Swedwatch is an independent, non-profit organization reporting on business relations in developing countries. Swedwatch is an independent research organization whose task is to critically examine business relations with developing countries focusing on environmental and social concerns as per international human rights law and standards. Swedwatch have five member organizations: Diakonia,

Fair Trade Fair trade is an arrangement designed to help producers in developing countries achieve sustainable and equitable trade relationships. The fair trade movement combines the payment of higher prices to exporters with improved social and enviro ...

Center,

Friends of the Earth Friends of the Earth International (FoEI) is an international network of environmental organizations in 73 countries. The organization was founded in 1969 in San Francisco by David Brower, Donald Aitken and Gary Soucie after Brower's split with ...

, Swedish Latin America group, The Swedish Society for Nature Conservation (SSNC) and

Church of Sweden The Church of Sweden ( sv, Svenska kyrkan) is an Evangelical Lutheran national church in Sweden. A former state church, headquartered in Uppsala, with around 5.6 million members at year end 2021, it is the largest Christian denomination in Sw ...

Reports in English

Available reports in English include:
A Lot of Gold, A Lot of Trouble
2012 June 20: Mineral Invest AB operation to explore and trade gold in the DR Congo
Lost Revolution
2012 May 4: Low wages and long working hours of the garment workers in Bangladesh
Out of focus
November 2011: Digital camera companies in Vietnam
An ugly exploration
2011 November 26: Oil and gas believed to be found in the Ogaden region of Ethiopia
Riskanalys av glas, järn, betong och gips
2011.03.29 *
Voices from DRC on conflict minerals
2010.10.13 *
Lack of formal audits in Namibian uranium mine
2010.09.15

Soybean and deforestation in Brazil

About 20% of the

rainforest Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainfores ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

has already been destroyed. The key reasons for ongoing

deforestation in Brazil Brazil once had the highest deforestation rate in the world and in 2005 still had the largest area of forest removed annually. Since 1970, over of the Amazon rainforest have been destroyed. In 2001, the Amazon was approximately , which is only ...

are

soy bean cultivation The soybean, soy bean, or soya bean (''Glycine max'') is a species of legume native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible bean, which has numerous uses. Traditional unfermented food uses of soybeans include soy milk, from which tofu and ...

and cattle raising. In 2002-2010 the land area of UK was added in the soybean cultivation. Soybean cultivation may not be a problem as such, but large monoculture areas and loss of rain forest may be in conflict with the local law and international agreements, add the use EU denied problematic chemicals, add climate change gases, and conflict with the rights of local peoples. Deforestation is fastest in

Mato Grosso Mato Grosso ( – lit. "Thick Bush") is one of the states of Brazil, the third largest by area, located in the Central-West region. The state has 1.66% of the Brazilian population and is responsible for 1.9% of the Brazilian GDP. Neighboring ...

area, where soybean cultivation doubled in 1996-2006.Mer kött och soja, mindre regnskog
Swedwatch 1.3.2010 Sweden imports annually 385,000 t soybean and 10,000 t beef from Brazil. Soybean is mainly used for animal feed in Sweden. The major soybean importers are Lantmännen and Svenska Foder via Norwegian company Denofa. The major beef importers are North Trade and Annerstedt Flodin. Control of the Swedish companies in the Brazil deforestation was not sufficient. Swedwatch recommends better control, public control reports that can be criticized, and. selection of partners based on certifications. Brazilian certification initiatives include ProTerra restricting genetic modification, Round Table on Responsible Soy (RTRS) accepting genetic modification (e.g. Maggi, Monsanto, Bunge, Cargill, Carrefour, Coop Schweiz, Unilever, Denofa and Swedish Lantmännen and Svensk mjölk and WWF), and Brazilian Certification.

Swedish nuclear and Namibia uran

The import of uranium by

Vattenfall Vattenfall is a Swedish multinational power company owned by the Swedish State. Beyond Sweden, the company generates power in Denmark, Finland, Germany, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. The company's name is Swedish for "waterfall", and ...

has been criticized in the Swedish media and the Parliament e.g. on 23 March 2010.

imports uranium from Namibia, Rössing Uranium Mine owned by

Rio Tinto Rio Tinto, meaning "red river", may refer to: Businesses * Rio Tinto (corporation), an Anglo-Australian multinational mining and resources corporation ** Rio Tinto Alcan, based in Canada ** Rio Tinto Borax in America *** Rio Tinto Borax Mine, a ...

. Rössing Mine do not allow any visitors in the mine area and do not answer any questions concerning the employee health and safety and environmental protection. In 2008

SOMO Somo, SoMo, or SOMO may refer to: Places ;In the United States *Somo, Kentucky, unincorporated community *Somo, Wisconsin, town ;Elsewhere *Somo, Mali, commune Rivers *Somo River, river in Wisconsin, United States Music *SoMo (born 1987), Ameri ...

, the Netherlands, made a health study of the mine workers in Namibia. Vattenfall had not made any official controls for six years in 2010.Vattenfall brister i kontroll i Namibia Namibias uran bakom Svensk kärnkraft 13.9.2010

Gold in Kongo

Swedwatch investigated at Mineral Invest AB business norms in

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

explore, exploit and trade in the

DR Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

. The Swedish financial regulator and public trading have insufficient regulation and guidance for companies operating in difficult or post-conflict countries. Mineral Invest has contracted Congolese

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

to provide security. The unit has been implicated in the ethnic slaughter of

pygmies In anthropology, pygmy peoples are ethnic groups whose average height is unusually short. The term pygmyism is used to describe the phenotype of endemic short stature (as opposed to disproportionate dwarfism occurring in isolated cases in a pop ...

and

cannibalism Cannibalism is the act of consuming another individual of the same species as food. Cannibalism is a common ecological interaction in the animal kingdom and has been recorded in more than 1,500 species. Human cannibalism is well documented, b ...

. The soldiers have also been accused of extorting gold from miners.

Risk analysis of glass, iron, and concrete in public housing

Risk analysis of glass, iron, concrete used in a public building in Stockholm.

Criticism of Sweden’s carbon credits purchase

Sweden is committed to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by about 20 million tonnes per year. Between 1990 and 2009 Sweden's emissions decreased slightly, but they increased again in 2010. In line with Swedish emissions targets, a third of the reduction will be achieved by purchasing carbon credits. About the hydropower project in northern India to buy carbon credits. The project is partly financed by a fund administered by the World Bank. There were numerous problems concerning health and safety, working conditions and migrant workers. Study highlights a lack of accountability, doubts about additionality and sustainable development.Criticism of Sweden’s carbon credits purchase
report summary: 2012.11.01
Full report
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References

External links

Finnwatch

Norwatch

DanWatch
{{Authority control Non-profit organizations based in Sweden