Washington, D.C. – Environmental and human rights organizations from the United States and Peru, in letters to Undersecretary of the U.S. Treasury John Taylor and the President of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Enrique Iglesias, called on the Bush administration and the IDB to stop financial closure of the IDB loan for the Camisea Gas Project in Peru, expected as early as this week. Camisea’s critics contend that the project is paving the way for the indiscriminate destruction of some of the world’s most pristine rainforests and threatens the physical survival of isolated indigenous populations.
In September 2003, the U.S. Government announced its decision to abstain in the vote on the project at the IDB Board. The United States, the largest shareholder of the IDB, also helped put in place a variety of environmental and social requirements, or loan conditions, that would have to be met for the project to reach financial closure (the signing of the loan agreement). Peruvian and U.S. groups say those conditions have not been met. “The Bush administration should stop financial closure on Camisea as it violates the very environmental contractual conditions they negotiated for the project,” said Friends of the Earth Campaign Director Jon Sohn. “If this loan goes forward, the United States will, in essence, be supporting the project despite its abstention last year,” he added.
The groups note that the project has failed to meet the letter and spirit of several of the IDB loan conditions and that the wording of some conditions even appears to have been changed. “The IDB seems to be trying to pull a fast one.” said Nadia Martinez of the Institute for Policy Studies. “It is worrisome that the pressure to lend is so strong that IDB staff would ignore clear violations of their own agreements. This is not responsible use of our taxpayer money.”
Last year, the IDB delayed consideration of the project twice due to outstanding concerns. On August 28, 2004, these concerns led the U.S. Export-Import Bank to reject a $214 million loan guarantee on the grounds that Camisea did not meet the bank’s environmental standards. Two U.S. oil companies, Hunt Oil and Halliburton, stand to benefit from any IDB decision to go ahead with financial closure.
“Camisea fails to comply with the IDB requirements, and therefore financial closure cannot occur at this time. We stand ready to work with the IDB to determine the appropriate way forward,” said Aaron Goldzimer of Environmental Defense. He added, “The IDB’s member countries mandated in 1994 that the IDB make the environment one of its four main operating priorities. Camisea is just one reflection of how the IDB itself does not realize how its environmental standards, policies and oversight are so flagrantly below those of its peer institutions.”
“It is flatly unethical for the IDB to give the green light to financing this project that is still causing rainforest destruction, polluting rivers and threatening vulnerable indigenous peoples with malnutrition and deadly diseases,” said Amazon Watch Peru Program Coordinator Maria Ramos.
