mobiliser, resister, transformer

This report highlights the achievements of Friends of the Earth International (FoEI) over four decades, detailing specific campaigns against extractive industries, pollution, and unsustainable development. It documents legal victories, such as the ban on open-pit mining in Costa Rica and the recognition of water as a human right in Uruguay, as well as grassroots successes in reforestation in Belgium and the protection of eucalyptus forests in Australia. The text emphasizes the role of international solidarity and legal action in challenging neoliberal globalization and protecting the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities.

• In November 2010, Costa Rica became the first Latin American country to ban open-pit metal mining after a long campaign by COECOCEIBA and other organisations, leading to the cancellation of the Industrias Infinito concession at Las Crucitas on November 24, 2010.
• In Uruguay, a 2004 constitutional reform, supported by a referendum where 64.7% of voters agreed, established water as a human right to prevent privatization by companies such as Suez Lyonnaise des Eaux and Aguas de Bilbao.
• Friends of the Earth Germany (BUND) successfully stopped the construction of 15 coal-fired power plants across Germany, including sites in Berlin, Cologne, and Düsseldorf, using legal challenges to oppose the technology's high greenhouse gas emissions.
• In Nigeria, legal action by Environmental Rights Action led to a 2005 Federal High Court ruling that gas flaring in the Iwherekan community was unconstitutional. Additionally, Shell paid 15.5 million USD in 2009 to victims of human rights violations in Ogoniland.
• The United Kingdom passed the 2008 Climate Change Act, a global first, following the 'Big Ask' campaign. Local efforts in cities like Leeds have since aimed to reduce carbon emissions by at least 40% by 2020.
• In the European Union, campaigns against genetically modified organisms (GMOs) led to a de facto moratorium since 1998. By 2011, nine countries had banned the cultivation of MON810 and Amflora potatoes, and over 200 regions declared themselves 'GMO-free'.
• In Bangladesh, the High Court ruled in 2009 that ship-breaking yards operating without environmental authorization must close, targeting the import of toxic vessels from developed nations like the US and UK.
• In Australia, the 'Lock the Gate' campaign created an alliance between farmers and environmentalists to oppose the expansion of open-cut coal mines and coal seam gas extraction, particularly in the Darling Downs region.
• In South Africa, the 2009 National Environmental Waste Management Act for the first time recognized waste pickers in national legislation, supporting their role in environmental sustainability.
• In Norway, the government decided on March 11, 2011, to suspend oil activities in the Lofoten, Vesterålen, and Senja areas to protect sensitive marine ecosystems and the world's largest remaining cod stock.

APA

Hall, R., & Doherty, A. (2011). mobiliser, resister, transformer. Friends of the Earth International. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/40-luttes-et-succes-fr.pdf

Chicago

Hall, Ronnie, and Ann Doherty. mobiliser, resister, transformer. Friends of the Earth International, 2011. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/40-luttes-et-succes-fr.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Hall |first1=Ronnie |last2=Doherty |first2=Ann |title=mobiliser, resister, transformer |publisher=Friends of the Earth International |date=2011 |url=https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/40-luttes-et-succes-fr.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{hall2011mobiliser, author = {Hall, Ronnie and Doherty, Ann}, title = {{mobiliser, resister, transformer}}, institution = {Friends of the Earth International}, year = {2011}, url = {https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/40-luttes-et-succes-fr.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }