“The U’wa have always had a law that existed before the sun and the moon. We have always taken good care of our land, because we have always followed this law…. In this world there are many laws, but Mother Earth also has her laws….Occidental must hear these laws and leave U’wa territory please.”

—Berito Kuwaru’wa Designated International Spokesman,
Traditional U’wa Authority Winner, 1998 Goldman Environmental Prize

Help the U'wa People Stop Oil Drilling / Colombia - Victory

For eight years, the U'wa people have successfully prevented Occidental Petroleum Company from drilling in their traditional territory. They argued their case in Colombian courts and international human rights forums, and even at Occidental's Shareholders' Meeting in Los Angeles, California. Their chilling pledge to commit mass suicide if Occidental drills on their lands made headlines worldwide.

As a result, Occidental gave up plans to drill inside the U'wa Reservation, but there's a catch: the U'wa Reservation covers only 14% of U'wa traditional territories. Occidental's first drill site is just 600 yards outside the U'wa Reservation, but well within U'wa traditional homelands. The U'wa community of Santa Marta lies adjacent to the drill site, putting them at clear risk from impacts of the oil project.

What is at risk? The U'wa homeland in Colombia's Sierra Nevada de Cocuy mountains is one of the most delicate, endangered forest systems on the planet. It lies at the headwaters of the Orinoco River basin, which flows through sensitive cloudforest and rainforest ecosystems and other indigenous peoples' homelands on its way to the sea.

For thousands of years, the U'wa have lived by seasonally migrating between upland cloudforest and lush valleys, gathering plants, hunting and fishing. Their agricultural practices are famous for being virtually undetectable from the outside because the U'wa do not cut down the larger trees or ones that provide food for animals. Between uses, the U'wa let their fields lie fallow for 10 to 15 years, allowing full regrowth of native plant and animal species. The U'wa give complete protection to the high mountain ranges; no human beings are permitted to go there.

Just north of U'wa territory, Occidental's Cano Limon pipeline has spilled an estimated 1,700,000 barrels of crude oil into nearby soil, rivers and lakes over the last 13 years (compare to 257,000 barrels in that "because of the polluting effects from Cano Limon, the receiving rivers and lakes are no longer fit for human consumption." In addition to pollution, oil projects inevitably lead to deforestation directly, because forests are cleared for oil exploration and production, and indirectly, because road systems created by the oil projects open new arteries into forests, clearing the way for colonization.

In Colombia, oil also means violence. Colombia's left-wing guerrilla groups view oil installations as strategic targets; Occidental's Cano Limon pipeline has been bombed more than 600 times, causing major spills; frequent assassinations, massacres, torture and kidnappings occur in communities near the pipeline.

Occidental's drilling would invite these horrors to the U'wa communities, and for what gain? The oil reserves in U'wa territory can only supply three weeks worth of world oil consumption.

To prevent ecological and social horrors in their homeland, more than 200 U'wa people, including women, children and tribal elders, are now occupying Occidental's drill site known as Gibralter 1. Tribal leaders consider this permanent settlement a necessary action to block the drilling, since the government has already issued Occidental a permit for the site without consulting the U'wa.

How can we support the U'wa in their courageous struggle? Occidental will back down if shareholders demand it. Last year, 13% of Occidental's shareholders voted for a resolution to assess the negative impacts of Occidental's project in U'wa territory. Global Response members can increase the pressure on Occidental by convincing Fidelity Investments, one of Occidental's top shareholders, to demand "hands off" all U'wa land. US presidential candidate Al Gore owns $1/2 million Occidental stock and takes major contributions from the company. He wants the environmental vote: let's challenge him to tell Occidental to abandon oil fields on all U'wa land.

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