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Los Cedros Under Threat – Film

Friends, the Los Cedros Biological Reserve is under serious threat.

The Rainforest Information Centre, with funding from the Australian Government’s development assistance bureau, helped establish the Los Cedros Biological Reservein Ecuador in 1988. We have continued to support reserve director Jose Decoux throughout the intervening 30 years, and as a result, Los Cedros is the last remaining well-forested watershed in Western Ecuador.


Geoff Lawton Speaks about the Importance of Los Cedros

The Ecuadorean government has secretly signed a mining agreement covering Los Cedros and other “protected” areas with the Canadian company “Cornerstone Capital Resources inc”, a large speculative fund which doesn´t do any mining itself but employs local small time operators until the big sell off to some real mining company.


A Great Film from John Seed

This agreement is under the “Office of Strategic Sectors” and this means no appeal is possible nor effective oversight. This office is under tight observation for the discovery of large scale theft and bribes being paid with key management people either in jail or fled the country. The people who denounced this corruption are also in jail or living underground.

Longtime director of Los Cedros Biological Reserve, Jose Decoux writes: “The mining company has made contact with me and on advice from the lawyer I have to meet with them or face administrative sanctions. Read: expulsion from the reserve without compensation.“ The first company representative visited Los Cedros last week.

Many of the international scientists who have worked at Los Cedros have signed a letter attesting to the irreplaceable scientific value of this, the last well-forested watershed in Western Ecuador.

You can support this fight by signing the petitition here: https://rainforestinfo.nationbuilder.com/save_los_cedros

Please write letters of protest to Cornerstone – email – [email protected] with cc to Catherine McKenna – email – [email protected], Canada’s Minister for Environment and Climate Change

Funds are sorely needed for legal assistance and to continue the work of bringing this to the attention of the Ecuadorean public.

The Rainforest Information has started the ball rolling with $1000 and Professor Bitty Roy from the Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Oregon has sent US$1500 while Rainforest Rescue in Germany has added 3000 euros, please donate generously and help us reach our $10,000 target.

Please donate here

The Permaculture Research Insitute

PRI Zaytuna Farm functions as a model farm (in development) and permaculture training facility. Geoff and Nadia Lawton, world-renowned permaculture educators and consultants, lead the project. Much of Geoff and Nadia’s time over the last few years has been spent away from the Institute, consulting and helping set up projects in diverse locales around the world. Seeing the worldwide demand for knowledgeable permaculture consultants and teachers increase exponentially, as fuel and fertiliser prices skyrocket and the effects of climate change, soil depletion and water shortages begin to hit hard, priority and focus is now shifting back to the Institute, where growing the training program will increase the output of quality teachers to help fill the growing need for them.

14 Comments

  1. How stupid to saw the branch on which we are all sitting -at crucial moment in history where it will be hard work to avoid the 6th exstinction (us included).
    Short-profit mafiosi and their corrupt political partners should be treated as what they are !

  2. It seems the link for Cornerstone and Catherine Mckenna is not working. Any other way to send message?

  3. Hi I would like to donate. Some money towards the legal effort to stop the destruction of Los Cedros can you please send me the details of where to transfer the money.

    If there is anything else my wife and I can do, such as sign a petition send and email to a relevant person I would be very happy to be given the opportunity to play some small in this worthy cause.

  4. Hello!

    I know Ecuador has Rights of Nature in its constitution, it was done with the help of CELDF. Is the “Office of Strategic Sectors” above Constitution?

  5. Thank you for your eye opening film about Los Cedros. Here is a copy of a letter I sent to the Canadian company doing this destruction:

    I, and many more, are now becoming aware of your intentions to destroy the pristine and extremely rare territory in Ecuador known as LOS CEDROS FOREST. You must know the irreplaceable value of this area and STOP your efforts to decimate this treasured area! Some parts of the planet should simply be off limits; similar to – you may exploit strangers but, would you do it to family? This Earth has our living soul and needs honest respect. Thank you,

    Wen Bays

  6. Who is the Canadian company involved?
    As a Canadian I am ashamed of these people.
    I need the company name so I can email to let them know that I will be talking to my financial advisor to make sure I’m not supporting such greed!
    Bunkey.

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