Journalicious Dots from Switzerland

¶1. Summary: Minister of Environment Anita Alban took to the forest on October 1st to investigate illegal logging. The inspection, which revealed criminal activities, has yet to generate any concrete judicial response. Alban’s decision to confront loggers takes place amid rumors that she will be removed from office. MOE workers on strike over forestry management in the Ministry have further complicated the political landscape for Alban. End Summary.

UNFAMILIAR TERRITORY ——————–

¶2. Responding to complaints of illegal logging from the Indigenous Awa Federation (FCAE), Minister Alban traveled to Awa territory in northern Ecuador on October 1 to conduct an inspection. Alban was accompanied by a USAID specialist, ministry personnel, and a journalist. Consistent with FCAE claims, Alban’s team discovered what appeared to be several illegal logging operations. While some of the operations were run by independent groups, others were associated with known timber companies. Although no one was arrested at that time, National Forestry Director German Espinoza ordered the loggers to stop operations. Although they claim to have no affiliation with the logging operations discovered by the Minister’s group, the timber company SETRAFOR has agreed to conduct follow-up meetings with FCAE on October 11 to establish more concrete agreements between the two and to clarify land title disputes.

¶3. Alban’s inspection took many by surprise. Although Alban said deforestation was one of her main concerns when she became Minister in April 2005, she had heretofore done nothing to address what is the second highest rate of deforestation among South American countries. Alban’s inaction is not restricted to forestry issues. She has been absent and weak on a number of high-profile environmental issues, most notably with respect to the Galapagos (reftel).

¶4. Inattention to deforestation preceded Alban. Indeed, this type of active engagement against illegal logging has not been seen in the Ministry since 2003. Prior to 2003, the SWISS company SGS provided independent and effective monitoring of logging activities under a contract with the Ministry of Environment. Logging interests managed to have SGS’s contract ruled unconstitutional by courts in 2003. Without SGS monitoring, illegal logging is rampant and the Ministry of Environment has been unable (and apparently unwilling) to stop it. That Alban’s team did not follow up the October 1st investigation with any immediate legal action may suggest more of the same.

MOE STRIKE CONTINUES ——————–

¶5. An ongoing strike at the Ministry of Environment no doubt has motivated Minister Alban. Ministry staff, who initiated the strike on September 22nd, have been voicing their displeasure over the Ministry’s forest management. Publicly, they claim that they want greater control over forestry programs. However, Ministry staff acknowledged to Econoff that a segment of striking employees also are interested in keeping tax money and jobs. As the strike has progressed, calls for Alban to resign have grown. Not all MOE staff are on board with the strikers’ demands, and many continue to do their work. Nonetheless, the employees association has been successful in garnering press and pressuring Minister Alban to act.

¶6. To address the strikers’ concerns, Minister Alban also has developed a proposal on forestry management that striking employees are reviewing. The proposal, known as the National System of Forestry Control and Wildlife Trafficking, allocates $350,000 to be utilized by both existing staff and contractors. Unfortunately, program funds will last only 6 months. Together with the illegal logging inspection, the new forest management proposal represents Alban’s effort to satisfy the demands of striking staff and portray herself as an active and effective Minister.

ALBAN’S DAYS NUMBERED? ———————-

¶7. Minister Alban’s recent actions suggest she is worried about keeping her job. Indeed, the calls for her to resign are resonating outside of the MOE and continue to grow. More worrisome for Alban, politicians within the PSC also have an eye on her Ministry. Congressman Alfredo Serrano, who represents the Galapagos and has business interests there, reportedly wants Alban replaced with someone more to his liking. MOE Sub-minister Alfredo Carrasco’s name has been mentioned as a possible replacement. Carrasco’s evasive responses to questions surrounding the strike and calls for Alban’s removal suggest he is mulling over his options. Nothing specific appears in the works as of yet.

COMMENT ——-

¶8. The arrival of a new Minister could lead to changes in the Governorship of the Galapagos and the Directorship of the Galapagos National Park (GNP). Politicization of the GNP during the last 2-plus years triggered violent demonstrations in the islands and had damaging effects on the GNP’s monitoring and enforcement abilities. Whether driven by striking MOE staff or Ecuadorian political interests, the removal of Minister Alban may well cause more institutional and social instability.

