The Philippines rates as one of the most dangerous places for local defenders against land grabbing and of the at least 200 killings more than half gave credible links to state armed forces. The shooting of one, Brandon Lee who happens to hold US citizenship by an Infantry Battalion brought brief attention to this reality. However the present demand and sustained price of nickel with its crucial role in EV battery pr oduction makes future grabs a certainty. The Philippines is the world’s largest exporter of raw nickel, mostly to China. The involvement of the political elite like the President’s cousin Martin Romalduez in the business makes the use of the state’s military forces a near certainty.
In the Republic of the Congo, the forestry code drastically restricts the export of logs; yet these tree trunks, intended for processing, continue to leave the country in large numbers—almost exclusively bound for China.
The logs are used to make furniture, beams, planks, and plywood.
Six weeks ago individuals destroyed a billboard installed by the Aseinpome Indigenous community within its legally recognized reserve in Puerto Gaitán, Meta. The National Lands Agency had formally established the reserve under Accord 219 of 2023, and Colombian President Gustavo Petro publicly delivered it on October 6, 2023.
Later that same day, armed men carrying long guns intimidated one of the community’s settlements.
The billboard marked the existence of the reserve. Its destruction, along with the intimidation, threatens the lives and territorial rights of the Aseinpome community. This in the context of the Colombian oligarchy enjoying one of the most concentrated land owner ships in the world using all its powers to undo the Accord of 2023.