Global Justice Ecology Project
GJEP envisions a world in which all societies are justly and equitably governed with full participation by an engaged and informed populace living in harmony with the natural world and one another.
We accomplish our mission by (1) prioritizing campaigns that are key leverage points for advancing systemic change, and (2) linking struggles and strengthening diverse movements with strategic action, information, and analysis.
Philosophy of Activism
- Maintain an uncompromising stance and keep the bar high.
- Make systemic connections through a holistic analysis.
- Build strong bonds of trust with Indigenous Peoples and their organizations.
- Be accountable to grassroots organizations and communities.
- Use direct action as a strategic tool.
- Be efficient and effective.
- Win.
Principles
We believe in the fundamental equality of all peoples and the intrinsic value of the natural world. Our program work is guided by these principles:
- Confronting oppression, challenging power elites, and amplifying the voice of the least powerful among us.
- Championing diversity and equal rights to break down barriers and open doors to common goals and ideas.
- Working in cooperation, not competition, to build grassroots power.
History
Anne Petermann and Orin Langelle, activists with decades of experience in the environmental and social justice movements, on local, national and international fronts, founded GJEP in 2003. They saw the need for a project grounded in understanding that environmental degradation, war, the destruction of civil rights and liberties, and economic and social injustice were not isolated, and needed to be addressed at their common root causes.
Key Accomplishments
Stop GE Trees Campaign:
- Created and led a major international campaign against GE trees, which has so far successfully prevented their large-scale commercial release
- Organized historic week of action at the international Tree Biotechnology 2013 conference in Asheville, NC in May 2013–including several arrests and the largest ever protest against GE trees
- Won a decision from the UN Convention on Biological Diversity warning countries of the social and ecological dangers of GE trees
- Assembled a legal team to challenge USDA approval of GE eucalyptus trees,which is discouraging investment and prevented GE tree company ArborGen from going public on the NASDAQ in April 2011, leading to the replacement of its executive staff in January 2012
- Consulted on the creation of an award-winning documentary “A Silent Forest:The Growing Threat, Genetically Engineered Trees,” narrated by internationally renowned geneticist Dr. David Suzuki.
- Brought major media attention to the dangers of GE trees, including a front-page story in the Washington Post, and articles/features in the New York Times, Bloomberg News, Christian Science Monitor, Charlotte Observer, Memphis Appeal, NPR’s Living on Earth program, and Jim Hightower Radio, among numerous others
- Cited frequently by industry leaders as a major obstacle to GE tree research and development
Media and Communications:
- Worked directly with media to amplify the voices of impacted communities, social movements, grassroots groups and networks. Since 2004 we traveled to the UN and other international forums, including the Climate Convention, the Biodiversity Convention, the UN Forum on Indigenous Issues and the World Social Forum where we succeeded in featuring these voices in hundreds of newswires and media outlets around the world, reaching millions of people with their messages.
- Produced the DVD “A Darker Shade of Green,” in 2012 to showcase Indigenous Peoples’ resistance to REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation). The DVD is available in English, Spanish and Portuguese.
- Used the power of photojournalism to expose injustice and help prevent the forced relocation of Amador Hernandez, an Indigenous community in the Lacandon Jungle of Chiapas, Mexico in 2011.
Climate Justice and Indigenous Peoples’ Rights:
- Co-founded Durban Group for Climate Justice in 2004; Climate Justice Now! in 2007. Co-founded Climate Justice Action in 2008, which organized the historicPeoples’ Assembly and Reclaim Power march out at the 2009 UN Climate Conference in Copenhagen.
- Used writing, analysis and direct action to expose the extent of corporate influences on UN climate and biodiversity negotiations. Highlighted the exclusion of Indigenous Peoples, social movements and other stakeholders from UN decision-making.
What is artificial intelligence and how are some corporate interests seeking to hand over the development of genetically engineered organisms to it?
