Destroy 180,000 hectares of forest to plant oil palm. Jumble and arable land grabbing
With three million dollars from a Malaysian project, about 400 hectares of palm trees have been planted since last March on the site Yengo in Cuvette, a forested area of ??northern Congo – Brazzaville.
planting oil palm is the first step of the three planned to achieve in 2016 more than 180,000 hectares of forest to be razed for palm trees planted in the area between the districts and Makoua Mokeko, about 600 kilometers north of Brazzaville, the Congolese capital.
Congolese authorities announced that the company will cost $ 744 million. Pre-financing have already been found by the Malaysian company ‘Atama Plantation’. The activity can generate up to 20,000 jobs, according to the company.
“It pleases us in advance and we are eager to see the first-ever birth jobs,” said, satisfied, Jules Ongania village chief Kandeko near Yengo.
the Congolese Minister of Agriculture and Livestock, Rigobert Maboundou these plantations allow production of 720,000 tons of palm oil per year. Congo has no industrial production of palm oil. Domestic consumption is partly the work of farmers.
According to statistics published in 2012 by the United Nations Food and Agriculture, the palm oil industry is experiencing since 2010 a 8.7 percent increase. The current global consumption of palm oil is estimated at 22.5 million tonnes and could reach 40 million tons in 2020.
According to the minister, the Congo is the first central African country to launch this great palm oil culture “must be motivated by the international upturn.” The country had large oil palm plantations in 1980-1990, had withdrawn from this sector where workers are still waiting for arrears of unpaid wages.
Through this project, the Congo has also limited its palm oil imports, estimated at 25,000 tons per semester, according to the Congolese customs. Much comes from the Democratic Republic of Congo.
President and CEO of ‘Atama Plantation’, Leong Kian Ming says, moreover, that the biomass generated by waste from palm nuts will produce 6.5 megawatts of electricity per year. In Congo, access to electricity in rural areas is still only five percent.
Despite all these opportunities and the very low rate of 0.2 percent of deforestation in the Congo, civil society believe that the destruction of more than 180,000 hectares of forest will cause a negative impact on the climate in this region.
According to Jean François
Nkombo, the Centre for Studies and Research of Vegetable Brazzaville, when shaving the forest, warming directly attack the exposed soil. “Even if we replant, the impact is that the climate will warm faster than in the past,” he told IPS.
“The destruction of sight of our forests will lead us to hunt and grow far from our villages,” says Jules Itoua, a resident of Yengo, adding with regret: “They almost kicked us out of here without declare. “
Activist Rights, Christian Mounzéo calls for the consideration of the interests of local populations. “The deprivation of land is ordered to starve. What makes our live markets is peasant agriculture and not industry, “said Mounzéo calling on the authorities to involve the people in the project.
Kevin MVIRI, player tracking Voluntary Partnership Agreements on forests, told IPS: “We must make sustainable development and non-destructive. The government must address the social and environmental balance in this area and not to rush to destroy ecosystems. “
On the basis of information collected on Malaysian companies, Gaspard Ickounga of “Congo blessed Earth”, an association based in Brazzaville, fear serious consequences as a result of activities ‘Atama Plantation’. “These people do not respect nature or indigenous peoples. Congo really deals with bad partners, because wherever they go, they do not leave a good impression, “he says emphatically.
official launch plantations Yengo, May 29, the boss ‘Atama Plantation’ was reassured that the authorities take into account the grievances of the people. But it does not convince Isidore Tonga, environmentalist from this region, who said even fear the disappearance of the rich biodiversity Yengo.
“Because herbicides such as paraquat and glyphosate Malaysians often use, we will disappear for 20 percent of the area of ??an area rich in wildlife and plant biodiversity,” warns Tonga, urging authorities “to stop this project. “
Supporting the government’s action, Clotaire Boutsindi Didier, president of the Association for Reconstruction and Social Development Pool (southern region of Congo), denounces the “stateless attitude” of activists who reject the project.
“You do not destroy to destroy, but to development and provide jobs for young people. Impact studies have been conducted on Yengo. Those who shrug talk about things they do not understand, “says Boutsindi. (FIN/2013)
By Arsène Severin
BRAZZAVILLE, June 24, 2013 (IPS)
Source: http://www.ipsinternational.org/fr/_note.asp?idnews=7643
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