Both ENDS

 

Information Pack

Nr. 5

 


OIL

 


 

Both ENDS offers a wide range of services to NGOs in Africa, Latin America, Asia and Central and Eastern Europe, who are working in the field of environment, development and social justice. 

 

Our standard information service includes Information packs on a wide range of topical environment issues. These packs have been written mainly for Southern NGOs. They are to enable (beginner) environmental organisations to get familiarized with an important environmental subject in a short period of time.

 

Contents:

We are making an effort to regularly update the information included  in these packs. But since people and developments are moving fast, we will inevitably lag behind somewhat.

 

The information presented is meant as an introduction. If you require more specific information, please feel free to contact us.

 

You can download the information packs  from our  Website or you can  request an e-mail  printed version.  They are free of charge for NGOs in the South and Central/Eastern Europe.

 

We welcome any suggestions or comments which help improve this information pack.

 

 

Both ENDS

Environmental and Development Service for NGOs

 

Nieuwe Keizersgracht 28-30

1012 LJ Amsterdam

the Netherlands

Phone: +31 20 6230823

Fax: +31 20 6208049

E-mail: info@bothends.org

Website: http://www.bothends.org  

 

This activity has been made possible thanks to the financial support of the Dutch Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and Environment (VROM).

 

The information packages can be obtained free of charge by Southern NGOs.

 


 

INDEX

 

 

Introduction                                                                             

About Oil                                                                                          

Exploration phase

    Seismic investigation                                                              

    Exploratory drilling                                                        

    Effects on livelihoods of people concerned                                           

Exploitation phase                                                                     

    Environmental impact                                                             

    Effects on livelihood                                                               

Instruments of action                                                                

    Introduction                                                                         

    Monitoring                                                                    

Guidelines                                                                                       

    International agreements and guidelines                                              

    International agreements                                                        

    Guidelines by oil companies                                                     

    Environmental and Human Rights Organisations’ guidelines             

Organisations

    Oilwatch Network                                                                           

Further reading                                                                         

    Publications                                                                                   

    Information Sources on Internet                                               

Bibliography                                                                    

Cases

    An Observation in Ecuador                                                      

    Nigeria, The Ogoni people                                                       

    Curação                                                                              

    The ILO Convention 169                                                         

    Mission Statement of the Oilwatch Network    

Appendix                            

    Oilwatch Declaration for the Kyoto Conference on Climate Change

 


 

OIL

 


 

Introduction

 

Oil influences almost every imaginable sector of society. From its exploitation till its use, oil affects the world economy, the national economy, the global environment, the local environment and everyday lives of people. Since oil is not found everywhere, many countries are dependent on commercial fuel supplies and have to spend a great deal of their national budget on oil imports. For oil exporting countries, oil is often the most important source of income. The dependence on oil becomes clear when wars or embargoes threaten the supply of oil. Oil prices go up and especially the poorer countries have trouble financing the necessary oil imports to sustain their economic development. Many countries which export oil are largely dependent on the income derived from it and are eager to win oil. This means that the oil companies have a big influence over their national policy, especially since oil companies have budgets which can exceed the expenditure possibilities of the poorer countries.

The drilling for oil is a dirty job and the utilisation of oil can be very polluting.

 

The world consumes 65 million barrel of oil a day. Oil burned by cars alone produces nearly a fifth of global carbon dioxide; other by-products include carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides. Our addiction to oil is directly proportional to our universal addiction to the automobile: every second an additional car takes to the road.

Other oil products, such as diesel, heating oil, jet fuel, bunker fuel for ships and heavy fuel oil for power stations compound the greenhouse effect and add to the burden of air-borne pollutants. Between 1973 and 1993, oil use grew by 11 percent globally; between 1995 and 2015, the world is expected to increase its consumption of oil by another 59-68 percent, with the US leading the pack.

Source: The World Bank and the G-7; Changing the Earth’s Climate for Business, 1997, p. 25

 

This information package on oil has been narrowed down to the effects of oil exploration and exploitation on the environment and people’s lives in the area around the oil wells.

We also decided to focus mainly on impacts in tropical rainforest areas. However, it has to be emphasised that all countries where oil is being drilled, suffer environmental consequences. The information will be illustrated with case studies. Also some information will be given on what the community and organisations can do to keep close tabs on the activities of oil companies. Furthermore, this package includes information on international agreements, which are related to oil exploration / exploitation and its environmental impact.

Since information is constantly changing, it is more effective to provide addresses of organisations that can give up to date and specific information. We also included addresses and a brief description of NGOs who are active on the issue. These NGOs can provide you with more information or you can contact them to get necessary support. Also, we have included some magazines of interest and websites which can be consulted.

 

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About Oil

 

Oil is one of the basics for today’s life. Most of the oil is consumed in Northern countries, while most of the oil is being extracted from the Southern countries.

 

Table 1. World fuel consumption & oil consumption, (Fuel million tonnes oil equivalent)

Region

Oil

Total

Africa   

Asia and Australasia

Eastern Europe

Middle East

North America

South & Central America

Western Europe

Total world

   99.7

  799.2

  290.9

   179.8 

  964.0

  186.3

  625.5

3172.4

  226.4

2036.4

1270.3

  297.0

  358.4

  306.0

1429.3

7923.8

Source: BP World Review 1997    (Note: Only commercially traded fuels are included.)

 

Table 2. Oil production in 1992 in %       total 3.2 milliard tonnes

Russia                       

Saudi Arabia               

USA                          

Iran                          

Mexico                      

China                        

Venezuela                  

United Arab Emirates    

Norway                      

Nigeria                       

Other Countries           

14.2 %

13.3 %

13.0 %

5.5 %

4.9 %

4.5 %

3.8 %

3.6 %

3.4 %

3.1 %

30.7 %

Source: Bosatlas, 51 edition 1996

 

Each step in the exploration and exploitation of oil has serious impacts on the environment and the livelihood of the population. Oil is known to be one of the most toxic compounds on earth, listing as the most toxic Polyromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) containing heavy metals and benzene. Left underground, these compounds are harmless. However, when drilling for oil, these compounds enter the environment where they have been proven to have a serious impact on  both the environment and human health. By entering the food-chain at a low level the toxins have an impact on the composition and

functioning of the whole ecosystem. Especially fragile ecosystems like rainforests, wetlands and coastal areas are susceptible to this damage, since the plants and animals have a strong interdependent relationship. The local inhabitants, often indigenous people, suffer accordingly, since they often rely heavily on their direct environment for their subsistence.

It is clear that we should do our utmost to keep these compounds from entering into the environment. Unfortunately numerous concrete examples have shown that oil companies hardly pay any attention to this when searching for oil wells and exploiting them.

Oil compounds can enter the environment during the exploration for oil, the exploitation phase and its transport, especially when it is being transported by pipelines.

The following two chapters describe briefly the impact of oil exploration and exploitation.

 

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Exploration phase

 

  fig. 1. Effects on the environment

 

To start the actual exploration, it is necessary to fell large areas of forest for heliports, drilling sites and seismic prospecting. This generally results in widespread erosion, sedimentation, destruction of rivers and lakes. It has a serious impact on the ecosystem, hereby affecting the possibilities for fishing, hunting, agriculture and the provision of clean water for the inhabitants.

The actual petroleum exploration is carried out in two steps: seismic investigation and exploratory drilling.

 

Seismic investigation

Possible drill holes are sought out by explosions. Deforestation of the area is carried out in order to enable the usage of technical equipment, i.e. heliports, settlements and roads. The explosions disturb wildlife and fish can be killed by the pressure caused by the explosions in the water. Seismic investigation can even cause earthquakes.

 

Exploratory drilling

 

The oil companies hire contractors to drill exploratory wells. This brings up large quantities of formation water. Formation water contains a complex mixture of underground waters with both solid and liquid elements, including crude oil, drilling fluids, and drilling chemicals and geological materials, which are discharged on land and into streams. During testing of the well the released gas is burned. This inefficient burning generates airborne pollutants. Gas burning can kill nearby vegetation, disturb wildlife and has an impact on the health of the local people.

 

After exploratory drilling has been completed and the pits emptied, exploratory wells often remain as sources of contamination. Other environmental impacts of exploratory drilling are similar to those of seismic investigations: garbage, noise, erosion, sedimentation of streams and other bodies of water, changes in morphology, drainage patterns and scenery.

 

Effects on livelihoods of people concerned

 

The local population is rarely properly informed about the plans, risks and effects which the activities of oil exploration and exploitation may have. For the local population, in many cases indigenous communities, their territory is essential for their survival. Even if they are the legal owners of the land, acknowledged by the government, this does not extend to the rights over resources like oil or minerals, the resources underground. When oil companies enter their territories, the land might be confiscated, the local inhabitants are sometimes forced to move, or if they are allowed to stay, their life will be severely disturbed by the oil-activities including noise, pollution and possibly diseases.

 

Local people often lack political power. Protests are ignored by the government, whose main interest is making economic profit and attracting foreign investment. The police and military are used in many cases to so-called ‘protect the site’ but they are also used to keep the population under control. In many cases human rights are violated when the population try to obstruct activities of the oil company. When entering an area an oil company can manipulate and buy the local population by promising them gifts i.e. schools, hospitals, roads and jobs. This can be used to prevent protests. These promises are not always kept, or they only keep the communities or people quiet that profit from these services. This might cause division among the population.

 

When meeting obstruction, the oil company can use its influence over the government thus ignoring local protests.

 

Traditional livelihoods are not only threatened by the environmental contamination, but can also suffer social or cultural changes. Especially when the exploration is successful and the oil company decides to start exploitation, the area will be opened up and the communities will get in touch with ‘modern society’.  

 

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Exploitation phase

 

Each of the environmental impacts that characterise the exploratory drilling phase is repeated many times over during the exploitation phase, as more land is cleared and more wells are drilled.

In the oil production fields, a mixture of oil, gas and formation water is extracted from the wells. The chemicals which are injected in the manifold to break the oil-water emulsion, enter the environment untreated as part of the formation water waste stream.  

 

Environmental impact

 

The separation of petroleum from gas and petroleum/formation water wastes takes place in three stages. First the gas is separated; 5% of the gas is refined. Most of the rest is burned and released directly into the air. The gas is burned without temperature or emissions controls. The oil-water emulsion then flows into a separation tank. The oil floats to the top, and the formation water is discharged into a production pit. From there, it is generally discharged or spilled into a stream or small river. This waste is very hot and toxic (to vegetation and aquatic life and humans beings). From the separator the petroleum goes to a wash tank. The oil enters the tank above all or part of the water. Gas separates from the oil, rises to the top of the tank, and is then released and burned. At the same time, formation water wastes separate from the oil and settle below it. As these oily waters settle, the water level in the tank rises. To maintain the proper water level, the wastes are drained from the bottom of the tank. These wastes then migrate into the environment, usually via a production pit. The petroleum passes from the wash tank into a stabilisation or surge tank, where further separation takes place. A valve allows gas to escape into the atmosphere, and oily water wastes are periodically drained into a production pit. The petroleum is transferred to a pump station or pipeline tank. Every pump station contains pipeline tanks, which like the surge and wash tanks, are periodically drained of oily water wastes.  

 

When the well is operating, it burns approximately 95% of the extracted gas and dumps highly toxic wastewater. Mostly this ends up in the river system, with serious impacts on the local fishery and population using this water for purposes such as washing or, even worse, drinking.

 

The transportation is carried out by trucks or pipelines, leading to harbours for further transport or refinery plants for further processing. Oil spills during transport occur regularly either due to neglect in maintenance or slack management.

 

An observation in Ecuador

At a separation installation at Shuaru camp oil is separated from production water. A waste pit is located at the site, where waste from other areas is also dumped by tank-car. The soil is clearly polluted and around the site, trees and other plants are dead or dying. The production water is pumped into a creek leading to San Jaciton village. “The water looks clean but is in fact highly contaminated”, says Didimo Zombrana, one of the 16 rice farmers. He owns 2 hectares in total. “Sometimes the water is salted. I don’t know why. My children drink the water, like myself; I have no alternative. Before, the water flooded my fields and made them fertile. But now the water is polluted and destroys my rice harvest. He points out to the area beyond the destroyed field. “The water has not reached that area and you see, rice is growing there”. A cow he bought for more than 100,000 sucres (US$ 20) died because of the contamination as well. Zombrana complained to Petroecuador (the responsible oil company), but instead of compensating him, they asked him to come and work for them.

