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Land grabbing in Uganda: Voices from the community

Denis Burke — 2013-05-21T11:15:00Z

Wilmar International is developing palm oil plantations in biodiverse islands off the coast of Lake Victoria, Uganda. The first phase of the project was completed in 2011 and the second phase of the project is currently going ahead. The second phase will expand palm oil plantations onto several other islands. The project is being promoted as a poverty-reducing endeavour, yet it is causing displacement, food insecurity and deforestation. Read more on the background to this case.

Watch more video testimonies from community members affected by land grabbing >

Images and personal stories


Okia comes from the mainland and is a palm plantation security guard. He is employed to protect the land from locals looking for firewood or people attempting to remove diesel from the diggers.	Some of the men and their machines on a newly cleared site of hundreds of acres by the lakeside. This land assumed by locals to be common land and therefore for public use was all of a sudden in the hands of the plantation owner, BIDCO. Locals were shown a piece of paper and told that BIDCO were now the new owners.	Nathaniel Bagira is one of only a few in the small village of Kasenyi who have not lost land. He, however, is worried that once the forestland has been consumed by the plantation, his 3.7 acre plot may be given to the company. Without the plot he has nothing and no way of supporting himself.

John Zziwa is a farmer from the village of Njoga which is surrounded by palm plantations. John's neighbours (Epson and Rosemary) have joined the plantation scheme and have planted over forty acres with palm trees. Instead of walking home through a tropical forest John now walks through a plantation.	Edison Musiimenta, Rosemary Nabukeera and daughter Maureen Nuwagaba have come from the mainland. Around eight years ago Edison came looking for work. He was so impressed with the quality of the soil and crop that he asked someone for a small plot of land to farm on. Edison is now one of the larger charcoal producers selling huge bags of the fuel to a mainland agent.	Deforestation on Buvuma Island

Okia comes from the mainland and is a palm plantation security guard. He is employed to protect the land from locals looking for firewood or people attempting to remove diesel from the diggers.

Some of the men and their machines on a newly cleared site of hundreds of acres by the lakeside. This land assumed by locals to be common land and therefore for public use was all of a sudden in the hands of the plantation owner, BIDCO. Locals were shown a piece of paper and told that BIDCO were now the new owners.

Nathaniel Bagira is one of only a few in the small village of Kasenyi who have not lost land. He, however, is worried that once the forestland has been consumed by the plantation, his 3.7 acre plot may be given to the company. Without the plot he has nothing and no way of supporting himself.

John Zziwa is a farmer from the village of Njoga which is surrounded by palm plantations. John's neighbours (Epson and Rosemary) have joined the plantation scheme and have planted over forty acres with palm trees. Instead of walking home through a tropical forest John now walks through a plantation.

Edison Musiimenta, Rosemary Nabukeera and daughter Maureen Nuwagaba have come from the mainland. Around eight years ago Edison came looking for work. He was so impressed with the quality of the soil and crop that he asked someone for a small plot of land to farm on. Edison is now one of the larger charcoal producers selling huge bags of the fuel to a mainland agent.

Deforestation on Buvuma Island

See more images and videos >

European Banks and Pensions Funds Fuel Land Grabs in Uganda

Niccolo Sarno — 2013-05-21T10:30:00Z

British, Dutch, French and German banks give over one billion euros of financial assistance to Wilmar and European and American financial institutions own shares in the company worth 621 million euros.

Wilmar International is one of the largest oil palm plantation owners and refiners in the world and was ranked as the world’s worst company in terms of environmental performance by Newsweek magazine in 2011 and 2012. [2]

New research from Friends of the Earth International links Wilmar’s subsidiaries on Kalangala Island, Uganda to land-grabs and violations of both national laws and environmental legislation.

Communities in Kalangala living and working on land acquired for palm oil plantations have been displaced, often with no compensation or alternative livelihood options. About 3,600 hectares of forest have been destroyed, negatively affecting the environment and livelihoods of local people.

Communities also complain of rising food insecurity on the island since large areas that formerly produced food crops for local consumption have been converted to oil palm.

Friends of the Earth International Food Sovereignty coordinator Kirtana Chandrasekaran said:

“European banks and pension funds are stimulating land grabbing, which is destroying thousands of communities worldwide. The financial sector must take responsibility for their activities and ensure their investments respect human rights and abide by local environmental regulations.”

