Industrial oil palm plantations: A model that violates forest-dependent peoples and their territories

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WRM | 15 October 2015

Industrial oil palm plantations: A model that violates forest-dependent peoples and their territories
 
To mark the International Day of the Struggle against Monoculture Tree Plantations on September 21, WRM, together with organizations and networks from around the world, this year issued a declaration condemning the expansion of the industrial oil palm plantation model. The expansion of this model is leading to a growing number of economic, social, cultural and environmental impacts. Once again, aspiring to break the circle of silence around the violations faced by the communities whose territories are invaded and surrounded by these monocultures, we shout loud and clear: Plantations are not forests!
 
Industrial oil palm plantations have been the type of monoculture that has been expanding fastest in the last few decades. In the period 1990-2010 these plantations expanded globally about threefold, especially in Indonesia and Malaysia. And over the past 15 years, a series of free trade agreements favored the latest expansion wave of industrial oil palm plantations, not only in Indonesia and Malaysia but also in countries in Africa and Latin America. Another trend that pushes expansion comes especially from Europe with the increasing demand for agrofuels.
 
Palm oil companies are making (non-binding) so-called "zero-deforestation" pledges as part of their “corporate responsibility" policies. However, reports from the ground already show that even after companies have made these pledges, the evidence about environmental and social violations of these same companies continues. But most disturbing is the fact that the objective of these commitments is not to halt industrial oil palm expansion, but is instead an attempt to "green" the sector. By retaining a logic of unlimited expansion, these "commitments" are actually a threat to more communities losing their land and livelihoods.
 
Moreover, the growing interest of corporations in forests, and especially trees, is explained because these have become even more important under “green capitalism”. Forests’ capacity to store carbon and biodiversity is used as a source for generating carbon and biodiversity credits, which can be then sold to polluting countries and companies to either "compensate" for the destruction generated elsewhere or to make profits on financial markets.
 
REDD+ and REDD+-like policies, which promote financing forest conservation through the sale of carbon and biodiversity credits, can channel this money to oil palm companies for conservation of forest areas with a so-called “high carbon value” that oil palm companies have been identifying on their land concessions. This way, oil palm companies can “green” their activities. But conserving areas with “high carbon value” does not change the harmful impacts of a sector that requires significant use of water, agrotoxins, chemical fertilizers and fossil energy, and that occupies vast territories which numerous communities used to live in or depend upon for their livelihoods. Rather than presenting any real solution to climate change, the oil palm industry contributes to climate destruction. And those who will be most affected by such policies are the forest dependent peoples and peasant communities, who will see their access to their lands and forests increasingly restricted by oil palm plantations expansion. For them, not only a “high carbon value” forest is important, but all of the areas that they need to maintain their livelihoods and cultures.
 
In addition, governments of palm oil producing countries, together with the industry’s transnational companies have been active in appealing for the re-categorization of oil palm plantations as ‘forests’ instead of agricultural crops! This absurdity is made possible because according to the prevailing FAO definition, a forest is basically any area with tree cover. The aim of the re-categorization is to guarantee access to the “opportunity” represented by a potential REDD+ agreement under the UN climate negotiations in Paris by the end of this year. With such an agreement, palm oil companies would be able to sell carbon credits in the future, using the deceitful argument of promoting “zero net deforestation” or “reforestation”.
 
The emphasis on deforestation tends to take attention away from the wider range of impacts caused by industrial oil palm plantations, such as:
 
    Destruction of local livelihoods and displacement. The regions where oil palm plantations are being promoted are home for peasants and indigenous peoples and are areas of tropical forests that they depend on for economic, social, spiritual and cultural reasons. Industrial oil palm plantations therefore cause the loss of land and thus the livelihoods of communities, especially for women, because of their specific relation with the forest, resulting in displacement of these communities.

    Destructive logging and human rights violations. In many cases, these plantations are also a result of devastating logging in the past that paved the way for oil palm plantations coming in. Moreover, land clearing through burning for developing oil palm plantations in Indonesia has been continuing for more than a decade, resulting in an almost annual haze across Southeast Asia. This practice not only harms the environment, but also the health of millions of citizens.

    Privileged land access for corporations, not communities. Introducing the model of industrial oil palm cultivation through land concessions guarantees privileged access to agricultural lands for long periods to corporations, increasing their power and influence. Thus, the struggles of communities in defence of their collective rights over these territories, and for a diversified, agro-ecological agriculture tend to become increasingly harder.

    Miserable working conditions. Jobs turn out to be few and labor conditions are often akin to slavery, and child labor as well as drug abuse among workers and prostitution have been documented in numerous instances. Workers are also especially affected by the obligation to apply agrotoxins in monoculture plantations, including products forbidden in many countries. Many become ill for the rest of their lives, without being able to count on any compensation.

    Increasing criminalization of social movements and local opposition. A very concerning aspect is also that communities and supporting organizations as well as workers in oil palm plantations have to deal worldwide with an increasing trend of human rights violations including criminalization. Also in other countries people were killed, arrested and/or persecuted, just because of their struggle to defend the collective rights of communities over their territories and their opposition against the invasion of their territories by industrial oil palm companies. Meanwhile, companies can count on all sorts of protection from security forces of the state.

 
Since 2006, September 21st has been established as the International Day of Struggle against Tree Monocultures, aiming to increase the visibility of the growing number of peoples and communities, often the most marginalized ones, including the women and youth, who are struggling in different places and countries against industrial oil palm and other monocultures of eucalyptus, pine, acacia and rubber plantations. Large-scale industrial tree monocultures are not acceptable, neither for local communities nor for a world facing a severe crisis with manifold symptoms, including climate change, economic and environmental deterioration and increasing militarization and human rights violations.
 
For these reasons, this bulletin focuses on denouncing oil palm plantations’ expansion and some of its consequences for forest dependent peoples and their territories. The West Papua article brings attention to a remote region where the expansion of these plantations is benefiting large business conglomerates at the expense of indigenous and traditional populations. Furthermore, the Liberian government’s push to facilitate logging concessions for large-scale oil palm cultivation is another important warning, especially in a context plagued by illegal logging and corruption. From Brazil, a report from the field reveals how the mining company VALE is establishing oil palm plantations in the Amazon state of Pará, as a way to meet the agrofuel industry’s demand for trains to carry its minerals, but above all to strengthen an alleged "green" image. This bulletin also includes an article on the role of banks and investors who speculate on these plantations, helping to strengthen and expand oil palm corporations and generating huge profits for their portfolios. Finally, the bulletin also includes an article that reminds us that tens of millions of people in Africa not only depend on this tree for their livelihoods and cultures, but also preserve and value it as a source of life. Happy reading!
 
 See the International Declaration for the 21 September here
 

Africa: Where palm oil is still a source of life

These days, with so many companies jumping into the oil palm plantations business and with more and more extensive areas of forests being turned into this monoculture, it is easy to disregard the origins and traditional uses of the oil palm tree. The fact is that tens of millions of people in Africa, the centre of origin for oil palm, rely on this tree for food and livelihoods. And the tree and its traditional use are of particular relevance and importance to women. For them, palm oil is an essential ingredient in local dishes, a source for traditional medicine and animal feeds. African communities use every part of a traditional oil palm tree, from its roots to its branches to produce everything from wine and soups to soaps and ointments, and even a whole range of textiles and household materials. However, the global land grab for industrial oil palm plantations puts these people, the oil palms they look after and their traditional systems of use and production at tremendous risk.

A history of diversity

Oil palms trace their origins to Africa. And it is in this region where the plant soon became an integral part of their food systems, local economies and cultures. According to research from the NGO GRAIN, in the traditional songs of many countries of West and Central Africa, oil palm is called the “tree of life”.

