The social and environmental impacts of the banana industry in Costa Rica

FORO EMAUS: For the Defense and Promotion of Environmental and Human Rights in the Banana Industry of Costa Rica

Translated by Ruth Mendelhall and Felipe Montoya

IS THERE REALLY A BANANA PROBLEM?

THE SOCIAL IMPACTS OF THE BANANA INDUSTRY

THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF THE BANANA INDUSTRY

The Vanished Forests

A Poisoned Landscape: the ‘Use of Pesticides

Solid Wastes

Rivers and Water Sources

Affected Soils

Climatic Change

COMMERCE AND PRODUCTION

IT IS NEITHER ECO NOR O.K.

AND THE GOVERNMENT OF COSTA RICA?

THE FORO EMAUS AND ITS PROPOSALS

REFERENCES AND COMPLIMENTARY BIBLIOGRAPHY

IS THERE REALLY A BANANA PROBLEM?

Costa Rica is well known for its natural beauty, national parks and beaches, peace and democracy, the abolition of its armed forces, tourism, and its discourse regarding sustainable development. However, these images do not always coincide with reality. With this document, which is an up-dated rendition of the research carried out by the FORO EMAUS in 1993, we wish to inform and denounce the fact that the banana industry requires drastic changes towards a more socially just and environmentally sound production. Since its foundation in 1992, the FORO EMAUS (better its member organizations) has denounced these problems and worked on proposals by way of marches, advertisements, letters to the responsible parties, documents, studies, critiques and act of intervention with national and international solidarity. Very openly, the FORO EMAUS shares its concrete experiences and concerns regarding the banana industry. Not all can be scientifically verified due to the lack of funds needed for research, and the long term needed for the manifestation of many of the problems. But at the same time, there is obvious injustice in this industry.

Costa Rica is one of the so-called "Banana Republics". Since the turn of the century, the first banana transnational oligopoly, the famous United Fruit Company, was established in Costa Rica. Since 1985, the multinational companies pressured the Costa Rican government to implement a Banana Promotion Plan, giving them far reaching tax and fiscal benefits, favorable exchange policies, authorization for the use of new agricultural lands, deregulation of labor and environmental laws, and other tacit agreements which guaranteed them a de facto impunity to eliminate workers unions in the banana plantations.

The quality of life, the cultural and biological richness, as well as labor rights, are affected not only by aforementioned uncontrolled expansion of the banana plantations, but by the "normal" processes of production. Ecosystems are destroyed, workers rights are violated, as well as those of indigenous minorities (Costa Rican and Panamanian), and undocumented migrant workers, both women and men.

To fight for a banana industry that is more socially just and economically more sustainable, grassroots organizations encompassing workers unions, small farmers, environmentalists, religious organizations, and groups representing Indians and Blacks, came together in 1992 to create the FORO EMAUS. Taking into consideration previous investigations, documents and discussions, the FORO EMAUS produced the analysis that we present here. We hope that this document will be useful in providing important data with which to work and to permit wide discussion between other organizations and interested entities, in order to achieve a transformation of the banana industry that is more environmentally sustainable and socially just, guaranteeing that banana production can be maintained in Costa Rica into the future. To the contrary, under the current conditions, the banana industry with all its negative consequences threatens to destroy our environment, our social peace and our future.

Thanks to many helpful comments and more actual information we renewed the document of April. 1997. In particular there have been a lot of changes in the chapters "A poisoned landscape" and "Eco-O.K.".

April 1998

ASEPROLA

Banana Workers Unions Coordinator

El Productor

Güilombe Foundation

National Association of Civil Servants

Social Security and Health Workers Union

Women Pastorate of the Diocese of Limon

THE SOCIAL IMPACTS OF THE BANANA INDUSTRY

In the Caribbean Region the possibilities of finding work are scarce. For this reason, there are no other survival options, but to accept any job. Consequently, due to their economic power, the companies exert great pressures in economic, social and mental terms upon the banana workers, both men and women. The companies exploit the labor force at the same time that they worsen labor and social conditions. Under excessively hard working conditions, this is exacerbated by the employment instability suffered by a large part of the population. This forces many families to migrate constantly from one place to another in search of work, precluding any possibility of advancement in the communities where they might reside for some time. Moreover, there is an increase in personal instability, in alcoholism, sexual abuse, drug addiction, prostitution, break down of the family, violence against women, crime, vagrancy, and the tendency to migrate. Under these extremely difficult conditions, the rates of school drop-outs increase, whereby the resultant illiteracy forces these children to have no other future, but the banana plantations.

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CHILDHOOD IN THE WORLD OF THE BANANA PLANTATION
Boys and girls are not adults, but in the banana plantations they suffer along with the adults the same environmental contamination. The difficult social conditions leave scars in the lives of those considered "the future of Costa Rica". The absence of parents due to their work, alcoholism, the lack of areas for recreation, juvenile delinquency, physical and sexual abuse, and others, influence these children in their future transformation into adults.

It has become common to see adolescents working in the plantations instead of going to school. Moreover, to work is not only to be employed in the plantation, but also to work at home, since mothers too, have to work in the packaging plants all day long, often into the evening. Who then, will wash and care for the children and do the shopping, if not the same children? This exploitation of the children benefits the banana industry in exploiting the adults. In workshops with children carried out by the Defense of Children International (DNI), the children ranging from 6 to 8 years of age tell proudly of all the duties they carry out at home.()

They also tell of other children (boys and girls) that have left school to go work in the plantations. The principal duty they carry out is the gathering of waste products from the fruit for recycling, for which they receive a salary inferior to that of an adult for the same activity.

In the Province of Limon, the percentage of desertion from primary education in 1966 was 7.5 per cent, and from secondary school it was 20.6 percent, whereas in Heredia (a non-banana region) it was 2.9 per cent and 12 per cent, respectively.() Moreover, accessibility to secondary schools is restricted due to the distance of banana plantations from these schools. Academic levels of school children in the plantations are lower than in the cities. This is because of the social conditions already mentioned, but also because of health reasons that retard mental development (including abilities to draw, and write). Among other problems, doctors report malnutrition and illnesses related to banana production (the use of pesticides and the dust caused by the constant traffic of the trucks in the plantations) such as ear, throat and respiratory tract infections, diarrhea due to water contamination, tuberculosis, eye and skin allergic ailments and infections. Doctors also affirm that due to the poor living conditions, many children reveal substandard weights and heights.()

From very early ages, children already know the different types of work in the banana plantations. The desire to earn money as soon as possible (not only because of family needs, but also as a means to increase self-esteem) is a force that prevents children and adolescents from knowing of alternatives other than to search for work in the banana industry. For the companies, this is indeed wonderful.

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THE EFFECTS OF WORKING CONDITIONS IN THE BANANA PLANTATION

Currently, the conditions under which the banana workers carry out their activities are determined by the processes of Central American economic integration, within a context of economic globalization and the application of neoliberal policies, linked to the conditions of political and social instability of our countries.

a) The Work Contract
Seventy percent of the workers lack employment stability. They are employed for periods inferior to 90 days, forcing them to roam from one plantation to another, under successive contracts. As the Costa Rican labor laws provide a testing period of three months, these workers never are able to acquire the rights to vacation, gratuities, social security and other dispositions derived from traditional work contracts. The tendency of labor policies applied in Costa Rica is to deregulate the norms of the Labor Law, by means of subcontracts, extension of the working day, elimination of work stability, elimination of collective agreements, and the non application of minimum wages to duties contracted by piecework, which are the majority of the duties on the banana plantations.

b) Subcontracting Labor
The banana industry firms utilize "contractors" to carry out a series of duties on the plantation. For example, the contracting with no responsibilities for the banana company of a large number of workers, who do not receive any of the minimum labor rights. Under this system, most of the workers contracted are non-Costa Rican. This system used by the banana companies deregulates labor relations and labor legislation, weakens workers unions until they virtually disappear from the banana plantations, so that the plantation management achieves total control over the labor relations.

Often, the contractor lacks the capital, or hides it, avoiding payment of workers rights, or payments of a social nature, in case of accidents on the job, illness, or terminations of the contract. Subcontracting labor has become an instrument for the evasion of labor responsibilities.

c) Salaries
On the plantation, duties are carried out by contract or piecework. For example, workers are paid a specific sum to fertilize a hectare. For ten years there have been no collective agreements, which has reduced salary raises to the minimum by law that are adjusted periodically. Moreover, since these adjustments are of a national character, made for normal working days of eight hours, these are not used on the plantations. For this reason the rates paid for the contracts and piecework remain without a proportionate adjustment.

