Photo by Ayahuasca and used under a Creative Commons license.

Esperanza Martinez says on the blog Ecoportal [es], that women told their husbands that if they allowed the companies to work on their lands, they would have to find other women …on different lands. The Kichwas organized a united front against the oil company until it finally had to leave.

This group of Kichwas live in province of Pastaza, on 140 thousand hectares in the Amazon, an area the Ecuadorian Ministry of Mines and Oil identified as Block 23. Several companies attempted to work there throughout the years, but they failed every time due to Kichwa’s opposition to drilling.

Although the decision to resist was made by the entire tribe, women’s participation became a key component. These fearless women will go a long way to preserve the forests and their lands.

Support Women

The blog Observatorio Petrolero Sur [es] publishes what Kichwa leader Franklin Toala said about the role of women during this process:

Uno de los procesos que tuvo Sarayaku, que hay que recalcar, es el magnífico apoyo de las mujeres. La relación que existe entre las mujeres y las comunidades es mucho más fuerte.

Ecuadorian newspaper Diario Universal described a chilling scene involving Kichwa women that took place in 2003,when 15 women and children ran for 4 hours through the jungle yelling “anchuri, (get out) anchuri oil companies,” to meet face to face with the oil company’s workers and armed guards. Confrontations took place and eventually the army intervened. But the Kichwas remained on their lands and kept them free of oil drilling.

Petroleum, Climate Change, and Indigenous women

In Ecuador, several regions have already suffered the terrible environmental and health consequences of oil drilling. In Pichincha in the province of Sucumbios, oil drilling has been taking place for 20 years, the air is polluted and the water contaminated because of oil spills. The people have suffered the loss of domestic animals because of drinking contaminated water and the loss of crops because the contaminated land becomes infertile. They are also affected by several skin and respiratory diseases, birth defects, and miscarriages.

Women are once again the most vulnerable to these negative impacts. In petroleum areas of Ecuador the incidence of cancer is three times more comparing to the national average, especially affecting women. Women are in constant contact with contaminated water by washing clothes and bathing their children in the river.

It is no wonder Kichwa women reject oil drilling. They know it will transform their lands, their lives, and the environment for ever.

The Online Community Reacts to the Kichwa Example

Blogger Efren Calapucha shares his feelings on the Kichwa’s stand on the blog Redamazon [es]:

¡Amigos de la Tierra! En este espacio de la selva amazónica con grandes recursos biodiversos se quiere cercenar LA VIDA lo que NO PERMITEREMOS se establezca tan execrable hecho que afectará al Calentamiento Global extinguiéndose los pueblos, la flora y la fauna hasta hoy fortalecidas y guardadas celosamente

The blog Observatorio Petrolero Sur [es] posts about the remarkable determination of the Kichwas despite the circumstances:

Han pasado dos décadas y hasta el momento la exploración no se concretó, pero la amenaza es permanente. En 20 años pasaron muchas cosas, demandas a nivel nacional e internacional, campañas en un lado y en el otro, y en el territorio la presión fue mucha. Los kichwas sufrieron todo tipo de atropellos, persecuciones e incluso la militarización de Sarayaku; pero siguieron diciendo no.

The Kichwa community has managed to keep their forests safe so far but the struggle is not over. Of course with Kichwa women among them, they have little to fear.

Watch the Video

A Kichwa child stands defiant with the words “I’m a forest protector” painted on his chest. He appears in the video filmed and posted by Oilwatch, which is about the Sarayaku community’s reaction to the attempt of an oil company to carry out oil exploration in their lands. Click here to watch the video in Spanish.

In India, the most vulnerable populations to climate change — impoverished communities and women — are being affected first, and the most. For example, Oxfam India’s blog comments about the devastating impact of drought on farmers, and the direct effect on women and children.

In the last 12 years, almost 50 farmers committed suicide every year, one tenth of them being women farmers. (…) Increasing number of farmers started migrating to cities in search of food. And the situation became shocking when trafficking in women and children proliferated in the district.

