www.foe.org.au
Coronavirus crisis a
wake-up call for system change
‘Miracle cows’ highlight risks of gene editing
Australia’s Black Summer Recording FoE’s 45 years of creative resistance
A national offshore wind strategy Scorecard gives Australia’s environment 1 out of 10
How to transition out of the gas industry Sand mining fuels murders and devastation
Nuclear dump decision trashes indigenous rights Fighting for clean water in a Tasmanian town
CONTENTS
Regular Items
Friends of the Earth Australia Contacts inside front cover
Join Friends of the Earth 4
Edition #138 − May 2020 Friends of the Earth Australia News 5
Friends of the Earth International News 8
Publisher - Friends of the Earth, Australia
Chain Reaction ABN 81600610421
FoE Australia ABN 18110769501 Bushfires
www.foe.org.au
Australia’s Black Summer 10
youtube.com/user/FriendsOfTheEarthAUS
twitter.com/FoEAustralia
Australia’s bushfire debates – Cam Walker 14
Bushfire resilient land and climate care – David Holmgren 16
www.facebook.com/FoEAustralia
flickr.com/photos/foeaustralia Droughts, floods and fires: where does water fit in the climate crisis? – Charlotte Borthwick 17
Chain Reaction website Genetic Engineering
www.foe.org.au/chain-reaction
‘Miracle cows’ highlight the risks of gene editing – Louise Sales 18
Chain Reaction contact details The cautionary tale of some gene edited cattle – Jonathan Latham 19
PO Box 222,Fitzroy, Victoria, 3065.
email:
phone:
chainreaction@foe.org.au
(03) 9419 8700
Coronavirus
COVID-19 crisis is a wake-up call for system change – Friends of the Earth International 20
Chain Reaction team Open Letter: Fund Aboriginal Responses to COVID-19 22
Jim Green, Lara Wiesel, Tessa Sellar Coronavirus in the media 23
Layout & Design
Tessa Sellar Climate & Energy
Printing
Towards a national offshore wind strategy for climate action – Pat Simons 28
Arena Printing and Publishing, Melbourne $2 billion for Coal Seam Gas expansion in NSW – Kristine Philipp 29
Printed on recycled paper Playing politics on climate action? – Tony Webb 30
Vic parliamentary inquiry into community action on climate – Leigh Ewbank 32
Subscriptions How can public transport help with climate change? – Tsz Ying Sheung 34
Six issues (two years) A$39
Climate Bills in federal parliament 35
Twelve issues (four years) A$72
See subscription ad in this issue of Chain Reaction How can we transition the fossil gas industry? – Jim Crosthwaite 36
(or see website and contact details above).
Chain Reaction is published three times a year Other Articles
ISSN 2208-584X Australian nuclear dump decision trashes indigenous peoples’ rights – Jim Green and Michele Madigan 38
Acting up! Recording FoE’s 45 years of creative resistance – Em Gayfer 40
Copyright:
Another Amazonian Indigenous leader is murdered in Brazil – Amazon Watch 41
Written material in Chain Reaction is free of
copyright unless otherwise indicated or where A major scorecard gives the health of Australia’s environment less than 1 out of 10 42
material has been reprinted from another source. World leaders urged to ‘step back from precipice’ of ecological ruin 43
Please acknowledge Chain Reaction when reprinting.
Sand mining industry fuelling murders, mafias and 44
The opinions expressed in Chain Reaction are not ecological devastation – Anna Kelsey-Sugg and Taryn Priadko
necessarily those of the publishers or any Friends
of the Earth group. Australia’s SolGold pushes ahead in Ecuador despite unrest – Rainforest Action Group 45
All roads lead to lead: the fight for clean water in a Tasmanian town – Tim Slade 46FOE AUSTRALIA NEWS Friends of the Earth (FoE)
Australia is a federation of Friends of the Earth Online
independent local groups.
You can join FoE by contacting
your local group − see the
www.foe.org.au
inside back cover of Chain youtube.com/user/FriendsOfTheEarthAUS
Reaction for contact details
or visit foe.org.au/local-groups twitter.com/FoEAustralia
There is a monthly FoE Australia
email newsletter − subscribe via facebook.com/pages/Friends-of-the-Earth-Australia/
the website: www.foe.org.au
flickr.com/photos/foeaustralia
To financially support our work,
please visit foe.org.au/donate
ANZ – the largest financier of fossil fuel industries in Australia
Emilia Martin, a volunteer The complaint demonstrates that while
with FoE Melbourne, writes: ANZ has publicly endorsed the Paris
In November 2017, a number of NGOs in Agreement, its environmental policies
the Netherlands successfully brought the contradict the bank’s publicly stated
first climate change complaint before commitment to the Agreement in a
the Dutch National Contact Point (NCP). number of respects and that ANZ’s
It was made against the ING bank for overall conduct only reflects a partial
its investment in fossil fuel industries. commitment to the targets set out by the
The Dutch NCP in its final statement Agreement. For instance, ANZ remains
expressed the need for ING to steer the biggest financier of fossil fuels
its portfolio towards the goals of the among the big four Australian banks
Paris Agreement and ING committed to at A$6.36 billion.
completely phase out investment in the ANZ’s financing of fossil fuel stands higher
coal industry by the end of 2025. than the combined spending of National
Inspired by this, early this year, Friends Australia Bank and Westpac. Furthermore,
of the Earth Australia along with a ANZ’s exposure to coal mining increased
number of bushfire victims brought a 27% percent in 2018 and another 7% in
similar claim against the ANZ bank, the the first half of 2019. In the same period,
largest financier of fossil fuel industries ANZ has only lent A$964 million to the
in Australia. The basis of the claim is renewable energy sector, which provides
KUR-World is KURputt! ANZ’s breach of OECD Guidelines, a ratio of 7.70:1 between fossil fuel and
a set of principles and standards for clean energy spending.
Stopping this mega resort, planned in
the ecologically sensitive Myola valley multinational enterprises. Australia is The complaint also raises the ANZ’s lack
close to Kuranda near Cairns in Far a signatory to the OECD Guidelines of transparency in relation to its indirect
North Queensland, was a great win for and the Australian NCP is the body greenhouse gas emissions and argues that
the Kuranda community. The campaign responsible for hearing complaints in this lack of transparency is misleading
was a huge team effort spearheaded by relation to corporations’ alleged non- to consumers and prevents them from
local community group KUR-Alert and observance of the OECD Guidelines. making informed decisions about
supported by Friends of the Earth Far The OECD Guidelines require that whether or not to engage with the bank.