The "minimum wages" decreed by the government are contained within the neoliberal policies of "decreasing salaries", promoted by this and other governments, as means for "controlling the inflationary process". Even if minimum wages were paid, for an agricultural worker this would amount to US$7.50 to US$8.60 a day (for more than eight hours), or an income of about US$200.00 a month. () However, often not even this minimum salary is paid in the banana industry. This has a direct effect on the buying capacity of the salary earned by the workers. Four years ago, the salary of a banana worker was the equivalent of US$250.00 a month. Today it is only US$187.00 a month, or even less. Although it still is more than what is paid in other agricultural work, it does not pay the effort and deterioration suffered by workers on the plantation, whose workdays are typically 12 hours a day, six days a week. Each worker produces yearly for the transnational company approximately US$20,000.00, but receives only one tenth of that, this is not a just compensation for the suffering endured. () Due to the arduous nature of the work, the useful life of a banana worker is only 10-15 years, this shows clearly that the payment received is not just. The age of the major part of workers is from 20 to 30 years. Those older than 43 are not hired. ()

d) The Freedom to Organize and Labor Union Rights
On the banana plantations of Costa Rica the right to form labor unions is not protected. () Many times, the workers who attempt to organize a labor union, or who fight for their rights, are fired, and their names are put on black lists shared by the different banana companies, making it impossible for that worker to obtain employment under his name. Moreover, the freedom to organize is restricted, because the management of the banana plantations employ mutuality organizations, called Solidarity Associations, as instruments of social control. Plantation management controls these organizations and forces the workers to join. In 1993, verdict 5000 by the Constitutional Tribunal, establishing the "union statutes", was approved, as was the Law 7360, which reforms the Law of Solidarity Associations, forbidding these from carrying out any action that has to do with the regulation or deregulation of labor relations, and establishing more favorable conditions for the organization of unions. Despite these dispositions, in the private enterprise of the banana plantations, the prevailing situation is very unfavorable regarding the right to free association and organization of unions. Plantation bosses take advantage of the over-supply of workers, and constantly violate labor legislation which protects the right of workers to organize freely in unions. These violations occur under the noses of pertinent government authorities, which leads us to denounce the infamous alliances that exist between banana companies and the Ministry of Labor, that do not permit the development of labor unions on the banana plantations. This situation is easily verifiable if we consider the hundreds of demands for labor persecution, and disloyal labor practices that the different banana workers unions have presented against the companies, and which the authorities of the Ministry of Labor and Social Security have declared as without recourse, although these have been presented with abundant documented proof and testimonies regarding the actions of the banana companies. The companies impose upon their workers a regime of fear: they hire private guards and place security gates at the entrance of the plantations, in order to control every vehicle and every person that passes through the plantation. The purpose of this type of action is to avoid the free transit, above all, of labor union leaders. Moreover, the companies maintain constant surveillance over the workers who make contact with labor union leaders, and when these people join the union, the companies proceed to implement other means of dissuasion, until achieving the disaffiliation, and if not successful, then proceed to fire the worker that joined the labor union. ()

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CANFIN: THE FIGHT CONTINUES:
Finca Canfin S.A. is one of the member companies of the COBAL Group, subsidiary of Chiquita Brands. On this plantation the labor union was able to achieve a good number of members, as a result of its organizational and educational efforts.

On the 12th of October of 1996, a holiday, all the workers of this plantation, headed by the members of the banana workers union SITAGAH, decided collectively to hold a meeting with the administrative representatives. In this meeting, the company agreed to improve the conditions of the workers, but the surprise was that days later, without any notification, 21 workers were fired without any benefits.

Immediately, SITAGAH initiated legal actions against the company, and together with the FORO EMAUS, began a series of national and international actions to denounce this. The reintegration of these workers was demanded, and pressure against the company and the Costa Rican government in solidarity to resolve this conflict. The case is still pending in the Courts of the Ministry of Labor.

Because of the inoperativeness of the Ministry, the search for solutions has been dilatory, and cause for desperation among affected the workers. In the first place, the practice of the Ministry has always been to react in the long term waiting for the workers to lose interest, as they do not have the resources or the time to sustain such a prolonged fight. As can be seen in the pertinent files, the Labor Inspector called for a Private Audition in the first two months of 1997, in order to clear up this case. The case presented by the workers was so solid, that the inspectors did not know how to present a verdict, seeing that the case against the workers did not exist, as it was not a working day. The violation of the Political Constitution, of the current labor legislation, and of fundamental human rights, is evident because the State did nothing, and even the Constitutional Court rejected the appeal made by the workers.

Currently, the 21 workers suffer the penalties imposed by the firm, as they are now on the Black List and will not be hired by any of the companies. They have been forced to interrupt their children's' education or leave their families when having to move elsewhere to find work.

Finally, we have gone to the Courts of Justice, in order to demand our constitutional and labor rights. Thus, we are waiting for the results of these actions from the Ministry of Labor, and from the Courts.

Despite all these difficulties, the labor union continues to exist in this banana plantation, since many workers are still affiliated to SITAGAH and we continue our struggle to defend our interests and the rights of banana workers.

(Written by the Committee of Banana Worker Unions).

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e) Social Security, Hygienic Conditions and Work Safety
Banana production is basically manual. Workers carry out more than 300 different jobs on the plantation. The most common are cutting and carrying the fruit to the processing plant, packaging, and the jobs related to the cultivation of the banana plant (pruning, pesticide applications, fertilization, weeding, and digging ditches for drainage, among others). These duties are carried out intensively (very quickly and almost without rest). They require great physical and mental effort. The work is out in the open, in a humid tropical climate, where temperatures of up to 38 degrees centigrade (100 degrees Fahrenheit) alternate with torrential rains. The work area is generally a plantation of 250 to 300 hectares of banana plants with generally about 190 to 210 workers. The environment is highly contaminated from the application of many different agrochemicals, spread mostly by aerial dispersion that occurs sometimes also while the workers are in the plantation. As we already mentioned, because of the deregulation of labor relations, and by means of subcontracting labor, social security payment is avoided. Continually fewer banana workers are reported to the Social Security System.

At the same time, hygienic and work safety conditions are atrocious. Workers frequently suffer accidents on the job, suffering lumbago, fractures and bruises. Cuts with the work instruments are common, as are allergic illnesses, and pulmonary and carcinogenic ailments caused by the permanent exposure to an environment highly contaminated by pesticides, as shown in the case of more than 6000 banana workers sterilized by exposure to DBCP (di-bromo-chloro-propane) a fact known worldwide. Damage to the reproductive system of women workers is only beginning to be investigated, along with other unknown mutagenic effects whose effects affect up to the third generation. Despite the fact that Costa Rica is known for its democratic system, on the banana plantations labor rights are not respected. These are in the hands of the banana companies, where there exist enclaves of unaccountability where even judicial resolutions are disregarded. The company bosses prefer to pay the fines, rather than grant the workers their rights.

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THE STERILIZED WORKERS
It is estimated that some 20,000 banana workers in Latin America were rendered sterile in the 1970s and 1980s because of the use of two nematicides (Nemagon and Fumazone). Probably the real number is higher because not all the victims had the courage to be tested and publicly declare themselves as sterile. There are at least 5000 to 10,000 workers in Costa Rica that are sterile because of the use of that agrochemical. These workers began lawsuits in 1993 against US firms (Dow Chemical, Shell Oil Corporation, Standard Fruit Company, Dole Fresh Fruit, Chiquita and Del Monte) for the production and use of nematicides containing di-bromo-chloro-propane (DBCP), known to cause cancer and sterility, among other illnesses.

Although they were already banned in the US, these firms continued utilizing Nemagon and Fumazone in Costa Rica for some years. In 1958 the first suspicions appeared regarding the toxicity of Nemagon, but only in 1975 did the US Environmental Protection Agency determine that DBCP was a possible carcinogen. () In order to avoid the payment of indemnity, the firms argue that the suits are not of US jurisdiction, in hopes that if carried out in Costa Rica, the fines will be less. Because of this, the suits will take even more time to begin. () Moreover, the women supposedly sterilized from the same causes have not been attended, due to the difficulty to prove their sterility. In June 1997, some of the accused companies began to seek out of court agreements.

In a first out-of-court agreement, Dow Chemical, Shell and the Occidental Chemical Corp. paid between US-$ 300 and 1,200 to Costa Rican workers left sterile from handling of nematicides used in banana production. () But, not agreeing to this extra-judicial arrangements, some 2,100 Costa Rican ex-banana workers together with the National Labor Council (CONATRAB) began in Feb. 1998 to make new demands in the USA against the companies that produced and those that used the nematicide containing DBCP, and to separate from their case the lawyers who had previously represented them. ()

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In countries like Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama, there are great migrations into Costa Rica. This situation suits the banana companies just fine, as it facilitates them to lower production costs with the over-supply of labor from refugees, illegal migrants, or people displaced by conditions of war, especially Nicaraguans. This has permitted the companies to contract labor that is cheap, docile and willing to work under the worst conditions.