In Nigeria and Indonesia Wilmar is being investigated by a certification body, the Round Table on Sustainable Palm Oil, for causing deforestation and violating community rights.

The major financiers of Wilmar International in Europe are HSBC (€877 million), BNP Paribas (€241 million), Deutsche Bank (€24 million) and Rabobank (€222 million) as well as Dutch pension funds ABP and Pensioenfonds Zorg en Welzijn which own shares in Wilmar.

The Government of Uganda and United Nations agency International Fund for Agricultural Development also back Wilmar's oil palm project in Uganda but have failed to adequately assess its negative consequences for local people.

Friends of the Earth Uganda campaigner David Kureeba said: “The Government is responsible for protecting its citizens and it must stop facilitating forced purchase of land for investors.

Investors also need to push Wilmar to clean up its act, or put their money elsewhere. Wilmar and its subsidiaries, backed by European money, are forcing communities from their land in Uganda.”

Friends of the Earth International is calling on financiers of Wilmar to pressure the company to clean up its operations, or consider divestment. European banks and pension funds should not be contributing to land conflicts with local communities, to deforestation, or funding companies who violate national laws.

The campaigning group is asking Wilmar and the Government of Uganda to stop land-grabbing, return land taken from communities and ensure that any future development abides by national laws and free, prior and informed consent from affected communities. The Government of Uganda should respect the Uganda Land Act and not allow compulsory acquisition of land for investments.

*ENDS*

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT

David Kureeba, Friends of the Earth Uganda campaigner
Tel: +256-775-349-283, email: kureebamd [at] yahoo.com

Kirtana Chandrasekaran, Friends of the Earth International Food Sovereignty coordinator
Tel: +44 79 619 86956, email: kirtana.chandrasekaran [at] foe.co.uk

NOTES:

[1] The following materials are available:

'Financing of Wilmar International' (May 2013) report is online at:

www.foei.org/wilmar-financing

A factsheet on Wilmar is online at: www.foei.org/factsheet-wilmar

A factsheet on land grabbing in Kalangala, Uganda is online at: www.foei.org/factsheet-kalangala

Photos and video testimonies from communities in Uganda are online at: www.foei.org/landgrabbing

[2] In 2011 and 2012, Newsweek magazine ranked Wilmar as the world’s worst company in terms of environmental performance, the last of the 500 largest publicly traded companies in the world.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2012/10/22/newsweek-green-rankings-2012-global-500-list.html

Palm oil is commonly used in agrofuels, which is putting growing pressure on land, food and forests. European countries have set targets and subsidies for agrofuels, to meet EU renewable energy goals, but these targets have driven the expansion of plantations overseas. Legislation on agrofuels is currently being debated in the European Parliament and Council. Friends of the Earth Europe is urging the EU to cap and then reduce to zero such fuels, as well as introduce full carbon accounting to prevent high carbon fuels like palm oil biodiesel from being sold in Europe.

Videos

Denis Burke — 2013-05-16T13:35:00Z

The Ugandan Government’s willingness to allow foreign companies access to Ugandan land, and forest, is leading to the displacement of local communities and the destruction of their traditional way of life. The large-scale handover of the land they depend on threatens their livelihoods and infringes their basic human rights.

The Ugandan Government along with private investors Wilmar International and BIDCO are developing palm oil plantations on pristine islands in Kalangala, Lake Victoria.

The project is promoted as bringing development to the islands, but communities who rely on subsistence agriculture and the local forests for survival say their land and livelihoods are being destroyed.

On her 2.5 acres of land in Kalangala, Uganda, Imelda grows sweet potatoes, cassava, banana, yams, and rears goats. She has 9 children. She and her family have been threatened by the palm oil company representatives who say that the land is theirs and want her to move away. Elite land owners are constantly looking for land to sell or lease to the company, everyone’s land or right to land is under scrutiny as profit motives begin to tear apart a subsistent society. Her husband is a heavy drinker and she sees no income from him, her only source of income is from the food she grows on her small plot of land.

Reokadia is 65 years old and she lives in Kalangala, Uganda with her husband, 6 children and 4 grandchildren. She has 4 acres of land that belongs to the local church. She is angry about the way the company has not only destroyed the forest but then restricted their access to fire wood. She says all the surrounding forests have been cut down, the wood that lays on the ground is now rotting and when her children attempt to gather some for cooking, the company employees chase them away. With these increased levels of poverty due to lack access to land, many people are now turning to charcoal production as a form of income generation, further contributing to deforestation.

