Cocaine users get no love from Colombian Vice President Francisco Santos Calderon, who speechified to police officers in Belfast, Northern Ireland, on Tuesday: "Colombia has lost more than [5 million acres] of rainforest in the last 15 years to plant coca. If you snort a gram of cocaine you are destroying [43 square feet] of pristine rainforest. That rainforest is not just Colombian. It belongs to all of us who live on this planet, so we should all be worried about it."

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In case you need more evidence that biofuels are not the Big Green Conscience-Easing Solution: a disturbing pattern has emerged in Colombia, where vast palm-oil plantations are taking the place of tropical forests and farmland. Aid organizations working in the area say paramilitary gangs are seizing land for biofuel conglomerates, using threats and violence to evict rural residents. President Alvaro Uribe has pressed palm producers to more than double their acreage in the next four years, and concerned observers say his push has encouraged the illegal seizures. "The paramilitaries are not subtle when it comes to taking land," says Dominic Nutt of Christian Aid. "They simply visit a community and tell landowners, 'If you don't sell to us, we will negotiate with your widow.'" Aren't you glad we're washing our hands of that other strife-ridden fuel? Alternative energy is on the docket at this week's meeting of the Organization of American States in Panama City. So they'll probably fix all this.

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It's hard out here for a gorgeted puffleg. The hummingbird species with the fabulous name was just discovered in southwestern Colombia, where farmers slash and burn 1,235 acres of cloud-forest habitat every year to grow coca, the raw ingredient in cocaine. That's bad news for a species that bird-conservation expert Andr Weller calls "the most spectacular discovery of a new hummingbird taxon during the last decade or more." Ornithologists are urging the Colombian government to create a 494,000-acre nature preserve for the safety of pufflegs, so named for the cottonball-like plumage above their legs. Cute! Says Ian Davidson of Birdlife International, "To go undiscovered for so long, the bird's range must be extremely small and fragile -- hence conservation action is undoubtedly a priority." And if forest preservation helps out other feathered folk, all the better; Colombia houses more than 1,800 bird species, the largest variety in the world.

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The Pacific Coast of Colombia, a narrow slice of jungle between the Andes and the ocean, is rich with plant and animal life. It's also home to about a third of Colombia's 10.6 million Afro-Colombians, descendants of black slaves emancipated in the mid-1800s. In recent years, this isolated area has been hit hard by logging, gold mining, industrial agriculture, and Colombia's civil war.

Grueso.

Photo: David Lent.

Social worker Libia Grueso, a native of the Pacific Coast, is a cofounder of the Process of Black Communities (PCN), a civil-rights group that advocates for Afro-Colombians. In the early 1990s, she and her allies helped pass "Law 70," which granted legal recognition and territorial rights to Afro-Colombians. They've used this national law to battle shrimp-farm projects and other industrial development along the coast. Grueso, 43, has also spoken out against the environmental damage caused by the civil war and U.S. military aid.

This is dangerous work. Since 1998, some 75 Afro-Colombian leaders have been assassinated on the Pacific Coast, and many others have been persecuted for their environmental and civil-rights work. But Grueso's voice still rises with excitement when she talks about the natural and cultural diversity of her home region.

On April 19 in San Francisco, Calif., Grueso was awarded one of six 2004 Goldman Environmental Prizes. She plans to use part of the money for a PCN branch office and the rest to pay for her children's education. She spoke to Grist through a translator.

Eyes on the Prize -- Interviews with the 2004 Goldman winners

Introduction

She's the Bee's Knees -- Rashida Bee and Champa Devi Shukla of India

Shell Game -- Margie Eugene-Richard of Louisiana

Ghana But Not Forgotten -- Rudolf Amenga-Etego of Ghana

The Young and the Relentless -- Demetrio do Amaral de Carvalho of East Timor

Roll on, Colombia -- Libia Grueso of Colombia

Georgia on Her Mind -- Manana Kochladze of the Republic of Georgia

Please tell me a little bit about the nature and people of Colombia's Pacific Coast region.