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TESTIMONY OF A NICARAGUAN WORKER (COLLECTED IN SARAPIQUI)
"We all came together, from Santo Tomas Chontales, where we worked as peons on cattle haciendas. However, armed groups finished off the cattle. Many of our friends and family have been assassinated. For this reason we decided to come, when friends and family living here told us there were possibilities of work.

"My cousin Carlos, has been in Costa Rica for more than ten years, and he is now legal. But for this he had to bribe a Migration officer. We have not been able to, because to do so one has to go to San José, and if we miss a day at work we are fired. To go to San Jose, one has to consider transportation costs, room and board, since it takes more than one day; besides there are other legal papers one has to get first: neighborhood letter, an authenticated birth certificate, a certification of an honest means of living, a deposit of 13,000 colones, and all this costs money and time.

"On the banana plantations, they don't hire Nicaraguans without legal documents, but what they do then, is that there is a contractor that comes to terms with the owners of the plantations. They pay him a certain sum for the work contracted, and he pays us 40 or 50 percent of what he receives. In this way, the owners do not violate the law, but all the same they end up robbing us.

"Another problem we have is that the legal people have a place to sleep, houses even, but not us. We have to sleep in the open, or find a friend or family to take us in. They don't always give it to us for free, and most of the time we have to pay those who have houses assigned to them.

"Here in this meeting we are only four, because the rest are afraid to be seen with us or be identified as Nicaraguans, for fear of being caught by Migration officials. This one was caught once already, and was put in a truck and taken to the border. He couldn't even pick up his things, his clothes, his salary, so he lost everything. But he came back.

"We are safer in the banana plantations that are further away, since Migration officials don't go there. It's better not to go out, and those who like to go dancing or go drink beer, run the risk of being caught."

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Labor policies, as they are applied in Costa Rica, and especially in the banana plantations, lead to the deregulation of labor legislation, by the practices of subcontracting, extension of the working day, elimination of labor stability, suppressing collective conventions, weakening Unions, the non-payment of minimum wages to jobs paid by contract, these jobs being the majority on the plantations. Moreover, the social guarantees established in the Constitution of Costa Rica and the National Work Code, such as the right to Social Security, vacations, year-end gratuities, and others, not to mention the rights fought for and won by the Unions in the Collective Conventions, are not enforced.

The banana companies, for several years now, apply a series of "changes in the forms of production", in pursuit of higher product quality, needing fewer workers. This leads to a drastic reduction of plant personnel and field workers and to a heavier workload on those still hired. This situation exacerbates the problems of unemployment in the zone. On the banana plantations some 47,000 workers are hired, of which fewer than 40,000 are legally contracted, and of these 70-80 percent are hired for periods shorter than three months, making it impossible for the workers to acquire labor rights. They are then contracted again for a similar period on the same or another plantation, but only of course if there are no charges against them. In other words, only some 10,000 workers are stable or permanent. () Besides, as we have seen, there are groups of workers not directly hired by the companies, but by way of contractors. () Moreover, there are more than 100 thousand people who indirectly depend on the banana production. () The thousands of undocumented workers further augment these numbers, and in general their working conditions, including social and mental, are the most difficult. There are plantations, where it is said that 80 per cent of the workers are undocumented migrants, who receive lower salaries.

Union Persecution on the Banana Plantations

Union leaders and members have always had to suffer a series of mistreatments on the plantations. This strategy is employed on all the plantations in greater or lesser degree, be they national or transnational capital. Some examples illustrate the gravity of the situation.

In the case of Banana Company Gacela S.A., property of the subsidiary of Chiquita Brands, COBAL S.A., many Union members and representatives have been fired. Currently, the company continues to apply practices of intimidation to workers, men and women, who are affiliated to the Unions.

In the Banana Company Guapinol S.A., property of Chiquita, there is a suit pending since 1995 for union persecution. Despite the fact that there is an accumulation of sworn declarations, that clearly support the existence of union persecution, the Minister of Labor and Social Security has not taken action.

In the Firm Hacienda Rio Palacio S.A. (Venecia Project), 14 members of the Union SITRAP were fired. The organization presented a demand against Union persecution and disloyal labor practices. In this case the Ministry of Labor and Social Security gave a verdict in favor of the workers, however after four years of undergoing an administrative process, the case is currently bogged down in the judicial process.

In the Banana Company El Roble S.A., also property of Chiquita, at the end of March 1996, an important number of workers decided to join the Union SITAGAH. From this moment on, the workers are persecuted, their union fee is not deduced, and worst of all, the company, in allowing security gates and paramilitary groups, impedes the free transit, and also threatens the Union leaders.

In the Banana Company Gavilan S.A., the affiliation fee of the workers is not deduced, many workers, men and women who were Union members have been fired, including Ligia Lamich, Secretary of Women's issues of one of the Unions, who was pregnant when she was fired.

But the most preoccupying case is that of William B., worker in Banana Company B.G., and Sub-secretary General of one of the Unions. Since the early months of 1997 there have been rumors that a foreman threatens his physical safety. This situation has been corroborated with sworn statements by at least two other workers at the plantation. This, however is not sufficient proof to formulate an accusation. Besides, two other high level Union members were fired by the same company as a result of another accusation, although they were later, reincorporated. Nevertheless, the company maintains its practices of intimidation and threats against men and women workers affiliated to the Unions.

In the Banana Company Anabelle S.A., nine workers affiliated to Unions were fired in 1995. A suit was presented to the Ministry of Labor against Union persecution and disloyal labor practices. This case is still in administrative processes.

Also in the Agroindustrial Company Pacuare S.A., nine workers were fired for joining Unions, for which another suit was presented in 1994. This case, too, is currently (July 1997) under administrative procedures.

It is worth recalling the case that occurred in May-June of 1997 in the plantation of the Agroindustrial Project of Sixaola PAIS S.A. On the 24 of May 63 workers of the plantation formed a Union. On the 11 of June, more than 20 of these workers received layoff notices effective the following day, the 12 of June (!), "not without first thanking you for the time and effort put into our company". ()

Union persecution happens every day and everywhere, often without notice by the public. Salary reductions of 40 percent without any justification or explanation, harassment of workers affiliated to Unions by burdening them with heavier, unhealthy and poorly paid duties, and verbal abuse are everyday ways of keeping the pressure on Unions so that they do not grow in strength and power.

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THE CASE OF GEEST
The testimony of Carlos from Nicaragua:

When we went to work at Geest, we encountered virgin forest. No Costa Rican wanted to go there for fear of heavy work and large snakes that abounded. We found some snakes up to three meters long.

Well, we worked clearing about 800 hectares of forest, a duty no one wanted to do. Once the land was cleared and leveled, the pressure began to get us out. So we began a strong strike, but the authorities came and stopped us. If it were not for a Church, we would have remained imprisoned, or we might be dead. There were cases of missing persons, no one knows what their fate was.

What happened in the Strike at Geest in 1994? The Committee of Banana Workers Unions reports:

Geest is a transnational company if mostly English capital that settled in Costa Rica in the region of Sarapiqui in the mid 1980s, during the period of "expansion of banana plantations". Its incorporation into the banana production of Costa Rica had an important impact, due to the fact that this firm cut down hundreds of hectares of primary forest to convert them into banana plantations. This action was denounced by SITAGAH along with other national and regional ecological organizations. These complaints were not attended by the pertinent governmental institutions, due to the pressure exercised by the powerful firm.

In the first months of 1994, the company arbitrarily decided to reduce considerably the salaries of the workers, especially the field workers, some of which were affiliated to our Union. These workers came to us for help in confronting these arbitrary actions of the company.

SITAGAH took action, initiating contacts with the authorities of the company, who maintained an inflexible position with respect to the decisions arrived at. In the face of this, the workers decided to go on strike in order to defend their right to a just salary.

As representative of the workers, SITAGAH headed this struggle. In spite of the pressures of the company, the strike held firm for ten days, after which representatives of the Company, together with the Atlantic Commando of the Civil Guard of the Zone, decided to "break the strike" by force. In effect, the Civil Guard, along with the Private Guards of the Company attacked the defenseless workers.

As a consequence of this attack, perpetrated with tear gas and shots from heavy caliber guns, the life of the workers was threatened, along with women (some of them pregnant), and children that remained in their homes, and suffered near asphyxiation. As a result of this incident, 40 workers were incarcerated, who moreover, were sued by the transnational company. Fortunately, thanks to national and international solidarity, these workers, together with the Union and the Coordination of Banana Unions, were able to prove their innocence, and with this, revealed the way in which their constitutional rights were violated.