North Queensland together with other businesses set their environmental The complainants demand that
community, environmental and land targets in line with international ANZ honour their environmental
care groups in the region. Thank you to standards. Thus the claim argues commitments by bringing their policies
everyone who put in submissions about that the most current and relevant in line with the Paris Agreement which
KUR-World and for the technical and international standard is the Paris means divesting from fossil fuels
logistical support from FoE Australia. Agreement and as such ANZ must and fully and clearly disclosing their
Thousands of submissions were bring its environmental policies in emissions. The complainants also raise
sent to the Queensland Coordinator line with the Agreement. the insufficiencies of Australia’s current
General – including from international The Australian government is a signatory legislative framework which provides a
environmental groups such as the Forests to the Paris Agreement but has not yet particularly low standard in relation to
and Biodiversity team in FoE International. passed any legislation to implement calculation of emissions and has failed
This is a great win but the fight is not over: the provisions of the Agreement into to implement any domestic legislation
the developer has been given permission Australian law. ANZ has also publicly to implement the Paris Agreement
by the local council for a subdivision acknowledged the aims of the Paris provisions in Australia.
on this land. The Kuranda community Agreement to limit the increase in global The complaint is online at
continue to look for ways to stop this average temperature to 1.5°C which tinyurl.com/anz-complaint
happening and so protect the habitat requires a transition to net-zero emissions
of the irreplaceable wildlife in this area. of greenhouse gases by mid-century.
4 Chain Reaction #138 May 2020China and India dominate Super funds still Click and collect with FoE
pesticide import breaches on food destroying the planet Melbourne’s Food Co-op & Café
Friends of the Earth campaigner Anthony 23 April 2020: Major super funds in The Food Co-op and Cafe is a not-for-
Amis has written a report investigating Australia are continuing to vote against profit social enterprise. That means
breaches to Australian food import the majority of shareholder proposals every cent you spend in-store or donate
regulations between the years 2017–19. that would improve companies’ climate goes right back into keeping us running
The data was compiled from ‘Monthly risk management. By investing our and supports the environmental
Failing Food Reports’ produced by the retirement savings in company shares, campaigns at Friends of the Earth.
Department of Agriculture. super funds get a say in how those The FoE Food Coop team continues to
The main findings include: companies are run. The latest analysis provide healthy, affordable food during
by Friends of the Earth affiliate Market the COVID-19 crisis, and is open for
• There was a total of 400 pesticide
Forces shows 10 of the largest super bulk food shopping and takeaway, with
detections at or above Maximum
funds in Australia supported just 38% of hygiene protocols in place. Visit
Residue Limits (MRLs), with a total of
the climate resolutions they voted on at www.foefood.org
47 different pesticides breaching MRLs.
Australian and international companies
• China was the country with the most throughout 2019. Just three of the 10
pesticide breaches (148), followed by funds supported more than half of the
India (93), Vietnam (44) and Thailand (35). resolutions, while four funds voted for
• 201 of the pesticide breaches a quarter or less.
were insecticides, with 199 of the Earlier this year, Market Forces hit
pesticides being fungicides. The most a major milestone with over 10,000
frequently used pesticide in the world, UniSuper members signing the open
glyphosate, was not tested for. letter calling on the fund to divest from
• 132 companies transported food to coal, oil and gas companies. Market
Australia which breached pesticide MRLs. Forces made sure the campaign received
• Food types with the most MRL the exposure it deserves by publishing
breaches included jujube (Chinese the open letter as a full-page ad in the
dates) 69, red chilli 40, lychees 35, Australian Financial Review and there
spinach 28, longan 17, okra 17, green was media coverage in the Sydney
chilli 14, and Indian flat beans 13. Morning Herald, Yahoo Finance, Uranium in NT drinking water
Bloomberg and Financial Standard.
• 235 of the pesticides (about 59% of
the total) breaching MRLs are defined Read more about Market Forces’ work For several years, Friends of the Earth
by the Pesticide Action Network as at www.marketforces.org.au Australia has been investigating water
being “Bad Actors” – pesticides known quality data, from water authorities
to be carcinogens, reproductive or across the country, with the goal of better
developmental toxins, cholinesterase understanding which communities are
inhibitors, groundwater contaminants at most risk from drinking water and
or pesticides with high acute toxicity. what substances are regarded as being
the most commonly detected in terms
The report is online at www.foe.org.au/ of potential health outcomes. The initial
china_and_india_dominate_pesticide_ Beyond Coal Alliance launched results of the work are online at
import_breaches_on_ food https://water.australianmap.net
Coal power generation is the single
largest contributor to greenhouse gas One of the concerns arising from this
emissions in Australia. Retiring every work is that a number of communities
coal-burning power station over the next in the Northern Territory are consuming
decade – and replacing them with clean drinking water with elevated levels
energy generation and storage – is one of naturally-occurring uranium. The
Food for bushfire affected wildlife of the most effective ways for Australia communities most impacted appear
to reduce greenhouse emissions. That’s to include Laramba, Wilora, Willowra
Friends of the Earth Melbourne is working
why Friends of the Earth Australia and Kings Canyon. The combined
on a mutual aid project to help wildlife
has joined together with six other population of these four communities is
and support locals in bushfire affected
community-based groups to launch about 1,100 people.
areas. There’s plenty of ways to help out
the Beyond Coal campaign. Ideally, alternative sources of water
and we’re looking for anyone who can
help either on a regular or one-off basis. The Australia Beyond Coal alliance need to be located and water treatment
We’re currently looking for drivers, nest- member groups represent more than options provided by the NT government.
box installers, wildlife feeders and also one and a half million Australians. The As a short-term measure, water could be
people to source food. This is a great mission is to empower everyday people trucked into the communities at most
opportunity to help those who have been with information about the risks of risk and stored in water tanks, where
affected by the bushfires, and to build coal-burning power stations, and urge community members could access water.
relationships that can hopefully continue governments and businesses to work Please email NT Chief Minister Michael
to grow into the future and be drawn with communities on developing a plan Gunner and express your concerns about
upon if need be! To get involved visit for the accelerating transformation in people being exposed to unsafe levels of
FoE’s Food for Wildlife page our energy market. uranium in drinking water. There’s an
www.melbournefoe.org.au/ffw_melbourne More information: email template at this webpage:
or email foodforwildlife@foe.org.au www.beyondcoal.org.au www.foe.org.au/uranium_free_water
www.foe.org.au Chain Reaction #138 May 2020 5Guardians of the Wet Tropics
The catastrophic bushfires in recent
months and the untold impact on
communities, wildlife and biodiversity
highlights the need for local community-
based actions that care for and protect
the land. The failure of governments
to appropriately address climate
change and protect our precious
environment has created space for
communities to take powerful action
that make a difference. Here in the Wet
Tropics there are many such community-
based initiatives.