Join us as we unpack this question with Jim Thomas, an activist and researcher who challenges the common misconceptions about artificial intelligence. We delve into the historical context of the Luddites and connect their resistance to harmful industrialization with the emerging technological challenges we face today. Our discussion takes a critical angle on how AI intersects with indigenous rights, spotlighting the recent establishment of the CALI Fund at COP16 in Colombia, which aims to ensure fair compensation for the genetic information used by big tech companies.
The world of synthetic biology and genetic engineering is rapidly evolving, with technologies like CRISPR and DNA printing poised to reshape agriculture and ecosystems. But what ethical and ecological concerns arise from this transformation? We explore the commodification of biodiversity and the implications of merging these advancements with AI, leading to new bioeconomies. The financialization of nature, through initiatives like biodiversity credits, raises significant questions about sustainability, colonialism and the commercialization of genomic data. As we navigate these complex issues, we emphasize the urgent need for societal oversight to safeguard the common good.
This podcast is produced by Global Justice Ecology Project.
Short interview with Mapuche educator in the Bio Bio region of Chili from a Global Justice Ecology Project fact finding trip.
Press Conference Demands Brazil End Threat to Amazon posed by Genetically Engineered TreesMore than 100 organizations from over 30 countries are demanding that Brazil cancel its approval of nine genetically engineered eucalyptus trees which threaten global forest biodiversity.
Organizations and Indigenous Peoples from around the world call upon the world leaders at COP16 to demand a strict application of the CBD’s 2008 de facto moratorium on genetically engineered trees and that Brazil immediately cancel its legalization of nine varieties of genetically engineered eucalyptus trees for commercial release.
Brazil’s legalization is a dangerous precedent that threatens to open the door to the widespread commercialization and large-scale release of GE trees across Latin America and around the world, including in regions bordering the Amazon rainforest.
The press conference included Global Justice Ecology Project (GJEP) Assistant Director Heather Lee, Elvis Huni Kui of the Federation of the Huni Kai People of the state of Acre (Brazil), -Dr. Ricarda Steinbrecher, of EcoNexus and Federation of German Scientists, and Tom Goldtooth, Executive Director of the Indigenous Environmental Network.
Global Justice Ecology Project (GJEP) has released a short documentary that sheds light on the ongoing struggles of Indigenous Peoples and traditional communities in Brazil against the harmful effects of monoculture tree plantations through their own stories and voices.
The film, based on an international delegation of the STOP GE Tree Campaign to Brazil in May 2023, features interviews with members of the Quilombola communities, the Ofaye people, and members of the Landless Workers' Movement (MST), providing a comprehensive view of the fight for land sovereignty and against the ecological and social impacts of eucalyptus plantations.
The documentary exposes the dark side of the pulp industry in Brazil and its massive-scale eucalyptus plantations on local communities and biodiversity. Eucalyptus plantations, spanning regions in South America, Southern Africa, Southern Europe, and Australia, have been linked to water shortages, pollution from agrochemicals, and a total loss of biodiversity.
Brazil, as the world's largest eucalyptus producer, plays a significant role in this destructive industry. With approximately 7.6 million hectares of eucalyptus plantations, Brazil accounts for 30 percent of the world's total. The states of Bahía and Espírito Santo have witnessed the replacement of the diverse Atlantic Forest ecosystem with eucalyptus plantations, covering nearly three-quarters of some municipalities' land area. Corporations such as Suzano export eucalyptus as pulp for various products, including toilet paper.
New Zealand is a "GE Free zone" meaning that all produce grown in New Zealand can be guaranteed free of genetic engineering (GE) and GMO traits.
Companies are allowed to do research with genetically modified organisms but according to current New Zealand law such organisms must be proven safe before they are allowed for use for farming.
Yet as New Zealand heads into its 2023 election, several national political parties are threatening New Zealand's GE free status by suggesting the revocation of its precautionary legislation.
In this episode of Breaking Green we will talk with Claire Bleakley, president of GE Free New Zealand about this push for the dropping of this long cherished GE free status and what and who is behind it.