Source: Wetland or wasteland, Report Oilwatch trip to Venezuela, Curação, Peru and Ecuador, July 1997, p.19  

 

The formation water, which contains dangerous levels of toxic organic compounds and heavy metals, is discharged into pools. In these pools the hydrocarbons are separated from the rest of the formation water via a stratification process. Contamination of streams, rivers and lakes with sediment happens when the pool is not properly maintained and thus overflows or has a leakage. The contamination consists of a complex mixture of underground waters with both solid and liquid

elements, including crude oil, drilling fluids, and drilling chemicals and geological materials.

Generally the pools themselves are not equipped with any type of recovery mechanism for the contaminants in the remaining formation water. This formation water, which after the stratification process, is discharged directly into the environment without any other treatment whatsoever. The average temperature of formation water is 80oC, a temperature which is maintained for kilometres downstream from the discharge point. The high temperature produces serious impacts on the phyto- and zooplankton as well as on the micro-biological life of the rivers. The diminished life in the contaminated waters makes it even more difficult for the rivers to naturally process the contaminants of the petroleum effluents.

 

Effects on livelihood

 

The effects described in the exploration phase are also valid for the exploitation phase.

The exploitation phase causes a big influx of migrants, working at the oil plant. In forest areas for instance, the construction of roads causes colonisation by even more migrants who are attracted by other economic possibilities such as agriculture in the, now accessible, forests. These colonists disrupt the lives of local people, by entering their territories and using or destroying their resources. The outside world can also bring the monetary system into a non monetary society. They introduce new technologies, which can disrupt the traditional way of life. Changes within the population’s social and cultural structures occur. When local resources disappear, the local communities are forced either to move further into the forests or to accept working for money to be able to buy the necessary goods.  

 

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Instruments of action

 

Introduction

 

Looking at the effects on the environment and livelihood of people near an oil site, it is clear that knowledge about the activities of the oil company is important. In order to be able to undertake action, it is also important to know which international agreements exist on oil exploitation, human rights, international laws on territorial rights, water pollution, mining etc. Furthermore, it is important to get in touch with national or international organisations, which can provide support or information. They can also be active in raising awareness, informing the public about the real story behind oil production, thus influencing the public opinion and lobby oil companies as well as national governments or multilateral institutions. The following paragraphs will go into these three above mentioned points of attention.

 

Monitoring

 

In order to effectively monitor the impacts of oil exploration and exploitation activities by the oil companies it is necessary to be informed in advance about the activities taking place. The ideal situation would be if the local people, assisted by independent experts were involved in the planning of the exploration and exploitation. Unfortunately, in most countries this is not the case.

 

There are ways to get information about the impact of oil companies’ activities through:

1.   The company’s environmental management plans

2.   Indicators of contamination and destruction of resources

3.   The sources of contamination

4.   The operational practices on site

5.   International regulations and national regulations in the company’s home country

6.   National regulations in the country where the oil is being explored

 

ad 1. The company’s environmental management plans are to be found at national government level, together with the Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA). These are reports written on expected environmental damage in the working area.

ad 2. It is important to monitor the environment closely. This can be done by using so-called bio- indicators. These are defined as a species which reflects the condition of the medium in which it lives. In other words, indicators behave as detectors or sentinels of their own environment. The indicators can be sensitive plants, animals or micro-organisms, which are directly affected by oil contamination. Oilwatch (see list of organisations), a network monitoring oil activities in tropical countries, can provide a list of useful indicators and how to detect and use them.

ad 3 and 4. If you identify contamination in the environment, it is important to know about the situation on the site and to know whether contamination of the river, for example, is clearly caused by the  occurrences on the site. For instance, by ponds overflowing or leaking or by  direct dumping of waste. By knowing the operational practices on the site you can be aware of possible sorts of contamination.

ad 5. Often the oil companies are bound by regulations of the country they originate from. These regulation can for example concern human rights, the environmental or indigenous people. However, these regulations are hardly ever applied in countries with little control on legislation or regulations. Knowing these regulations can provide legal arguments on the international level, even though they are not valid in your country.

ad 6. The regulations in the country where the oil is going to be won are variable. If a country is strongly dependent on oil extraction for its income, it will be less strict in putting the regulations into practice. 

 

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Guidelines

 

The extraction of oil is often done by multinational oil companies, sometimes together with or subcontracting national companies. These companies, national and international are often closely linked with the government. The biggest multinationals are: Shell (United Kingdom & the Netherlands), Texaco (USA), Exxon (USA ), BP (United Kingdom), Mobil (USA), Chevron (USA), Elf (France). These big companies have budgets much larger than national budgets of the counties they work in and in many cases they can exert stronger influence over the national government than local governments, thus having direct influence over many of this government’s decisions.

 

Oil companies’ only interest is extracting the oil in a manner which is economically most profitable for them, thereby ignoring the consequences for the environment and the local people. This has caused irreversible damage to the environment and some populations have been marginalised through their activities. By the end of the eighties, oil companies had agreed to research the possible

effects of oil exploration on the environment by doing a so-called Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) prior to their operations. However, these EIA’s can be criticised for the fact that they are not always done carefully, do not take all factors of possible contamination into account, and/or minimise the environmental importance of the areas concerned. Also they are often executed by the companies themselves instead of independent experts. Furthermore, plans written on paper are not always put into practice. Unfortunately, lack of control and monitoring, make this possible.  

 

Nigeria, The Ogoni people

One of the most well-known cases of human rights violation is the case of Shell in the Niger Delta in the south of Nigeria. The Niger Delta is one of the world’s largest wetlands, covering over 20,000 kms2. It is comprised of coastal barrier islands, mangroves, freshwater swamp forests and lowland rainforests. The Niger Delta is homeland to the Ogoni people. For 40 years Shell, together with Nigerian oil companies, has exploited the oilwells in their homeland and in return the Ogoni received the contamination of their livelihood.