Andrea lives in Kalangala, Uganda. On his 2 acres of land, he grows cassava, sweet potatoes, bananas, yams, passion fruit. He has 3 children and many grand children. Three generations of his family have worked and lived off the land. He has titles to the land and has been tempted to lease the land, but after he found that the land would be sterile after producing palm he decided to continue farming for food. He wants to protect his land and pass it on to future generations.

Wilmar International and its financiers fact sheet

Denis Burke — 2013-05-15T14:15:00Z

This short fact sheet provides essential information about Wilmar's investors and their environmental and social commitments.

Everest 'Climbing for Climate Justice' Expedition Aims to Break World Records

Niccolo Sarno — 2013-05-08T08:30:00Z

Expedition members [1] plan to reach the world's highest mountain peak (8,848 m) on May 26 in an attempt to establish several world records.

The expedition aims to raise awareness of the impacts of climate change and the need for climate justice.

It is organized by Save the Himalayas Campaign and Khangri Media in collaboration with Friends of the Earth Nepal / Pro Public. Friends of the Earth International welcomed the expedition in a letter to the climbers.

The climbers include an 82-year old man trying to break his own record as the oldest person to climb Everest and an armless man trying to establish a Guinness world record for scaling Everest without arms.

“Climate change endangers the glaciers, glacial lakes in the Himalayan mountain range and life and property of the thousands of people residing below the lakes,” said Prakash Mani Sharma, executive director of Friends of the Earth Nepal / Pro Public.

“This expedition aims to draw attention to the disastrous impacts that climate change is having on our precious ecosystems as well as local communities,” he added.

Nepal is highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change and already experiencing severe problems. The glaciers and glacial lakes in the Himalayan mountain range provide water to approximately ten percent of the world’s population.

Glaciers are melting at an increasing rate, and as a result glacial lakes are growing. The problems associated with this are firstly that the risk of glacial lake flooding is significantly increased. There have already been a number of instances of this happening in Nepal and the results can be disastrous for communities that live in the area or downstream.

“The Himalayas nurture bountiful, mighty, revered rivers such as the Ganga, Indus, Mekong, Yangtze, Irrawaddy, and many others. These rivers feed the lives and livelihoods of over 1.5 billion people including in India, Nepal, Tibet, China, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, and Afghanistan” said Dipti Bhatnagar, Friends of the Earth International climate justice and energy co-coordinator.

“Climate change disproportionately affects the most vulnerable and marginalised people in Nepal and around the world; the people who are least responsible for the climate crisis,” said Sarah-Jayne Clifton, Friends of the Earth International climate justice and energy co-coordinator.

“The leaders of the developed countries that caused the crisis are not even trying to deliver climate justice. To avoid climate catastrophe we must transform the unjust and unsustainable economic system at the heart of the problem,” she added.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

IN KATHMANDU, NEPAL (Expedition inquiries and expedition materials requests)

Prakash Mani Sharma, executive director of Friends of the Earth Nepal / Pro Public: Tel: + 977 1 98 51 07 22 26 or email propublic@gmail.com

Babu Ram Paudel, Program Coordinator, Friends of the Earth Nepal / Pro Public: Tel: +977 1 98 41 62 22 87 or email baburam.propublic@gmail.com

IN LONDON (General climate justice inquiries)

Sarah-Jayne Clifton, Friends of the Earth International climate justice and energy co-coordinator: +44 7912 406510 or email sarah.clifton@foe.co.uk

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

[1] The 'Climbing for Climate Justice' Expedition' members are:

1. Speed Climber Pemba Dorje Sherpa, the expedition team leader, holds the world record for climbing Mount Everest in the fastest time. He has set four World Records climbing Mt. Everest.

2. Sudarshan Gautam, a Nepal-born Canadian resident who has no arms. If he reaches the summit of Mount Everest, he will become the first person with no arms or prosthetic limbs to achieve this feat. His aim is to establish a Guinness world record for scaling Everest without arms. He wants to raise awareness of the potential threat of serious injury and disability posed by glacial lakes outburst floods (GLOF).

3. Phurba Tenzin Sherpa is the climb leader for this expedition and holds the world record as the youngest climber to summit Everest 8 times. He will be filming the expedition.

