Large-Scale Tree Plantations

Three-quarters of oil palm concessions in Indonesia and Malaysian Borneo certified by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) occupy land that was forest and/or wildlife habitat as recently as 30 years ago.

A network of civil society organizations and social movements launched a letter to expose how big companies (agribusiness, industrial tree plantation, oil and mining sectors) take advantage of this time of crisis with the Covid-19 pandemic to strengthen the image of their brands by making donations to vulnerable populations. Meanwhile, they continue operating in the midst of the pandemic.

Conversatorio virtual realizado el 21 de Septiembre de 2020, en conmemoración del Día Internacional de Lucha contra los Monocultivos de Árboles. Organizado por la Red Latinoamericana contra los Monocultivos de Árboles (Recoma).

We share the Declaration of the Latin American Network Against Monoculture Tree Plantations.

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!"

We invite organizations from Brazil, and also from other countries, to sign-on this letter -until September 21st- to strengthen our struggle and resistance against the impacts of corporations in our territories.

Communities have a long history of confronting the disasters imposed by corporations and elites. For them, the “emergency” was a reality well before the Covid-19 pandemic. Yet, profit-seekers are abusing the situation to advance land grabs and roll back legislation.

While palm oil companies present themselves as benevolent donors during the pandemic, communities living in and around these plantations tell another story. Activists against industrial oil palm plantations talk about communities’ situation since the Covid-19 outbreak.

Funds from the Compensatory Afforestation scheme have been allocated for Covid-19 relief measures. The scheme has funded plantations that invade community land and has led to illegal evictions where “Protected Areas” have been declared. This has not stopped during the lockdown.

The documentary “Selling out West Papua”, shown on Al Jazeera, with associated reporting by news portals Gecko and Mongabay, reveals how two Korean companies, Posco and Korindo, are engaging in corrupt deals as they buy up forests on a large scale to develop oil palm plantations in West Papua. The impacts for communities are devastating.

Company plans 75,000 hectare expansion of Industrial Tree Plantations in Seven Countries in the Global South: Sierra Leone, Ghana, Uganda, Ethiopia, Peru, Ecuador and Paraguay. Download the leafelt to know more about the company and why communities should be alert.