Friends of the Earth Far North
Queensland (FoE FNQ) are focused
on the people working to protect and
regenerate those lands on the edges
of the Wet Tropics World Heritage
Area. FoE FNQ are calling these
people Guardians of the Wet Tropics and
Koala crisis in south-west Victoria only just beginning have commenced a project to link and
support the initiatives of ‘guardians’.
13 Feb 2020: A recent visit to South West be populating bluegum plantations, A CSIRO report of a 2013 regional
Victoria has deeply troubled Friends of with many animals remaining after the conservation leaders workshop identified
the Earth. Perhaps the most haunting logging is completed. Remnant isolated that “landholders have innovative land
image of the crisis facing koalas in the clumps of bluegums may be the only management actions and can implement
region was a mother and baby holding remaining habitat after a plantation is changes quickly”, recommending
on to a dead bluegum plantation tree, clearfelled. Friends of the Earth has been creating “opportunities for landholders
as Wedge Tail Eagles circled overhead. warning about this crisis since 2014 and to lead conservation innovation”.
Thousands of similar scenarios are has been alarmed at the explosion of The report further identified three
playing out across the region. The bluegum plantations across of the region requirements for successful community-
plantation in question had been logged since the 1990’s. based biodiversity conservation: (1)
about one year ago. Remnant vegetation along roadsides public participation & mobilisation, (2)
Last week’s discovery of hundreds of near plantations and in the plantations social collaboration and (3) adaptive
dead and starving koalas near Portland is themselves appears to be dying due leadership and co-management.
likely to be repeated across the region. to overbrowsing by koalas. The recent These key findings shape the FoE FNQ
Tens of thousands of hectares of retired koala disaster in 2015 at Cape Otway Guardians project, which will link
bluegum plantations are currently being where hundreds of translocated ‘innovative’ landholders with neighbours
converted back to farmland across koalas had to be euthanased due to and First Nations people to identify
the region. The culprits of last week’s overbrowsing could be repeated across and carry out projects addressing threats
koala massacre may not be the only a much larger landscape of south-west to biodiversity.
landholders in the region responsible Victoria in the near future. The Victoria
FoE FNQ is well placed to conduct
for koala deaths. Bluegum plantation Government needs to come up with an
the Guardians project. With a grassroots
companies generally leave a very small action plan immediately to stop untold
focus and a strong volunteer base we
proportion of their plantation as habitat suffering to thousands of animals.
can work effectively for community
trees. This isn’t always the case with The major causes of the problem are
engagement and mobilisation. FoE FNQ
private landholders, who have also translocated koala populations, and
is connected with a range of individuals
been observed poisoning thousands of planting of 170,000 hectares of koala
and community groups across the
coppicing bluegum trees. feed in the form of bluegum plantations.
Wet Tropics and has a particular
The koala population has exploded Please sign the petition at commitment to engage with First
since the planting of 170,000 hectares www.melbournefoe.org.au/koala Nations people. Our priority is to build
of bluegum plantations since the mid- More information: credibility, trust, long-term relationships
1990s. Almost every bluegum plantation and incentives to work together in
Strzelecki Koala Action Team,
visited by Friends of the Earth over the finding practical, innovative solutions
www.melbournefoe.org.au/skat
past couple of days had signs of koala that appeal to landholders. The goal is a
skats and the animals themselves. Tens www.foe.org.au/koala_massacre_
resilient and adaptive social-ecological
of thousands of animals are likely to occurring_in_south_west_victoria
system supported by science to create
an ecological and social buffer for a
changing environment.
If you want to get involved, please
contact Ingrid Marker at FoE FNQ,
0438 688 229, ingrid.marker@foe.org.au
6 Chain Reaction #138 May 2020Waste to energy Adelaide Green Cities Handbook
The Victorian Liberal party has come The original Green Cities Handbook
out in support of ‘waste to energy’. This was first published in 1991 by Friends
is a confusing issue for many people. It of the Earth as a discussion starter on
seems to promise renewable energy and how we might change cities to be better
a solution to the waste crisis. However, for people and the environment. It was
FoE Australia campaign Transform Waste published a year before the Ecocity 2
is concerned that there are serious conference held in Adelaide, and was
problems with waste to energy. inspired by ideas from Peter Berg (Planet
Dismantling patriarchy Drum Foundation), Richard Register
Our major concern is that it isn’t “clean
energy”. In a report prepared for the In a new booklet released ahead of (from Urban Ecology in the US, convenor
Minister for Energy, Environment and International Women’s Day in March, of the first ecocity conference), and
Climate Change, it is noted that burning Friends of the Earth International Peter Newman, who identified the
waste doesn’t cause it to disappear – 15- explain the key concepts that help benefits of a low energy, car-free city.
25% of the waste that goes in remains us talk about, understand, analyse Paul Downton, architect of Christie Walk,
as ash at the end. The report further and strategise within this area of a fragment of eco-city, was involved with
says that the incineration process work. It is the result of three years of the Green Cities Project team, comprised
produces highly toxic filter cake, which collective work, with the contributions of students from the Mawson Graduate
will need to be disposed of in hazardous and analysis of the Gender Justice Centre of Environmental Studies at the
waste landfill. In the Australian and Dismantling Patriarchy Working Group Uni of Adelaide.
