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ARGENTINA-URUGUAY: Pulp Mill Agreement Eases Tension, Not Residents’ Fears

Marcela Valente

BUENOS AIRES, Jul 25 2005 (IPS) - While the tension sparked between the governments of Argentina and Uruguay by plans to install two pulp mills on a river dividing the countries appears to have been smoothed over, local residents and activists continue to demand a halt to both projects.

After a meeting held Friday in Buenos Aires, Argentine Foreign Minister Rafael Bielsa and his Uruguayan counterpart, Reinaldo Gargano, agreed to establish a binational technical commission to study the environmental impact of the cellulose plants being built near the Uruguayan town of Fray Bentos on the shores of the Uruguay River, which forms part of the border between the two South American nations.

A six-month deadline was set for the completion of the study.

The plants are being constructed by two foreign companies – Empresa Nacional de Celulosa (ENCE) of Spain and Botnia of Finland – for the production of wood pulp, which is used to manufacture paper.

Protests against these projects were initiated by environmental organisations in Uruguay, but since 2003 they have been joined by residents groups in Gualeguaychú, the Argentine town located across the river from Fray Bentos.

Over recent months, the Argentine foreign ministry had begun to echo the concerns of local residents and activists regarding the pollution that will be generated by the mills, which could potentially harm the soil, air and water on the Argentine side of the border as well.

The governments of the two countries had agreed in May to jointly analyse the environmental impact of the pulp mills, but Uruguay did not attend the meetings scheduled for this purpose. Argentina subsequently decided to ask the World Bank to withhold financial assistance for the projects unless a binational environmental impact study was completed.

Both Botnia and ENCE completed impact studies of their own, which were submitted to the Uruguayan authorities as required by law. The reports earned the approval of the previous administration, replaced in March by the leftist Broad Front government led by President Tabaré Vázquez.

Contrary to the hopes of environmental activists, the new left-wing government has ratified that approval and given its full support to the construction of the plants.

The Uruguayan government and the foreign companies involved have repeatedly stressed that the Uruguayan mills will be equipped with more modern, less polluting technology.

In fact, both Botnia and ENCE are planning to use a so-called elemental chlorine free (ECF) bleaching process in their plants. While not as harmful as older technologies, ECF bleaching still involves the use of chlorine dioxide, leading to the emission of dioxins and furans, which are not only harmful to human health, but can also spread over long distances and persist for years or even decades.

There is, however, a newer, cleaner bleaching process, known as totally chlorine free (TCF), which produces no dioxins whatsoever. While TCF technology is now being required in pulp mills in the European Union, the European companies will not be using it in their Uruguayan operations.

The campaign against the mills under construction in Uruguay was also backed by the government of the Argentine province of Entre Ríos, where Gualeguaychú is located. But there are a number of cellulose plants already installed in Argentina, which have generated significant pollution.

As the conflict between the Argentine and Uruguayan governments over the proposed Uruguayan mills heated up, environmentalists and residents on both sides of the border drew hope from Argentina’s apparent opposition to the projects.

Activists interviewed by IPS are sceptical about the agreement reached Friday.

“If the environmental study is not legally binding, then the agreement is unacceptable,” said Alejandro Gahan, an Argentine member of the Citizens Association for the Defence of the Uruguay River, formed by residents of both Gualeguaychú and Fray Bentos.

“We have already seen this in other cases, where experts have given a thumbs down to a project, but the companies have gone ahead anyway,” he stressed.

According to Bielsa, at the meeting held Friday specifically to address this issue “there was one hundred percent agreement” between Argentina and Uruguay – an allusion to statements made shortly beforehand by Gargano, who had said that the two governments were “99 percent” in agreement.

“This episode is now a thing of the past,” said Bielsa, adding that relations between the two countries are “mature” and “solid” enough for a solution to be found to any bilateral problem.

“We are steadfastly opposed to pollution, and we hope with all our hearts that the report says the plants do not pose a threat,” said the foreign minister.

When questioned by IPS, he admitted that the report would not be binding, but said it would have the “authority” of being the first issued by a binational commission.

The commission will be made up of three experts from the Universidad Nacional del Litoral in Argentina and the Universidad de la República in Uruguay.

“Up until now there have been reports from the paper companies, local organisations and Uruguay, but this will be the first binational study,” he underlined.

For their part, however, activists and residents are suspicious. As far as Gahan is concerned, the agreement is aimed solely at “cooling off the resistance of local residents,” and the authorities have no intention of backing down on their plans to go ahead with the mills.

“But we think these projects should be halted once and for all, and if they aren’t, then it will be time to start legal action,” he said.