Another result of this attack, were 16 workers wounded by firearms, of which at least four now have serious physical limitations. The Costa Rican State, accomplice to these crimes by urging the guards to proceed, has denied these workers the right to be treated in our country. For example, ex-worker Jose Antonio Molina, had to return to his country of birth, Nicaragua, due to his physical limitations which prevented him from being able to earn his keep. The specialists of the Hospital Calderon Guardia have given him several appointments, but when he reaches Penas Blancas, the Costa Rican Border Post prevents his entry, denying him his right to the health services the State is obliged to render for being a direct cause of his physical impediments. What is worse, the State has denied him and Juan Pablo Ramirez a pension, they being the most affected by this brutal attack on workers during the strike at Geest.

Most startling is that the Government did not press charges against the aggressors, who risked the lives of unarmed workers. When the strike lifted on the 16th of May of 1994, it was agreed that the Company would not take measures against the workers that participated in the movement, nevertheless all the Union Committee members of the four farms were subsequently fired. Some 80 workers were fired, of which 75 percent were paid twice the termination fee, in order to guarantee their exit from the Company farms and weaken the Union. The other 25 percent, however, to date have not received their legal termination fees.

The poor operation of the Inspector General of Labor, the Ministry of Labor and Social Security is lamentable. After receiving the testimony of more than 70 workers, who declare the aggressions suffered for being Union members, and after the agreements signed on the 21 of April and 16 of May of 1994, still one year later, the demand of the workers is declared without merit. Unfortunately, for the Labor Union movement, and for the workers in general, the methods used to judge these cases are insufficient. One single person is who decides whether or not there is a violation of workers rights, and generally the determination is contrary, despite irrefutable proof, as in this case.

It worries us that the International Labor Organization has not paid sufficient attention to the complaint placed by our Union against Costa Rica for its role in the strike at Geest. In our suit we described the various irregularities, sent information, as well as newspaper clipping, but to date we have not received any answer.

It is worrisome that the ILO has not taken account of our case, only because the Government of Costa Rica declared that the Company had stopped operating in our country, leaving our case in suspense. The issue is that our case is not against Geest, but against the Government, for not having protected the right of workers to unionize, as expressed in the Agreements 87, 98 and 135 of this International Organization, and duly ratified by Costa Rica.

Recently, in June 1997, we have presented new arguments referring to the aforementioned case, and we are waiting for the reactivation of it, and for a proper resolution.

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The Situation of Peasant Farmers on the Plantation Periphery

The peasant farmers (campesinos) on the periphery of the banana plantation have been the social group most affected by the expansion of this activity. At first they were pressured to sell their best lands to the banana companies. For this, the State entities responsible for the protection of small farmers promoted a change in land use. The campesinos who resisted this initial process found themselves trapped in a banana region, where the only socially accepted producer is the banana plantation boss. There is no labor force to maintain small farms or for the production of traditional foodstuffs. The State has destined all its resources for the development of banana production in the region, caring nothing for any other activity in the region but the expansion of banana production. The small farmer is left out of any possibility to access credit or technical assistance, or marketing assistance. On the periphery of the banana plantations, small farmers are not allowed to grow some of their traditional foods, such as Creole banana, because the banana companies fear that this might attract the disease Sigatoka and spread it onto the plantations. At the same time, the fields and water sources of the campesinos are virtually destroyed by the constant fumigation by air with toxic products by the planes of the banana plantations. The small farmers of the region do not benefit from the circulation of money generated by the banana plantations, unless they become workers on the plantations.

To summarize, the existence of a monoculture supported by large capital and by State Agrarian policies has produced:

* A concentration of the best lands in hands of the banana producers.

* The impoverishment of the majority, and a concentration of wealth.

* Pressure on the ownership of land, aggravate by the subsistence needs of thousands of laid off workers, unable to return to their places of origin, who invade private farms, and nature reserves, protected areas and Indigenous Territories.

* The threat and first manifestations of a grave food crisis, as already is revealed by the need to import basic foods, making everyday living more expensive.

* The destruction of the environment, especially the destruction of primary forest, the contamination of waters used by the small farmers for their cattle and for human use.

Due to the impossibility of producing organically near the banana plantations, due to the heavy use of agrochemical by the banana companies, the small farmers who have the bad luck to be next to a banana plantation, lose the option of obtaining a certification for organic production. In this way, campesinos lose the possibility of entering new markets, or of changing their style of production towards healthier systems. This results in closing the door to the future on campesinos.

Indigenous Communities Face the Banana Plantation Problems

In the Caribbean region, site of banana expansion in Costa Rica, there are important indigenous communities, such as the Bribri, Cabecar, Huetar and Ngobe, whose lands are in Talamanca, Cocles, La Estrella, Chirripo Arriba, Chirripo Abajo, Nairi and Awari.

Like all Native Peoples of America, these communities are heirs to ancient cultural traditions, where their way of life is linked to the natural use of the land in an intimate relationship with Nature and all the living beings found in the ecosystem. For all these Native Peoples, Mother Earth unites their identities. Their survival and cultural traditions have been seriously affected by the environmental destruction caused by the banana plantations. Any aggression to the regional ecosystem is a direct aggression to the way of life and the very survival of these native cultures.

Another direct threat of the banana plantations against the indigenous cultures is the pressure placed on their lands, in such a way that they abandon communities in their territories, and are forced to relocate in more mountainous regions further away from their original lands. This pressure by the Banana companies in other Indian Reserves still continues today. With the support of some State Institutions, the natural living conditions of Indians are pretended to be improved by integrating them into the civilization of bananas. Ironically, State organisms affirm that Indigenous Territories are very productive and generate great wealth under banana cultivation. Aggravating this situation, is the prospecting for gold and petroleum by foreign companies in Indian lands.

Principal Problems of Women in Banana Plantations

It is important to highlight and make visible the active role of women in banana production. The first problem that affects women is that of poverty. As is well known, in general around the world, women have less access to economic resources and to land. Costa Rica is no exception, and particularly in the banana regions, female poverty is aggravated for various reasons:

* Work is poorly paid, and for many women it is occasional, depending on the amount of the harvest.

* The work requires heavy time schedules, which must be combined with domestic work.

* These are salary differences between men and women on the banana plantations. Women tend to earn less for the same work, as was denounced in the III Conference of Banana Unions in 1995. ()

* In these regions there are no other employment alternatives that permit women to earn their own keep and that of their families.

Another problem that affects women who work on the banana plantations is the difficulty they find in having their labor rights be respected, such as maternity leave, blood tests to measure the amounts of pesticides in their blood. Especially women who wash the clothes of banana workers who spray these pesticides, suffer severe contamination. Women's right to unionize is also disregarded. Those women who do achieve affiliation, suffer union persecution, expressed in the assignment of heavier tasks or unexplained salary reductions that they must constantly appeal. In some banana plantations, sexual abuse and harassment by fellow workers and foremen have been denounced. () In similar fashion, some women have problems in being assigned housing.

Pesticide contamination is suffered by women in the region even in their own homes and without being workers on the plantations. This is due to two main causes:

* Indiscriminate fumigation by air contaminates the vegetable gardens some women plant for domestic use.

* Intimate relations with contaminated spouses or companions who work on the plantations. This has lead to conditions of sterility and congenital deformations of children born to them.

Moreover, the women’s lack of knowledge and education regarding topics like labor rights, economics, politics and society is preoccupying, as is also the restricted access to participation in political arenas.

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THE TICABAN CASE
Due to economic problems and to the neglect of its plantations, the company "Tica Frutera", in the hands of Colombian ownership, entered into production crisis in 1997 on the Farms 1, 2 and 3. In an attempt to solve the situation, the 500 workers were paid half-salaries for almost 5 months, then no salaries were paid for another three months even though the workers continued to work to maintain the up-keep of the plantations so as to not risk the right to their wages should they be accused of a strike.

Workers were not informed of the true gravity of the financial crisis by either the Permanent Committee or the Solidarity Association until the day the company owners left the country, taking the capital with them and leaving behind debts equaling US-$ 10 million, including US-$ 1 million of back salaries owed to the workers, and the US-$ 98,000 in worker’s savings in the hands of the Solidarity Association. This money had been loaned to the company by the association without consulting or informing the workers. On top of this, the workers and their families could not receive medical attention through the Social Security system because the quotas had not been paid by the company.

With the departure of the company owners, the workers together with their communities and with the support of Foro Emaus, staged a protest on Nov. 6, 1997 in front of the Legislative Assembly to plead for a peaceful solution. There followed meetings with government officials but no determination to help the 500 workers and their families was obtained. Therefore, the decision was made to take action by the workers, their families and the communities involved. Beginning on Dec. 1, the main highway from San Jose to Limon was blockaded for 5 days with intervals each day longer. This action, supported by the Foro Emaus and in particular by the Social Pastorate of Siquirres, Limon, accelerated the process to find a solution to the serious situation of these workers and their families, who often had nothing to eat, even.

Finally, with the cooperation of BANDECO, COBAL and Standard, CORBANA collected some US-$ 823,000 to pay to the workers. Because of the State policy favoring the Solidarity Movement, this fund was placed in the hands of the "Social School John XXIII" and the Solidarity Movement for payment to the workers, with the intention on the part of the government and of the national and international banana companies, of improving the image of Solidarity as being the savior of all workers. ()

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS

The demand by consumers of industrialized countries for bananas of excellent appearance, has lead the transnational companies to produce a banana of uniform size and color without blemishes. The production of these bananas is carried out under highly technified systems, in which great quantities of pesticides and chemical fertilizers are used. Another result of this highly selective production is that great quantities of bananas that do not comply with international norms are discarded. The "cosmetic banana" is dependent on high technology and intense use of agrochemical, as well as generating high levels of waste.

What best exemplifies the deathly situation of this type of banana production is the silence in the plantations. Animals like birds avoid being in the plantations, and that with good reason!

The Disappeared Forests

Despite the official discourse, in Costa Rica tropical forests continue to be cut down both legally and illegally. This occurs in protected areas, as well, without the effective intervention of the State. ()

In 1992, almost at the end of the last period of banana expansion, in the Province of Limon, the areas of Primary and Secondary forest were reduced by 166,460 hectares, as compared to the situation in 1979. During this same period, the area cultivated by bananas expanded to 51,000 hectares. () There are many reasons for this devastating felling of trees; one of the reasons is the expansion of banana plantations. At least the banana companies themselves have recognized this fact. The Corporation of Banana Producers (CORBANA) has stated that during the expansion, they cut down 4,677 hectares of forest. () But, according to the estimates of the FORO EMAUS, close to 35 percent of the plantations currently under banana production, were covered by forests at the time of their purchase by the banana companies, particularly in the Region of Sarapiqui. Because of this massive deforestation, now some 18 tree species are in danger of extinction. () This deforestation also caused the death of great numbers of wild animals including monkeys, birds, sloths, etc., and had grave effects on the biodiversity of plants and insects.

According to the Forestry Law of Costa Rica, the borders of the rivers must have forest cover. This Law has been systematically violated by the transnational companies, who have cut down all the trees along rivers and streams in the land they have purchased, in order to increase the area under banana cultivation, and to facilitate the fumigation by air. The trees cut down illegally, were not even used, but burned in order to avoid legal sanctions.

Although tree cutting has been reduced, deforestation has not stopped. One example is the Venecia Plantation owned by a national producer who hands over his bananas to Chiquita. In 1996 25 hectares of forest were cut down, and in 1997 50 more hectares were deforested.

Even though these facts are well known here, no compensatory measures are imposed, notwithstanding the impossibility of repairing primary forest.

A Poisoned Landscape: The Use of Pesticides

"We wash clothes impregnated with the substance, we would go to the banana plantations to take lunch to the workers, and we would be bathed by the chemicals being sprayed. Now we suffer blindness, cancer, allergies, abortions and our children are born deformed." These are the words of a women affected by pesticides, describing the situation in the field. ()

Transnational banana production is totally dependent on chemical control. There are at least some 286 different pesticides () (fungicides, herbicides, and nematicides) authorized for the cultivation of bananas in Costa Rica. Most of these chemicals are imported from the USA, Switzerland or Germany. The value of all the importations of pesticides grows every year. In 1991 Costa Rica spent US$56 million, in 1994, US$84 million, and in 1996, around US$100 million.(). These inputs constitute 20-30 percent of the total costs of banana production. The cost of fighting Black Sigatoka alone is between US$1,000 and US$1,200 per hectare per year. ().

According to information from the Ministry of Agriculture () Costa Rica imported in 1996 agro-chemicals including fertilizers, fungicides, herbicides, insecticides and nematicides equaling 162 million US-$. The amounts were as follows:

Fertilizers 455,135,580.41 kilos & 3,012,220.92 liters

Fungicides 2,941,910.48 kilos & 3,023,388.38 liters

Herbicides 20,416,150.92 kilos & 7,590,233.20 liters

Insecticides 583,305.19 kilos & 22,952,241.31 liters

Nematicides 2,466,771.00 kilos & 632,728.43 liters.

Although studies have been made regarding possible control of pests without the use of artificial pesticides but instead using natural or biological methods, no official regulation exists for applying these alternative techniques on the plantations. To date, no alternative systems of control have been implemented, despite the data that shows that the resistance of pests continually increases. Such is the case with Benomil which is substituted by Bitertanol (which is not even registered for use in the USA ()) and with Round Up instead of Paraquat.

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RIMAC: "INTOXICATION BY ORGANOPHOSPHATES"
The firm Agroquimica Industrial Rimac, located in Tejar del Guarco, in the Province of Cartago, near the center of the country (some 20 kilometers from San Jose), produces some 15 products, among them insecticides, herbicides and nematicides (such as Terbufos and Carbofuran, both highly toxic). At times, accidents occur, such as spills (six times in the last three years). The residents who live near the plant have sorry experiences with intoxication. The first emergency occurred the 6th of April of 1995, with the intoxication of 10 adults and 29 children of a nearby school, with the organophosphate insecticide-nematicide known as Terbufos. The victims were treated in the Hospital Max Peralta of Cartago due to their vomiting, fainting spells and other ailments. According to the official reports, signed by the Head of Emergencies of the Hospital, all the cases were diagnosed as "intoxication by organophosphates".

The fourth emergency: on the 3rd of May of 1996, there was another spill of Terbufos within the plant, affecting 5 people who had to be attended in the plant by paramedic personnel of the Red Cross. Two were transferred to the Max Peralta Hospital, and treated with atropine for organophosphate intoxication. On the 18th of November of 1996, when yet another spill of Terbufos occurred, 17 people were intoxicated, three of them members of the Firefighter Corps. However, according to the owner of the firm, these accidents were of no importance.

Due to these faults, the Ministry of Health closed down the plant three times, the last being the 22 of April of 1997. By means of Constitutional Appeals, and some improvements of the plant, RIMAC has been able to avoid a permanent plant closure. In June of 1997, RIMAC resumed production. Maria Luisa Duran, who lives 50 meters from the plant, claims that they constantly suffer boughs of vomiting, headaches and foul odors. The residents nearby want RIMAC to relocate to where no people live. ()

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The pesticides used in banana production are highly toxic and of very restricted use, such as Benomil and Paraquat (this last one belonging to the so-called "dirty dozen", a list of the most dangerous pesticides in the world). This consumption of pesticides can reach up to 40 kilograms per hectare per year, compared to the use of pesticides of industrialized countries of only 4 kilograms per hectare per year. In other words, a field worker "consumes" 38 kilograms of pure poison (active ingredient) every year. () According to estimates of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature IUCN (in Spanish: UICN) in 1995 between 13,872 and 32,640 tons of the active ingredient of different nematicides were used in the banana plantations. Although a reduction in the relative frequency and doses of pesticide application is observed as compared to the numbers in 1990, the expansion of banana production has caused an absolute increase in the amounts of nematicides used. Some five tons of insecticides were used, 714 tons of Glyphosate (herbicide) and 714,000 liters of Paraquat (our own calculations based on UICN data). To this elevated consumption of chemicals, one must also add the inadequate uses: many banana workers use pesticides without the appropriate instruction.

Data shows that the number of cases countrywide of intoxication in banana production has decreased, but over half of all intoxication that occurs in the work place happens in banana production. The numbers of all intoxication in Costa Rica are as follows: 1995: 989; 1996: 792; 1997: 827 (the last number taken before the close of the nearly census) while the number of intoxication that occurred in banana production are as follows: 1995: 367; 1996: 242 and 1997: 194. This data only shows the number of cases of intoxication on banana plantations that get reported; there are more cases related to banana production that never get reported. But all these reports do not include the temporary or chronic diseases caused by the use of the poisons, such as asthma, allergies, nauseas, headaches, etc.

In looking at 444 cases of intoxication in the banana production in 1996 and 1997, 125 were due to carbofuran (a nematicide); 115 were due to paraquat (a herbicide); 73 cases due to terbufos (a nematicide); 35 were due to fenamifos (a nematicide). The cause of 44 intoxication was not specified. As to the ages of the victims, 14 were under the age of 18 which shows a direct violation of the law that allows only those workers over the age of 18 apply these toxic substances. There is no information thus far from the corresponding ministry as to its having denounced those companies responsible for violation of laws. ()

The type of injury suffered by a person that has been acutely poisoned varies according to the circumstances, the physical condition of the worker and the type of agro-chemical. In general, the fungicides used in the packing plants are related to skin problems and allergies while fungicides used in the aerial fumigation cause furthermore eye problems. Herbicides such as paraquat affect the eyes and cause chemical burns on feet, back, hands and genitals. Nematicides damage the kidney, to give an example.