New Zealand Journal of Public Health, of Friends of the Earth International, The Handbook has been out of print
researchers highlighted “significant risks together with national member groups, for the past two decades, and the only
associated with waste incineration as a regions and international structures. copies available were photocopies
form of waste management.” With reflections and stories from different of photocopies. Friends of the Earth
We’re also worried that waste to regions, the booklet shows how gender Adelaide decided to reprint the original,
energy will get in the way of better inequality and injustice impact women as a start to revising and updating the
solutions. Our society relies on massive in our organisations and how patriarchy handbook for the new millennium. We
consumption of single use packaging interlinks with other systemic oppressions scanned the original copies, OCRed
and very low levels of recycling. Waste – racism, capitalism, class oppression, the scans, then edited and corrected
to energy gives us the impression we can neocolonialism, heteronormativity – to the resultant text. Some things have
keep on with business as usual, but we structure our societies to the benefit of changed since it was published, but a lot
need to make massive changes in how certain social groups. of the information in the Handbook is
we make, consume and re-use resources. We hope this booklet will be a useful still relevant.
We need to transition rapidly away from and accessible tool for capacity-building, We invite you to check out the original,
our reliance on mass production of training and political formation. It and share your thoughts on how we might
waste into a ‘closed loop’ system with includes practical ideas for strengthening improve and update it. FoE Adelaide will
greatly enhanced resource recovery gender justice, challenging power be holding a number of workshops to
and effective recycling systems, better relations and dismantling patriarchy in discuss the update: let us know if you’re
regulation to reduce the production of your work and organisation. interested in getting involved.
waste and stronger requirements around
The booklet – titled Why Gender Justice The Green Cities Handbook is online at
corporate responsibility.
and Dismantling Patriarchy? – is adelaide.foe.org.au/greencities
More information: online at tinyurl.com/smash-patriarchy
www.transformwaste.org.au
#NotHappyDan
In a hugely disappointing turn of events,
the Victorian Andrews Government
made the decision to end the hard-won
moratorium on conventional onshore
gas mining and exploration. The
moratorium was achieved by the same
huge, community-powered campaign
that won the ban on unconventional gas
mining (fracking), recently legislated.
Due to the announcement coming hot
on the tail of the federal government’s
ban on events of over 500 people, a
“conventional” rally was not the answer.
Instead, we called a digital rally, calling
on supporters of the moratorium to
post a selfie with their placard on social
media. Click here to find out more and
join the e-rally: www.melbournefoe.org.
au/snap_action_fossil_fuels_vic
www.foe.org.au Chain Reaction #138 May 2020 7FOE INTERNATIONAL NEWS Friends of the Earth International Friends of the Earth International Online
(FoEI) is a federation of
autonomous organisations from
all over the world. Our members, Web: www.foei.org
in over 70 countries, campaign
Social media: www.facebook.com/foeint
on the most urgent environmental
and social issues, while working www.twitter.com/FoEint
towards sustainable societies. FoEI
currently has five international
www.youtube.com/user/friendsoftheearthint
programs: Climate Justice and www.flickr.com/photos/foei
Energy; Economic Justice, Resisting
Neoliberalism; Food Sovereignty; Action alerts: www.foei.org/take-action
Forests and Biodiversity; and
Resisting Mining, Oil and Gas.
FoE International’s web radio station (in five languages): https://rmr.fm/
International Women’s Essential measures lacking in
Day of Struggle: UN’s biodiversity framework draft
Marches for Gender Justice Friends of the Earth International
March 8 was International Women’s Day, (FoEI) is monitoring and contributing
and people from all over the world took to the open-ended working group
to the streets to demand the liberation which is putting together the proposal
and safety of women, and the dismantling for the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity
of the patriarchy. Friends of the Earth Framework. This framework is a new
International joined the World March of action plan for the UN Convention on
Women, marching with the slogan “We Biological Diversity (CBD).
resist to live, We march to transform”. The action plan is due to be released in
Activists across the world have been October 2020 at a meeting in Kumming,
using these marches as a building point China, hailed as the “Paris Summit for
for broader campaigns. For example, in biodiversity”. The Zero Draft of the plan
Pakistan there was the 10th celebration of was released in January, and in February
the anti-sexual harassment law, while also governments met for the first time in Rome
discussions of how best to support women to discuss the agreement/framework.
in rural areas. In Venezuela there was a The FoEI team said: “Our initial analysis
week of activities including a vigil for the is that the Draft is an encouraging
increase of feminicides in the country. move towards a system which tackles
the root causes of biodiversity loss.
Brazil: First anniversary The World March of Women is organised
However, it lacks crucial means for
every five years across the globe. In 2020,
of Vale mining disaster the March highlighted four themes: achieving change, including recognition
resistance against the militarisation of of rights for Indigenous Peoples and
Friends of the Earth International
bodies, lives and territories; anti-capitalist Local Communities, and mechanisms for
supported the Brazilian Movement of
and anti-imperialist struggles; opening equity, justice and mitigation of impacts
People Affected by Dams (MAB) during
borders and “denouncing the role of on vulnerable Southern countries.”
20-25 January – the first anniversary
of the Córrego do Feijão mine disaster, walls” in the persecution of migrants; Key concerns include lack of consideration
which spilt 12,000,000 cubic meters of and calling for the self-determination of of economic over-consumption and
toxic mud, and collapsed and split over peoples, women and territories. industrial agriculture, the reliance
9km into the city of Brumadinho, and Friends of the Earth International’s on financial “ecological services”
into the Paraopeba River. Gender Justice and Dismantling Patriarchy mechanisms, the lack of legally binding
Working Group released a booklet mechanisms to enforce the plan, no plan
The week of mobilisations in
discussing what gender justice is, and the to halt existing damaging practices such as
Brumadinho were part of the
interconnected systems that enforce the mining, and a failure to put communities,
community’s resistance, mobilisation,
patriarchy. The booklet highlights six and especially Indigenous Peoples, at the
and transformation of the post-disaster
ways to promote gender justice within heart of nature protection.
reality. Brumadinho has become a
symbol of corporate power and the our work. You can view the booklet here: FoEI and allied groups recently released
utter lack of care corporations have https://tinyurl.com/wop38ke a ‘Do’s and Dont’s for a Successful Global
for human rights and the environment. More information: Biodiversity Framework’. This focuses on
FoE Brazil is using this moment to help a rights-based approach, full and equal
Voices of FoE activists around the world:
renew and strengthen the campaign participation for Indigenous Peoples and
www.foei.org/international-womens-day
against corporate profiteering in Brazil. Local Communities, and global equity
https://rwr.fm/interviews/8m-world- and financing. You can view it here:
Brazil has not prosecuted any executive march-women-fifth-action-dismantle- https://tinyurl.com/ujswdbp
from Vale. Almost half of the 24,000 dams patriarchy/
in Brazil are classified “at risk”, making it More information:
https://marchemondiale.org/index.