4. Shiva Bahadur Sapkota plans to climb Mount Everest backwards. He is climbing backwards to warn developed countries' leaders that development in countries like Nepal is going backward because developed countries are not taking the urgent steps needed to justly address the climate crisis.

5. Kapur Shrestha is climbing Mount Everest on all fours in a polar bear suit all the way to the Summit. He wants to draw attention to the fact that climate change is endangering many animal species including snow leopards found in the Himalayas and polar bears (found in the Arctic region).

6. Min Bahadur Sherchan, 82, holds the record as the oldest person to climb Mount Everest, since reaching the summit at the age of 77. He aims to break his own record.

7. Suman Shrestha, 22, is the youngest member of the Climbing for Climate Justice Team. He believes we need to save World Heritage sites like Mount Everest for future generations and that youth around the world should join the struggle for climate justice. He is General Manager of Khangri Media.

Transnational Corporations don’t respect Human Rights in Guatemala

Radio Mundo Real — 2013-05-02T09:35:00Z

Guatemala has increasingly opened its doors to foreign and European investors exploiting the country's hydrological and mineral resources, and sugar and palm oil plantations, which has resulted in mounting pressure on local communities and the environment, and has led to land grabs and human rights violations.

These violations often take place in collaboration with the government, according to the representatives of social movements.

“The current government has introduced a policy of repression – pursuing and illegally incarcerating people from social movements resisting so called “development” projects,“ warned Víctor Barro, chair of Friends of the Earth Spain.

Barro took part in a November 2012 international mission organized by Friends of the Earth International that verified systematic human rights violations and criminalization of environmental activists and communities resisting mining and hydroelectric projects in Guatemala and El Salvador.

According to Natalia Atz Sunuc, Friends of the Earth Guatemala general coordinator : "Campesinos and indigenous people are labeled as 'terrorists' for defending their basic human rights in a peaceful way".

According to Paula del Cid, representative of the Feminist Association “La Cuerda” of Guatemala : "in a context of mandatory evictions, the role of the army is increasing, and sexual abuse is being used as a tool to intimidate women who are defending their land."

In June 2011, forty European parliamentarians denounced the situation in Guatemala, but the European Union still refuses to take a stand in their trade and investment policies.

Civil society organisations based in Brussels – Friends of the Earth Europe, Aprodev, CIFCA and Grupo Sur – have called on the European Union to ensure policies include mechanisms to monitor and enforce the defence of human rights.

The Spanish company Hidralia Energía, developing dams for hydroelectric power in Santa Cruz de Barillas, Guatemala, began development with neither permission nor consent from indigenous and local communities.

This is just one blatant example of how a company supported by the government grab land to exploit Guatemala's natural resources while criminalising peasants and indigenous people.

“The Guatemalan and Spanish governments must take responsibility and do everything in their power to protect human rights in Guatemala,” said Víctor Barro, Chair of Friends of the Earth Spain.

A recent example of unjust detention is the case of Ruben Herrera who has been detained since March 2013 in Guatemala. He is the leader of the resistance to projects such as Hidro Santa Cruz (originally Hidralia SA) and a member of the Peoples’ Assembly of Huehuetenango (ADH).

An international petition to free Herrera has been launched. The petition states that over 20 community leaders, including Ruben, are being unjustly persecuted or are unjustly put on trial.

Friends of the Earth Netherlands: Nigerians and Milieudefensie appeal in Shell case

milieudefensie — 2013-05-02T09:22:11Z

In one case, the court ruled in favour of Milieudefensie and one of the Nigerian plaintiffs, Elder Friday Akpan. Shell was ordered to pay compensation to this farmer from the village of Ikot Ada Udo, because the company did not adequately protect its oil well from vandalism, and oil from the well streamed over Akpan’s land. In this case, however, the court ruled that Shell Headquarters in The Hague could not be held liable for the failures of its subsidiary, which is responsible for the daily management of Shell in Nigeria. Milieudefensie hopes that the court in The Hague will reverse its decision on this point – for Milieudefensie it is clear that the headquarters shares responsibility for the massive environmental damage in Nigeria.