In Africa, most oil palms are still grown in the groves in mixed forests. These groves are often cared for and harvested by a particular family, passed down from generation to generation. Such semi-wild groves are found in large parts of Africa, from Senegal in the west, to the southern end of Angola, from along the banks of Lake Kivu and Tanganyika on the East African coastline, and even on the west coast of Madagascar. Nigeria contains the continent’s largest area of wild or semi-wild palm groves, with over 2.5 million hectares. African farmers in West and Central Africa also grow oil palms, mixing them with other crops like bananas, cacao, coffee, groundnuts and cucumbers.

It is extremely difficult to find reliable figures on the area covered by oil palms grown in traditional systems in Africa, because of: 1) the difficulty of separating forest areas -containing oil palm trees as one of their components from natural palm groves where oil palms constitute the sole or main tree species; 2) the difficulty of distinguishing between “wild stands” and palm groves that have been part of local communities’ agricultural practices for centuries (some natural, some planted); 3) the difficulty of classifying palm stands as family plantations (that may or may not sell the fruit to an industrial processing unit) or as outgrower plantations contractually linked to an industrial plantation unit; 4) the existence of abandoned industrial plantations that are being used by local communities as if they were natural palm stands; and, 5) the lack of updated inventories of natural palm stands, small scale plantations and industrial plantations (See WRM’s “Oil Palm in Africa” publication).

According to GRAIN, the type of oil palms grown in Africa is also significantly different from those grown elsewhere. Most palm oil in Africa is produced from the traditional dura variety, which grows in the wild, and not the high yielding crossbreeds used on plantations. Many African peasants prefer it because it creates less shade and therefore does not hinder the growth of other crops on their farms. They also favour it for the quality of palm oil it produces, which sells for a premium in local markets.

In the local markets of West and Central Africa, the quality of a palm oil is typically judged by its colour. African women say that the palm oil extracted from traditional oil palms is better because it has a more intensively red colour than that extracted from the modern varieties. In Benin, traditional palm oil sells for 20-40% more in the markets than that from modern varieties. Women who use the traditionally grown oil palm also say that their traditional sauces made with boiled palm kernels have a lighter and thus better texture when made with kernels from traditional palms than with those from modern ones.

Palm oil in Côte d'Ivoire

Palm oil has long been the vegetable oil of choice in Côte d'Ivoire. The average Ivorian consumes about 10 kilos of it per year. It is used not only for frying but also as a main ingredient for many local dishes, from gombos and other sauces to various dishes made with plantains or foufou. Palm oil gives these foods a particular taste and colour that is highly valued in Ivorian cuisine. Imports and highly refined palm oil from industrial plantations and modern mills have taken a share of this market from traditional producers. But despite higher prices, consumers remain loyal to traditional palm oil, even in the cities.

Oil palms in Cameroon

According to Marie-Crescence Ngobo, from RADD, all parts of the oil palm, including its byproducts, are raw materials for making indigenous remedies. The Yambassa people in Mbam use the leaves of traditional oil palms to treat tooth decay. Palm wine mixed with various other ingredients is used as a remedy for male impotence, chlamydia, gonococcal infections, stomach ache, jaundice, and measles.

The Mvele, a Beti sub-tribe, prepare a meal of hearts of oil palm for new mothers, as it stimulates milk flow. Some other uses include the black palm kernel oil, which is used in skin and hair care and is an indispensable and ubiquitous ingredient in formulas for newborns. Further, coal made from the kernel also serves as a teeth whitener and communities in southern Cameroon use it as a toothpaste. Ash from the burned tree bark relieves boils.
 
Extract from a Béninois song (translated)
What you can take from my song
Is this: that the palm tree standing there;
Anyone who wishes to benefit from it should care for it and worship it
Look at its leaves which are used for making brooms
Look at the parts which are used for making ropes to draw water from the well
From the palm tree, you get branches and cakes
On the same palm tree there are big stems which hold nuts
Look at the liquids it produces: palm oil and wine
Anyone who wants to benefit,
should know that we get the best quality oil from these nuts;



** This article, "Africa: Where palm oil is still a source of life", was extracted from “A long history and vast biodiversity”, GRAIN, 22 September 2014, https://www.grain.org/article/entries/5035-a-long-history-and-vast-biodiversity
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