The schools, health centres, job opportunities, which have been promised by Shell, have never been realised. Protests of the Ogoni people were smothered with aid of the Nigerian military police and the army. The hanging of 9 Ogoni people of which Ken Saro Wiwa was the most well-known as an important protest leader for the Ogoni, shocked the world on the 11th of November 1995, and woke up the world. It caused a worldwide discussion on the responsibility of oil companies. It is very worrying to see that nothing concrete has changed over the last years for the Ogoni people.

The Ogoni, supported by many national and international people and organisations, continue their struggle against the government and the oil companies by informing the world. The MOSOP (Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People) has made several demands on Shell for compensation of the suffered losses in their area.  

source: Human Rights and Environmental operations information on the Royal Dutch/ Shell group of companies. 1996-1997  

 

Curação

In 1915, the Royal Dutch Shell decided to build the Isla Refinery at Curação. In 1985, they sold the refinery for 1 Dutch florin (0.50 US$) to the government of Curação, denouncing the responsibility for the environmental damage the refinery had caused during its 70 years of operation. This damage included a pond filled with residuals of the oil processing of 840,000 m2 and containing 20,000 tonnes acid tar. The port has been heavily polluted. The roofs of the houses near the refinery are heavily corroded. In 1983, SO2 levels were four times higher than generally accepted maximum levels. For the area around the refinery it means a penetrating smell and a large part of the population suffers from chronic lung problems.

The opposition in the affected area only started in 1989, shortly after Defensa Ambiental and Amigu di Tera (Friends of the Earth - Curação) were founded. Demonstrations were held and the issue started to raise public awareness. However, awareness of environmental problems in the refinery has been kept in check because of the perceived economic benefits to Curação over the 80 years of operation. Nevertheless, the Curação government (since October 1985 the owner of Isla) realised that Shell had left them with an old refinery in urgent need of upgrading. Curação has now rented the refinery out to the state oil company of Venezuela, PdVSA. Unfortunately, the Curação government has not been able to include environmental regulations in the contract and the situation is unaltered.

The history and present developments of the Isla show a lack of environmental responsibility by nearly all participants, Curação is part of the Netherlands, but there is a striking difference between environmental protection in this island and how things are implemented in Europe. The government of Curação has missed chances to adopt even the most basic environmental standards. Both Shell (until 1985) and PdVSA (since 1986) have tried successfully to avoid their environmental responsibilities.

Source: Wetland or Wasteland, report Oilwatch trip to Venezuela, Curação, Peru and Ecuador, 1997, p.11  

 

International agreements and guidelines

 

As mentioned in the introduction of Instruments of Action, it is essential to be informed about international agreements and guidelines for the exploration and exploitation of oil in order to be able to monitor and effectively criticise the activities of oil companies.  

 

International agreements  

 

There are no specific international agreements on oil exploration. However, some agreements, which concern other issues, are applicable. For instance Convention 169 which was signed on the 7th of June 1989 at the General Conference of the International Labour Organisation (ILO). This convention concerns Indigenous and Tribal People and it enables ways by which justice and equity can be attained for the indigenous people worldwide.  

 

The ILO Convention 169

The core of the Convention proclaims:

·       Equity with the Indian people

·       complete enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms without obstacles or discrimination

·       recognition and protection of social practices and cultural, religious and spiritual values characteristic of these peoples

·       Respect for the integrity of the values, practices and institution of these peoples

Also the Convention 169 proclaims the right of the Indian peoples to:

·       Decide priorities concerning the overall process of development and in the way that this affects their lives, believes, institution and spiritual swell being and over the lands-territories that they occupy or utilise in any fashion, as well as controlling to the extent possible, their own social, economic and cultural development

·       To participate in the formulation, application and evaluation of the plans and programmes of regional and national development conductive to affecting them directly.

·       to maintain their own customs and institution

·       to participate in the utilisation, administration and conservation of natural resources  

Taking oil into consideration: Above means that Indigenous people have to be consulted by the governments before they launch or authorise any programme over oil exploitation. Also it establishes the possibilities of participating in the benefits over the exploitation of natural resources or to receive equitative compensation for any damage of degradation suffered as result of these activities.

This Convention has been ratified by: Mexico (1990), Norway(1990), Colombia (1991), Bolivia (1991), Costa Rica (1993), Paraguay(1993), Peru (1994), Honduras (1995), Denmark (1996) and Guatemala (1996), the Netherlands (1997)...  

 

There are many other agreements concerning human rights. For each country and each situation it can be of interest to know which agreements have been signed by their national government.

 

For example, in Agenda 21, which is composed after the Earth Summit in 1992, chapter 26 mentions the need “to enhance the participation in decision making of Indigenous people”. One of the actions to undertake is: “To acknowledge the fact that the areas where indigenous people live have to be protected against activities which are damaging for the environment or which are not approved on grounds of the social or cultural background by the indigenous people concerned.”  

Another example is the RAMSAR convention. This convention requests countries to sign an agreement to protect their wetlands. Since oil is often found in coastal areas, rules of this convention can be applicable to oil exploitation activities.  

Coastal areas, where off-shore oil exploitation is being practised are very vulnerable areas. If it is well out of the coast, there are no clear agreements as yet, except for the UNCLOS (United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea) published in 1995, which tries to reach an international agreement on fisheries boundaries and some environmental agreements.

 

Guidelines by oil companies

 

Oil companies themselves often have their own code of conduct, giving their employees guidelines to ensure correct conduct when searching for and exploiting oil. Two groups that try to work out guidelines beyond the companies are the IAGC and the E & P Forum.  

 

The members of the International Association of Geophysical Contractors (IAGC) have developed environmental guidelines for worldwide geophysical operations. The IAGC is a group of geophysical contractors. The members of the IAGC have committed themselves to the protection of the environment. While planning and conducting their geophysical operations throughout the world, member companies should work to protect the environment. Members should conduct their geophysical operations in accordance with the IAGC Environmental Guidelines as well as the local, national and international regulations. To meet these responsibilities, members should:

·       Plan and conduct geophysical operations in a manner that conserves the environment;

·       Train geophysical personnel in environmentally responsible procedures;

·       Consult appropriate authorities, landowners and users of the area;

·       Evaluate environmental performance and appropriate reclamation measures of geophysical operations.  

