Sophia Rabliauskas

Canada
Forests

Small Family Farms, Big Oil Interests The small, sparsely populated farming community of Rossport in North Mayo County is a beautiful, unspoiled part of Ireland’s western seaboard. Since 1996, the discovery of the Corrib gas field off the nearby coast has brought a group of committed activists from Rossport into the public eye as they oppose the construction of Shell Oil’s illegally-approved pipeline through their land.
Leading this fight is Willie Corduff, a lifetime resident of Rossport who still lives on the farm passed down to him by his father. The proposed pipeline would cut directly through Corduff’s land, jeopardizing the delicate bog ecosystem and threatening both the safety of Rossport’s citizens and the local farmers’ way of life.
Shell Oil planned to start production in 2003, bringing the toxic, unrefined gas ashore at Rossport via a high pressure pipeline stretching six miles to a refinery to be constructed in neighboring Bellanaboy. Despite objections by many Rossport citizens, Shell was granted permission by the Irish government to run the pipeline across the property of more than two dozen farmers and landowners. By granting Shell permission to construct the pipeline, the Irish government violated federal environmental and development laws requiring local participation and review.
In response, Corduff and his neighbors began a grassroots campaign to rally the support of his fellow Rossport residents in challenging the pipeline. In June 2005, after refusing Shell access to their property, Willie Corduff and four other men were jailed. Known as the “Rossport Five,” they were released after spending 94 days in jail. Protests ensued throughout western Ireland and since their release, the campaign to stop the pipeline and refinery has continued, with hundreds of people joining in the protests at the Shell refinery site, forming blockades. Due to these efforts, construction on the pipeline has been halted. In August 2006 Shell agreed to re-route the pipeline, although the changes are said to be minor and the new route is yet to be publicized. However, in October 2006, Shell broke ground on the refinery in Bellanaboy, making it clear that the pipeline project will continue despite daily protests at the construction site, where state supplied police guard the gates.
Energy Independence: At What Cost? Ireland relies on the UK for 85 percent of its gas needs. In 1996 the Corrib gas field was discovered, 50 miles off the coast of the Mullet Peninsula in Mayo County and 3,000 meters below the seabed. Shell Oil, in partnership with the Irish government, Statoil Exploration and Marathon International Petroleum, planned to develop the gas field and supply 60 percent of Ireland’s natural gas demand.
The Corrib and surrounding gas fields could earn profits for Shell and its partners in excess of US$60 billion. However, the community of Rossport would receive no royalties and have to pay full market price for the gas. To attract future development, the Irish government turned over all rights for the Corrib gas fields to Shell and its partners, with no tax dollars going to the state.
Under pressure from the government, most of the Rossport landowners granted Shell permission to run the pipeline through their land. Corduff and six of his neighbors, who between them own more than 50 percent of the land needed by Shell to build the pipeline, refused Shell access to their property. Three of these land owners – plus two neighbors who supported them - were subsequently jailed through an injunction by Shell.
The incarceration of the Rossport Five garnered international attention. The campaign grew from a local issue centered on environmental protection and safety to a national issue focused on the democratic rights of local communities. The Shell to Sea campaign, founded by the Rossport residents, has demanded that the gas be processed at an offshore terminal, thereby eliminating the need for the pipeline and preventing environmental harm to the region. Shell has refused to consider this alternative, saying it would cost millions of dollars more than its current pipeline plan.

Rightful Stewards of the Land The traditional territory of the Poplar River First Nation—1,200 members of the Ojibway indigenous people—is located on the eastern side of Lake Winnipeg in Manitoba, and forms a significant part of Canada’s boreal forest. For thousands of years, the Poplar River First Nation has carried out its traditional mandate to protect the region and its resources. However, massive industrial clear-cut logging to the south and hydro-power development on boreal rivers to the north of Poplar River land continue. First Nations territory is legally public land. As such, it is common for provincial and federal agencies to grant long-term leases to industry without consulting the First Nations who live on the land.

A leader of her Poplar River First Nation in the boreal region of Manitoba, Sophia Rabliauskas has for the past eight years worked with her people to secure interim protection of their two million acres of undisturbed forest land (three times the size of Rhode Island). In 2004, Rabliauskas along with several other community members led Poplar River in the development of a comprehensive land protection and management plan for their territory—a precedent-setting accomplishment among First Nations in the boreal. Rabliauskas’s and Poplar River’s current efforts are focused on securing permanent protection of their land from the Manitoba government. With that victory, they will seek a UNESCO World Heritage listing for a larger region of First Nations boreal forest.

Developing the land management plan was an intensive endeavor by Poplar River, led by Rabliauskas and a few others within the First Nation under the direction of their elders. Their efforts resulted in a full-scale blueprint of how they intend to document, protect and sustainably manage Poplar River’s forests, wildlife and other natural resources. The land use plan outlined the following core components: respecting traditional knowledge; benefiting from environmental analysis; developing economic opportunities, including protection of traditional hunting, trapping and fishing activities; and creating sustainable tourism opportunities.
One year before the plan’s completion, in 2004, Rabliauskas helped secure five more years of “interim protected status” for Poplar River territory, which continued to prohibit any logging, hydro, gas or mining development within the two million acres. The Manitoba government announced its intention to grant permanent protection to Poplar River’s land, yet to date has not granted that protection. As 2007 is an election year in Manitoba, Rabliauskas and Poplar River will increase their efforts to keep the issue in the public eye.

While physically isolated from the resources and conveniences of urban life (the main reliable route in and out of the territory is via air), Poplar River is considered highly successful and thriving among First Nations, especially in terms of its social cohesion and economic health. There is little turnover in its tribal leadership and women play an active role in decision-making and cultural leadership.

The Boreal—Canada’s Essential Forests Canada’s vast boreal forest, which includes the lands of Poplar River First Nation, plays a vital role in mitigating the impacts of climate change, as its intact forests and wetlands store massive amounts of carbon. Threats to the health of Canada’s boreal forest are numerous: less than 10 percent of the boreal is strictly protected from development, and, despite awareness of the area’s global importance, about one-half of Canada's annual wood harvest comes from the boreal.

Canada’s boreal forest comprises 25 percent of the world's and more than 90 percent of the country's remaining large intact forests, and is home to more than four million people, including many First Nations peoples. Covering nearly 1.4 billion acres and 58 percent of Canada's land mass, the boreal forms a green belt across the center of the country, stretching from Newfoundland to the Yukon. Thirty percent of this coniferous old-growth forest is covered by wetlands, an estimated 1.5 million lakes and some of the country's largest river systems. This area is also home to some of the world's largest remaining populations of woodland caribou, wolves and bears, and more than 75 percent of North America's waterfowl.

Reprinted from The Goldman Environmental Prize,
www.goldmanprize.org

Mission