It's one of the five richest biological areas in the world -- it has 10.6 percent of the bird species in the world. The biological diversity is threatened by extractive industries, by the timber and gold industries and by all the mega-projects being planned in the area. It is also threatened by the expansion of monocultures: the palm industry and the monoculture of cocaine. Both of them are threatening the natural conditions in the area, and they are also threatening traditional cultural practices. The community in this zone is 93.4 percent Afro-Colombian, and they have maintained practices associated with the jungle. The jungle makes our lifestyle, and our natural vision, possible. The most important thing is that the [Afro-Colombian] community has a different lifestyle, a different kind of relationship with nature, a different sense of life and death. That is what we have to offer the rest of the world.

How has the civil war in Colombia worsened those problems?

First of all, it should be said that armed conflict exists in this area because of a dispute over who owns the land. The area where armed conflict can be found coincides with areas where major projects are being proposed. War in this region is clearly about territory, about the land we have conserved for more than 400 years. It's resulted in the movement of people within our region -- of the 3 million people displaced [by the ongoing conflict in Colombia], 2 million are Afro-Colombian. It's caused our leaders to be threatened, and some have even been assassinated.

How did you decide to become an advocate for the region?

It's a long personal story, but many like myself are conscious that if we don't assume the defense of our culture, the defense of our territory, the defense of nature and our environment, not only will the culture disappear but also the nature associated with that culture. I've had a variety of experiences that have made me conscious of the importance of our region, and how it is threatened by so-called development.

I understand you helped pass Colombia's Law 70 in 1993. What was the importance of this legislation?

It was very, very important. It recognized the right to land, to territory, of the people who have been there for more than 400 years. It made it possible to show the importance of culture and of different and distinct parts of society -- we were able to show them to the dominant parts of the country. It led to the development of a dialogue between Afro-Colombian people and the state.

What do you consider your greatest victory so far?

First, that the Afro-Colombian community recognizes itself as an important player, and has dignity. That we've been able to relate to the other social movements of Colombia, that there's been an intercultural dialogue and a recognition and appreciation of differences -- a recognition of diversity. One can see very clearly, in the jungle itself, that there is a diversity of ways of life. Our vision is that we can construct a different model of development.

The Yurumangui River in Colombia's Pacific Coast region.

Photo: PCN/Solstice Foundation.

How has the U.S.-backed Plan Colombia affected the Pacific Coast?

It really has affected the whole country, in particular the Pacific. For example, in the Pacific practices such as fumigation have begun. Recently a measure was approved to fumigate in national parks -- that is completely anti-nature. In this vehement effort to eradicate illicit agriculture, one can obviously eliminate other plant life. There's been a lot of investment in military products, millions of dollars spent sending personnel and airplanes that poison the forest and water, and no support for people or conservation efforts. We're not in any way opposing the help [from the United States] but how that help is being invested.

What does this prize mean to you?

It's an opportunity to exchange experiences, to reaffirm ourselves in solidarity with those who are struggling to change what development means. It's an opportunity to share the importance of the Pacific Coast jungle and its traditional cultures.

I understand that some of your allies have been persecuted and even killed for their work. What's given you the courage to continue?

We are many people, and we know that this effort is worthwhile not only for ourselves but also for the whole world. If some of us have to die, that means that some of us have to continue -- and in that persistence one finds the strength for the struggle. Our slogan is that our territory is filled with life, happiness, and liberty, and we make every effort in every instance to be happy, despite the things that occur.

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In other marine news, a new report released by the federal government has found that dolphin populations in the Pacific Ocean are failing to recover from years of tuna fishing, and that some 3,000 dolphins are still killed by tuna boats every year. The report, by the U.S. Commerce Department's Southwest Fisheries Science Center, contradicts earlier claims by the government, Mexican officials, and foreign fishing fleets that dolphin populations have benefited dramatically from changes in tuna fishing. In the past, tuna boats gained infamy for chasing down dolphins to locate the tuna that swim with them, a practice that led to the death of about 6 million dolphins from the 1950s forward. The new finding that dolphin populations have not yet recovered from those fishing practices could have implications for a battle between environmentalists, who fought hard for the "dolphin safe" tuna label, and the Commerce Department, which wants to weaken the meaning of that label in order to increase trade with Mexico, Venezuela, Colombia, and other countries.