The lawyer for the farmers and Milieudefensie disputes in its entirety the decision taken by the court in the cases addressing damage from oil spills from Shell pipelines in the other two villages, Goi and Oruma. In those two cases, the court did not find Shell liable for the damages suffered by the farmers due to the oil spills because the cause was
considered to be sabotage and the court ruled that Shell could not have reasonably prevented it.

In Nigeria the cases are being watched with great interest. Oil and Mining campaigner Evert Hassink of Milieudefensie has been to the country numerous times: ‘In the village of Goi, Chief Eric Dooh and his fellow villagers are still living amidst the sticky black remnants of oil spills from the Shell Trans-Niger pipeline. In Oruma, Chief Fidelis
Oguru, Alali Efanga and the rest of the village are trying to rebuild normal lives. But the fish that supported them in the past have yet to return to the polluted creeks, and they are still hoping to receive compensation for all the years that agriculture was impossible because their fields were polluted by Shell oil.’

The case, which today enters its next phase in the court in The Hague, is of considerable international significance, especially after the recent decision by the US Supreme Court in a comparable case. It ruled that under US law it is not possible in principle to take multinationals to court for human rights violations outside the United States. This further increases the need to hold multinationals liable in their home
country.

Friends of the Earth South Africa: Climate change to be 'unpacked' on Earth Day 2013

Megan Lewis — 2013-04-22T08:30:00Z

Written by groundWork associate researcher David Hallowes, the guide aims to help readers work through the jargon and engage with the global debate on an issue that is already majorly impacting upon people today.

Climate change is just one dimension of global ecological change forced by the massive scale of industrialisation powered by the fossil fuels: coal, oil and gas. The scale of change is such that scientists are calling this the beginning of a new geological epoch – the Anthropocene. Almost as scary as climate change is the jargon that comes with it. This short guide is intended to let people know what is happening and to make the debate more accessible.

This online version of Unpacking Climate Change is interactive, enabling readers to engage in critical discussion with groundWork around the issue of climate change and the various points raised by this publication.

FOOTNOTES:

[1] groundWork is an environmental justice organisation working with community people from around South Africa, and increasingly Southern Africa, on environmental justice and human rights issues focusing on Air Quality, Climate and Energy Justice, Waste and Environmental Health. groundWork is the South African member of Friends of the Earth International www.groundwork.org.za

[2] To read the e-book, visit http://www.groundwork.org.za/Unpacking%20climate%20change%20for%20web/Unpacking%20climate%20change%20for%20web.pdf

[3] For more information on the Earth Day Network and what they have planned this year, visit the website at http://www.earthday.org/2013/

[4] David Hallowes is a Durban-based researcher focusing on climate and energy. His most recent publication Toxic Futures: South Africa in the Crises of Energy, Environment and Capital was published in 2011 by UKZN Press.

European companies not respecting Human Rights in Guatemala

admin — 2013-04-18T15:45:00Z

Guatemala has increasingly opened its doors to European investors, which has resulted in mounting pressure on local communities and the environment, and has led to land grabs and human rights violations. This is often done in collaboration with the government, according to the representatives, in a rush to exploit the nation's gold and nickel deposits, and land for sugar and palm oil development.

The current government wants to introduce a policy of terrorism and repression – pursuing and illegally incarcerating people from social movements. Natalia Atz Sunuc, Friends of the Earth Guatemala said: "Campesinos and indigenous people are labelled as 'terrorists' for defending their basic human rights in a peaceful way".
Paula del Cid, representative of the Feminist Alliance of Guatemala said: "in a context of mandatory evictions, the role of the army is increasing, and sexual abuse is being used as a tool to intimidate women who are defending their land."

In June 2011, forty European parliamentarians denounced the situation in Guatemala, but the European Union still refuses to take a stand in their trade and investment policies. Civil society organisations based in Brussels – Friends of the Earth Europe, Aprodev, CIFCA and Grupo Sur – call on the European Union to ensure policies include mechanisms to monitor and enforce the defence of human rights.

The Spanish company Hidralia Energía, developing dams for hydroelectric power in Santa Cruz de Barillas, Guatemala, began development with neither permission nor consent from indigenous and local communities. This offers a clear example of company and governmental roles in criminalising peasants and indigenous people, while grabbing land to exploit Guatemala's natural resources. Either the Guatemalan or Spanish government must assume their responsibility to respect and protect human rights in Guatemala.

Financial statements 2012

Denis Burke — 2013-04-09T12:25:48Z