Salango is a small parish south of Manabí. What this land means to Ecuador, however, is huge. Its name is associated with the pre-Columbian legacy of the Manta Wancavilca cultures, the humpback whales that arrive each year to mate, the homonymous island and its coral reefs, the great wealth of marine fauna. It is there, in one of the places with the greatest archeological and environmental heritage of our country, where the Polar fishmeal processor has been operating for 35 years. What does not emerge from the idyllic postcards of the area is the foul smell that pollutes the air, the portrait of people sick from the factory's toxic wastes, the disgusting black smoke that flows into the sea directly from the processor pipeline. That is why it is the struggle of the few members of the community who have not given up and demand that Polar leave.
Vandana Shiva discusses biodiversity at the World Women’s Congress for a Healthy Planet in Miami, Nov. 1991 in advance of the Earth Summit. In a follow up workshop women devise policy. Wangari Maathai reads the final platform. At a concluding press conference, Peggy Antrobus underscores that the real issues were discussed by women in Miami, and will not be put forth in Rio.
Narrated by Academy Award winners Sissy Spacek and Herbie Hancock, River of Gold is the disturbing account of a clandestine journey into Peru's Amazon rainforest to uncover the savage unraveling of pristine jungle. What will be the fate of this critical region of priceless biodiversity as these extraordinarily beautiful forests are turned into a hellish wasteland?
One day, a tree like any other jumps into a pair of boots and goes off for a walk inviting everyone it meets to follow.