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If Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has his way, some developing nations will create an OPEC-like cartel to protect plants and animals from exploitation by the industrialized world. Speaking earlier this week at the close of the World Summit on Sustainable Development, Chavez said, "If these [developed] countries carry off a medical formula from some jungle ... they should be authorized by the respective country and by the local community." He described the cooperative efforts of 12 countries to protect their biodiversity and ensure that profits made by corporations taking advantage of rare species stayed in developing nations. The countries in question -- Brazil, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Mexico, Peru, South Africa, and Venezuela -- have banded together to form what they call a "like-minded group of mega-diverse states." Mega-diverse, indeed: As a group, the nations are home to 70 percent of the world's species. By joining forces, the countries hope to be able to set both standard practices and higher prices for pharmaceutical companies and other industries hoping to exploit the biodiversity.

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Efforts by the United States to combat cocaine production in Colombia by spraying coca crops with herbicides are coming up against a provision requiring the spraying to meet the same safety standards as those in the U.S. Translation: The U.S. EPA must certify that the spraying "does not pose unreasonable risks or adverse effects to humans or the environment." The herbicide in use in Colombia is a more toxic variant of a product known in the U.S. by the trade name Roundup. Moreover, watchdog organizations suspect the compound used in Colombia may be mixed with surfactants to cause it to adhere to coca plants, making it even more hazardous. Last year, the U.S.-funded program fumigated 207,000 acres of Colombian land, a number that may climb to 370,000 this year. Critics say the spraying has caused "gastrointestinal disorders (e.g., severe bleeding, nausea, and vomiting), testicular inflammation, high fevers, dizziness, respiratory ailments, skin rashes, and severe eye irritation."

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Charles Taylor, the president of Liberia, has spread instability within his nation's borders and helped foment a brutal civil war in neighboring Sierra Leone. To fund the fighting, he has exploited his country's natural resources. At first, it was diamonds -- but as international scrutiny on the dirty diamond trade has increased, Taylor has been forced to turn to other resources, most recently timber. This spring, Taylor sold timber concessions inside Liberia's Sapo National Park, which is home to thousands of unique plants and animals, to Hong Kong's Oriental Timber Company to the tune of several million dollars. The deal represented the first time the park, one of West Africa's main woodland reserves, was opened up for exploitation. Global Witness, a nonprofit organization that investigates connections between environmental and human rights abuses, found "direct links between Liberia's timber industry and the network of illegal arms transfers, private militias and human rights abuses that threaten international peace and security in western Africa."

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As if Colombia needs any more bad news: The war-torn nation's water supply could be reduced by as much as 40 percent over the next 50 years due to deforestation and other degradation of fragile high mountain ecosystems, according to Carlos Castano, director of the country's Institute of Hydrology, Meteorology, and Environmental Studies. The paramo, or Andean mountain moorland, has been damaged by over-farming, which reduces the ability of soil to maintain water that later drains into lowland rivers. Fifty-eight percent of the Colombian paramo has already disappeared, Castano said, and 75 percent of what remains could be gone in 15 years, taking a serious toll on water resources. Meanwhile, some 27 percent of high Andean forests have been cut down, and guerrilla warfare and the illegal drug industry have led to oil spills from bombed pipelines and water pollution from highly toxic cocaine byproducts. Ironically, Columbia is one of the five nations with the greatest biodiversity, and it is home to more bird and amphibian species than any other country on Earth.

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"We had to build a city not for businesses or automobiles, but for children and thus for people," said a man in a speech last year. "Instead of building highways, we restricted car use. ... We invested in high-quality sidewalks, pedestrian streets, parks, bicycle paths, libraries; we got rid of thousands of cluttering commercial signs and planted trees. ... All our everyday efforts have one objective: Happiness."

Enrique Penalosa (on left).

Photo: Institute for Transportation and
Development Policy.

Did the voters of Boulder, Colo. write in the Dalai Lama as their mayor? Had George Harrison turned to city planning in the last year of his life? Nope. This speech was given in Jakarta, Indonesia, by Enrique Penalosa, the former mayor of Bogota, Colombia. Yep, that's the Bogota you were warned not to visit because you might be kidnapped or murdered. It's the Bogota of the 38-year-old civil war, the highly dubious War on Drugs, the corrupt politics, the paralyzing traffic jams, the choking smog. But it is also the Bogota that, for seven years, has been under the guidance of two highly unusual mayors, Penalosa and Antanus Mockus, who have helped make this city of 8 million a model of progressive urban development.

