Subject: [cwj 79] Fw: URGENT: Endorse Letter to Japanese PM Not to Support Iron Ore Imports from Kudremukh National Park, India
From: "Yoichi Kuroda" <kuroda@corpwatch.org>
Date: Thu, 17 Aug 2000 18:16:54 -0700
Seq: 79
Sent: Friday, August 18, 2000 12:18 PM Subject: URGENT: Endorse Letter to Japanese PM Not to Support Iron Ore Imports from Kudremukh National Park, India > Dear Friends, > > The Japanese Prime Minister is starting his visit to India on Sunday > evening, 20 August 2000. He is first arriving in the South Indian city of > Bangalore to start his four day visit, and here he will have a key business > meeting with Japanese investors in India. > > On learning about this visit we felt it would be a great opportunity to > draw the Prime Minister's attention to the devastation of the invaluable > shola forests of Kudremukh National Park in the mountainous Western Ghats, > due to mining for iron ore, of which Japan is a major importer. India's > largest iron ore mining company, the Kudremukh Iron Ore Company Ltd. > (KIOCL), has been mining here for over two decades causing serious damage > to vast stretches of forests, the rivers they support, wildlife and human > health and environment. > > As the long term mining lease of the company expired last year, work is > continuing only on the basis of a short lease. The future of KIOCL is > entirely reliant on securing further a long mining lease, of 20 years, not > just in the existing mined areas, but in new forest areas as well. There > is groundswell of opposition to extending the lease. Even so, the > Karnataka State and Indian Governments are keen to privatise the company, > merely for sustaining foreign exchange earnings from this 100% EOU. > Japanese imports and/or involvement is crucial to the sustenance of the > company and its privatisation effort. > > As this decision will be taken over the next several months, we believe > that it is an excellent opportunity to focus the attention of the visiting > Prime Minister to our serious concerns, and hopefully this will ensure a > withdrawal of Japanese investment. > > In this regard, we have been working with Friends of the Earth - Japan, > over the past several weeks, and Hisako Motoyama of Development Finance and > Environment Programme has prepared a letter that we plan to send to the > Japanese Prime Minister on arrival in Bangalore, India. The same letter > will also be released to the Press. > > It would be wonderful if this letter was widely endorsed, in demonstrating > your concern for the wonderful forests and wildlife of Kudremukh National > Park in the Western Ghats of India. > > Please send your endorsements NAME-ORGANISATION-ADDRESS to > esg@bgl.vsnl.net.in (Address and Tel/Fax details at the end of this email) > and you may mark a copy to Hisako: motoyama@foejapan.org > > Whilst the deadline to make your endorsments for the Bangalore Release is > Saturday, 19 August 3 pm (IST), endorsements may be sent till Tuesday, 23 > August. We will send them to the Japanese Embassy in Delhi to make it > before the Prime Minister's departure from India on Wednesday. > > (For more information on the issue, please visit > http://www.angelfire.com/journal/nagini/kudremukh.html) > > > Thank you and best regards > > > Leo Saldanha > Coordinator > Environment Support Group > August 18, 2000 > > PS: Kindly circulate this appeal widely. Thank you. > > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ > > LETTER TO JAPANESE PRIME MINISTER > > August 18, 2000 > > Mr. Yoshiro Mori > Prime Minister of Japan > > An Appeal Not to Support Imports of Iron Ore Excavated in the Kudremukh > National Park, India > > > Dear Mr. Mori, > > We are very much concerned with the possible extension of mining lease in > the Kudremukh National Park and the involvement of Japanese corporations in > importing iron ore from this area. > > The Kudremukh National Park in Karnataka, India, is one of the most > important world natural heritages. It forms an important area of the > Western Ghats forests that are known for rich bio-diversity and invaluable > ecosystems. Three major rivers that provide water and critical natural > resources for local people also originate in this area. > > However, the mining operations of the Kudremukh Iron Ore Company Ltd > (KIOCL) has resulted in serious negative impacts on the natural habitats in > the Park. Presently the KIOCL is seeking extension of the mining lease in > this area for another 20 years and also planning expansion of mining areas. > This will be a great threat to this area that is already seriously damaged. > > For the past several years, Japanese major trading companies and steel > companies have been importing and buying a million tons of iron ore > produced in this area annually. Trading about one thirds of the total > production of the KIOCL, these companies have supported KIOCL's destructive > activities. Without recognising their environmental responsibilities, > those companies are still interested in continuing to purchase iron ore > from this area, if and when the mining lease is extended. > > We are aware that without commitment of those Japanese companies to > purchase the products, the KIOCL's environmentally irresponsible operations > are not possible. We are also aware that support of Japanese public export > credit agencies, namely, the Japan Bank of International Cooperation and > the Ministry of International Trade and Industry, will be critical > encouragement for trading decisions of the companies. Thus we strongly > urge you not to provide public support to those Japanese companies that are > going to trade natural resources exploited in environmentally destructive > manner. As the two public export credit agencies now have environmental > policies, we request you to implement them in responsible and meaningful > manner. > > Most respectfully, > > Hisako Motoyama > Development Finance and Environment Programme > Friends of the Earth - Japan > 3-17-24-2F, Mejiro, Toshima, Tokyo 71-0031, Japan > Tel: 03-3951-1081 Fax: 03-3951-1084 > Email: motoyama@foejapan.org > > Leo F. Saldanha > Environment Support Group > S-#, Rajashree Apartments, 18/57, 1st Main Road > S. R. K. Gardens, Jayanagar > Bannerghatta Road, Bangalore 560 004. INDIA > Telefax: 91-80-6341977 > Fax: 91-80-6723926 (PP) > Email: esg@bgl.vsnl.net.in > > > Cc: > Mr. Kiichi Miyazawa > Minister of Finance > > Mr. Takeo Hiranuma > Minister of International Trade and Investment > > Mr. Hirodi Yasuda > Governor of Japan Bank of International Cooperation > > > ENDORSERS: > > People's Forum 2001, Japan > > Yoichi Kuroda > Coordinator, Japan Tropical Forest Action Network > > Hiroyuki Tiba > > Kimiko Mugishima > > Philip Carter > Environmental Writer, Osaka, Japan > > Bittu Sahgal > Mumbai, India > > > > > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ > WE HAVE MOVED : OUR NEW ADDRESS > > Environment Support Group (R) > S-3, Rajashree Apartments > 18/57, 1st Main Road > S. R. K. Gardens > Jayanagar > Bannerghatta Road > Bangalore 560 041. INDIA > Telefax: 91-80-6341977 > Fax: 91-80-6723926 (PP) > Email: esg@bgl.vsnl.net.in > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ______________________ The Corporate Watch in Japanese http://www.corpwatch.org/japan (CWJ) mailing list is a moderated email list in English designed to connect activists campaigning against Japanese corporations and investments around the world. * To unsubscribe from the CWJ mailing list, send an email to majordomo@jca.apc.org with text "unsubscribe cwj". To subscribe to the CWJ mailing list, send a message to majordomo@jca.apc.org with the text "subscribe cwj" * The CWJ mailing list is NOT intended for wide distribution. If you would like to post messages from this list somewhere else, we ask that you first contact us at cwj@corpwatch.org ______________________