Press Release: Afro-Descendant Peoples Denounce Sugarcane Greenwashing and Call for Environmental Justice at COP16

• The new research ‘The Green Illusion’ (in Spanish ‘No Todo lo Verde es Biodiverso’) presents an in-depth analysis of the negative impacts of the sugarcane industry on biodiversity, rivers, wetlands and the rights of the black people of northern Cauca.
• This industry has stripped the communities of at least 2,475 hectares of watersheds in order to plant sugar cane, which is equivalent to 5,000 football pitches. They have drained more than 80% of the wetlands in the Cauca River Valley.
• The afro-descendant peoples of the Palenke Alto Cauca warn that as long as this industry is promoted as a sustainable economy, its legacy of violations of the rights of peoples and nature will not be recognised.

Read the press release in English and Spanish

As COP16, the largest international summit on biodiversity is currently taking place in Cali, Colombia, the afro-descendant peoples of the Palenke Alto Cauca (PAC) of the Black Communities Process (PCN) are campaigning against the profound negative impacts that the sugar cane agro-industry has had on their lands’ biodiversity and on their traditional livelihoods. In the Cauca River Valley region, the sugarcane monoculture extends over 241,205 hectares, which would occupy four times the size of the city of Cali.

Sugar cane monoculture, described by the Afro-descendant people as the "Green Monster", has caused significant environmental degradation, including the destruction of forests and wetlands, the contamination and dispossession of water sources and the displacement of Afro-Colombian ancestral agricultural practices. At least 2,475 hectares of water sources have been taken from the afro-descendant peoples of northern Cauca to plant sugar cane. More than 80% of the wetlands have been drained. The watersheds and wetlands are crucial for sustaining biodiversity.

 

“Our ancestors were the owners of the land. Now we find ourselves surrounded by sugarcane and with very few traditional farms. Likewise, the flora and fauna have been affected by chemical inputs, fumigation, burning and the construction of deep wells to irrigate sugarcane plantations,” said Leidy Mina, leader of the Black Communities Process (PCN) and a co-author of the ‘Green Monster’ report upon its publishing in 2021.

 

For decades, the black people of the region have lived in harmony with their land and territory, developing a biodiversity conservation technology, known as the ‘Ancestral Farm’ (in Spanish ‘Finca Ancestral’), which is based on traditional knowledge that is still used in the region today, but which is at risk of disappearing due to the monoculture of sugar cane.

New research called ‘The Green Illusion’, conducted by PAC, Enramada and Forest Peoples Programme (FPP), reveals that sugar cane plantations have replaced the biodiverse landscapes of the geographic Cauca River Valley, causing deforestation, polluting water and soil, displacing afro-descendant peoples from their ancestral lands and stripping them of vital resources. "The Big House” is Falling.

According to the new study, among the 14 sugar companies operating in the Cauca River Valley, Incauca and La Cabaña are the ones that most affect the black people in northern Cauca. In 13 Incauca plantations and 2 La Cabaña plantations, illegal privatisation of watersheds has been identified for sugar cane monoculture. It is also possible that some of the sugar cane plantations that have caused the drying up of wetlands or that have been illegally planted on 2,475 hectares of watersheds in the northern Cauca belong to the suppliers of these two companies. However, it has not been possible to verify this information because these companies do not comply with the transparency standards.

During the week of COP16, PAC, Enramada and FPP are launching an exhibition and several events under the same title "The Green Illusion", to present the results of the new research and denounce the legacy of violations of the rights of people and nature by the sugar cane industry in the northern Cauca. They also call on the citizens of Colombia and the world to "use their power as consumers to demand sustainable and transparent practices from this industry".

At this COP16, PAC and the Black Communities Process want to raise awareness and warn about the "greenwashing" of the sugar cane industry, which presents itself as a developer of “green” products to hide the grave environmental and social damage caused by the industry. The black communities warn that proposing the sugar cane landscape as a cultural heritage of humanity would perpetuate the devastation in the geographic Cauca River Valley. Therefore, they urge decision-makers at COP16 to:

 

“Prevent funds directed at meeting the targets of the Convention on Biological Diversity from going to agro-industry monocultures, which directly and negatively impact biodiversity.”

 

The afro-descendant peoples of Northern Cauca also call on COP16 decision-makers and the Colombian government to recognise their knowledge systems that contribute to the conservation of biodiversity, including the ‘Ancestral Farm’, which they are seeking to safeguard and declare a world heritage. They also call for the promotion of ecosystems restoration and the change of use of land that is currently used for sugar cane monoculture, so that it can be returned to its original use as agroforestry systems, such as the Ancestral Farm. They demand that the Colombian state guarantees their territorial rights and takes significant steps towards the historical reparation of communities impacted by the sugarcane industry.

In 2021, the Palenke Alto Cauca made several recommendations in the first installment of the policy document 'The Green Monster: Perspectives and Recommendations from the Black People of Northern Cauca on the sugar sector in Colombia'. Three years later, no significant progress has been seen, reiterating the importance of implementing those recommendations.

For more information and to arrange interviews with PAC/PCN representatives, contact Frances Jenner, fjenner@forestpeoples.org (at COP16).