Mozambique

Sign this letter to alert people in the global North! Stop development agencies from promoting expansion of large-scale tree plantations.

It is a day for organizations, networks and movements to celebrate resistance and raise their voices to demand, “Stop the Expansion of Monoculture Tree Plantations!"

In response to an article that was published in WRM’s bulletin, Missão Tabita and WRM received letters from the plantation company, Portucel, and the organization, ORAM. The letters claimed that the article was untrue; however, neither Portucel nor ORAM could prove that the information published was not true.

The company, Portucel, considers its thousands of hectares of plantations in Mozambique to be “sustainable,” despite serious problems and conflicts with and among local communities.

Only available in Portuguese.

Oil giants Eni and Shell have both recently announced plans to use trees to offset some of their ever increasing carbon emissions. On May 13th, NGOs put out a statement opposing the oil industry’s attempts to avoid its responsibility for climate breakdown.

While the destruction of forest territories continues, more pledges, agreements and programs are being implemented in the name of ‘addressing deforestation and climate change’.

BIOFUND, a conservation fund to finance protected areas in Mozambique—with support from the World Bank, international cooperation and conservation NGOs—intends to use biodiversity offsets to obtain resources and speculate in financial markets.

Despite the many profound damages that industries cause in the world's forests, they also cause something else to emerge: the strong and diverse resistance movements of affected communities defending their territories, livelihoods, cultures and even their existence. The struggle continues! (Available in Swahili).

Peasants’ movements and civil society organizations from Mozambique, Brazil and Japan met in Tokyo, Japan, in November 2018, for the fourth Triangular Peoples’ Conference against ProSAVANA.

This web report shows the complex dynamics involved in land use and how a consultation over a plantation company's access to land was interpreted totally differently by the two sides. The web report also documents how local officials and community leaders attempting to promote what they see as "development" but which has negatively affected local people. Access the web report “Land of plenty, but of only a few” here: http://terradealguns.divergente.pt/en/

In order to better understand peoples' struggles across the southern and eastern regions of Africa, reflecting on its history is crucial. This editorial highlights some parts of this history. And this, of course, is just the tip of the iceberg.