Nora Ferm

I used this project as an opportunity to combine my interests in environmental issues, Latin America, and international relations. I focused on the struggle of 5,000 indigenous U’wa, who are trying to defend their land in Colombia from the imminent invasion of Occidental Petroleum as it pursues its destructive search for oil and profits. The U.S. government and several American corporations are intimately connected with the issue, making it a relevant topic for people in the U.S. to learn about, and also providing ways for us to become involved in effecting change on behalf of the U’wa and the tropical forests.

The Colombian government, desperate for foreign investment and an economic boost, granted oil exploration rights to Occidental Petroleum in 1992. The prime land was in U’wa territory at the headwaters of the Orinoco river basin. It has been estimated that this land contains 1.5 billion barrels of oil, enough to supply oil needs in the U.S. for 3 months.

Many Latin American countries view the exploitation of natural resources as their best hope for rising out of debt. Developed countries encourage such a perspective because they stand to gain from it. The U.S., for example, imports 65 percent of Colombia’s oil exports. Such arrangements generally make the producing company dependent on larger wealthier nations, leading to further problems with national debt.

Article 8 of the 1991 Colombian Constitution reads: “It is the obligation of the state and people to protect the cultural and national resources of the nation”. Currently only a few Colombians, such as the U’wa people, are upholding this value. Oil excavation by Occidental Petroleum will destroy a precious ecosystem and the cultural integrity of the indigenous people. Increased violence and human rights abuses also appear to be an inevitable consequence of the development of oil projects in the country.

Occidental Petroleum, taking advantage of the lack of regulation enforcement in Latin America, has been negligent in its practices, exceeded the capacity of the treatment facilities, and caused many lakes to show dangerously high concentrations of heavy metals and toxic chemicals. Other negative effects of the oil company presence include land clearing, air pollution, soil erosion, and destruction of wildlife habitats. All of these consequences hurt human health as well as the condition of the natural ecosystem. The U’wa are especially concerned about environmental degradation because they believe in the intrinsic value of plants, animals, and the environment.

The U’wa are also worried about the prospect of militarization of their land because guerrilla groups make special efforts to attack the pipelines and equipment of multinational oil corporations. One pipeline, for example, has been attacked 508 times in the past 11 years. As a result of such destruction, over 1.7 million barrels of crude oil has flowed into Colombian rivers and soils. In addition, one year of guerrilla activity accounted for 38 assassinations of innocent locals, 18 massacres, and 2,360 harassment incidents in the region of the pipeline. Three American activists fighting for the U’wa were killed by guerrillas. Occidental is trying to pay off the guerrillas, but the money that the guerrillas have accepted has not changed their actions in the least.

For people like the U’wa, the military does not represent a welcome solution to the guerrilla violence. Over 3,000 politically motivated killings occur in Colombia each year, and the Colombian military and paramilitary groups are responsible for 70% of these. When the oil companies and the U.S. government give money to the military to defend oil projects and fight drug wars, it gives the military increased capacity to perpetuate such violent and unjust behavior, leading to the victimization and death of more undeserving Colombians.

Because of their concern for the environment, their culture, their land, and their safety, the U’wa have been leading a vigorous campaign to protest Occidental Petroleum’s plans. As a result, Occidental Petroleum and the Colombian government made a token effort to have a discussion with the U’wa. The oil company did not take the U’wa’s demands seriously, however, and asked the U’wa delegates to sign an “attendance sheet” which later turned out to be a document giving the company permission to continue working on U’wa land. A series of court decisions finally decided in favor of Occidental Petroleum, and consequently the U’wa have turned to international human rights organizations for help. In 1995, the U’wa even threatened mass suicide if oil excavation plans were carried out. Occidental Petroleum continues to fight the U’wa, setting their sights on the profits the land offers. Occidental officials make false statements linking the U’wa to the guerrillas, which hurts the credibility of the U’wa and their campaign.

Things have been heating up even more in the past several months. In September of 1999, the Colombian government announced that it would allow Occidental to begin drilling just outside the reserve inhabited by the U’wa people. The U’wa land has been militarized since January 2000. In mid-February, the Colombian police used violence, tear gas, and heavy machinery to stop a peaceful protest by the U’wa. Several children were killed, and many adults are injured or missing.

The issues involved in these events and struggles are related to many topics discussed in class. First, there is the problem of biodiversity losses, tropical forest destruction, and habitat fragmentation. The Colombian government sees the complete preservation of the environment to be directly in conflict with attempts to resolve national financial crises, making it impossible to make the well being of the environment the country’s top priority. Occidental Petroleum can place a dollar value on the oil reserves, but no one can put a real monetary value on the preservation of the ecosystem and the U’wa culture. Also, the U’wa’s inability to protect their “official” reserve harks back to Terborgh’s grievances about paper parks in Latin America.

After researching the issues, history, and current situation of the U’wa and their battle, it became clear that the involvement of a multinational oil company, international organizations, and the U.S. government have turned it into a topic of international concern. Several international human rights organizations and environmental groups have taken an interest in the matter. In addition, there are some groups and NGO coalitions, such as the U’wa Defense Working Group, that have formed for the sole purpose of supporting the struggle of the U’wa. Without international help and attention, the U’wa have no hope of successfully fighting their government and the powerful oil company.

Obviously it was impossible for me to work directly with the U’wa in their struggle. I thought there must be other ways to be helpful that would be closer to home. I wanted to find out what steps these international and U.S. groups take to combat the human rights abuses and environmental degradation in Latin America. Also, because I am connected to Occidental simply by virtue of my U.S. citizenship, I looked for ways to voice my protest directly to the company and their investors.

Through email, I connected myself to a nationwide network of activists, protestors, and volunteers and began to learn about actions they were taking all over the United States. I subscribed to the International U’wa Solidarity List, which is a discussion list for U’wa supporters worldwide to share strategies for helping the U’wa.

I also corresponded regularly with the Grassroots Coordinator for the Rainforest Action Network. The Rainforest Action Network works for rainforest conservation by supporting activists in tropical countries and organizing and mobilizing consumers and community action groups in the United States.

In addition, I looked at the ways that Project Underground works for similar issues. Project Underground aims to publicly expose the environmental and human rights abuses of mining and oil corporations, gives technical and legal support to communities like the U’wa, and directly pressures the corporations to make positive changes.

I found two groups in the Twin Cities -- Environmental Action at the U of MN and Big Woods EF! -- who are working on protest campaigns for the U’wa. Unfortunately, the large protests and rallies that they organized on February 3 and March 9 conflicted with my class and lab schedule so I was unable to attend. I was also frustrated by the difficulty of finding transportation to the Cities that would allow me to search for more ways to help out directly.

It turned out to be much easier and more helpful for me to be involved in the campaigns through letter writing, calling U.S. representatives, and helping to spread general awareness of the issue. So far, the oil company has been fairly successful in its attempts to minimize publicity in the U.S. of its actions in Colombia. I hope that the poster that I make for the SLP project will help Carleton students learn about the issue. The success of the U’wa campaign depends largely on the expression of protest by people in the United States, who could potentially pressure Occidental Petroleum to change their plans.

In addition to writing protest letters to Occidental Petroleum, I also participated in the campaign to target Fidelity Investments by writing to the national chairman and the local Minneapolis office. Fidelity Investments, the world’s largest mutual fund company, owns 10 percent of Occidental’s stock. Fidelity thus has the power to convince Occidental Petroleum to improve its practices in Colombia, and the Rainforest Action Network is hoping to put enough pressure on Fidelity that they will join the groups criticizing Occidental Petroleum.

The other letter writing campaign that I became involved in targeted Vice President Al Gore. Gore, a proclaimed environmentalist, owns half of a million dollars worth of Occidental stock and enjoys political sponsorship from the corporation. This month, several organizations including the Rainforest Action Network have made major efforts to publicize Gore’s connections with Occidental Petroleum and make Gore fully aware of Occidental’s actions in Colombia. The hope is that Gore will join the U’wa supporters and be another source of pressure on Occidental.

At some points I felt like my contribution to the campaign was fairly passive, and it frustrated me that I was unable to go help in person. My contacts at the Rainforest Action Network and the U’wa Defense Working Group assured me that, considering I was so far away from their offices, writing letters and contacting U.S. representatives was the best way for me to be effective. It was still exciting to be working on such a critical issue, with urgent alerts arriving almost daily. This helped make it less of a research project because new developments kept happening both in Colombia with the U’wa themselves and here in the United States with Al Gore, protests at Fidelity offices, and increasing awareness of the issue among the general public.

All of my communications with the Rainforest Action Network and other such groups have convinced me that they are quite effective and well intentioned. I have seen significant progress since I began learning about the issue in January. Most recently, a full page ad appeared in the New York Times about Occidental Petroleum and Al Gore, and discussions about the U’wa have made it on national news broadcasts. Time is running out because Occidental Petroleum has announced that drilling will begin within the next couple of months, but I do not believe that there is reason to give up hope yet. With enough pressure from their investors and the general public in the U.S., as well as from international human rights and environmental organizations, I think that Occidental Petroleum may finally be forced to revise their plans. The U’wa people still have reason to be optimistic that Occidental will have to respect their rights, land, and culture, and the rainforests around the Orinoco river basin may yet be saved from immediate destruction.

Sources:

• Blood of Our Mother, a publication by Project Underground.
• Rainforest Action Network (http://www.ran.org/)
• Patrick Reinsborough, Grassroots Coordinator
• Project Underground (http://www.moles.org/)
• “Colombia Oks Hotly Contested Oil Exploration Near Indian Tribe’s Lands”, Associated Press, September 21, 1999.
• Email alerts and press releases from the U’wa Defense Working Group
• Email alerts and press releases from the Rainforest Action Network
• Publications by the Rainforest Action Network:
  • “Fidelity Investments: Investing In Genocide?”
  • “Occidental Petroleum: A Legacy of Destruction”
  • “In Defense of Sacred Lands: The U’wa People’s Struggle Against Big Oil”