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祕魯是世界上魚粉最大宗生產國，魚粉是作為肥料及動物飼料的主要物質，魚粉工業掌控欽波提及其他沿岸城市的經濟。許多工廠設於住宅區之中，排放的煤灰污染該區空氣。工廠也排放魚屍、油脂和蛋白質進入公共排水系統，時常造成堵塞，導致街道被污水淹沒。不負責任的產業經營也與祕魯嚴重的健康問題有關，包括1990年代早期的流行性霍亂；欽波提當地居民的預期壽命比起全國平均壽命少了10年。魚粉工業對環境而言也是一大災難。工廠以底拖網大量屠殺魚類，且將熱水注入大海，使沿岸成為無生命的死亡地區。
瑪莉亞•愛蓮娜•佛朗達•法羅（攝影：Richard Goldgewicht）
44歲的佛朗達致力於培力（empower）深受魚粉工業荼毒的鄰近社區。透過如環境領導課程「地方發展領袖學院」等計畫，佛朗達表示許多居民更加意識到他們有合法權利要求一個乾淨的環境，並且要求政府與魚粉工廠正視他們的這項權利。
這樣的工作在祕魯有其危險性：1994年佛朗達和丈夫遭誣告為「光明之路」恐怖組織成員，被判20年有期徒刑。幸虧地方上與國際上發起的聲援行動，使這對夫婦在約一年後被釋放，佛朗達隨即返回欽波提的工作崗位。她持續鼓勵當地社區的實踐主義者，而她自己則與其所創立的非政府組織NATURA中的其他成員，說服了8個魚粉製造商整治其廠區。
佛朗達於2003年4月14日獲頒2003年環保金獎。但由於簽證問題，她無法參加於舊金山舉行的頒獎典禮；由她的父親代表出席。她透過電子郵件以西班牙文與Grist
Magazine對話。 |
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Peru is the world's largest producer of fishmeal, a substance used in
fertilizers and animal feed, and the industry dominates Chimbote and
other coastal towns. Many of the factories are located in the middle of
residential areas, where they pollute the air with soot. They also
discharge fish remains, oils, and proteins into public drains, often
blocking them and flooding the streets with wastewater. Irresponsible
industry practices are linked to serious health problems in Peru,
including a cholera epidemic in the early 1990s; the life expectancy in
Chimbote is 10 years shy of the national average. The industry has also
been a disaster for the environment. Factories decimate fisheries with
bottom-net dragging and dump heated water into the ocean, creating dead
zones along the coast.
Maria Elena Foronda Farro.(Photo:
Richard Goldgewicht)
Foronda, 44, has worked to empower neighborhoods affected by the
fishmeal industry. Through projects such as the School of Leaders for
Local Development, an environmental leadership program, Foronda says
many residents have become more aware of their legal rights to a clean
environment, and are demanding that the government and the fishmeal
industry recognize those rights.
Such work is dangerous in Peru: In 1994, Foronda and her husband were
falsely accused of membership in the terrorist group Shining Path and
sentenced to 20 years in prison. Thanks to local and international
campaigns, the couple was released after about a year, and Foronda has
returned to her work in Chimbote. She continues to encourage activism in
local communities, and she and others at NATURA, the nongovernmental
organization she founded, have helped convince eight fishmeal producers
to clean up their practices.
On April 14, Foronda was awarded one of six 2003 Goldman
Environmental Prizes. Because of visa problems, she could not attend the
ceremony in San Francisco; her father attended on her behalf. She spoke
with Grist via an email correspondence in Spanish. |
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問：你一開始是如何瞭解到欽波提的環境與社會問題？ 答：那是一個漸進的歷程，透過與人對談，傾聽欽波提居民的見證。他們的話語雖然簡單，我卻深為其中的真誠所感動。我開始意識到工業污染的實際意義為何。我看著技術報告，證實了人們所告訴我的故事。我檢閱我國的環境法律──很多人甚至不知道有這樣的法律，更少人會實際運用到。發掘環境法律，並將之用於服務民眾相當能夠激勵人心，這些人們會成為領袖，並開始關心他們的困境和他們的未來。
問：你如何下定決心成為實踐主義者，為欽波提的問題抗爭？
答：我從小就以實際行動回應社會問題。我父親是一位律師，參與我國勞工權利與弱勢團體權利的辯護工作。從他身上我了解到：你必須採取行動以對付問題，尤其是如此直接影響我們生活的環境問題。這是我終身的志業。在我居住的城市，環境問題的嚴重程度已經明顯到成為常識。你僅需對於社會意識燃起一點火花，就能成為實踐主義者。
問：你踏出的第一步是什麼？
答：我深信這項工作值得我們費心思量，在情感上及理智上也深信要改變欽波提的社會與環境狀況是可能的。我努力擴展大眾對環境問題的認識，也努力使欽波提社區發展自尊及自我意識，知覺到權力的存在，信任自己身為公民所擁有的權利義務。我協助發展訓練計畫以幫助他們獲得權力，強化他們的能力以期能與政府在平等的立足點上協商談判。他們不再是倖存者而開始成為真正的市民。
問：你如何說服某些魚粉製造商改變生產方法？
答：我們向他們證明投資在潔淨科技是有利可圖的，那會減少在整個製造過程中的損失，他們可以節省原料，增加生產量，減低成本，而且不損害環境或社區健康。既然他們因此產生更多利益，便能夠很快地回收投資在新科技的成本。再者，國際市場的景況，即國際環保相關規定，也日漸嚴格，製造商被迫改善做法，採取新的營業方式並負起社會責任。然而，多數製造商──約佔6.1成仍繼續使用舊式的製造技術。
問：我知道您現在正與大型魚粉製造商洽談中，你對他們採取什麼策略？
答：透過「地方發展領袖學院」，我已舉辦過數場（這些大型製造商）與社會責任企業對談的研討會。企業在研討會上提出他們成功的例子，證明環保投資是有利且能永續經營的商業策略。
問：你經歷過一年的牢獄生活，這是否影響你工作的方式？
答：它鞏固了我的信念。當我脫離牢獄，未曾遲疑半刻是否要繼續在欽波提的工作，我比從前更充滿活力與確定感。不過那些日子的確改變了我抗爭的策略。我因此有機會出國旅行（拜訪那些為他們夫婦倆平反的國際運動人士），見識到環保運動的另一個面向──經由策略性計畫與協商而達成更重大的成就。由於藤森獨裁政權掌權時期，違反人權的問題極其嚴重，若繼續以原本的方式抗爭，將會對個人與組織招致重大危險。
問：這個獎對你的工作而言有何意義？
答：這是把我國的環境議題推向國際視野的契機，並藉此締結聯盟，提供我們技術與財務上的資助，讓我們的工作得以繼續──我們的運動使欽波提成為一個生機蓬勃的城市。我們有很多機會，像是重建菲洛灣、以及瑪莉亞市極有價值的溼地生態系統。我們也希望著手空氣品質與環境健康的監測計劃，以提高居民的生活品質。
這個獎表揚的不只是我個人，而是整個大團隊──我在NATURA中的夥伴兄弟姊妹們。他們不僅具有高度的意志及勇氣，最重要的是，他們具有服務人群及關愛他人的高度熱誠。
問：你打算如何運用這筆獎金？
答：我想利用這些錢作為永續發展基金的種子，以協助實現其他機構、人民和國際組織的願景，企望解決都市環保問題，並促使社區正視這些問題。 |
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Grist:
How did you first learn about the
environmental and social problems in Chimbote?
Maria Elena Foronda
Farro:It was a gradual process of talking to people, of hearing
the testimonials of the communities in Chimbote. Though their words were
simple, I was moved by the truth in them. I began to recognize what
industrial contamination meant in practice. I looked at technical
reports, which corroborated the stories people told. I reviewed the
environmental laws of my country -- many people don't even know about
them, much less exercise them. Discovering these laws, and putting them
at the service of the people, was really inspiring. The people became
leaders, and started to care about their struggle and their future.
Grist:
How did you decide to become an activist
and fight the problems in Chimbote?
Foronda:
I've been a social activist since I was a child. My father is a lawyer,
and he's involved with the defense of labor rights and the rights of
poor communities in my country. From him, I learned that you have to
take action against problems, especially against the environmental
problems that affect our lives so directly. It's my life's work. In our
city, the environmental problems have become so obvious that they are
common knowledge. You only need a tiny spark of social consciousness to
become an activist.
Grist: What was the first step you
took?
Foronda: I
was convinced that this work was worth the trouble, convinced in the
heart and in the head that it was possible to change the social and
environmental conditions in Chimbote. I worked for greater public
recognition of the environmental problems. I also worked with the
communities of Chimbote to develop their self-esteem, their sense of
strength, their faith in their own rights and their citizenship. I
helped develop training programs that helped empower them and strengthen
their ability to negotiate on equal footing with the government. They
stopped being survivors and started being full citizens.
Grist: How did you convince some of
the fishmeal producers to change their methods?
Foronda:
We showed them it was profitable to invest in clean technology. It
reduces the losses in their entire production process, they save on raw
materials, improve their productivity, lower their costs -- and they
don't harm the environment or the health of the communities. They can
quickly recoup the investment they make in the new technology, since it
generates more profits for them. And the conditions of the international
markets, the international environmental rules, have gradually become
stricter. Producers are being forced to change their behavior, to take a
new approach to business and social responsibility. However, the
majority of producers -- about 60 percent -- are still using obsolete
technology.
Grist: I understand that now you're
talking with larger fishmeal producers. What is your strategy with them?
Foronda:
Through the School of Leaders for Local Development, I've organized
conferences between [these larger producers] and socially responsible
businesses. The businesses talk about their successful experiences and
demonstrate that environmental investments are a profitable and
sustainable business strategy.
Grist:
Did your year in prison change the way you
do your work?
Foronda:
It's reinforced my convictions. When I got out of prison, I didn't doubt
for a moment that I would continue in Chimbote. I had more vigor and
certainty than ever. But it did change my confrontational strategy. It
gave me the opportunity to travel outside my country [to visit
international activists who had fought for her and her husband's
release] and see another dimension of environmental campaigns, one that
achieved greater success through strategic planning and negotiation.
Because the violations of human rights were so serious during the
[Alberto] Fujimori dictatorship, continuing in the original way would
have been a grave personal and institutional risk.
Grist:
What does this prize mean for your work?
Foronda:
It's a chance to put the environmental issues of my country on the
international scene and to form alliances that can give us technical and
financial help in continuing our work -- our campaign to make Chimbote a
city of life. We have a lot of opportunities, like the restoration of
Ferrol Bay and the valuable ecosystem in the Villa Maria wetlands. We'd
also like to start monitoring programs for air quality and environmental
health, to improve the quality of life of the population.
The recognition isn't just personal,
it's for a big team, for my companeros and companeras at NATURA who have
great spirit and courage -- and, above all, a great desire for service
and love for others.
Grist: How do you plan to spend the
money?
Foronda:
I'd like to use it as seed money for a sustainable development fund, to
help fulfill the promise of other institutions, people, and
international organizations that want to solve urban environmental
problems and empower the communities that confront them. |
