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The
US Overseas Private Investment Corporation (a US ECA) in Bolivia:
Enron has been
OPIC's top client since 1992, receiving more than US$1.7-billion for foreign
projects. The Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) provided
US$200-million of the US$600-million cost of the project. Environmental
groups pointed out that OPIC was violating its own regulations that prohibit
the finance of "infrastructure projects in primary tropical forests."
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Bolivia
Did You Know?
Bolivia was one of the first countries that qualified for relief under
the IMF and World Bank's Heavily
Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative in 1998.
The largest ECA backed project developed in Bolivia was the Enron/Shell Cuiaba Gas Pipeline until OPIC withdrew its support in 2002
.
"The
Chiquitano forest is "one of the world's richest, rarest
and most biologically outstanding habitats on Earth" and one of the planet's 200 most sensitive eco-regions, according to the World Wildlife Fund. Approximately 90 species of mammals, birds and reptiles in the Chiquitano are listed as endangered. The adjacent Pantanal is the world's largest wetlands region, spanning 89,000 square miles and straddling the borders of Brazil, Paraguay, and Bolivia. It is one of the world's richest wildlife habitats."
-Enron's Pipe Scheme by Jimmy Langman, special to CorpWatch May 9, 2002 |
Chiquitano
Forest
Photo Credit:Amazon Watch (2000)
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Important Background Documents on Bolivia:
Cuiabá Gas Pipeline: Social and Environmental Impacts on the Chiquitano Forest “Indigenous Organizations' Monitoring Report” [ ] October 2002 Santa Cruz—Bolivia
ENRON'S OPERATIONS IN BOLIVIA [espanol] [francais] April 2002 Prepared by CEADES
Enron/Shell Cuiaba Gas Pipeline Project Summary:
The 390-mile Cuiaba Pipeline transports natural gas from Santa Cruz, Bolivia to a power plant in Cuiaba, Mato Grosso, Brazil. The US’s Overseas Private Investment Corporation loaned Enron $200 million to finance the $600 million project in 1998 and construction began in 1999. As soon as construction of the pipeline began, it was met with heavy criticism for its negative impact on the environment and the local people. Additionally, Enron became embroiled in a scandal regarding the means by which they became involved in the project. Enron won the public bid for the project just days after it was offered by the Bolivian company YBRP. The pipeline runs through the Chiquitano forest, one of the last large dry forests, and the Pantanal wetlands. Construction of the pipeline was coupled with illegal logging of the forest and damage to the ecosystems of the forest and wetlands. Many indigenous tribes with a combined total of 57,000 people lived in the Chiquitano area before the pipeline was built. The loan from OPIC required Enron to establish a $20 million Conservation Program and an Indigenous People’s Plan to compensate the people affected by the pipeline. OPIC withdrew its support from the project in 2002 when Enron failed to follow these requirements. OPIC looked past many environmental issues that they were alerted to by environmental organizations, such as how the pipeline would open the Chiquitano forest to farmers or loggers and make it susceptible to further destruction. Although OPIC eventually pulled out of the project, their initial sponsorship gave Enron the means and the approval to go ahead with construction of the pipeline.
Report on OPIC'S Compliance With Board Conditions for the Bolivia-Cuiaba Pipeline Project September 20, 1999 Prepared by: Amazon Watch
La carta de La Coordinadora de Pueblos Étnicos de Santa Cruz (CPESC), para Katherine Mckalip Thompson Gerente de Responsabilidad Social Corporativa-ENRON
U.S.A. 29 de octubre de 2001 Santa Cruz
GUÍA PARA LA VIGILANCIA SOCIAL DE LA INDUSTRIA EXTRACTIVA EN TERRITORIOS INDÍGENAS: La Experiencia del Pueblo indígena Chiquitano en el Gasoducto Lateral Cuiaba.
INFORMES DE MONITOREO INDÍGENA INDEPENDIENTE AL GASODUCTO "BOLIVIA - BRASIL LATERAL CUIABA
Useful Links:
News
2004-2005:
 OPIC Approves $54 Million for Silver Mine in Bolivia January 21, 2005
Up to $135M Political Risk Insurance Granted by OPIC for Major Bolivian Silver Project August 2, 2004
News 2002-2003:
Dramatic footage of Enron and Shell's Bolivian pipelines, which are destroying the Chiquitano Forest and Pantanal wetlands... Video by Amazon Watch (2002) - This video shows the failure on the part of Enron, Shell and OPIC to avoid routing the Cuiabá pipeline through the Chiquitano Forest and Pantanal wetlands, with dramatic aerial footage of the pipeline cutting through the forest. It also shows community members testifying about illegal hunting and logging along the pipeline route, and a failed conservation program. Community members insist that Enron, Shell and OPIC restructure the conservation program and ensure that indigenous communities acquire land titles and receive long-term compensation. One of the most serious violations highlighted in the video relates to Bolivian President Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada's Don Mario Gold Mine, located in the middle of the Chiquitano Forest. Prior to construction of the Cuiabá pipeline three years ago, OPIC, Enron and Shell claimed that although the pipeline was to be constructed through the forest, lateral pipelines stemming from it would not be built. The video shows construction of this lateral pipeline and a representative from the mining company stating Enron and Shell's consortium had constructed gas out-takes during construction of the Cuiabá pipeline.
Video Available for download in English and Spanish. To request a copy of the video contact amazon@amazonwatch.org
IADB OK's loan for Enron backed pipeline in Bolivia December 11, 2002
Enron's Pipeline Pain August 2002 by Jimmy Langman
Enron keeps role in Bolivia pipeline project Criticism grows -- records missing
June 25, 2002 By Jimmy Langman, Chronicle Foreign Service Tuesday
Bulldozing Bolivia May 9, 2002 By Jimmy Langman in a special to CorpWatch
Enron Pipeline Leaves Scar on South America: Lobbying, US Loans Put Project on Damaging Path [espanol] May 6, 2002 By James V. Grimaldi, Washington Post Staff Writer. Page A01.
Gas Line Draws Protests, Nature Groups Cite US Role January 3, 2000
Environment: Bolivian Pipeline is Destroying Tropical Forests December 22, 1999
For more information, contact the ECA Watch Facilitator.
ECA Watch Campaign Member Links:
CEADES, CEADES (Bolivia) - Collective of Applied Studies on Social Development (Colectivo de Estudios Aplicados al Desarrollo Social) at ceadescz at roble dot scz dot entelnet dot bo (English and Spanish)
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