 

The Oil Industry International Exploration and Production Forum (E&P Forum) is a platform of oil companies and petroleum industry formed in 1974. It was established to represent its members’ interests at the International Maritime

Organisation and other specialist agencies of the United Nations, governmental and other international bodies concerned with regulating the exploration and production of oil and gas. At present, the Forum has 61 members made up of oil companies and national oil industry associations.

 

The Forum has formulated Oil Industry Operating Guideline for Tropical Rainforests. The general rules are summarised as: that petroleum facilities should be designed and operated to minimise the direct and indirect impact of petroleum operations on the rainforests environment. Deforestation should be limited through minimal use of land.

Unfortunately, only a small group of oil companies apply these guidelines.

 

Environmental and Human Rights Organisations’ guidelines

 

Several non-governmental organisations (NGOs), such as the IUCN and Oilwatch have formulated their own guidelines. There is currently a discussion going on about the value and possible use of these guidelines or code of conducts. Further elaborating these guidelines and possibly getting them internationally accepted could provide a  possibility to hold the companies accountable for their actions in a more consistent way.

 

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Organisations

 

As the oil issue has become a very difficult issue to handle, many organisations worldwide have started working on it. To be able to co-ordinate efforts, Acción Ecológica in Ecuador established the international Oilwatch Network in 1996. Through the regional co-ordinators of Oilwatch a lot of information can be obtained about local, national and international cases or about the companies themselves. Below you will find a list of only a few organisations active on oil issues, sometimes working on a specific case, sometimes on oil in general. Through them, more specific information can be obtained or you can get in touch with other organisations. A complete list of the Oilwatch contacts can be obtained from the international secretariat in Ecuador.

 

Oilwatch International Secretariat

Alejandro de Valdez N 24-33 y La Gasca, Casilla 17-15-246-C, Quito, Ecuador

Phone: +593-2-547.516

Fax:  +593-2-527.583

Email: oilwatch@uio.satnet.net

Oilwatch is a resistance network against oil activity in tropical countries. Its objectives are to facilitate the exchange of information on oil companies that operate in tropical countries, their background, operating practices and social and environmental impacts and to get information about technical and legal aspects in order to co-ordinate international campaigns against specific companies. Oilwatch consists of regional co-ordinators with offices in Africa, Asia, Europe and the US.

 

Mission statement of the Oilwatch Network

·       Understanding the environmental, social, cultural, economic and political threat posed to indigenous people, local communities and fragile ecosystems by the exploitation of oil and gas resources;

·       Recognising that petroleum corporations in their exploitation of oil and gas resources contribute to the violation of individual and collective rights, environmental degradation, climate change, the decline of biodiversity, violence, economic impoverishment, obstruction of democratic aspirations and destabilisation of culture and territoriality;

·       Recognising also the interconnection between over-consumption of petroleum products in the North and the environmental destruction and human rights violations in the South;

·       Realising that government fail to respect and ensure the protection of the environmental and the human rights of these affected local populations;

·       Aware that the Earth, its people and environment have to be protected from abuse and degradation.

This international network of environmental, human rights, religious and local organisations, OILWATCH, has been established with the primary focus of supporting and empowering local initiatives in their struggle against the negative impact of oil and gas exploitation, as well as to educate, propose solutions and raise awareness of the general public, policy makers and the petroleum industry world-wide.

 

Regional focal points of Oilwatch

 

African coordinator:

* Oilwatch Africa

Contact person: Isaac Osuoka

Address: 13, Agudama Ave. D-line, P.O. Box 13708, Port Harcourt, Nigeria

Phone: +234-84-236365/331434

Email: oilwatch@infoweb.abs.net

 

Asian Coordinator:

* Oilwatch Asia/Environmental Foundation W.D.H.R.

(Member International Committee/Steering Committee)

Contact person: Hemantha Withanage, SES

Address: Campbell terrace No. 3, Colombo 10, Sri Lanka

Phone: +94-74-616.474

Fax: +94-1-697.226

Email: hemantha@ef.is.lk oilwatch@ef.is.lk

 

Focal Point in Central America:

* Oilwatch Mesoamerica/Centro Humboldt

Contact person: Magda Lanuza

Address: Del Colonial 2 c. Abajo, 2 c. Al Lago, Barrio Costa Rica

Apartado Postal 768, Managua, Nicaragua

Phone/fax: +505-249.2903/249.8922/883.5806

Email: humboldt@ibw.com.ni

 

Focal Point in South Africa:

* GroundWork

Contact person: Bobby Peek

Address: 191C Burger Street, Box 2375, 32000 Pietermaritzburg, South Africa

Phone: +27-33-342.5662

Fax: +27-33-342.5665

Email: team@groundwork.org.za bobby@groundwork.org.za

 

Focal point in the USA:

* Project Underground

(Member Steering Committee)

Contact persons: Carwil James & Shanna Langdon

Address: 1916 A Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Berkeley, CA 94704, USA

Phone: +1-510-705.8981

Fax: +1-510-705.8983

Email: shanna@moles.org  carwil@moles.org

project_underground@moles.org

Organisations in Latin America & the Caribbean

 

There are members of Oilwatch in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Curaçao, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Puerto Rico and Venezuela. Some of them are listed below.

 

* Amigu di Tera

Contact person: Lloyd Narain

Address: P.O. Box 4688, Willemstad, Curação, Netherlands Antilles

Phone/Fax: +599-9-737.3965

Email: amigu-di-tera@curinfo.an johncdaal@curinfo.an

Issue: Shell in Curação

 

* Asociación Censat Agua Viva

(Member International Committee/Steering Committee)

Contact persons: Tatiana Roa & Hildebrando Velez

Address: Carrera 19 No. 29-12, Oficina 202, A.A. 16789, Santafé de Bogotá, Colombia

Phone: +57-1-244.2465/244.0581

Fax: +57-1-245.8906

E-mail: censat@colnodo.apc.org

 

* Oilwatch Costa Rica

Contact persons: Gabriel Rivas Ducca & Mauricio Alvarez

Apartado 3597, Zona 1000, Casa Gabriel en San José, Costa Rica

Phone: +506-252.1063

Email: casogari@racsa.co.cr oilwatch@cosmovisiones.com

 

* Oilwatch Mexico/Sociedad de Amigos Santo Tomás

(Member International Committee)