JEWELL

XTAGS: XTAGSENV, XTAGEAID, XTAGECON, XTAGPGOV, XTAGEC 05QUITO2288

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EAID ECON EFIS ETRD PGOV PREL EC SEVNSUBJECT: ECUADOR,S NEW ENVIRONMENTAL MINISTER MORE POLITICAL THAN ENVIRONMENTAL

REF: QUITO 0540

¶1. (SBU) Summary. President Gutierrez named Juan Carlos Camacho as the new Minister of the Environment on February 24, replacing the beleaguered Fabian Valdivieso. Camacho has no real environmental experience and was given the position to assuage the block of independent congressmen who hold the balance in Congress. Camacho is a political operator who is working for fishing interests in the Galapagos in order to secure their vote for the President. He has also promised to take action on renewing the contract of a SWISS firm that was monitoring illegal logging in Ecuador. At two different meetings (Reftel), President Gutierrez called for a balanced, sustainable solution to the Galapagos crisis. While we are optimistic about the President,s words, we are wary of Camacho,s alliances with the fishing sector. End Summary.

————– Bio Says A Lot ————–

¶2. (U) Juan Carlos Camacho is more than anything a politician. He was twice a congressional representative for Bolivar province ) first for the Concentracion de Fuerzas Populares (CFP) from 1988 to 1990, and then for the Izquierda Democratica (ID), from 1992 to 1994. During his second term, he left the ID and became an independent.

¶3. (U) In October 1994, then-legislators Simon Bustamante and Rafael Cuesta accused Camacho of being &the briefcase man8 for the independents, implying that he was dispersing the cash used to buy the votes of independent congressmen. Camacho denies these allegations.

¶4. (U) Camacho has no environmental experience except that, as he put it in a post-nomination interview, he &has planted trees with his own hands8 and &has a clear notion of what clean air is.8

————————– Courtesy Call Reveals More ————————–

¶5. (U) The DCM and USAID Director paid a courtesy call to Camacho on March 8. The DCM congratulated Camacho on his new position and said the Embassy stood ready to help him conquer some of the many difficult problems he will confront. Galapagos was the Embassy,s top environmental concern and we were encouraged by the President,s recent attention to the Galapagos crisis and call for a 30-day plan to resolve it (Reftel). The DCM delivered our baseline message to Camacho -) that the Galapagos crisis is Ecuador,s to solve and that the international community wants to help Ecuador achieve its goals. The DCM also urged Camacho to quickly address park management instability, monitoring and enforcement in the marine reserve, income-generating alternatives for fishermen and illegal immigration.

¶6. (U) Camacho said he understood the need for action in the Galapagos and that he would take action, unlike his predecessor, who he admitted did not like to make decisions. Camacho would like to reform the Galapagos Special Law in order to stabilize and depoliticize the Galapagos National Park (GNP) Directorship. He rejected the DCM,s suggestion (as per the UNDP/IDB/USAID consultants hired to analyze this problem) that it could be done by presidential decree. Camacho admitted that there is a lot of politics surrounding the Galapagos, suggesting that he too was involved. He said he would meet with the Ministers of Tourism and Government soon, to reach a unified position on the Galapagos. He also said that violent demonstrations in the Galapagos need to stop. They damage the image of the islands and serve no one.

¶7. (U) The USAID Director noted the USG,s $10 million investment in the Galapagos. He also agreed with Camacho that dialogue is important among the players, and to that end the fishing sector needs to rejoin the Junta de Manejo Participativo (JMP – a Galapagos planning and advisory board comprised of the conservation, tourism, government and fishing sector representatives). The fishing sector walked away from the JMP years ago citing conservation as the exclusive goal of the body. Camacho accepted the invitation from the USAID Director for a full briefing on USAID programs.