Claire Bleakley is the president of GE Free New Zealand. GE Free NZ has been active in raising awareness around the dangers of genetic engineering and gene editing over the last 20 years.
Claire and her husband live on a small organic farm in New Zealand. She became actively involved in the GE Free movement when genetically engineered animals and crops, designed to withstand a cocktail of herbicides and insecticidal toxins, were developed.
Claire and GE Free NZ have successfully challenged in court the safety of GE animals and crops.
Don't miss an episode and subscribe to Breaking Green wherever you get your podcasts.
This podcast is produced by Global Justice Ecology Project.
Breaking Green is made possible by tax deductible donations from people like you. Please help us lift up the voices of those working to protect forests, defend human rights and expose false solutions.
Marginalized communities are frequently targeted for the placement of toxic projects. Protest and community organizing has been an indispensable strategy in seeking environmental justice and fighting for those living in minority, poor and indigenous communities.
But now, so-called critical infrastructure laws are springing up around the United States in what appears to be a coordinated effort by corporate interests to muzzle protest. These laws seek to criminalize dissent and characterize peaceful protest as acts of terrorism.
On this episode of Breaking Green, we will talk with Basav Sen and Gabrielle Colchete who together authored a July article in In These Times titled, "Cop City and the Escalating War on Environmental Defenders." The story was based on a report they coauthored for the Institute for Policy Studies on the increased criminalization of protest activities.
Basav Sen joined the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS), as the Climatic Justice Project Director in February 2017. Prior to joining IPS, Basav worked for about 11 years as a strategic corporate campaign researcher fo the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW). He also had experience as a campaigner against the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.
Gabrielle Colchete is a Next Leaders Alum from the Institute for Policy Studies 2020 Fellowship Cohort, where she researched frontline community resistance against fossil fuel projects and the role of corporate interests in increasing state criminalization of protest activities.
Don't miss an episode and subscribe to Breaking Green wherever you get your podcasts.
This podcast is produced by Global Justice Ecology Project.
Breaking Green is made possible by tax deductible donations from people like you. Please help us lift up the voices of those working to protect forests, defend human rights and expose false solutions.
Deforestation of Brazil's Amazon rainforest is a well-known threat to the world's environment, but the loss of natural biodiversity to so-called "green deserts" resulting from expanding non-native eucalyptus plantations for pulp and paper production, is a lesser known ecological and social disaster that is likely to worsen if genetically engineered trees are used.
Spearheaded by Global Justice Ecology Project, the Campaign to STOP GE Trees brought together members from the United States, New Zealand, Ireland, Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom and Canada in Brazil to document the impacts and meet with communities on the front lines.
The group also met to develop plans for the international campaign to stop the commercial development of genetically engineered trees and to support and highlight opposition to pulp company Suzano's rapid expansion of industrial eucalyptus plantations, and potential use of genetically engineered (GE) eucalyptus trees modified to tolerate toxic herbicides.
GJEP and the Campaign met with Brazilian NGOs, indigenous and Quilombola communities and Landless Worker Movement members in order to document and amplify the voices and concerns of rural communities on the frontlines of resisting the devastating social and ecological impacts of industrial eucalyptus plantations.
On this episode of Breaking Green, we spoke with Anne Petermann. Petermann co- founded Global Justice Ecology Project in 2003. She is the international coordinator of the Campaign to STOP GE Trees, which she also co founded. Petermann is a founding board member of the Will Miller Social Justice Lecture Series. She has been involved in movements for forest protection and indigenous rights since 1991, and the international and national climate justice movements since 2004. She participated in the founding of the Durban group for climate justice in 2004, in Durban, South Africa, and Climate Justice Now in 2007 at the Bali Indonesia UN climate conference. She was adopted as an honorary member of the St. Francis- Sokoki band of the Abenaki in 1992 for her work in support of their struggle for state recognition. In 2000, she received the wild nature award for activist of the year.