Contact persons: Silvia Whizar Lugo & Alejandro Calvillo

Address: Circuito del Parque No. 411. Fraccionamiento del Parque, Villahermosa

C.P. 86096, Tabasco, Mexico

Phone/Fax: +93-159.516/159.517

Email: stomas@tukan.ujat.mx

 

RAP (Red de Alerta Petrolera)

Contact person: Alipio Valdez

Address: Calle Virginio Lema 785, Casilla 83, La Paz, Bolivia

Phone: +591-2-35471

Fax: +591-2-33454

Email: jees@olivo.tja.entelnet.bo  pilcomay@mail.cosett.com.bo

 

* Red Alerta Petrolera (Orinoco Oilwatch) Amigransa

Contact persons: Maria Eugenia Bustamante & Alicia García

Address: Apdo. Postal 50460 Caracas 1050-A, Av. La Colina, Urb. Las Acacias

Edf. San Bartolomeo, 4to piso, Apto. 19, Caracas 1050-A, Venezuela

Phone: +58-2-992.1884/693.9480

Email: amigrans@ccs.internet.ve

 

Organisations in Africa

 

There are members of Oilwatch in Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad, Congo, Cote D’Ivoire, Gabon, Ghana, Ecuatorial Guinee, Nigeria, Mozambique, Central African Republic, DR Congo, Senegal, South Africa and Sudan. Some of them are listed below.

 

* Centre d’Information et de Liaison des ONG’s (CILONG)

(Member International Committee/Steering Committee)

Contact person: Soumaïne Adoum

Address: B.P. 88L, N’Djamena, Chad

Phone: +235-515410/235-516190 (private)/235-518923 (Swissaid)

Fax: +235-518915 (Swissaid)

Email: Soumaine@hotmail.com  cilong@intnet.td

 

Enviro-Protect

Contact persons: Francois Tiani Kéou & Jean Baptiste Tanfjeu Ngounou

Address: P.O. Box 4263, Douala, Cameroon

Phone: +237-427.566

Fax: +237-430.625/425.658

 

* Environmental Rights Action (ERA)/FOE Nigeria

(Member International Committee)

Contact person: Nnimo Bassey

Address: 214 Uselu-Lagos Road, P.O.Box 10577, Benin City, Nigeria

Phone/fax: +234-52-600-165

Email: eraction@infoweb.abs.net

 

Organisations in Asia

 

There are Oilwatch members in Bangladesh, Thailand, Korea, Philippines, India, Japan, Malaysia, Pakistan, Papua New Guinee, Sri Lanka, East Timor, Vietnam. Some of them are listed below.

 

* Kalayanamitra Council

(Member Steering Committee)

Contact person: Pipob Udomittipong

Address: 666 Chareon Nakhan Road, Klongsan, Bangkok 10600, Thailand

Phone: +66-2-438.9331/438.9332

Fax: +66-2-860.1277

Email: kc@ffc.or.th

 

PAN Indonesia

Contact person: Riza V. Tjahjadi

Address: JL Persada Raya No.1, Menteng Dalam, Jakarta 12870, Indonesia

Phone/fax: +62-21-829.6545

Email: biotani@rad.net.id

 

Terra/Project of Ecological Recovery

Contact person: Witoon Permpongsacharoen

Address: 409 Soi Rohitsuk, Pracharatbampen Rd., Huay Khwang, Bangkok 10310, Thailand

Phone: +66-2-691.0718/20

Fax: +66-2-691.0714

Email: terraper@ksc15.th.com  terraper@comnet.ksc.net.th

 

Vietnam Economic Times

Contact person: Chu Van Lam

Address: 175 Nguyen Thai Hoc. St., Hanoi, Vietnam

Phone: +84-4845.2411

Fax: +84-4843.2755

Email: vet@hn.vnn.vn

 

Organisations in Europe

 

There are Oilwatch members in Germany, Belgium, Denmark, Spain, Finland, France, Italy, Norway, the Netherlands, United Kingdom, Sweden and Switzerland. Some of them are listed below.

 

* Both ENDS

(Member of the International Committee)

Contact person: Tamara Mohr

Address: Nieuwe Keizersgracht 45, 1018 VC Amsterdam, the Netherlands

Phone: +31-20-623.0823

Fax: +31-20-620.8049

E-mail: tm@bothends.org

 

Future in our Hands and NorWatch

Contact person: Harald Eraker

Address: P.O. BOX 4743 Sofienberd, 0506 Oslo, Norway

Phone: +47-22-201.045   

Fax: +47-22-204.788

E-mail: harald.eraker@fifi.no  Tor.Traasdahl@pr.uninett.no

 

Greenpeace Research Laboratories

Contact person: David Santillo

Address: Earth Resources Centre-University of Exeter, North Park Road, Exeter EX4 4QE,

United Kingdom

Phone: +44-1392-263.917

Fax: +44-1392-263.907

Email: d.santillo@exeter.ac.uk

 

Legambiente

Contact person: Fulvia Fazio

Address: Via Salaria 403, 00199 Roma, Italy

Phone: +39-6-862.681  

Fax: +39-6-862.8474

Email: legambiente@legambiente.com

 

NC-IUCN

Contact person: Rietje Grit

Address: Plantage Middenlaan 2B, 1018 DD Amsterdam, the Netherlands

Phone: +31-20-626.1732

Fax: +31-20-627.9349

Email: trp@nciucn.nl  Grit@nciucn.nl

 

Rettet den Regenwald e.v.

Contact person: Susanne Breitkopf

Address: Poseldorfer Weg 17, D-20148 Hamburg, Germany

Phone: +49-40-410.3804

Fax: +49-40-450.0144

Email: regenwald@umwelt.ecolink.org

 

Organisations in North America

 

Rainforest Action Network

Contact person: Shannon Wright

Address: 221 Pine Street 5, CA 94104, San Francisco, USA

Phone: +1-415-398.4404

Fax: +1-415-398.2732

Email: shannon@ran.org

Rainforest Action Network works to protect the Earth's rainforests and support the rights of their inhabitants through education, grassroots organising, and non-violent direct action. Since it was founded in 1985, the Rainforest Action Network has been working to protect tropical rainforests and the human rights of those living in and around those forests. Through financial contributions and networking services, RAN supports the efforts of indigenous and environmental groups in tropical countries to achieve ecologically sustainable solutions within their own regions.