probably for a similar disaster to take place. www.foei.org/features/draft-cbd-global-
php/2020/03/01/march-8-the-
More information: https://rwr.fm/ biodiversity-framework-assessment
world-march-of-women-mobilizes-
coverage-en-2/brumadinho-vale- and-launches-the-5th-international- www.foei.org/press_releases/global-
continues-operating/ action-2020/ biodiversity-plan-cbd-weak
8 Chain Reaction #138 May 2020Protecting human rights and the The laws of land grabs Costa Rica: FoE denounces
environment in the Asia Pacific in the Asia Pacific murder of Jehry Rivera Rivera
Many defenders of territories and A report released by six member FoE Latin America and the Caribbean
human rights are threatened, countries of Friends of the Earth Asia denounced the murder of Jehy Rivera
suppressed or in extreme cases killed. Pacific discusses the land rights security Rivera, an indigenous leader from the
According to a Global Witness study, of communities, including but not Naso Bröran people in Costa Rica, on
164 environmental defenders were limited to those who are ethnically 24 February 2020. Jehry Rivera fought
murdered in 2018 around the world. indigenous or culturally traditional, as for indigenous autonomy in the face of
From January to September in 2019, well as those who form as an integral land usurpers and extractive projects
138 more deaths were recorded. part of rural agricultural groups. such as the Diquís Hydroelectric Project
In the past few years, Friends of the They include the Centre for which was negatively affecting the
Earth Asia Pacific’s member groups’ Environmental Law and Community community. Jehry’s murder follows the
staff, activists and supporters have been Rights (CELCOR) from Papua New assassination of Indigenous leader Sergio
beaten, sued, kidnapped, bankrupted, Guinea, Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM), Rojas in 2016. On February 23, there
defamed, jailed and murdered for Wahana Lingkungan Hidup Indonesia was intrusion and intimidation by armed
campaigning for environmental justice. (WALHI), Legal Rights and Natural non-Indigenous people into the Palmira
Resources Center (LRC) from the de Cabagra and Crun D’bonn in the
To keep defenders safe, we need
Philippines, Centre for Environmental Térraba Indigenous communities.
systemic change and the introduction
of practical policies at the local, national Justice (CEJ) from Sri Lanka and the Costa Rican Indigenous Peoples
and international level, and also within Palestinian Environmental NGOs continue to demand autonomy and
civil society organisations. Network (PENGON). governmental reaffirmation of their
Land grabs are inherently rooted in autonomous territories. This includes
A report released by FoE Asia Pacific
the inequitable free market forces, a call for the government to prosecute
last December includes seven stories
attributable to flawed economic and the murderers, and the comply with
from across the regional network
developmental systems. There is also a precautionary measures established
of environmental organisations,
need to understand how legislative and in the Inter-American Commission on
each exposing the dire conditions
governance systems of the participating Human Rights (IACHR).
experienced by environmental and
human rights defenders. countries respond to such land rights More information: www.foei.org/
threats and the extent to which they are news/solidarity-denounce-murder-
The report includes cases from Palestine,
able to protect community land rights jehry-rivera-costa-rica
Indonesia, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Russia,
from land grabbing and the violations of
Sri Lanka and the Philippines, and serves
community land rights.
as an advocacy tool to work at national,
regional and international level, together Land grabbing is the control of larger UK: FoE stops Heathrow
with governments as well as communities, than locally-typical amounts of land by Airport expansion
activists, allies, and other actors. any persons or entities; public or private,
foreign or domestic. This can be through Friends of the Earth UK have won a
The FoE Asia Pacific report is online at
ownership, lease, concession, contracts, historic legal case to stop the building
www.tinyurl.com/defending-territories
quotas or general power. This control can of Heathrow’s third runway on the
A FoE Real World Radio interview be acquired through legal or illegal means, grounds of its climate impact. The Court
with Malaysian activist Theiva for the purposes of speculation, extraction, of Appeal ruled that UK Government
Lingam, regional facilitator for FoE resource control or commodification. This acted illegally in their plans to expand
International, is posted at is often at the expense of peasant farmers, Heathrow, failing to act in accordance
https://tinyurl.com/theiva-radio agroecology, land stewardship, food with the Paris Agreement and consider
The Global Witness study is posted at sovereignty and human rights. the climate impacts of the airport’s
www.globalwitness.org/sv/campaigns/ The report is posted at expansion. Heathrow is one of the
environmental-activists/enemies-state/ https://tinyurl.com/land-grabs largest pollution emitters in the UK,
and the expansion would have led to
around 700 extra flights per day.
Uganda: Court ruling on Total’s environmental and human rights abuses This is a huge win. Local community
groups have been resisting Heathrow’s
The Nanterra High Court has handed Friends of the Earth France, along with
expansion for many years, some
down its (indecisive) decision on the mega Survie and four Ugandan organisations,
for over 30 years. For the UK and
oil project in Uganda proposed by French took Total to court. On 30 January 2020,
global community, this case is a
company Total. The company’s plan lies the Nanterre High Court handed down
landmark, sending a clear message
within a protected natural park, and its decision on the summary proceedings,
that governments must now consider
involves drilling over 400 wells to extract stating that the case does not fall within its
the climate, and the Paris Agreement,
around 200,000 barrels of oil per day. jurisdiction, but sits with the Commercial
in their plans – helping to stop other
A 1,445 km pipeline will be built to Court. The six organisations strongly
climate-harming proposals.
transport the oil, impacting communities disagree with this legal interpretation.