After an intoxication a worker cannot take up work immediately; therefore he loses not only his good health but a part of his income as compensation from the National Insurance Institute is only 8 dollars a day. Statistics show that intoxication by a fungicide, such as thiabendazole used in the packing plants, causes a work incapacity of 7 days while intoxication from fungicides used in aerial fumigation can disable a worker for more than 7 days. Incapacities from insecticide and nematicide poisonings last from 5.5 days and those due paraquat last even 9.5 days. ()

After 1993, when two adolescents died due to intoxication by pesticides () there is a new report of death. On the 13 of November 1997, Fredy Mauricio Valerin Bustos, a young worker of 18 years of age died due to an acute intoxication by the nematicide terbufos, an organophosphate, while at work on Farm 96 of the Chiriqui Land Company (Chiquita). Mentioned reason of the death was proved by the forensic medical of the Judicial Organization of Investigation (OIJ) in February 1998.

Although on some plantations there is special clothing for the protection against poisons, these are rarely used because of the climatic conditions. The temperature is too high to bear this clothing. Sometimes, as occurred with women in the packing plants, they put on rubber gloves before coming in contact with the water containing chemicals used for washing the bananas. However, it is also not healthy to wear gloves for so many hours, especially if the gloves are defective. More frequently, gloves are not worn and there is continuously contact with chemicals.

The effects of pesticides do not end on the banana plant, or in humans. Large quantities of residues reach the ground and are transported by rivers and into the ocean, affecting all life forms along the way. For this reason, we have labeled the agroindustrial monoculture of banana production for export, a biocide system. One of the gravest problems of contamination in banana plantations is due to the practice of aerial fumigation with products such as Benlate, TILT 250 EC and Tridemorf. This fumigation also reaches the homes of workers, water sources, and the very workers, when aerial spraying occurs while they are working on the plantation. In order to facilitate the close spraying by planes, all the trees taller than the banana plants were cut down. The FORO EMAUS has photographs of how the planes fumigate over a soccer field while the workers are playing, or where it sprays poison over a public road at a moment when a bus of public transport, as well as a cyclist, are on the road. The contamination of water sources with Chlorotalonil was demonstrated in a study carried out in the Valle de la Estrella (production area of Standard Fruit Company and Dole) by the Association for the Defense of Watersheds and by Guilombe Foundation. This case was recognized internationally by the International Water Tribunal with headquarters in the Netherlands, where Standard Fruit was sanctioned. ()

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ECOLOGICAL TOURISM?
As some German tourists recount, they were sleeping in Sarapiqui, in a hotel for ecological tourism, when they were wakened at 5:30 am by the noise of a plane that was fumigating the banana plantation next to the hotel. The plane flew over the hotel every ten minutes until 8:00 in the morning. No one knows for sure the impact of this fumigation near the hotel, nor the impact near the beaches or other places. But what is certain is that these tourists will not return to this region.

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According to the Royal Swedish Academy of Science, there are great losses of agrochemicals (such as fungicides) during aerial fumigation: some 15 percent is displaced by the wind and falls on land outside of the plantation; some 40 percent falls on the ground instead of reaching the leaves of the banana plants, and some 35% is washed away from the leaves with the rains. ()

(More information about the impacts of pesticides you find in the Chapter "Rivers and Water Sources")

Solid Wastes

On the plantations one finds two major types of solid wastes. The first are the organic remains of the bananas, which are impossible to compost due to the enormous quantities. Although some of the discarded bananas are used to feed pigs, to make banana paper () or processed to make puree, there is still no satisfactory solution. Enormous quantities of organic waste still remain. Often these are dumped at the edges of the plantations, or next to the rivers, where they become a menace to the environment. According to estimates of the UICN, in 1995 the organic waste generated was some 283,217 metric tons of banana plant remains, and some 225,525 metric tons of reject bananas. In 1990, these amounts were 152,798 metric tons and 121,672 metric tons, respectively. () The second type of solid wastes are made up of plastic bags, plastic rope, pesticide containers, as well as the waste waters from the packing plants. If indeed, there are initiatives to collect the plastic bags to recycle them, the product is of inferior quality, and does not constitute a real solution. Although some containers are returnable, the poisoning of the environment continues, affecting plants, animals and humans.

According to estimates of the UICN, in 1995 there were 4,510 metric tons of plastic bags and 4,832 metric tons of polyethylene rope. In 1990 these amounts were of 2,433 ad 2,507, respectively. Due to the expansion of the banana plantations, there is no reduction in the total amount of solid wastes from banana production.

Other sources use numbers of a yearly consumption of the plastic strings en the banana production of 1,500 tons with a value of US-$ 2,709,720 and the consumption of the impregnated plastic bags of 2,528 tons with a value of US-$ 7,383,220 ()

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MUNDIMAR: NAUSEOUS ODORS, WASTES AND SEWAGE
The firm MUNDIMAR, located in Guapiles, Limon, subsidiary of Chiquita Brands Company, is a producer and exporter of banana puree. Their processing plant takes in reject bananas, which helps in reducing the problem of solid wastes. A local residents' organization "Comite Ambiental El Molino" near the plant has denounced various problems: 1.) There are nauseating odors coming from the solid wastes (such as the thousands of banana peels) and from the oxidation lagoons used by the firm to "clean" sewage and waste waters. This stench contaminates the air, especially at night, making it difficult for both children and adults to sleep, or even eat. Some children lock themselves up at night in order to escape the smell. But the simple construction of their homes does not keep the smell out. 2.) Brackish, foul smelling waters leave the plant and reach Rio Molino river and three other streams, turning them turbid and greenish. These streams flow through several dairy farms, where the cows drink from this water. The contamination of the waters no longer permits swimming in the rivers. 3.) On the 17th of September there was an accident in the plant and thousands of dead fish were found floating in one of these streams, giving off a strong smell of ammonia. 4.) The thousands of banana peels that remain after the processing of puree, not only give off a bad smell, but also attract thousands of flies and mosquitoes, generating further health problems.

Despite the many complaints filed by the Comite Ambiental and the National Ombudsman, MUNDIMAR continues to offer nothing in favor of a real solution such as recycling these wastewaters; nor do State entities react either. () Moreover, MUNDIMAR receives thousands of dollars from the State as incentives for exportation. In the form of Tributary Payment Certificates (CAT), the State gave MUNDIMAR US$830,000 in 1995 and in 1996 up to US$1.05 million. ()

On the 24th of June 1997, again thousands of fish died from a spill from the plant.

In the meanwhile there are some negotiations to improve the situation.

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Rivers and Water Sources

The Forestry Law of Costa Rica protects a ten meter wide swath along either side of every river; nevertheless, the rivers are affected by the felling of trees on its banks and the elevated use of pesticides. The vegetation that should protect the banks of the rivers is eliminated and the strong rains increase the erosion, taking this silt into the ocean. Many fish depend on fruit from the vegetation, and when these trees are eliminated, so too, are these fish. Of course, many also disappear because of the pesticides in the water. One consequence of this is the impoverishment of the diet of the local people.

The courses of many rivers and streams in the banana regions were altered in many cases, and lagoons and wetlands were drained. Today the rivers collect the residues of pesticides, waste waters with chlorine from the packing plants, sediments and plastics from the production processes. The massive death of fish can be related to the use of pesticides, as was denounced in May of 1996 by the Union SITRAP in the case of the Finca Catalina plantation in Siquirres, where a great number of fish were killed.

As some studies prove, in certain wells pesticides are found, thus the water is no longer potable, as is the case of water sources that receive Chlorothalonil. () But because there are no other water sources, the people continue drinking this water. There are many indications that contamination of the region's rivers due to the application of pesticides has increased significantly. ()

Many people do not have access to drinking water in their homes; consequently they use the rivers to bathe and to wash clothes, where often they are contaminated by pesticides. These people jeopardize their health with the contaminated waters of the rivers.

There are two new studies of pesticide use that prove once again that these chemicals do not remain only in the soil of the plantation but also found in the Suerte River which flows into the Tortuguero National Park area, and in the Tortuguero water-ways as well. ()

This study done between June 1993 and Nov. 1996, examined the drainage ditches and those of the packing plants on the plantations, the near-by streams, and the Suerte River for 11 pesticides that are all used in banana production. All 11 of these were found in a single water sample at least once, with up to 6 of them found in a single water sample. The pesticides most commonly found were: the fungicides thiabendazole, imazalil and propiconazole (which is used in the aerial spraying by plane), the nematicides terbufos and cadusafos; and the insecticide chlorpyrifos which is in the impregnated plastic bags. 56% of the water samples taken in the Tortuguero Conservation Area showed propiconazole which is moderately toxic for fish and fairly toxic for birds, and 25% of the samples showed a nematicide, either cadusafos or terbufos. Cadusafos is prohibited in Germany because of its high level of toxicity. () A product derived from terbufos caused a worker’s death, as before mentioned.