Gender as a Factor of Vulnerability to Climate Change

It is estimated that women produce over 50% of all food grown worldwide. In India, more than 84% of women are involved in agricultural activities, and as a result they become the greatest victims of climate change’s impact. In addition, gender inequality makes them disproportionately vulnerable to environmental alterations. Blogger Pricilla Stuckey, PhD points out on the blog This Lively Earth that women are unequally affected by climate change:

Discrimination against women also plays an enormous role in how women experience the effects of climate change. In India, for example, where women have seen their crop yields cut in half and the quality of grain diminish because of climate changes, women’s health is impaired from the double whammy of inferior crops and inequality.

Farmer Sita Debi is an example of this. “When there is no rain, we women have to work really hard in the fields to try and grow crops. Our nutrition also suffers because we are the last to eat at the family table. A lot of us are anemic as a result,” she says in the video filmed and posted on the blog Find Your Feet. Other women farmers appear in the video explaining how badly climate change is affecting their lives.

When Women Fight Back

Indian women don’t just sit around waiting to be hit by climate change. They, also, fight back. As shown in the second half of the video, women are developing innovative ways to adapt and help prevent global warming.

As reported in this Inter Press Service article:

Agriculture accounts for at least 20 percent of Indian greenhouse gas emissions, mainly methane emission from paddy fields and cattle and nitrous oxides from fertilisers. According to the 2007 report by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), India’s rainfall pattern will be changing disproportionately, with intense rain occurring over fewer days, leading directly to confusion in the agricultural scenario.

Another example of women taking proactive steps to combat climate change is taking place in the village of Bidakanne, where women are growing crops such as linseed, green and chick peas, wheat and other legumes in between the rows of sunflowers, all without water and chemical inputs, such as pesticides.

This type of agricultural activity is especially beneficial to the dalit or broken women, who make up the lowest rung of India's caste system. Through this system, women in the approximately 75 villages in the Medak district can now form associations to sell their crops, as well as gather surplus produce for poorer members. In addition, to using practices to reduce emissions and harmful pollutants, this type of activity also helps reduce poverty.

The leadership and effort of these Indian women has not gone unnoticed within the online community. Shiba Prosad Bhattacharyya comments on the site India Together

Thank you for your column that these women have been profiled here make a case for them being a role model to the world. (…)Food is a human right & not a corporate commodity for speculation.Mother nature does not operate on a boardroom profit.Corporate profit will mearly lead to more food crisis. Through you I am conveying my highest regards to these women leaders who have demonstrated no negative effects on the environment, public health & farming families that food production can be profitable, sustainable and feed all of us.

Photo by Macnolete and used under a Creative Commons license.

Although the influence of climate change on desertification has not been fully understood yet, according to GreenFacts, it is known that higher temperatures resulting from increased carbon dioxide levels can have a negative impact through increased loss of water from soil and reduced rainfall in drylands. At the same time desertification contributes to climate change by releasing to the atmosphere carbon stored in dryland vegetation and soils.

Desertification is taking its toll worldwide. At this moment it’s destroying harvests, driving up the price of remaining food, and in some areas, animals are dying. People are also being driven away from their homes, as blogger Miguel Angel Alvarado from El Salvador explains about the president’s home needing to be moved because of desertification [es]:

El traslado de casa presidencial, del Barrio san Jacinto al local en donde estaba el Ministerio de Relaciones exteriores, según informes extrajudiciales, obedece a la prevención del ejecutivo ante un posible hundimiento del suelo generado por cárcavas en este sector.

The most affected continent is Africa, and this can be seen especially in Kenya, where one of the most susceptible sectors to the effects of desertification and drought are young girls. When the water storage tanks have been used up at Dago Dala Hera orphanage in western Kenya, volunteer mothers and children have to draw unclean water from a nearby river for cooking and drinking. “Going to the river alone late in the evening is making girls more vulnerable to men who can sexually abuse them,” said Edwin Odoyo, whose mother Pamela founded the orphanage.

Even though desertification has its greatest impact in Africa, Latin America’s environmental conditions are also undergoing significant transformations, as discussed recently in the Ninth session of the Conference to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Italian expert Massimo Candelori, representative of the Convention to Combat Desertification, said in an interview with Tierramerica that the situation in Latin America is worrisome considering that there is not enough information about desertification’s scope in the region. “We have no current data. One of the goals discussed during the ninth session was to get indicators that allow us to better understand the situation….the last data we have is from ten years ago” said Candelori.

