Bob Hunter CANADA’S ‘involvement in @ strictly personal 6. World Bank ‘aid programs: is contributing to the greatest biological | disaster since the .¢x- “tinction of -the dinosaurs, according , toa: coalition of en- “J vironmental groups. Ic is interesting watching the girs cle closing around ‘our ‘banks, as their. responsibility for the destruc: tion of: the vital_rain forests around the equator: gets flushed into the open:, : of course, big as ; our banks are, S as a’whole they are relative bit- players © “compared. to ; Japanese,. British; ' French. banks ‘when it'comes to funding mega-projects in.the.Third _. World to the tune of $90 billion a year, | But Canada’ s ‘pank’; you can 1 be! sure, are in there, pulling off the same tricks as the big guys..And our. finance. minister, Wilson, isthe Canadian sentative on: the | World ‘Bank's ‘Board. It-was: Wilson. who “got the news : recently from.a group of 34 Cana-:. dian ‘environmental. organizations eithat).the < World. Bank’s deyclop- ment programs “have - resulted = in “relentless «. destruction. of ‘orld’s rain forests.’ _ Three-quarters*: “of, a “end of this‘century.— just 13 years fram now. — unless the assault on | ‘the rain forest is. halted: or some- how mitigated immediately. f Now..—. you ‘presume from. here /l'm' going to launch into.a diatribe PE about the’ banks, as per. usual Son But,.f’m not going to. dn this case, the leadership of the World: :Bank: cand its “Development °. Bank,’ the, “Development » Bank” and? African Development Bank showing signs of: awakening t need for reforms.:j.: 3° “They should be praised, ’ bashed. : : ‘ “And. Michael : Wilson: should be ‘lurged’ politely but, firmly ‘to speak “Up, bravely at. World} Bank not meetings in: favor of adjusting the :: ‘Tules of: multi-lateral ‘development - banking ©’so.:: that” of -: indig us ” peopl ol “Estate Division‘ "is pr “announce that SHYAM HIRA ha qualified for. membership | member of the 1988 MEDALLION, _ CLUB of the Real Estate Board of . reater Vancouver. Shyam is also: a. TOP: SALESPERSON .in the Nérth. Vancouver office!’ ; “The Leader Club was established: to “recognize and ;reward top" , Salespeople for the int “accomplishments i in the past year.” Itis largely due to their efforts that: Canada Trust has become one ‘of ‘the Leading Real Estate. Brokers in} call SHYAM HIRA at 986-0654 988-6131 (24'hrs).! American, German. and. - great “on ~ paper. landless peasants. were. lured: into’, the province by the promise of free’ » i land and the right to cultivate it. Most of: the ‘Joan - money. was ~ spent on building a fantastic high-. Once. the migrants” arrived, * Michael. « repre-. the million: :- species: will be .wiped out bythe, regional ::.. counterparts — the Inter-American’ :” Asian ©: environmental wy : considerations as well as protection’: : should : be * conditions of ‘any loans. : The. horror? story “of the Polonoroeste Project in, - Brazil, which has not yet run its course, ‘stands asthe ultimate: cautionary 7 banking tale. .: The World. Bank: loaned Brazil half a_billion dollars’ to. open up™.: “new land in’the, undeveloped pro-*: _It-“sounded * Some 200,000" * vince of: Rondonia..: way. ¢ they, immediately: tore.:down’ the trees on their land. to prepare the - soil for crops. But the rain’ forest doesn’t work that way. Stripped of its cover, the: thin layer of soil died under. the sun’s rays. Nothing would grow, . i» Selling their useless land to catile, i ranchers or speculators,. the -pea-. sants quickly moved: on’ to other land, desperately" tearing. down more -forest:in:the hope that the- soil somewhere, would finally sus- “tain crops *> denuded, _Pitiless. AS recently as: the 1970s, those : forests were virgin tropical growth. : “Hi deforestation “continues, at the present. rate for’ even. as few, more cars, the entire province vequal in size. to West Germany, will be The. World, Bank was, handed reports that warned the soils would, nol support agriculture, but went ahead with the project anyway? “Pictures of deforestation in. “the = “Amazon are enough to: make you : weep. It makes our. own savage iat’ tack on our. forests look. benign, even if only because of the aeci-, dent of Jate: which ‘allows ‘our. soil to survive the destruction of the forest cover. . But’ this cis not, I repeat, ‘to knock the. World -Bank and_ its members, including Canada. After just two: years: of. pressure, and ; : publicity,, mainly in, the U-S.,.the /.. World :Bank:.halted. disbursements ! on the Polonoroeste project. ; A little later, the Inter-American i. ‘Development Bank chopped a loan ‘10. Brazil, for a..similar- massive resettlement: scam in. another Amazon region. 0). i “ ‘For the first time, the directors of a multi-lateral bank. were saying that environmental. costs must, ‘be weighed i in deciding whether or/not a project is a sound investment: This is. good::: What-the ‘banks are. showing ‘hopeful «signs © of ‘realizing is that the long-term:costs. |’, ‘of: massive. deforestation,. erosion ~*|! and desertification are'a threat not only to the impoverished ; regions ‘involved, but to the entire world.’ . |. Bankers remind ‘me.of members | ''}),, of. the... Politburo: in. Russia — secretive, used .to meeting behind closed «doors, * accustomed ‘wielding power over people’ s lives, the banks Yet, this is’ a fact:! . underwrote our modern world..” ‘ Let’s hope they’can save it, ‘Because it’ ‘S a rain hat AND : a sun, hat, and because it ties on. in‘the wind, and ; doesn’t shrink, and because it’s comfortable and it looks'good, , you know darn well, who needs: one! useful hat, the Not-Yet-Famous “comes in every adult size (20'%":. plus), and with a four-page owner's « “manuat (because nothing we make is perfect!) and a lifetime free replaceme A Sue and | are enjoying nodal: Ha Tt ($37) and 5 T3 ($39). SE DEVIOUS! Here’ a-sneaaky way to m guarantee sure his or. “fer head for T: ust like Titley Shorts Gitt ofa of A Tilley Hat: measure the waist, wrist, head (just above the’ eyebrows). chest, knee . . HE OR SHE WON'T KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON! 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