RAN activities have an emphasis on grassroots education and action, its networking capabilities and a commitment to mobilising citizen activists to respond quickly and directly to the forces that threaten the rainforests.

 

CorpWatch

Contact person: Amit Srivastava

Address: PO Box 29344, CA 94129 San Francisco, USA

Phone: +1-415-561.6472  

Fax: +1-415-561.6493

Email: amit@corpwatch.org  corpwatch@corpwatch.org

 

CorpWatch counters corporate-led globalization through education and activism. It works to foster democratic control over corporations by building grassroots globalization--a diverse movement for human rights, labor rights and environmental justice.

 

International Organisations

 

World Rainforest Movement (International Secretariat)

(Member International Committee/Steering Committee)

Contact person: Ricardo Carrere

Address: Maldonado 1858, CP 11200 Montevideo, Uruguay

Phone: +598-2-403.2989

Fax: +598-2-408.0762

Email: rcarrere@wrm.org.uy

 

Greenpeace International

(Member International Committee)

Contact person: Paul Horsman

Address: Canonbury Villas, London N1 2PN, United Kingdom

Phone: +44-171-354.5100

Fax: +44-171-696.0012

Email: Paul.Horsman@uk.greenpeace.org

 

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Further Reading

 

Following you will find a list of useful publications, magazines and internet sites.

 

OILWATCH - a useful book providing an overview on issues concerning oil exploitation. The book is available in Spanish, English and French. The following issues are discussed: oil in the tropics; impact on the environment and livelihood; instruments to monitor the oil activity in tropical areas; bio-indicators; framework for restoration; fundamental rights and environment; how to present a demand in an international tribunal; international legal tools for the protection of the environment and Human Rights and factors constraining the impact of action groups.

 

Voices of Resistance, Oil Exploitation in the Tropics - is also a publication of Oilwatch, also available in Spanish.

 

Tegantai - is a magazine published by Oilwatch. It is published in Spanish, English, and French and gives information on activities of oil companies and the effects of oil winning all over the world. Also distributed by email.

 

Drillbits and Tailings - is bi-monthly newsletter published by Project Underground. It provides information on mining, oil and gas. The distribution is done by email and back issues can be found on the internet.

 

Publications

 

Human Rights and Environmental Operations Information on the Royal Dutch/ SHELL Group of Companies, Kretzmann, S. and Wright, S. - 1996/1997 - Independent Annual Report, 1997

 

The application of strategic environmental assessment in relation to offshore oil and gas resource exploration, Report 1 prepared for WWF-UK by Berry Marine Consultants, October 1997

 

The application of environmental impact assessment in relation to offshore oil and gas exploration, Report 2 prepared for WWF-UK by Berry Marine Consultants, October 1997

 

Environmental best practice and the move toward zero discharge in the offshore oil and gas industry, Report 3 prepared for WWF-UK by Berry Marine Consultants, October 1997

 

Operational Discharges from offshore oil and gas exploration and exploitation activities: regulatory requirements and enforcement practices, Petroconsultants (UK), November 1997

 

Guidelines for the Development and Application of Health, Safety and Environmental Management Systems, E&P Forum, July 1994

 

Environmental management in oil and gas exploration and production, An overview of issues and management approaches, UNEP, E&P Forum, 1997

 

Oil and Gas Exploration and Production in Arctic and Subarctic Onshore Regions, Guidelines for Environmental Protection, IUCN, E&P Forum, 1993

 

Oil and Gas Exploration and Production in Mangrove Areas, IUCN, E&P Forum, 1993

 

The Oil Industry: Operating in Sensitive Environments, IPEICA, E&P Forum, September 1997

 

Arctic Offshore Oil and Gas Guidelines, Arctic Environmental Protection Strategy, June 1997

 

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Information Sources on Internet

 

Several internet sites are dedicated to oil. The oil companies can be found by searching on oil or the name of the oil company. A comprehensive general gateway to information on the oil and gas industry is Oil Survey a collection of resources for the oil and gas industry from the Independent Oil & Gas Information Center. This site also offers environmental information on the subject - but not on Oilwatch!

 

Action groups like Oilwatch provide information on the world wide web as well, sometimes responding to sites of oil companies. With this medium, people can have easily access to relevant information and a wide audience is reached.

 

The following is a short-list of interesting websites for more information on oil from the environmental point of view.

 

Rainforest Action Network

The internet site of RAN. It has a long list of organisations concerned with the forests and other environmental issues, such as oil. The publication Drilling to the Ends of the Earth: the case against new fossil fuel exploration is avaliable online.

 

The website of Project Underground features information on oil, more specific it follows the Ogoni struggle against Shell. Also copies of their Drillbits & Tailings can be found here.

 

The Mineral Management Service's website offers information on the following issues:  Environmental and applied research programs; technical information about offshore oil and gas development. Legal, technical and statistical information about royalty management, news releases and announcements about MMS Laws, regulations and memoranda of understanding governing MMS programs General information about MMS. The Website also offers a catalogue of links to related information resources on the Internet and to the DOI Virtual Reading Room an information resource for scientists, policy analysts, lawyers and the public interested in all aspects of the management, use and conservation of all types of natural and cultural resources.

 

World Conservation Monitoring Centre (WCMC). It can be consulted to see calamities about oil and has articles on general oil subjects.

 

National Geospatial Data Clearinghouse of the Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC)

is a collection of over 250 spatial data servers, that have digital geographic data primarily for use in Geographic Information Systems (GIS), image processing systems, and other modelling software. These data collections can be searched through a single interface based on their descriptions, or "metadata."

 

Website of Energy Information Administration, a US government organisation with statistical information on energy use worldwide and other related articles.

 

Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) from the USA. EDF tackles a broad range of regional, national and international environmental issues. In recent years EDF has become a leading advocate of economic incentives as a new approach to solving environmental problems. The Website includes an extensive list of publications on several subjects including oil.

 

The UNEP Offshore Oil and Gas Environment Forum’s website was created as a medium to locate and disseminate environmental information concerning the sustainable development of the offshore oil and gas industry.   