¶8. (SBU) The USAID Director also raised concern about the GOE,s failure to renew its contract with the SWISS firm SGS. SGS was given a contract in 1999 to monitor illegal logging in Ecuador. In 2003, bowing to pressure from powerful logging interest, the offices of SGS were closed and its contract allowed to expire. The parties resolved outstanding legal problems and the GOE agreed to renew SGS,s contract. However, the GOE now claims it lacks the finances to renew the contract. Though, we believe the problem is more the lack of political will than finances.

¶9. (U) The DCM emphasized the extensive international interest in the Galapagos. The Ambassador has been there on numerous occasions; several US Senators (notably Dodd and McCain) have been there, as has former President Jimmy Carter. The previous Minister of the Environment had visited the Carter Center to lay the groundwork for an international forum. We stood ready to work with Camacho in that regard, the DCM added.

—————————————- Meeting with Donors Confirms Our Opinion —————————————-

¶10. (U) Acting on the President,s orders (Reftel), Camacho convoked a meeting of donors. He started the meeting by saying that we must avoid any future strikes in the Galapagos, but added that the fishermen in the Galapagos have threatened to demonstrate if the sea cucumber season remains closed this month (March) without a viable income-generating alternative for them. The fishermen are pushing for long-line fishing as the desired alternative, otherwise come March 20 they will take to the streets.

¶11. (U) The Spanish representative spoke eloquently about the problems in the Galapagos ) institutional instability, the need for sustainable development, illegal immigration ) but said that harvesting sea cucumbers and long-line fishing were certainly not the answer. The other donors said that they wholeheartedly agreed with this assessment and noted that the March 20 strike date left little time for finding a lasting solution. The Interamerican Development Bank (IDB) representative suggested that the GOE put the artesenal fish processing centers they funded, which are fully constructed, into production. This could be done quickly and the products could be sold to tourists. Others tossed out medium-term ideas for fishing alternatives. One idea was to auction fishing permits to sport-fishing operators for tourists. The permits would be limited in number, but tradeable. Others spoke of raising park entrance fees and putting the proceeds in a fund to establish fishermen in other occupations. The donors suggested that we get all the players together (to include fishing and tourism sector representatives) to brainstorm and agree on specific measures.

¶12. (U) Though he listened, Camacho made no commitments, emphasizing that he is still in the learning process. He added that his predecessor did not leave good files on the Galapagos and that there was no one to advise him. He requested that Fundacion Natura and the Charles Darwin Foundation comment on fishing alternative proposals presented to the President during his trip to the Galapagos.

¶13. (U) Despite his professed steep learning curve, Camacho was prepared enough to present a proposal. As the meeting ended, he circulated his own proposed presidential decree that would require all tourists who visit the Galapagos to spend at least one night on land, would open the marine reserve to sport fishing, and (in an apparent jab at tourism magnate Roque Sevilla) would prohibit the use of submarines, or any kind of submersible naval vessel in the marine reserve (Sevilla wants to offer submarine tours in the Galapagos).

——- Comment ——-

¶14. (SBU) The appointment of Camacho portends of further political expediency in the Galapagos. Camacho is aligned with the independent vote, and is rumored to owe his appointment to (former PSC) Independent diputado San Martin, who led the effort to dismantle the forestry control system. He and Vinicio Andrade, the pro-fishing diputado from the Galapagos, whose vote the President has courted, have also laid out a clear agenda in support of fishing interests in the Galapagos.

¶15. (SBU) Camacho,s proposed presidential decree lacks balance, feasibility and ultimately will only minimally benefit fishermen. Our task will be to educate and guide Camacho toward more sustainable alternatives. The President,s recent focus on Galapagos and public pronouncements give us cause for hope, but we need to see concrete actions. The Ambassador will also sign a joint communiqu to the MFA asking that the SGS issue be resolved as soon as possible, as the treatment SGS received does not bode well for other environmental NGOs operating in Ecuador.

KENNEY

XTAGS: XTAGEAID, XTAGECON, XTAGEFIS, XTAGETRD, XTAGPGOV, XTAGPREL, XTAGEC, XTAGSEVN 05QUITO592