Here is another story of conflict between businesses which degrade the environment in pursuit of growth and development and the local population which wants to preserve the environment and yet want development. There are so many similarities in the article with the struggle in Goa for protection of the environment. Yes, and just as Seby was branded a 'naxalite' by MP, the leader of the protest movement in Peru has been labelled a 'terrorist'. Read on.
Extract: "While some neighbouring countries shun multinationals and harry local businesses, Peru’s president, Alan García, is convinced that private investment, both local and foreign, is the best way to haul his people out of poverty. His government, like its similarly-minded predecessor, has granted land concessions for oil and gas exploration, mining, biofuel crops and logging. The problem is that many of these are superimposed on towns, farms and natural parks. That is a recipe for conflict. “About a quarter of our region has been granted in concession without anyone letting us know,” says Ulderico Fasanando, an official in the regional government. Locals are particularly worried about the fate of the Cordillera Escalera, a mountain range that is the water source for Tarapoto, the region’s largest town, and is home to villages of small-scale farmers and several endangered wildlife species, including the spectacled bear. A local request to declare the range a protected environment was filed in 2000, but not approved by the government in Lima until 2005. In the interim, the government had included the area in an oil and gas concession now held by a consortium involving Canada’s Talisman Energy, Brazil’s Petrobras and Spain’s Repsol. Last month the Constitutional Tribunal, Peru’s highest court, ruled that exploration should halt in the protected area while the government comes up with a development plan. Greens and civic groups in San Martín fear that this will approve exploration, and are gearing up for a long and nasty fight. Semira Pérez, the leader of this coalition, complains of graffiti labelling her a terrorist, and of death threats." http://www.economist.com/world/americas/displaystory.cfm?story_id=13331350