The Commercial Court was established to More information: https://
and nature in Tanzania as well as Uganda.
adjudicate on commercial disputes, and friendsoftheearth.uk/climate-
Already, nearly 5000 people in Uganda
the organisations believe it will be unlikely change/heathrow-third-runway-uk-
have been forced off their land, without
to take into account serious human rights government-actions-ruled-illegal
receiving adequate compensation. The
legal case seeks to prevent these human and environmental violations.
rights and environmental violations from
continuing and reoccurring.
www.foe.org.au Chain Reaction #138 May 2020 9Australia’s Black Summer
A digest of significant news and opinion regarding the bushfire crises in Australia in the 2019-20 summer:
Crisis summer fuelled by Underlying causes of Australia’s
climate change: new report shocking bushfire season
11 March 2020: The Climate Council has Why has this bushfire season been so
produced the first comprehensive overview devastating? Extreme heat and dryness are
of the devastating climate impacts Australians two important influencers of fire and, on both
experienced this summer. According to the report, measures, 2019 was remarkable for Australia.
Summer of Crisis, the catastrophic bushfires What role is climate change playing in the risk This season’s fires
spewed an average estimate of 900 million tonnes of fire? In advice issued in November 2019,
of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, which were incredibly
Australia’s National Environmental Science
is approximately the same as annual emissions Program was unambiguous. “Human-caused large in area,
from commercial air travel worldwide. “The fires climate change has resulted in more dangerous even compared to
produced more greenhouse gas emissions than weather conditions for bushfires in recent forests all around
Australia normally emits annually,” said Climate decades for many regions of Australia.”
Councillor and former Commissioner of Fire and the world. Around
Scientists also believe that 2019 was a “standout”
Rescue NSW, Greg Mullins. “We must remember
year in Australia for the formation of extreme
21% of Australian
that the recent fires took place in a world that
bushfires that became “coupled” with the temperate
has warmed just over one degree,” said Climate
Councillor Professor Will Steffen.
atmosphere, generating their own lightning and broadleaf and
The report’s key findings:
gusty, violent and unpredictable winds. Rainfall mixed forests
is replaced with blackened hail and embers that
• Climate change fuelled Australia’s devastating can be shot out over distances of 30km.
was burnt. The
Black Summer. Prof Matt England, of the UNSW Climate Change
average annual
• Thirty-three people died in the bushfires, Research Centre, said: “What we have seen in area burnt for
25 of them in NSW. Australia this year will just be a normal summer if we most continents,
• Nearly 80% of Australians were affected warmed the planet by 3C. And an extreme summer including Australia,
either directly or indirectly. would be even worse than we’ve seen now.”
is well below 5%.
• Nationally, an estimated one billion animals Abridged from The Guardian. Full article:
were killed. https://tinyurl.com/v2lpn8x
• This season’s fires were incredibly large in
area, even compared to forests all around the ‘It’s miraculous’: owners say cultural
world. Around 21% of Australian temperate burning saved their property
broadleaf and mixed forests was burnt. The 6 Jan 2020: Phil Sheppard watched with
average annual area burnt for most continents, trepidation as a giant blaze approached his
including Australia, is well below 5%. beloved Hunter Valley property outside Laguna,
• Catastrophic fire danger ratings were near Cessnock. Three weeks ago, he and
experienced at locations and times of other owners were forced to evacuate. To his
the year never before recorded. amazement, when he returned two days later,
Abridged from Analysis and Policy traversing the long gravel driveway on foot
Observatory. https://apo.org.au/node/277911 after fallen trees blocked vehicle access, most
structures remained perfectly intact.
Weather bureau says hottest, driest year Owners say the property was saved by the
on record led to extreme bushfire season traditional Indigenous technique of cultural
9 Jan 2020: The Bureau of Meteorology’s annual burning conducted on their land three years
climate statement confirms 2019 was the nation’s ago. Aboriginal cultural fire practitioner Dennis
warmest and driest year on record. It’s the Barber led a series of cultural burns on six
first time since overlapping records began that hectares of bushland at Ngurrumpaa in 2015 and
Australia experienced both its lowest rainfall and 2016 – the first burns in the area since a wildfire
highest temperatures in the same year. swept through in 1994.
The average national rainfall total was 37 mm, Unlike hazard reduction burning, cultural burns
or 11.7%, below the 314.5 mm recorded in are cooler and slower moving, usually no taller
the previous driest year in 1902. The national than knee height, leaving tree canopies untouched
average temperature was nearly 0.2°C above the and allowing animals to take refuge from the
previous warmest year in 2013. Globally, 2019 is flames. Small fires are lit with matches, instead of
likely to be the second-warmest year, with global drip torches, and burn in a circular pattern.
temperatures about 0.8 °C above the 1961–1990 Mr Barber says the ancient practice is informed
average. It has been the warmest year without by thousands of years of traditional knowledge.
the influence of El Niño. “It’s more than just putting the fire on the ground
Abridged from The Conversation. – it’s actually knowing the country, knowing
Full article: https://tinyurl.com/tqkd9ef what’s there … the soil types, the geology, the
10 Chain Reaction #138 May 2020trees, the animals, the breeding times of animals,
the flowering times of plants,” he said. The
timing and frequency of burns depend on the
environmental “system”.
Mr Barber says Aboriginal people should be
better resourced to lead the implementation
of cultural burning across NSW and Australia,
alongside existing fire authorities.
Abridged from The Age. Full article:
https://tinyurl.com/v54udgr
Indigenous Australians’ grief over bushfires
deepens the trauma felt since colonisation
17 Jan 2020: Australia’s catastrophic bushfires
have has not only burnt over 10 million hectares
of land, but they have also deepened the
trauma Aboriginal people feel over the British
colonisation of the country in 1788.
Yorta Yorta First Nations man Neil Morris said
Indigenous Australians’ connection with the land Sadly, the Kuark forest in Victoria’s East Gippsland
is central to their spiritual and cultural identity, has been badly impacted by fire. Kuark was the
jewel in the crown of the recently announced East
and seeing the fires destroy nature in front of Gippsland Immediate Protection Area.
their eyes is a reminder that that land was stolen
from them 232 years ago. knowledge starts by trying to document language and knowledge on video,
understanding that much has already been lost and more is being lost with
“I don’t want to reduce anyone’s experience,”
the passing of Indigenous elders. ...
Morris said of Australians who have lost their
homes or lives in the bushfires that began in Following years of learning and teaching about fire, Steffensen concludes
September. “What I do want to express is the that knowledge has to be transferred from person to person and generation
fact that all Indigenous communities are living in to generation through direct human interaction ‘’on country’’. Being ‘’on
trauma on a day-to-day basis at the hands of living country’’ is important because direct experience and observation is a
in a colonialised society. Our people are already critical part of gaining knowledge and understanding. It is here that the
in a deep state of trauma. In many communities, philosophy of ‘’if you look after the country, the country will look after
we are in a state of recovery, and that’s a big you’’ becomes apparent.
process, obviously, with the severe disadvantage “Bill Gammage’s analysis in The Biggest Estate on Earth: How Aborigines
that our people have been at.” Made Australia is largely consistent with Steffensen’s thesis. Gammage
Indigenous fire practitioner Oliver Costello demonstrates how traditional owners used fire in a deliberate and skilful
agreed. He said seeing “all our plants and animals way to improve the sustainability of the landscape for a range of objectives,
decimated” as a result of the bushfires has been including food, hunting, access and amenity.”
beyond devastating. “They’re our ancestors; Fire Country can be purchased at www.hardiegrant.com
they’re our kin,” he explained. “Our cultural Kevin Tolhurst’s review is posted at www.tinyurl.com/fire-country
knowledge systems mean we’re a part of the
land. We’ve been burnt. Our skin is the skin One in 10 children affected by bushfires is Indigenous
of the earth. We’re in trauma.” The catastrophic bushfire season is officially over, but governments, agencies
Many Indigenous communities have fled their and communities have failed to recognise the specific and disproportionate
homes and been evacuated to refuge centres impact the fires have had on Aboriginal peoples. Addressing this in bushfire
this bushfire season, and Morris said the response and recovery is part of Unfinished Business: the work needed for
displacement of communities and burnt land Indigenous and non-Indigenous people to meet on more just terms.
means “you cannot carry out your obligations In our recent study, we found more than one quarter of the Indigenous
as First Nations peoples”. population in New South Wales and Victoria live in a fire-affected area.
Abridged from Huffington Post. Full article: That’s more than 84,000 people. What’s more, one in ten infants and
https://tinyurl.com/wofocjx children affected by the fires is Indigenous.
But in past bushfire inquires and royal commissions, Aboriginal people
Fire Country book have been mentioned only sparingly. When referenced now, it’s only in
Fire Country, released in February 2020, relation to cultural burning or cultural heritage. This must change.
was written by indigenous writer, filmmaker,
We identify three foundational steps:
musician and consultant Victor Steffensen and
published by Hardie Grant. • acknowledge that Aboriginal people have been erased, made absent
and marginalised in previous bushfire recovery efforts, and identify
Kevin Tolhurst, associate professor in the
and address why this continues to happen
school of ecosystems and forest sciences at the
University of Melbourne, writes: • establish non-negotiable instructions for including Aboriginal people
in the terms of reference and membership of post-bushfire inquiries
“Victor Steffensen takes the reader on discovery
of the lore, customs, knowledge, and totems • establish Aboriginal representation on relevant government committees
that connect Indigenous Australians to the land involved in decision-making, planning and implementation of disaster
through the lens of fire. His quest for traditional risk management.
Abridged from The Conversation. Full article: www.tinyurl.com/fire-children
www.foe.org.au Chain Reaction #138 May 2020 11The climate science deniers spreading Victoria’s Regional Forest Agreements
misinformation about Australian bushfires On 30 March 2020, the Victorian and Federal
13 Jan 2020: Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s governments renewed Victoria’s Regional Forest
position on climate policy has been bolstered Agreements (RFAs) for another decade in spite of
the horrific impacts of the recent bushfires. For Last summer’s
by a group of fringe climate science deniers
pushing conspiracy theories and misinformation over 20 years, thousands of hectares of forests bushfires exposed
about the relationship between the fires and and precious habitat have been logged under about three-
these dodgy agreements. The contracts between
climate change. quarters of the
the State and Federal government give logging
Alex Jones’ InfoWars / NewsWars: An article on
special exemption from Federal Environment population to
the alt-right website NewsWars makes the false
law. The logging industry is the only extractive prolonged levels
claim that “authorities in Australia are working on
the premise that arsonists and lightning strikes
industry that gets this special treatment. of smoke, causing
are to blame for bushfires that have devastated Logging has been suspended in East Gippsland 417 excess
because of the fires, but its due to start up again
numerous areas of the country, not ‘climate
under these agreements. Forests and wildlife
deaths, over
change’ as many global warming alarmists have
claimed.” Independent factcheckers from Climate need to be protected to ensure they recover 3,000 hospital
Feedback (climatefeedback.org) judged the article from the bushfires. Every patch of forest that’s admissions for
to be “misleading”. left in East Gippsland should be protected cardiovascular
in light of the devastating fires, and the legal
Murdoch media: Murdoch outlets “continue
exemption thrown out.
and respiratory
to spread climate denial, attack other outlets
Abridged from a Goongerah Environment Centre
problems as
providing lifesaving coverage, and ignore local
fire threats,” according to a report from nonprofit statement: www.foe.org.au/vic_rfa_10years well as 1,300
watchdog Media Matters for America (MMFA). emergency
Health effects of Australia’s bushfires
MMFA points to multiple commentators on Sky hospital visits for
Last summer’s bushfires exposed about three-
News Australia who refer to those saying climate
quarters of the population to prolonged levels asthma alone.
change is driving the fires as having “joined a
cult” and “been brainwashed.” of smoke, causing 417 excess deaths, over 3,000
hospital admissions for cardiovascular and
Bots: Multiple reports have also pointed to
respiratory problems as well as 1,300 emergency
the role of social media bots helping to spread
hospital visits for asthma alone.
conspiracy theories to counter the claim that
climate change is driving the fires. Analysis The preliminary assessment, published in
by Queensland University of Technology the Medical Journal of Australia, found a
senior lecturer Dr Timothy Graham found “substantial” health impact in the fire-hit regions
a “current disinformation campaign” on of the ACT, NSW, Victoria and Queensland
Twitter’s #arsonemergency hashtag due to between October 1 and February 10, 2020.
the “suspiciously high number of bot-like and The researchers studied exposure to particulate
troll-like accounts”, the Guardian reported. matter of less than 2.5 microns in size using
Abridged from Renew Economy. Full Article: public air quality data. The highest reading of
https://tinyurl.com/u48exmg 98.5 microns on January 14 quadrupled the
national standard and was 14 times more than
MMFA report: https://tinyurl.com/mmfa-fire
the historical average.