Mockus, a former mathematics professor known for such antics as hiring mimes to model civil behavior in the streets, was mayor from 1995 to 1998. As his successor from 1998 to 2001, Penalosa masterminded a new bus system and designed a network of bike paths that is the envy of Portland, Ore. Mockus was elected again last year -- after staging a ceremony in a public fountain to ask forgiveness for leaving the mayor's office in an unsuccessful bid for the presidency. Unconventional, no doubt about it, but in Colombia's capital city, that's par for the course.

To understand just how unusual politics-as-usual are in Bogota, it helps to grasp the big picture. First there is Colombia, a nation plagued by a 20 percent unemployment rate, widespread destitution (55 percent of Colombians live below the poverty line), declining exports (if you don't count illegal drugs), and, to put it nicely, political instability. The nation's environment is threatened by the usual litany of woes, most prominently deforestation, pesticide use, and air pollution -- particularly in the capital city.

Then there is the condition of Latin American cities in general. Widespread urbanization in the region has lead to a proliferation of slums, many of which lack basic services. Because the growth is generally unplanned, urban areas suffer from inadequate means of disposing of wastewater, severe groundwater pollution, and water shortages. Air pollution is a serious concern, with many of the region's largest cities -- Mexico City, Santiago, Sao Paulo -- suffering from some of the worst smog in the world. Lead emissions, primarily from leaded gasoline but also from industrial pollution, are also a significant problem.

Bicyling beautiful Bogota.

Photo: Institute for Transportation and
Development Policy.

This is the grim context in which Penalosa and Mockus rose to political prominence. Penalosa inherited his interest in urban issues from his father, a one-time Bogota City Council member and housing specialist for the United Nations. When Penalosa fils took office, he launched a near-obsessive crusade to reform the city's transportation system. Penalosa declared a virtual War on Cars, restricting traffic during peak hours to reduce rush hour traffic by 40 percent and convincing the City Council to increase the tax on gasoline. Half of the revenues generated by the increase were then poured into a bus system that currently serves 500,000 Bogota residents every day.

"Every Sunday, we close 120 kilometers of main arteries to motor vehicles for seven hours," Penalosa explained. "A million and a half people of all ages and conditions come out to ride bicycles, jog, see others, to appropriate their city. During Christmas, we close those streets one night and more than 3 million people come out just to see the Christmas lights, to be with the others as a community."

While Penalosa has been credited with the vision, Mockus won much of the citizenry over with sheer wackiness. During his first term, he strolled the streets in red and blue tights as a "Super Citizen," giving tips on civility. He starred in a televised public service announcement to promote water conservation -- while in the shower. He ran his last campaign on a platform composed almost entirely of traffic issues, has exhorted city residents to "arm themselves with love," and has been credited with doing away with corrupt police officers.

Bogota Mayor Antanus
Mockus.

Photo: Sierra James.

The means might be goofy, but the ends are undeniably impressive. According to the New York Times, Bogota is now statistically safer than Caracas and Rio de Janiero -- not to mention Washington, D.C., and Baltimore. In 2000, Penalosa was honored with the Stockholm Challenge Award for creating Bogota's car-free day -- the largest and most successful event of its kind in the world. The award focused significant international attention on Bogota and caused the United Nations, in partnership with a variety of organizations including Earth Day Network, to organize a workshop in Bogota for other mayors interested in creating car-free days in their cities.

Less than a decade ago, Penalosa told Grist, Bogota was a city "hated by its inhabitants, who felt powerless and felt that in the future things would only get worse." Conditions could hardly be more different now, and the former mayor says much of the change is thanks to the way alternative transportation has transformed the city's public spaces. Nowadays, Penalosa said, the people of Bogota "have a sense of belonging. They feel in control of their destiny."

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The Bush administration has asked for $98 million to help protect Colombia's Cano Limon oil pipeline from attacks by leftist guerrillas. The pipeline, which is owned by Occidental Petroleum, supplies crude oil to the U.S. and has the capacity to pump 240,000 barrels a day. But constant attacks -- 13 so far this year -- have reduced its flow to a trickle. More than 2.5 million barrels of Cano Limon crude (roughly 10 times the amount spilled by the ExxonValdez) have leaked into Colombia's rivers and onto rangelands in the last 15 years, sickening people and poisoning water sources and animals. If approved by Congress, the pipeline protection would ratchet up U.S. involvement in Colombia's power struggle between Marxist rebels, ultra-right paramilitary groups, and the government. U.S. officials called the request a part of a broad effort to foster democracy and order in the troubled nation.

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