In Latin American countries where farming and cattle are one of the main sectors of the economy, desertification can be a silent, but dreadful predator. At least 25 percent of the regional territory is already degraded and the population is increasingly becoming concerned about this, as it is reflected in various blogs.

Eco Briefings [pt], a Brazilian blog, points out that Brazilians in the Northeastern region are witnessing an alarming expansion of desertification[pt]:

Mais um alerta está ligado. Temos pouco tempo para corrigir as coisas. (…)

No Brasil a desertificação tem avançado na caatinga, e zonas do polígono da seca no Nordeste e Norte de Minas Gerais, e também em Estados que antes não tinham áreas secas ou desertificadas como o Rio Grande do Sul. O Rio Amazonas viveu já uma grande seca a pouco tempo, grande com mortandade de peixes.

Argentina has several areas affected as well. In the region of Valles Aridos, in the Northeast, where the main economic activity is sheep raising, it is stipulated that during the last 100 years at least 180 thousand people had to emigrate [es] (.pdf format). Southern Argentina has not escaped desertification either. Blogger Ailen Romero, comments on the blog Geoperspectivas [es] that in the Patagonia region, the government actions to combat desertification are not enough:

En la Patagonia, la amplitud del problema es de tal magnitud que ha comenzado a adquirir estado público. Pocos ignoran el tema, pero pocos tienen la posibilidad de actuar de alguna forma o con el conocimiento para hacerlo. El problema de la desertificación en el caso de la Patagonia supera a los planes que se han elaborado para combatirlo. Es por eso que no deben ahorrarse esfuerzos, ni limitar la imaginación de soluciones alternativas.”Si la geografía es la manifestación de la sociedad en el espacio físico, un espacio físico deteriorado refleja una sociedad deteriorada” afirman del Valle y Coronato(investigadores del Centro Nacional Patagónico)

In Chile, where 62% of the national territory is already affected by desertification [es], blogger Alfredo Erlwein expressed concern on the blog El Ciudadano [es] (The Citizen) on how little knowledge citizens have about desertification.

Efectivamente la desertificación es el problema ambiental más grave de Chile y muy poco conocido. Existen grandes zonas, como en la costa de la octava región, donde la erosión severa supera el 50% de la superficie: esto es que literalmente más de la mitad de los suelos se ha perdido por completo. En esas zonas se encuentran cárcavas de más de 50 metros de profundidad. Una tasa normal de formación de suelo puede ser de 0.2 cm por año, lo que evidencia la gravedad del asunto.

According to Italian expert Candelori, using soil in the carbon market will help fighting desertification; this can be decided during the Copenhagen conference. The countdown to Copenhagen has begun and the world awaits it.

Zavala was kidnapped by the Paraguayan People's Army (EPP for its initials in Spanish), a terrorist group believed to the continuation of the Patria Libre political party. The EPP is also said to have been advised by Colombia's FARC in 2004 in the kidnapping and murder of Cecilia Cubas [es], daughter of former President Raúl Cubas.

President Fernando Lugo outlines security plan. Photo by Fernando Lugo APC and used under a Creative Commons license.

Liberal senator Alfredo Jaeggli said Lugo should face an impeachment [es] because he is not fulfilling his functions as president by not providing security to Paraguayan citizens. The impeachment idea is also supported by Pedro Fadul and Lino Oviedo, both former presidential candidates and Senator Julio Cesar Velázquez.

What places Lugo in an even more difficult position is that the President has been linked to members involved in Cubas' case, to the point that Cecilia’s mother, Mirta Guzinsky, launched a video during the 2008 presidential campaigns asking citizens not to vote for Lugo [es]. The video has now been revived within the online Paraguayan community through collective emails with the subject line: “What if Mirtha Gusinsky was right?” Lugo was the Bishop of San Pedro department in 2004 when he said he had not heard anything about the kidnap, even though the Cubas case was on every single media utlet in the country at that point.

