MORE OIL DAMAGES FOR BOLIVIA?
Date: Sat, 20 May 2000 18:10:00 +0200


From: Tamara Stenn

> PLEASE POST
> FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
> 
> TRANSREDES SEEKS TO EXPAND UNSAFE PIPELINE
> 
> ORURO (BOLIVIA) Cited as unsafe by the Bolivian
> government as early as November 1999, a sector of
> pipeline operated by Transredes (owned by US Enron and
> Dutch Shell) ruptured January 30th 2000 and spilled
> 29,000 barrels of crude petroleum contaminating
> hundreds of acres of organic farmland, killing fish
> and birds in the Andes' Lake Poopo, and destroying the
> livelihood of a 5,000 year old native tribe, Uru
> Morato.  
> Last week Transredes admitted to managing the
> dilapidated pipeline in an unsafe "risk based
> approach," though little has been done to relieve
> other risks the 6,000 kilometer pipeline poses to
> delicate ecosystems and native groups.  
> "The pipes are all different sizes," explained
> Transredes representative Victoria Copeman, "We can't
> even get pigs through." A pig is a device that is put
> into the pipeline to clean wax off the inside. It also
> can tell if the pipe is getting rusty. 
> Transredes purchased the poorly constructed
> Chile-Bolivia-Brazil pipeline from the Bolivian
> government for $263.5 million three years ago.  They
> have a 40-year contract to operate in Bolivia and are
> now soliciting $500 million in loans from commercial
> and multilateral banks to expand the current system. 
> The expansion will encroach on the existing right of
> way to native villages, displace native peoples, and
> pass through vital rainforest ecosystems, explained
> Transredes' Current Operations and Future Plans Report
> from March 2000.  The company is also seeking ISO 9001
> and ISO 14001 status.
> "We are really concerned about what this new expansion
> will mean," explained Friends of Poopo spokesperson,
> Tamara Stenn de Choque.  "We have already seen the
> irreparable devastation one negligent oil spill has
> caused.  With the continued operation and expansion of
> unsafe pipelines, how many other disasters will occur
> in the next 37 years?"
> The Friends of Poopo citizen advocacy group was formed
> in April 2000 in response to a plea from the Uru
> Morato tribe.  The tribe, faced with starvation when
> the oil spill destroyed the life sustaining birds and
> fish of Lake Poopo, marched 135 kilometers to Oruro to
> meet with Transredes representatives and Bolivian
> government authorities.  Transredes refused to
> recognize damages in that region of the lake and to
> this day, the Urus still wait, unrecognized on their
> barren, lakeside tribal lands.
> Friends of Poopo is now in dialogue with Transredes
> who claim that they want to be both "environmentally
> and socially responsible."
> "We now have an opportunity to challenge Transredes
> and see if they will follow through on their word, so
> let's do it!" urges Stenn de Choque.  
> Action agreed on by Transredes and Friends of Poopo
> will be:
>  The long term placement of community liason
> officer within the Uru community to act as a
> communicator between Transredes and the Urus.  The
> laison officer will be selected by Orlando Acosta who
> has been working with the Uru for the past eight
> years.
>  A special web page on the Urus posted at the
> Transredes web site http://www.transredes.com 
>  An independently conducted environmental
> audit that includes the Uru's region of Lake Poopo to
> be completed in four to five months (Sept. - Oct.). 
>  Inclusion of the Urus in Transredes' funded
> compensation projects for assessed damages.
> 
> For more information about Friends of Poopo and the
> Uru Morato please contact Stenn de Choque at
> tamara_stenn@yahoo.com.  Friends of Poopo is based out
> of Brattleboro, Vermont, USA.
>