Global Justice Ecology Project brought together members of the Campaign to STOP GE Trees from US, New Zealand, Ireland, Japan, Germany, Brazil, UK and Canada in Brazil to develop plans for the international campaign to stop the commercial development of genetically engineered trees, and to support and highlight opposition to Suzano pulp and paper company’s rapid expansion of industrial eucalyptus plantations, and potential use of genetically engineered eucalyptus trees modified to tolerate toxic herbicides.
GJEP and the Campaign met with Brazilian NGOs, Indigenous, and Quilombola communities, and MST (Landless Workers Movement) members in order to document and amplify the voices and concerns of rural communities on the front lines of resisting the devastating social and ecological impacts of industrial eucalyptus plantations.
Global Justice Ecology Project brought together members of the Campaign to STOP GE Trees from US, New Zealand, Ireland, Japan, Germany, Brazil, UK and Canada in Brazil to develop plans for the international campaign to stop the commercial development of genetically engineered trees, and to support and highlight opposition to Suzano pulp and paper company’s rapid expansion of industrial eucalyptus plantations, and potential use of genetically engineered eucalyptus trees modified to tolerate toxic herbicides.
Secretary with Ministry of Agrarian Development in Brazil states GE eucalyptus makes no sense.
UNPFII Side Event: Emergency of GMO Trees for Indigenous Peoples
GJEP will travel to New York City on April 17, 2024,, to participate in the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues.
We will present the dangers posed by GE trees and build new alliances with Indigenous Peoples interested in opposing this dangerous threat to forests and communities. This work is part of our larger campaign to build alliances with Indigenous communities throughout Latin America.
Background: Since 2021, Brazil has legalized 7 varieties of GMO eucalyptus trees for use in large-scale industrial plantations. GMO trees are genetically engineered to poison insects, resist toxic herbicides, and grow fast. Many will receive carbon credits and be eligible for REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation) projects. GMO tree plantations could have devastating, irreversible impacts on Indigenous Peoples, forests like the Amazon and the Cerrado, and biodiversity. Impacts include massive land grabs, displaced communities, forest fires, and contaminated and depleted fresh water. Brazil, China and the United States are poised to commercialize GMO trees worldwide, but GMO trees can be stopped!
Information about the side event:
Event: UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Peoples Side Event Title: Emergency of GMO Trees for Indigenous Peoples Time: Wednesday, April 17th, 2024, 1:00 – 3:00 pm Location: Church Center, Hardin Room, 11th floor, 777 UN Plaza (44th Street and First Avenue) Lunch served. Simultaneous interpretation in English and Spanish was provided.
Panelists:
Casey Camp-Horinek, Ambassador on the Environment, Ponca Nation, US Celerina Sánchez, Ñuu Savi/Mixteca, Poet, Oaxaca, Mexico Camilo Niño, Ecologist and Leader of the Coordinadora Nacional de Territorios Indigenas, Arhuaco People,Colombia Heather Lee, Campaign to STOP GE Trees and Global Justice Ecology Project
Organized by: the Campaign to STOP GE Trees, Comisión Nacional de Territorios Indígenas – CNTI, and Global Justice Ecology Project
nogetrees.org
stopgetrees.org
cntindigena.org
globaljustceecioogy.org
#stopgetrees #plantationsarenotforests
December 7, 2023: Cold War Human Subject Testing Documentary Screening -- Free to the Public and Press
During the Cold War, the military conducted secret tests in St. Louis. The tests were part of a radiological weapons development program and targeted what the Army called a "densely populated slum district." The famous public housing complex Pruitt-Igoe was central to the Army's testing area. On December 7th, the Global Justice Ecology Project is hosting a screening of Target St. Louis Vol 1, an award-winning film based on the tests.
The event will include a panel discussion by filmmaker Damien D. Smith, Dr. Lisa Martino-Taylor (a sociology professor whose research the film is based on), and Ben Phillips (a former member of Pruitt-Igoe).
