Deal #1151 Version #51496

No consultation with the forest-dwelling Bagyeli people During the privatisation of the current Socapalm plantation after 2000, the government committed to returning thousands of hectares to local communities, but so far only just over 100 hectares have been returned. Concession boundaries are unclear for communities and living space for communities is not sufficient due to plantation encroachment. People are not aware of what land has been returned to them and where their customary lands and farms are inside concession boundaries.

On June 1, 2016, hundreds of community members peacefully mobilized to disrupt Socapalm and Safacam's activities in five plantations (Mbambou, Mbongo, Dibombari, safacam, Kienké) and to challenge the company administration. In June 2020, Mongabay reported on a decade of community resistance around unresolved issues including land rights, poor housing conditions for workers, pollution and a low integration of the local population into the workforce.

Land acquisition conflicts Plantation conflicts (incl. Pulp Deforestation) Agro-fuels and biomass energy plants (Agro-toxics). Guardian in 2015 reported that villagers in the Dibombari region protested the expansion onto land they claim as their own, staging blockades to prevent construction workers from crossing their lands.

Traditional authorities of Mbonjo, a village located in Moungo division of the Littoral region accuse SOCAPALM (Société Camerounaise de Palmeraies) of defiling their cultural heritage and landgrabbing. Mbonjo Community is a typical agricultural setting that depends on subsidence economy for survival and can no longer survive because not only have their land be expropriated but they have been denied their source of survival. The group has also been accused of water pollution and inequitable distribution of wealth. For instance, the agrochemicals used in the monocultures and the residues of its Kienké processing plant have massively polluted nearby rivers. Numerous reports also confirm that Socapalm is taking villagers’ lands outright. Increase in land conflicts between immigrants and local people because of the scarcity of land.

In 2013, an action plan was signed between Bolloré Group and some ten NGOs defending the rights of communities on the issue of palm oil production in Cameroon. It was intended to improve the living conditions of residents and workers of SOCAPALM.

However, the Bolloré Group is accused of never having respected its commitments. The workers of SOCAPALM are disgruntled because after several hours of work they are paid only 650 FCFA daily.

Water Wells

According to the company sources neigbouring communities have access to free education for their children in schools built by Socapalm and also have free access to Socapalm’s medical services. Socapalm provides several villages with electrical connections of medium and low voltage; several drinking water units are also installed in the villages, as well as boreholes and wells for which Socapalm ensures repair and maintenance.Furthermore, Socapalm ensures the excavation and re-profiling of roads, construction and maintenance of bridges connecting the villages to each other and to the urban centers.

In 2013, an action plan was signed between Bolloré Group and some ten NGOs defending the rights of communities on the issue of palm oil production in Cameroon. It was intended to improve the living conditions of residents and workers of SOCAPALM. Local producers have been staging strike actions against the company, which they accuse of failing to respect terms of the agreement.