World Natural Heritage on Hold

Landau 4 January 2021.

Chile is full of natural beauty. The country is rightly proud of 41 national parks (as of 2019) and numerous national reserves. The national parks Torres del Paine, Bernado O'Higgins and the Juan Fernandez Archipelago are world-famous. The parks are managed by the Corporacion Nacional Forestal (CONAF). Chile advertises with its natural resources: "Clean, fresh air, which streams in from the more than 4,000 km-long coast, the breathtaking desert landscape of the north and the invigorating freshness of the temperate evergreen forests of the south, combine in Chile to create an impressive overall picture". In 2018, 5.7 million tourists came and a total of 3.4 billion euros were spent in the country.

This could be a win-win situation, but unfortunately it is not when one looks at the state of care of this praised beauty. A look at UNESCO’s world heritage sites will suffice. Chile is home to 6 world heritage sites, but not a single world natural heritage site. The Torres del Paine National Parks in Patagonia and the Juan Fernandez Archipelago in the Pacific, which are so important for tourism, have been on the LIST of proposals (tentative list) of UNESCO, … since 1994 (!). For 27 years, Chilean governments have been reluctant to recognize the two parks by UNESCO as "the invaluable and irreplaceable common property of humanity" and to have them classified as particularly protected because of their universal value. Other precious and sensitive regions such as the Humboldt Archipelago in northern Chile are not even considered as a world natural heritage. Chile has ratified important international agreements on bio-diversity, climate and marine protection, but there appear to be fundamental reservations about effectively protecting the natural resources.

W.K.

translated by Erich Greiner

Environmental education despite pandemic

- ACOREMA breaks new ground -

Landau January 4, 2021.

Good and bad news reached SPHENISCO from Peru shortly before the end of the year. The bad first. The leader of the project "Queremos vivir - we want to live" Milagros Ormeño B. and almost her whole family was infected with Covid 19. The courses were very different. Milagros herself was severely affected for more than 2 weeks. However, she did not have to be hospitalized, but her mother-in-law did. In the meantime, she and the affected family members, including her parents, have survived the worst. Her little daughter Mikayla and her husband Helbert were not infected.

The good news concerns the project "Queremos vivir - we want to live". In Peru, too, children could not go out to play with their friends as a result of the pandemic. Of course, they were also unable to attend school. This is a very difficult time for parents and children. Many do not have the necessary technological tools, such as laptops, cell phones, and the Internet, to be able to use programs like "Zoom" or "Meet". In addition, some families have two or more children who have classes at the same time.

It was difficult for teachers and parents to adjust to this new reality. However, the Ministry of Education promoted the "I learn at home" initiative. This made it possible to teach at different times via radio, television and the Internet. These distance learning sessions attempted to teach indispensable learning content. The emergency program was complemented by sessions of emotional support for families.

In this new and difficult scenario, ACOREMA continued environmental education in schools in completely new ways, in coordination with school principals and teachers to educate about nature and the environment. First, the education initiative was presented to the school board and teachers via "Zoom". Information was presented and strategies were developed that were compatible with the realities of families.

Children responded incredibly positively to the environmental education offerings, including the youngest (ages 3 to 6). The response showed that amazing things can be accomplished in homeschooling with few resources. This is true even under the extremely difficult conditions of the pandemic, with so many negatives. It was especially gratifying that even parents joined the initiative by acting with their children, making the message heard and repeated. Once again, ACOREMA was able to overcome obstacles and achieve so much with great commitment and flexibility.

Materials were developed by ACOREMA for the web portals of the municipalities. Virtual infographics were used primarily to provide information about marine pollution. The campaign focused on the issue of "plastic in the sea". A problem that has been enormously exacerbated in the "new reality" by the mass use of masks and gloves that subsequently end up in the sea.

Currently, in the summer months, ACOREMA is focusing on the design of a new brochure, planning and coordinating actions for the new school year that begins in March.

Of course, Señora Milagros and her small team unfortunately could not realize some projects. Currently, the group is working to make up for this, conditions permitting. However, under the conditions of the pandemic, it was and is not possible, for example, to carry out the vacation workshops for the children of fishermen in Tambo de Mora (Chincha) and San Andrés (Pisco). ACOREMA hopes that the workshops can be held again in 2022. To compensate for the loss, ACOREMA is working on alternative offerings.

W.K.

translated by Gabriele Knauf

Free Trade Fair Trade?

- EU and Chile Plan New Agreement -

Landau 2 January 2021.

