pour la terre qui nous nourrit

The document presents a collection of case studies from Friends of the Earth International member groups, highlighting the intrinsic link between biodiversity and food sovereignty. It examines the negative impacts of industrial monocultures, land grabbing, and genetic modification in countries such as Nigeria, Uganda, Indonesia, Argentina, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, the USA, Guatemala, and Switzerland. Each case study emphasizes the role of local and indigenous knowledge, the importance of seed saving, and the necessity of community-led land management to resist corporate-driven agricultural systems and environmental degradation.

• In Nigeria, the acquisition of over 3,500 hectares of the Iguobazuwa natural forest reserve by the French company Michelin for rubber plantations has led to increased hunger, malnutrition, poverty, and forced emigration.
• The BIDCO oil palm project on Bugala Island in Uganda has caused significant deforestation and water reserve depletion, leading to the loss of potable water and medicinal plants for local communities.
• In Indonesia, conservation efforts have sometimes been used as a pretext for 'green grabbing,' where local fishing communities are displaced from traditional areas to make way for international conservation organizations and luxury developments.
• In Misiones, Argentina, industrial monocultures of tobacco and pine have caused the destruction of original forests and the displacement of peasant and indigenous communities from ancestral territories.
• The Agrovida association in Colombia's García Rovira Province has successfully recovered over 100 varieties of potatoes, 40 types of beans, and 30 types of dry beans to diversify in situ seed banks.
• In Costa Rica, the Sonafluca peasant settlement manages a 146-hectare community forest known as the 'Dendrobates Biological Reserve,' which protects endangered trees like the Manu and Tostado.
• El Salvador faces a severe food crisis driven by public policies favoring cereal imports and the massive use of chemicals like glyphosate, which has led to genetic erosion and biodiversity loss.
• In the United States, agricultural diversity has declined sharply, with the average number of varieties grown per farm dropping from five in 1990 to only one currently.
• The US agricultural system is heavily dominated by a few seed companies; four main firms control 43% of the US market and 50% of intellectual property rights, mostly for genetically modified seeds.
• In Switzerland, urban expansion and the industrialization of agriculture are threatening traditional landscapes and causing a high rate of species extinction, with 30% of constructions occurring outside authorized zones.

APA

Friends of the Earth International (2011). pour la terre qui nous nourrit. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/pour-la-terre-qui-nous-nourrit.pdf

Chicago

Friends of the Earth International. pour la terre qui nous nourrit. 2011. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/pour-la-terre-qui-nous-nourrit.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Friends of the Earth International |title=pour la terre qui nous nourrit |date=July 2011 |url=https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/pour-la-terre-qui-nous-nourrit.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{friendsoftheearthinternational2011pour, author = {{Friends of the Earth International}}, title = {{pour la terre qui nous nourrit}}, institution = {Friends of the Earth International}, year = {2011}, month = jul, url = {https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/pour-la-terre-qui-nous-nourrit.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }