articles

Uruguay and the Republic of Korea have recently signed an Agreement for Investment Promotion and Protection which, according to Uruguayan government authorities establishes a framework for Korean investment in Uruguay. From past experience in Uruguay, the establishment of a framework for investment in this country may mean reducing or eliminating all taxation, granting of foreign […]

Press release – 12 August 2009 Data referring to the third semester of operation of Botnia’s pulp mill in Fray Bentos, Uruguay, were publicly presented on 10 August. The documents submitted concluded that “The environmental performance of Botnia’s pulp mill continues to comply with BAT (best available techniques) standards, authorization and criteria.” Yet, immediately following […]

Monoculture tree plantations continue to advance over the Uruguayan grasslands and now occupy almost one million hectares of land that was previously assigned to the production of food. On several occasions we have made reference to the negative impacts of these monoculture plantations on the environment and its people and in Bulletin 139 we included […]

Eucalyptus plantations have become a harsh issue for Chinese farmers of the villages north of the city of Hepu in the province of Guangxi, south of China. Their collective land has been expropriated to make way for monoculture tree plantations. Behind the move is the Finnish-Swedish forestry giant Stora Enso, that plans to lease 180,000 […]

In Uruguay at the end of the forties, the State promoted an exemplary initiative, the creation of the National Settlement Institute (Instituto Nacional de Colonización – INC), that arose from the need for a “suitable instrument to promote a rational subdivision of land and its appropriate exploitation in order to achieve the settlement and welfare […]

In spite of all the scientific evidence existing on the negative impacts of large scale monoculture tree plantations, the Climate Change Convention insists on promoting them under the false argument that plantations can alleviate the effects of climate change, acting as “carbon sinks.” The negative impacts of monoculture tree plantations in forest areas have been […]

For years now WRM has been documenting the social and environmental impacts of monoculture tree plantations. However, so far we had no information on the starting point in this chain: the nurseries where millions of plants intended for plantation are produced. Recently research has just been concluded on the labour conditions and use of agrochemicals […]

In Uruguay we have entered the 21st century as witnesses to the transformation of the landscape throughout the length and breadth of the country. Plantations of eucalyptus and pine trees seem to have invaded every type of terrain. This geographical transformation has also had a direct social impact, affecting numerous aspects of life. The influx […]

by Ricardo Carrere The Finnish company Botnia has a peculiarity that distinguishes it from all other enterprises –national and foreign – existing in the country: its confinement in enclaves closely monitored by private security guards and police officers. During a brief visit to Paysandú and Fray Bentos on 28 and 29 July, we were able […]

On April 26, the Swedish Royal Academy of Agriculture and Forestry organized in Stockholm the seminar “Tilting forest industries from North to South”, aimed at discussing the growing tendency of the Swedish tree plantations and pulp industry to invest in Southern Countries such as Brazil, Uruguay and Indonesia. Unfortunately, the organizers declined to open up […]