At the end of last year, Deutsche Welle and Deutschlandfunk reported on the free trade agreement currently being negotiated between Chile and the EU. This article is a review of the two articles.

The new agreement aims to link the two economic zones more closely and further reduce trade barriers. The existing 17-year-old agreement has led to a doubling of trade. Chile exports almost exclusively raw materials such as copper, lithium, mining and agricultural products such as pulp, avocados, blueberries, wine, nuts and salmon. The EU, on the other hand, supplies processed products such as vehicles, aircraft, medicines and chemical products. European companies, which account for around a third of foreign direct investment, invest mainly in the energy, mining and infrastructure sectors.

The plans provoke contradictions on both sides. Critics point out that the agreement
1. further deepens the dependence of the Chilean economy on the export of raw materials and prevents Chile from developing its own industries, e.g., the production of lithium batteries.
2. one-sidedly exacerbates trade problems in Chile itself. For example, the water-intensive agriculture is creating dry periods, monocultures and the increasing use of pesticides endanger biodiversity, as does mining through toxic acidification.

In the planned agreement, the EU and Chile commit themselves to the Paris Agreement on Climate Change and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Both parties undertake to respect the core labor standards of the International Labour Organization. This includes Convention 169 on the Protection of Indigenous and Tribal Peoples. However, no sanctions are provided for in the event of breaches of the rules. Violations are either not or hardly justiciable. Victims cannot sue. The State has to bring a lawsuit and it usually does not. That is precisely why the Mercosur Agreement, which the EU intends to conclude with Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay and Brazil, was rejected by the European Parliament in October: toothless, non-binding commitments on sustainability, while the forests continue to burn in the Amazon.

On the other hand, corporations are to be effectively protected. They would be able to claim compensation in an investment court if profits are affected by political decisions. This would be the case, for example, if a new constitution provides better protection for workers and the environment and re-designates natural resources, such as water, as community property. Critics point to the dangerous dynamics of such a jurisdiction. Even the threat of an investor lawsuit can lead to Chile's failure to regulate workers, health and the environment. There is a risk that the state will be reshaped in favor of foreign investors. The rights of citizens whose interests differ from those of investors, would be lost.

Chile and the EU want to adopt the agreement as soon as possible in order to avoid difficulties caused by the process of the "new constitution". The 2019 protests have suggested that a majority want more social compensation and better health and environmental protection. "Entrepreneurial interests first" does not fit in with this. The European Green Deal speaks of a "sustainable economy", of "international cooperation to improve global environmental standards". These objectives do not appear to be supported by the agreement currently envisaged.

W.K.

translated by Erich Greiner

Notes

Sophia Boddenberg, EU and Chile - Free trade agreement with threatening consequences, Deutschlandfunk, 25-12-20

Sophia Boddenberg, Loreto Contreras and Maria Cariola, EU-Chile Free Trade Agreement: Opportunity or Obstacle?, Deutsche Welle 02-11-20

How to strike the right TONE

- Penguin research at the Landau Zoo

Landau 20 October 2020.

At the end of June the search for a warning signal for Humboldt penguins began at the Landau Zoo. On behalf of SPHENISCO, various signals were to be tested to see if they were suitable for deterring Humboldt penguins in their natural habitat from swimming into fishermen's set nets and dying as unwanted "bycatch." The research project was conducted by marine scientist Prof. Culik, Kiel, in cooperation with the University of Landau (Prof. Dr. Entling). The project was generously supported by Vogelpark Marlow, which - like the Landau Zoo - is a member of SPHENISCO.

The students Sarah Bergemann, Jannis Bitzigeio and Ayla Seithe triggered different sound signals under water, observed and then recorded how the diving birds reacted to the different signals. In addition, the reactions were recorded by four cameras at the enclosure. Thanks to a dpa report, the research was widely reported regionally and nationally.

On 12 October, Prof. Culik presented an interim report on the progress and results of the study. The three students, staff and keepers of the Landau Zoo and the board of SPHENISCO discussed the results and tried to make a first evaluation. Out of the seven different signals, only one signal, the call of a pilot whale, produced significant results. Penguins are less likely to dive when they hear this call. However, based on the data available so far, it is premature to say whether this can be seen as fear or flight behavior. The penguins have grown up in captivity. Therefore, it is not yet possible to interpret whether this is genetically determined behavior. Zoo penguins are not aware of dangers like a whale. One would therefore have to check the pilot whale signal in the wild and confirm it there.

In further talks the results should be discussed further and the question should be clarified which further steps are possible and reasonable.

W.K.

translated by Angelika Veelken