Deal #1396 Version #53348

In 2010: concession area 220,000ha plus 40,000ha for outgrowers (contract and farmland grab articles). Conflicting information over hectares obtained- Ecofys report states 240 000 hectares. The company is scaling back the Butaw plantation. Company director states size under contract and intended size is 220 000ha.

Economic development

Option to extend lease to 99 years. The 220 000 is not a set lease area but development area is subject to agreement with communities - there are NO hectares (sites) defined in the concession agreement. The concession agreement merely allows for the company to acquire a total of 220 000 ha from communities. The agreement was signed with the government in 2010, however the agreements with the communities are on-going. The company signed an MOU for 13354ha in 2014 (already included in the 220 000ha) from community members. The company forced the community to sign four additional MOU's in 2014 during the Ebola outbreak, once community leaders would not attend meetings due to Ebola. The community members signed but do not know what the MOU states.

The first nursery was established in 2010. Land clearance first commenced in December 2010 and accelerated in September 2011, before being halted by a December 2012 freeze on plantation expansion requested by the RSPO in response to community complaints. Plantation expansion re-commenced during 2013 and 2014, in Sinoe (Butaw) and Grand Kru counties. The community claims that the company used the Ebola outbreak to clear more land, as community leaders were dealing with the Ebola outbreak. GVL’s nursery has 3 million seedlings waiting to be planted. GVL suspended the operations on the Butaw plantation following the rioting by the villagers in May 2015. The plantation was re-opened for partial activities in July 2015. One of the conditions for the re-opening of the plantations is that the police provide increased presence in the area.

US$5.00/yr/dev ha, US$1.25/yr/undev ha (10yrs), US$2.50/yr/undev ha (55yrs). To be reviewed every 5 years but not to increase more than 20%

The MOU includes the development of programs that allow villagers to sell their own palm oil to GVL. Liberian farmers work with the company to achieve high yields and will sell fruit to the company for processing at transparent pricing