 

Offshore-Environment.com provides a lot of information on the environmental impact
of the offshore oil and gas exploration and production. his site provides information on the impact of the offshore oil and gas industry on the ocean environment and living resources. The site includes an extensive collection of articles covering environmental issues surrounding the offshore oil and gas industry.

 

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Bibliography

 

Center for Economic and Social Rights - Rights Violation in the Ecuadorian Amazon, The Human Consequence of Oil Development, USA, 1994

E&P Forum (The Oil Industry International Exploration & Production Forum) - Oil Industry Operating Guideline for Tropical Rainforests  1991, April 1991

Friends of the Earth Netherlands (Vereniging Milieudefensie) - Wetland or Wasteland? Report; Oilwatch trip to Venezuela, Curação, Peru and Ecuador, Netherlands, July 1997

International Association of Geophysical Contractors (IAGC) - Environmental Guidelines for Worldwide Geophysical Operations

Kretzmann, S. and Wright, S. - Human Rights and Environmental Operations Information on the Royal Dutch/ Shell Group of Companies 1996/1997 - Independent Annual Report, 1997

OILWATCH , Acción Ecológica - Oilwatch, Quito (Ecuador), 1996 (available in Spanish, English and French)

Oilwatch -  Tegantai no 6 (magazine of the Oil Resistance Network (Oilwatch Secretariat) - August 1996

Oilwatch - Minutes of Oilwatch Asian Workshop 20 - 21 March. Workshop on Sri Lanka, Thailand, Burma, Indonesia, 1997

 

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Appendix

 

Oilwatch Declaration for the Kyoto Conference on Climate Change

Bearing in mind that:

  • The world's leading climate scientists have concluded that the "balance of evidence suggests a discernible human influence on global climate" (IPCC 1996);

  • climate change will cause the greatest suffering to the poorest peoples and most pristine ecosystems globally;

  • climate change is a part of the ecological debt accumulated by the industrialised countries through their exploitation of resources in the South;

  • the burning of oil, gas, and coal is the primary cause of human-induced climate change;

  • the burning of even a portion of known economically recoverable fossil fuel reserves ensures climate catastrophe;

  • the avoidance of climate catastrophe requires a rapid phase-out of fossil fuels and a transition to renewable forms of energy;

  • transnational corporations bear a primary responsibility for the exploitation of fossil fuel reserves, the use of which results in climate change, the destruction of critical ecosystems and the biological and cultural diversity contained therein;

  • the increasing exploitation of fossil fuels in natural forests, which are critical ecosystems in the maintenance of climate stability, results in numerous impacts on these vital areas through deforestation and pollution caused by the various phases of exploration and extraction, and ultimately forest degradation from global climate change; 

  • the exploitation of coal, oil, and gas result in substantial local environmental consequences, including severe degradation of air, forests, rivers, and farmlands, the impacts of which are becoming increasingly regional in character as the number and size of fossil fuel projects rapidly grows;

  • all people have "the fundamental right to freedom, equality and adequate conditions of life in an environment of a quality that permits a life of dignity and well-being and that they bear a solemn responsibility to protect and improve the environment for present and future generations (1972 Stockholm Declaration);

  • corruption, cultural destruction, involuntary resettlement, and violence are too often the outcomes of fossil fuel development;

  • fossil fuel exploration continues to move into ecological frontier areas, home to some of the Earth's last and most vulnerable indigenous populations, resulting in accelerated losses of biodiversity and traditional knowledge and ultimately ending in ethnocide and genocide;

  • governments are responsible for failing to set adequate regulations for their oil company operations locally and abroad, for failing to invest in sustainable sources of energy, and for encouraging the large-scale sell-off of fossil fuel resources;

  • the Bretton Woods institutions (including the World Bank Group, the IMF and the regional development banks), together with bilateral credit and aid agencies, and the World Trade Organisation, have a major responsibility for promoting and enforcing the structural adjustment and liberalisation policies which force countries to exploit their fossil fuel reserves with devastating effects not only on the global climate, but also on regional ecosystems and local peoples;

  • taxpayer funds from Northern countries which are intended for poverty alleviation and sustainable development are instead being used by multilateral and bilateral aid agencies for

  • corporate welfare in the form of investments in fossil fuel projects. The energy sector is traditionally the one of the largest lending portfolios for multilateral and bilateral development agencies, and fossil fuels comprise the bulk of that energy lending;

  • at least 2 billion rural poor cannot even meet their basic energy needs (cooking, heating, lighting) and renewable forms of energy are the most promising and least environmentally damaging of the energy options in servicing their energy needs;

  • nuclear power plants and large hydroelectric dams are plagued with social, environmental,

  • and economic problems and as such are not the solution to the climate crisis,

Therefore, we the undersigned call for:

  • An immediate moratorium on all new exploration for fossil fuel reserves;

  • A full recognition of the ecological debt and the need to build it into all future climate negotiations;

  • A full restoration of all areas affected by oil, gas, and coal exploration and exploitation by the corporations that are responsible;

  • Oil, gas, and coal prices that properly reflect the true costs of their extraction and consumption, with special consideration for their role in causing climate change;

  • An end to all lending, credit, and other forms of subsidy from the publicly-funded multilateral and bilateral overseas development agencies for fossil fuel extraction and extraction-related projects;

  • A moratorium on all lending, credit, and other forms of finance from the publicly funded multilateral and bilateral overseas development agencies toward all fossil fuelled power projects (including power plants and non-extractive distribution projects);

  • Evaluations of all current and future power projects in a full consultation with the communities affected by the project, which respects the right of the local populations to decline a project which may adversely impact them;

  • The consistent and obligatory implementation of environmental impact reviews on all future power projects which fully examine options for demand-side management and clean,

  • renewable, decentralised energy options such as wind, solar, and micro-hydro;

  • The full and public availability of these reviews and evaluations, in local languages.

That all public funds now spent by governments, multilateral, and bilateral overseas development agencies on subsidising fossil fuel extraction in the energy sector be used instead entirely for investments in clean, renewable, and decentralised forms of energy.

             

         Oilwatch: December 1997,

         For the planet and its people,

The above declaration has been signed by more than 180 organisations worldwide.

 

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Ó Both ENDS, July 2001