While Victoria’s forests burnt, To identify excess deaths, the researchers
logging continued compared actual deaths, cardiovascular and
respiratory-related hospitalisations and emergency
17 Jan 2020: The state government’s timber
response presentations with asthma against the
agency was permitted to log Victorian forests as
levels that would be expected on any other day.
catastrophic fires ravaged bushland and native
animal populations. The logging by VicForests Lead author Fay Johnston, an epidemiologist at
occurred on days a total fire ban was in place the University of Tasmania in Hobart, estimates
throughout the state, with waste from felling 80% of Australia’s population of about 25 million
leaving the area exposed to additional fire risks. was blanketed by smoke this summer. “The
Emails exchanged between VicForests and fires were unprecedented in Australia’s history,
community members confirm that the Central in terms of vast amounts of smoke, the huge
Highlands region … was logged as part of the populations affected by the smoke and the long
agency’s ongoing summer operations. Last week duration,” she said.
a leaked federal government report warned that Professor Bin Jalaludin from the University of
31% of the state’s rainforests had already gone up NSW school of public health and community
in flames, as well as 24% of wet or damp forests, medicine, and another of the paper’s authors,
and 34% of lowland forests. said the excess death estimate was probably
Abridged from The Age. Full Article: https:// conservative. “We only looked at the outcomes
tinyurl.com/tdwumhf where we have strong evidence,” he said. “There
are many other health effects caused by bushfires,
for example, mental health effects, hospital
admissions or [emergency department] visits for
other conditions which we did not evaluate.”
https://doi.org/10.5694/mja2.50545
12 Chain Reaction #138 May 2020Pollution experts team up to propose
major new study into health impacts
of bushfire smoke
14 Jan 2020: Australia’s top pollution experts
are teaming up to propose a major new study
into the long-term health impacts of bushfire
smoke. Guy Marks from UNSW said he was not
confident in the current health advice offered by
authorities because there was very little evidence
available. “Are masks even that effective? What
about air filtration? Or staying indoors. We’re
not sure that any of that is right, but they’re all
testable questions,” Professor Marks said.
Marks is putting together a team of two dozen top
Australian researchers to investigate the medical
fallout from the fires. The researchers are members
of a consortium, the Centre for Air Pollution, Lake Conjola on the NSW south coast, New Years Eve, 2019.
Energy and Health Research, funded by the
This means moving away from centralised systems – powered by a few big
National Health and Medical Research Council.
generators – to decentralised ones, with many local and small-scale generators.
Abridged from ABC News. Full article: Instead of one big grid, we need many microgrids, interconnected but able to
https://tinyurl.com/t88nz8w operate independently when necessary.
Conservationists and scientists fear Power in a warming world: First, hotter and longer heatwaves put more
pressure on grids. As energy demand spikes on hot afternoons, so does
bushfires that have ravaged parts of
the incidence of coal-fired generators breaking down. At the same time,
Australia have had a catastrophic heatwaves reduce the capacity of both coal and gas generators. Hotter
impact on flora and fauna weather also impedes the efficiency of photovoltaic solar panels as well as
15 Jan 2020: The sheer magnitude of plant the capacity of electrical wires to transport power.
and animal species potentially wiped off the Second, hot and windy weather increases the chance of electrical wires
face of Australia by unrivalled bushfires is sparking fires by contacting dry plants.
unknown. But when the fires that have torn Third, as already alluded to, a warmer climate increases the regularity and
through a combined area almost as big as intensity of bushfires, floods and storms – events that in recent weeks have
England eventually ease, scientists fear a brutal cut off power to communities right when they needed it most.
outcome. Most of the animals that escaped the
Modern microgrids: A microgrid is simply an electricity grid built to a
unprecedented crisis will eventually perish.
more local scale. The national electricity grid stretches from Port Lincoln
“Even the animals that haven’t immediately been in South Australia to Port Douglas in far-north Queensland. A microgrid
killed from the fires and the smoke, most of might stretch no further than a few streets. It might cover an industrial
those that are displaced will eventually die,” said estate, a town or a region.
Professor Martine Maron from the University of
Rather than relying on electricity generators hundreds or thousands of
Queensland’s School of Earth and Environmental
kilometres away, it has enough local generators to generally meet local
Sciences. Predators like foxes and cats will thrive,
demand. Though “grid-tied” – drawing or contributing power to a bigger
buoyed by easy pickings and room to move.
grid as needed – it can also “island” (disconnect) and run independently.
The fires have claimed at least one billion
Australian demonstrations: There are microgrid projects around Australia.
animals, according to University of Sydney
One is in the Melbourne suburb of Mooroolbark. It has demonstrated a
environmental sciences professor Chris
single street (of 18 houses) can continue to operate on its own solar panels
Dickman. That figure only takes in birds, reptiles
and battery storage for 22 hours before reconnecting to the national grid.
and mammals, excluding bats, frogs, insects
and other invertebrates. It is being described At a regional scale, the ESCRI project near Dalrymple in South Australia
as conservative, as government officials and combines a much larger battery array with 55 wind turbines and solar
non-government experts rush to map the real systems. So long as there’s enough wind, the system can provide electricity
toll. Ecosystems that rely on many parts working indefinitely to 4,600 customers.
together could collapse. Managing distributed energy resources: Microgrids are not only ideal for
Abridged from SBS. Full article: isolating regions from blackouts. They also help integrate “distributed
https://tinyurl.com/rnedzfg energy resources” such as rooftop solar systems and electric vehicles,
which pose a challenge to the way centralised way grids have traditionally
Microgrids: how to keep the been controlled. The main investment required for a “grid of microgrids”
power on when disaster hits is for each region to install a battery and microgrid controller (and
potentially more local generators). In remote regions this may be cheaper
11 Feb 2020: Bushfires, storms and floods
than the cost of maintaining transmission lines.
regularly leave thousands of Australian homes and
businesses without power. One part of the solution Abridged from The Conversation. Full article: https://tinyurl.com/rxls3no
is more connectedness, so one transmission line See also ‘Bushfire crisis shows the answer to future energy security lies
being severed is not the crisis it is now. But just as on our rooftops’, https://tinyurl.com/sk2akex
important is ensuring connectedness isn’t crucial.
www.foe.org.au Chain Reaction #138 May 2020 13You can also read
