Sierra Leone

La résistance de communautés au Cameroun et en Sierra Leone dont les terres sont envahies depuis des décennies par la société d'huile de palme et de caoutchouc Socfin a infligé un coup économique à cette dernière, nous explique le Mouvement mondial pour les forêts tropicales

Resistance of communities from Cameroon and Sierra Leone whose lands have been invaded by the palm oil and rubber company Socfin for decades dealt an economic blow to the company.

The Company has mapped an initial area of 5,000 ha and the tree planting project could be expanded to at least 25,000 ha in total size.

As part of the restoration, the UK company has planted more than 1.8 million trees in Sierra Leone since 2023, and the long-term goal is to plant over 10 million trees across 15,000 hectares of degraded community land.

Once a thriving agricultural hub in Pujan district southern Sierra Leone, Malen chiefdom has become a symbol of resistance and resilience particularly for women whose life were upended in March 2011.

"Pour Socfin, la lutte contre les violences passe par la promotion des femmes à des positions hiérarchiques supérieures."

La Coalition pour des multintionales responsables sort un dossier sur les plaintes d’exploitation sexuelle, de violence, d’expulsion et de pollution autour des plantations de caoutchouc et d’huile de palme du groupe Socfin, dont une grande partie du négoce agricole se fait via la Suisse.

Under the agreement, Rainforest Builder will expand its operations to restore at least 15,000 hectares of degraded forest land, plant over 2 million indigenous trees

The UK's AgDevCo has made a $7 million investment in Planting Naturals, a producer of organic palm oil in Sierra Leone that operates a vertically integrated model, sourcing fruits from both its own plantations and a growing network of smallholder farmers.

Under the agreement, community development (education, healthcare, livelihoods and infrastructure) will be linked to the company's profits in Sierra Leone.

"Existing disputes related to land lease, environmental concerns and support to the community have remained challenging," the Chief Minister says

A Socfin spokesperson told Mongabay that the collective statement by civil society offers a “broad brush overview” that “understates both the calibrated nature of the EF findings and the tangible progress we have already made.”