It has been proven that healthy bananas can be grown in monoculture, as on the farm called "Platanera Rio Sixaola", without the use of insecticides, nematicides or herbicides.

In February 1998, the Ministry of Environment and Energy pointed out once again that there are banana companies still contaminating rivers, instead of treating their wastewaters. ()

Affected Soils

Due to the nutritional needs of the banana fruit, the plantations are found on the most fertile soils of Costa Rica. Because of the systems of intensive land use and the absence of methods to avoid erosion (such as vegetable cover in the plantations or the lack of vegetation along the edges of the rivers) these soils deteriorate and lose their natural fertility, due to the fact that banana plants consume enormous quantities. Another factor affecting the loss of fertility is the accumulation of residues of pesticides and metals, for example copper in the form of copper sulfate used as fungicides (). With the long term use of pesticides, the soils become compacted, as the microorganisms and other soil microfauna that otherwise mull and aerate the soil, are eliminated. Thus, the rainwater cannot infiltrate the soil and must flow on its surface causing erosion. Even though the banana companies add tons of fertilizers to the soils, the poor management of the soils and the loss of their natural fertility make production more costly each year. As a result, the banana companies constantly seek new lands to continue a high level of productivity. This banana expansion is what occurred in the early 1990s, going from 23,000 to 52,000 hectares by 1993. () There being no erosion control, the strong tropical rains carry the sediments to the rivers and then to the sea, affecting other ecosystems such as coral reefs. The case of Cahuita is well known where aerial photography demonstrated that the sediments that reach the coral come from the eroded lands under cultivation by Standard Fruit (Dole). () The existence of pesticide residues such as Paraquat has been demonstrated in the region of Guapiles, Limon, Costa Rica.

In order to grow, the banana plants require various chemical elements of the soil. The quantities of these elements that are extracted from the soil per ton of exported fruit are approximately (in kg/ha/yr.): 58 of nitrogen (N), 8 of Phosphorous (P), 44 of Potassium (K), 1120 of calcium (Ca), and 471 of magnesium (Mg). In a concrete case, however, the fertilizers applied amount to 507 N, 41 P, 610 K and 414 Ca, divided in 10 cycles. This poor balance results in the outflow of many of these elements into nearby rivers, negatively affecting aquatic life. ().

Banana production for export covered some 52,000 hectares in 1996. The plantation expansion generated, besides the deforestation, a change in the use of the land, in detriment of small-scale producers of other foods, who were denied credits by State banks. The concentration of banana production is located in the Atlantic Zone with 49,200 hectares. Only 6 percent of banana production are found on the pacific side. As aforementioned, banana production requires very fertile soils, displacing other agricultural products such as rice or beans, and other basic foods that in turn must be imported. Moreover, monoculture production generates other problems such as the accumulation of pesticides and chemical fertilizers. In addition, it has been found that in the banana plantations, the soils have so many plastic bags and ropes that these cannot be extracted without destroying the most fertile layers of soil. What will happen when a different use is required of these soils? It does not seem possible to plant other crops on these soils once export banana production has occurred.

Finally, we can say, that along with the land for tourism, industry and commerce belonging to foreigners, banana plantations strongly increase the amount of land no longer in the hands of Costa Ricans.

Climatic Change

A responsible production of bananas would have to reduce the negative impacts that increase the probabilities of global warming. Taking into consideration that economically there is no substitute for the exportation of bananas for a country like Costa Rica, this production should be carried out under the least harmful conditions possible. The physical causes of global warming are not due only to the destruction of forests, that are a deposit of carbon dioxide and a producer of oxygen, but to the unnecessary consumption of raw materials, which are limited in the world, in the industrial production of bananas. Much would be gained by eliminating the persistent consumption of agrochemicals, whose production requires excessive energy, and of plastic bags used to protect the bananas from the poisons ("toxic preservatives"), and by aerial fumigation. In addition, it would be desirable for the State to install a new railway because currently 105 million cases of bananas per year are inefficiently transported in trucks. Due to the felling of trees and the consumption of energy for the production of the cardboard boxes used to transport the bananas, a solution would have to be found to substitute these cardboard boxes, which are used only once and then discarded.

PRODUCTION AND MARKETING

Costa Rica depends in a big way on its exports. In recent years there have been changes in the regulation for banana imports into the European Union with the objective of protecting that market for countries that are ex-colonies of European nations, by limiting the quotas of the cheap produced bananas coming from countries like Costa Rica. There is an on-going process to adapt the importation regulations due to claims originating in the United States and presented by the World Trade Organization (WTO) demanding an internationally free market. At the time of the demand, unfortunately no clauses were included to regulate the protection of workers and of environment in the face of over-expanding and unlimited banana production.

The following is a summary of statistics from CORBANA (National Banana Corporation):

1995 1997

Number of boxes 112.089.259 101.173.266

Destination % %

United States 47,46 51,53

Europe 52,52 47,97

Total value of receipts US$ US$

693.660.446 551.496.424

(in taxes) 44.333.265 22.258.118

CORBANA receipts 57.551.892 33.843.479

Percent marketed by % %

Standard Fruit 29 33

Bandeco 21 27

Chiquita 18 23

Others 30 16

Net price FOB US$ US$

(box) 5,79 5,45

Net receipts for US$ US$

Standard Fruit 185.705.570 186.351.440

Bandeco 139.606.560 148.036.396

Chiquita 109.061.162 121.242.845

Others 214.953.889 95.865.741

Origin of bananas hec. hec.

Standard 13.640 13.831

- company ownership 8.033 (= 23 farms) 6.706 (19)

- suppliers 5.607 (31) 7.125 (20)

Bandeco 11.547 12.579

- company ownership 5.891 (19) 5.971 (19)

- suppliers 5.656 (35) 6.608 (37)

Chiquita 8.589 9.989

- company ownership 6.511 (31) 6.261 (27)

- suppliers 2.078 (14) 3.727 (13)

Others 18.389 (34) 12.792 (47)

Total hectares 52.165 49.191

- hec. in the Atlantic Zone 49.253 46.557

Farms

187 172

Workers (estimated number) 42.000 40.000

(not including those sub-contracted)

boxes/hec./year 2.149 2.057

(1992: 2.400)

It is obvious from these statistics how much the national banana growing sector depends upon the three large transnational companies whose marketing possibilities reach as far to the supermarkets in the United States and Europe. The Government of Costa Rica is not actively seeking an additional quota for selling "fair bananas" to the European Union; this is unfortunate as this added quota could open up more possibilities of exporting more bananas, produced in a more humane and environmentally sound manner. Neither is there an initiative to reinforce the national banana growers sector to lessen the dependency on the transnationals` power of commercialization.

Moreover, the statistics show that banana production suffers decreasing levels of banana exports and productivity. This is seen by CORBANA as a problem primarily of the costs and quantities of agro-chemicals, instead of looking at the aptitude in general of the soils and in particularly at their quality as an ecosystem with its needs of biodiversity.

According to the study, "Diagnostic and Solution Proposal for the National Banana Sector", elaborated for the National Banana Corporation by Finance Expansion, Sam Jose, Costa Rica, April 1997, the situation is not good:

• Between 59 and 76 of all farms, that is to say 32 to 41% face financial difficulties.
• Almost all of the 47 farms with medium indebtedness (between 5,000. and 12,500. US-$ per hectare) belong to independent growers.
• An important factor is the low productivity of 1,200 to 1,800 boxes per hectare with a cost per box between 0.95 and 1.63 US-$ of interest due.
• 45% of the farms with medium loans and 88% of those with high loans went into operation after 1992 during the period of uncontrolled banana expansion, in soil not apt for banana growing.
• The amount owed by the banana sector is around US-$ 130 million; 75% is owed to the Banking System, with 70% owed to the State Banks and the reminder to public institutions such as CORBANA and the Costa Rican Social Security System, the latter due to the non-payment of quotas by the banana companies into the State social security systems to cover their workers (even worse, the companies retained the quotas form the workers without transfer them to the Social Security).
• According to the study made, there are serious differences in production costs per box when comparisons are made between Costa Rica (US-$ 5.26), Guatemala (US-$ 4.15) and Ecuador (US-$ 3.58).

In answer to this whole situation, CORBANA is only offering credits to increase productivity to 2,500 boxes per hectare with the application of a basic technology plan; that means more chemicals. Allocated credits are also for solvency of debts due to the Social Security System. ()

NEITHER ECO NOR O.K.