Debates are ongoing both within the high political spheres and among regular Paraguayan citizens. Blogger José Angel López Barrios, comments on his blog that the government is not now nor has never been equipped to fight the increasing kidnap industry [es]:

Sin duda se aúnan un montón de factores en la sucesión de secuestros que nos acorralan, en 8 años hemos tenido por lo menos 100 secuestros y el único factor común destacable es que quienes deben solucionar estos crímenes no están preparados para ello. (…)

La increíble suma solicitada por los mismos (5.000.000 de dólares) revela que atrás de ese pedido existe la idea de financiar las operaciones del grupo clandestino….

Maki Fretez, a blogger who comments on an ABC Color article, says impeachment is fundamental to reestablish security and safety in Paraguay [es]:

Cambiar al presidente en este momento es una cuestion de superviviencia!, de lo contrario hay que apagar las luces y salir del pais cuanto antes. El juicio politico es un mecanismo constitucional por lo que no puede ser considerado irregular…

Others believe the impeachment flag is being used by politicians to favor their parties and personal interests, and that it is neither helping the kidnapped Zavala’s circumstances, nor improving the situation in the country. Blogger and journalist Alfredo Boccia, writes in his blog Antes del Septimo Día [es]:

La mención al juicio político fue azuzada por buena parte de la oposición, por la prensa -que insinuaba que el silencio de Lugo ocultaba algo- y, por supuesto, por el vicepresidente, quien le dio manija a su fastidiosa y autodestructiva tarea de marcar sus diferencias con el presidente.

En momentos en que se imponían la austeridad de palabras y la reflexión prudente, triunfó la descalificación irresponsable y la vocinglería fanática. El que debería ser la principal preocupación de todos -cautivo en condiciones probablemente dramáticas en los montes del Norte- pasó a un segundo plano.

As Zavala remains captive, the debate over security concerns continues.

Last week the National Congress declared a national health emergency for 90 days and granted an extra 99 billion guaranies (about 20 million dollars) to the health ministry to deal with the swine flu epidemic.

The government is now analyzing the possibility of extending the two-week winter break for schools to prevent more children from getting the virus. The city hall closed several public buildings and theaters for ten days. The action was taken despite Health Minister Esperanza Martinez’s statements, who warned that this type of measures were not effective to stop the spread of the virus in countries such as Mexico and the United States.

Although the health ministry has only confirmed three deaths officially, it is suspected that at least 15 other deaths are related to the virus. So far 114 cases of infections are official, but there are about 700 other suspicious cases. One of the reasons why these cases cannot be confirmed is because of the shortage of materials to perform the analysis.

Other major concern is the scarcity of antibiotics, especially in the private sector. Journalist and blogger Mabel Rehnfeldt on her blog El Dedo en la Llaga [es] shares the frustration of having two daughters infected with the virus:

Cuando el sábado a la mañana el diario ABC trajo en tapa el titular “SALUD DICE QUE TODO ESTA CONTROLADO” la rabia y la impotencia me ganaron.

(…)

Esperanza y equipo: Den un volantazo. Demuestren que no se van a prestar a mentiras oficiales. Si las cosas están descontroladas (ya sea por falta de recursos o porque es difícil controlar una enfermedad como esta en un país pobre e ignorante), digan que no pueden, que no hay recursos, o gente bien entrenada si es que ya los controles les sobrepasan. Hagan que ayudemos desde el sector privado pero no nos digan que todo está bien cuando los monitoreos no están funcionando.

Senators reacted to the fast spread of the virus by accusing the health ministry of acting inefficiently. Representative José Lopez  even suggested that health minister Martinez should face a Congressional hearing. But not everybody agrees with this stand. Blogger and journalist Susana Oviedo, on her blog Sobre el Punto [es], argues that the government representatives are not telling the truth:

Según demostró la ministra, hace tres meses también que están programadas las respuestas para cada fase de esta pandemia en el país, y se había anunciado que julio y agosto serían los meses críticos. …. Pero evidentemente los políticos, en general, y los que ocupan cargos en la administración del Estado, en particular, no prestaron oídos a estos temas. Estaban envueltos en sus pequeñeces, como siempre.

As the outbreak extends, Paraguay’s challenges to face the AH1N1 virus increase: the hospitals are overcrowded and as a result, patients are waiting in lines for hours.

The controversy began when President Lugo announced that the executive branch was analyzing the possibility of holding a referendum to find out what citizens think about the parliament’s performance, arguing that “citizens are wise and critical,” and that the government should listen to them with humility.

Critics took that comment as a sign that Lugo would like to dissolve the Congress, especially considering that the majority of the Parliament opposes Lugo's left-wing ideology. Heated reactions from different sectors followed the executive branch's suggestion. Some supporters, such as the peasant movement leader Elvio Benitez, said that popular movements back the initiative. He went even further, saying that “it would be interesting to have a big broom to brush away those criminals from the parliament.”

Another supporter was Catholic Monsignor Mario Melanio Medina, who said: “Citizens have the right to demonstrate their disapproval of a Parliament that does nothing for the people, but against the people.” Catholic Church's representatives quickly clarified that Medina's remarks don't reflect the church's stand. Medina is also known for previously heading the national commission in charge of investigating the abuses of power committed during Alfredo Stroessner’s dictatorship (1954-89).

The negative reactions to the president's comments came mainly from the opposition Colorado party. A colorado senator, Martín Chiola, argued that the referendum would be an excuse for the executive branch’s incompetence .

Citizens also reacted to the controversial proposal. Blogger and journalist Viviana Benitez in her blog Panambi News [es] writes:

Lo de “no responder a los intereses del país” estoy más que de acuerdo con el Mons. Medina, porque en estos casi un año de haber jurado como representantes del pueblo no han rendido informes de sus gestiones. Ojo, no estoy de acuerdo bajo ningún concepto con la disolución del Congreso, pero sí en controlar más a nuestros representantes.

Blogger and journalist Susana Oviedo, provides another perspective in her blog Sobre el Punto [es]:

Is a referendum the best way to respond to the lack of cooperation that the executive branch finds in the Congress, and in light of its own inability to achieve a minimum consensus with the legislative branch?

It is pointless. This is a distracting element in a country where, if there is something that never changes, it is the terrible impression that Paraguayan citizens have of their National Congress. Several public opinion surveys during the transition period prove so.

It was Miguel López Perito, Lugo's chief of staff, who denied ever requesting a referendum but claimed they just “analyzed the possibility.” However, he did reiterate that “citizens always have the right to appeal in any way possible to express their critiques to their government representatives.”

The only clear consensus that Paraguayan citizens came to after this debate is that they are far from satisfied with their Parliament’s performance. A referendum to find that out would be just redundant.

A group of five infected students attend the private school “Santa Clara,” based in the capital, Asuncion. Apparently, the information about the cases detected in the private school was not disclosed until one of the infected students had already recovered from the virus symptoms. Government authorities have said that the names of schools with infected students will not be disclosed to the public. This tightly guarded attitude from health officers and the school’s authorities concerns some citizens. Blogger Mabel Rehnfeldt of El Dedo en la Llaga [es] addressed the situation, both as a journalist and as a mother:

Me pregunto qué pasa con el derecho a saber que tenemos los padres de colegios afectados y no afectados para poder ejercer el deber de precautelar a otros niños y niñas sanos/as?

Un especialista epidemiólogo, de los mejores que conozco en el país, pidió que se socialice la información, que se colectivice. Aquí no se trata de satanizar ningún colegio -mucho menos dar identidades de los pacientes por el tema de la confidencialidad obligada por el juramento hipocrático- es apenas INFORMAR a la opinión pública en qué colegios ya hay casos sospechosos.

In contrast with the scarce efforts placed in spreading the information about which schools have the virus, the government is enforcing the implemented measures, such as border control to prevent the spread of the AH1N1 virus in Paraguay. This is what journalist and blogger Gloria Rolon says about her experience [es]:

Es que al descender del avión y abandonar la manga de desembarco, la recepción que le dan a uno es sencillamente sorprendente. Todo, pero absolutamente todo el personal en tierra luce impecables tapabocas y guantes de látex.

Confieso que no sé si las medidas en cuestión serán efectivas o no para evitar un contagio masivo, pero debo reconocer que lo que al principio fue una sorpresa para mí, luego se transformó en una agradable sensación de satisfacción con la tarea desplegada por las autoridades sanitarias en Paraguay.

The swine flu was declared a global pandemic on June 11, 2009. This is the first time in 41 years that the World Health Organization declares the existence of a worldwide pandemic.