In a cooperative effort between Ambio Foundation, which has a strong link to the US organization Rainforest Alliance, and Chiquita Brands, there is a certification project called "Eco-O.K." or "Better Bananas" that claims to produce bananas more ecologically, or as some commercials in Germany in favor of these "natural" bananas expressed: pure water comes out of these plantations. In Europe, this seal cannot be used because it does not represent the criteria of the European Union for accepting a product as environmentally sound. In Costa Rica all the Chiquita plantations carry this seal.

While it may be true that there are some improvements, for example better management of the used plastic bags, the prohibition of the use of paraquat and other chemicals of the "dirty dozen" list, and as Chiquita claims, a general reduction in the use of agro-chemicals (without proofing that) and an announced substitute for plastic bags saturated with insecticides, it must be pointed out that what is clearly not "O.K." is the continuing persecution of labor unions on the banana plantations belonging to Chiquita, such as COBAL. The SITAGAH union has denounced many cases of union persecution with proofs before the Constitution Court, the Ministry of Work and the Labor Inspector and in 1997 Chiquita was sentenced in several cases. But, yet no change of the repressive practice has been made by Chiquita. An important deficit of the "Eco-O.K." project is that such violations of its criterias do not lead to the exclusion of these farms from the seal.

Although there are some advances for different reasons, this still does not seem a favorable form of production:

• The production is by way of monoculture in large extensions requiring the use of agrochemicals.
• Aerial fumigation continues, placing at risk the environment, animals and humans.
• Contamination of rivers continues from wastewaters containing pesticides.
• The use of plastic bags with toxins continues.
• Fungicides continue to be applied without the use of electrostatic control that would reduce the excessive amounts used.
• The use of artificial fertilizers continues.
• Job instability and company cooperation with the system of sub-contracting workers who earn less continue.
• There are no union liberties.

Every year the government of Costa Rica through its Ministry of Environment and Energy grants the "Ecological Banner" to companies in recognition of improvements made in their production methods that make them environmentally more friendly. Since 1995 only one banana producer has been on the list each year to win the banner, that of Platanera Rio Sixaola, which also participate in the "Eco-O.K." project. It is worthy of notice that Chiquita with its numerous "Eco-O.K." farms never won the Ecological Banner.

AND THE GOVERNMENT OF COSTA RICA?

The State depends in large measure on the production of bananas for export, not only because some members of the Government and of the Legislative Assembly are banana producers, but also because there are important earnings in foreign currencies and generation of employment. In view of the internal and external debts of the State, its dependence on the earnings by way of foreign commerce and tourism is indeed enormous. In 1996 bananas occupied third place among the most important products to bring in dollars with US$ 580 million. Only the benefits of tourism and the export of textile products were more than the banana incomes. ()

As mentioned before, since 1985 the governments of Costa Rica have fomented banana exports. By different means, they try to minimize production costs in order to be competitive in international markets: the importation of inputs needed by the banana production without charging taxes, the decrease in taxes per box exported from US$ 0.50 to US$ 0.20 in July of 1995 (), the introduction of a Bill to sell at a discount the banana investments in the southern coastal region, at the expense of the State banks (); the weakening of power () on the docks (and the dockworkers labor unions) with the increase in the competitiveness among the different firms by means of privatizing the costs and conditions of workers, the weakening of banana workers unions as a result of changes in the laws and by the practice of confrontation (as occurred in the strike at Geest), but also by the acceptance of violations of national laws (such as the Forestry Law) () and of international conventions. () No doubt, these tendencies are not restricted to banana production alone. ()

The current Government does not act as required by the national laws. That is why it was necessary for the Banana Workers Unions to present an unconstitutionality suit against the Ministry of Labor for violating article 27 of the Constitution, because it did not do what was necessary to resolve previous suits filed by Banana Workers Unions. There are 60 cases pending, in some of which there are cases of firing employees for the sole reason of belonging to a labor union.

In 1997 the banana workers union SITAGAH not only won 8 court cases related to union persecution on COBAL farms belonging to Chiquita Brands, but also won 8 cases against the Ministry of Work (Dept. of General Labor Inspection) for not carrying out as required by law the investigation of denouncements made of union persecution. There are cases still pending at the Ministry of Work and at the Constitutional Court. The union would like to know haw many more court cases it must win before action is taken to make the necessary changes on the plantations. It is formulating a new demand against the government and the companies before the International Labor Organization (ILO) in Geneva, Switzerland.

We criticize the government for being more interested in money than in social or environmental development, in the sense of existing differences between oikos and crematistica. () In order to speak of the benefits brought by the banana companies to Costa Rica it is necessary to consider the effects on the different resources such as land, water, air, culture and the social well being of all members of our oikos. A true "oikonomía" would not permit the contamination of waters, the sterilization of workers, or the social disintegration, as side effects of the management of the resources of our "global home".

FORO EMAUS AND ITS PROPOSALS

The multiple and grave problems caused by the expansion of banana plantations in the 1980s lead the Catholic Church of Limon to issue a Pastoral Letter on the 25th of December, 1989, entitled: "The uncontrolled expansion of banana plantations" (), in which it publicly denounced the intolerable situation. This generated a variety of responses. On the one hand, the Government and private firms strongly criticized the contents of the sensitive message. But on the other hand, several organizations and institutions from a wide spectrum, such as churches, labor unions, environmental organizations, grassroots organizations made up of workers and peasant farmers began a series of meetings, encounters, investigations, publications, workshops, lectures, national and international forums. Finally, in July of 1992, many of these founded the FORO EMAUS (), in order to defend together, as a solidarity network, the environmental and human rights in banana production, having a global perspective, and being coordinated on a national and international level. In September of that same year, the FORO EMAUS carried out a march in the streets of San Jose in protest against the social and environmental damages caused by the expansion of banana production. Everyone participated, men and women workers, priests, labor union organizers, students, peasant farmers, environmentalists demanding a halt to the expansion. In this way, the country realized what was occurring in the Atlantic Region. Finally, for several reasons, the destructive expansion stopped in 1994.

But the tasks of the FORO EMAUS are not finished by any means, because the current banana production continues to cause damages both to the environment and to people. Both national and international support has grown. One example is the creation of the European network called "EUROBAN" that brings together many organizations in solidarity to the causes of FORO EMAUS. Also in the USA contacts with organizations have been made.

The goals of the FORO EMAUS are the following:

ENVIRONMENTAL

* Support efforts directed at promoting the organic production of bananas.

* Investigate, inform and denounce abuses and violations against the environment in banana production.

* Develop and participate in consciousness raising programs in the banana plantation communities regarding environmental topics in banana production.

HUMAN RIGHTS

* Support the work carried out by the labor unions on the banana plantations, especially their struggle for the freedom to organize.

* Investigate and denounce the abuses committed on the banana plantations against the workers, men and women, indigenous communities and peasant farmers.

* Give social and legal support to migrant Nicaraguans and Costa Rican and Panamanian Indigenous communities in the fight to defend their rights. Likewise, carry out actions that sensibilize Costa Rican society regarding these problems.

* Prepare publications regarding different topics related to the life of men and women workers on the banana plantations.

 COORDINATION

* Serve as a focus of analysis, coordination and reflection regarding the problems around banana production.

* Carry out different actions with national and international organizations, to promote respect for the environment and human rights related to banana production.

* Support the efforts of national and international organizations in search of more just markets for banana production.

There are many particular proposals. In the following months, the FORO EMAUS will publish its proposals for the minimum norms required in banana production. Here we would like only to highlight some of the major ideas:

* Abolish the practice of "black-listing" and allow union freedom.

* Enforcement by the government and the companies of national laws and international conventions.

* Respect for the minimum standards in banana production.

* Gradual transformation of the industrial production of bananas towards one that is socially just and respectful of the environment.

Organic Production

In Costa Rica there is an alternative form of production that is socially just and environmentally sustainable. The small farmers and Indigenous communities have experience in organic farming that goes back many generations. They know, for example of more than 200 plants that can be used as natural pesticides to protect their crops without damaging the environment. Organic production means not only to produce without chemicals, but to respect what Nature patiently teaches us. In Nature there are no monocultures, but rather a wise combination of different plants growing together as a whole tropical garden.

Unfortunately, the quotas in Europe that favor a destructive production, the export licenses granted by the Costa Rican Government, and the transport monopoly in hands of the transnational companies prevent alternative forms of production that might take on more important dimensions in a more just international market.

More importantly, we believe that the Government and the banana companies should recognize that there are serious problems in the current practices of export banana production, so that we can work together to find solutions. In addition, it is necessary to begin an international process that includes both producer countries and consumer countries to find sustainable solutions to all these problems.

Together we continue working

Thank you for your attention.

FORUM EMAUS