Deal #3200

Indigenous Bagyeli communities are appealing to the United Nations and national courts to save their lands and forests, which are in the process of being given to large agri-business interests by the State.

The Bagyeli have not given their Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) for the project, a requirement under the United Nations Declaration on Indigenous Peoples Rights, which Cameroon has ratified.

No Free Prior and Informed Consent for local Bagyeli indigenous people.The project does not plan to compensate the Bagyeli or other local communities. Instead, they have been informed that a 4km-wide strip along the road will be left for their activities.

The community have issued a petition against the project.The Bagyeli communities believe the plantation is a means to erase them and their culture. They are concerned about their survival without access to their lands. Divided Opinions: While some local communities are attracted by promises of development (schools, health centers, roads), others are skeptical, fearing the benefits will be short-lived or inaccessible to them

Several Bagyeli villages are located within the planned plantation area, and it is unclear how the project will address their presence.

The project will result in the destruction of forests that the Bagyeli people depend on for hunting, fishing, and gathering forest products. This will lead to the loss of their traditional way of life. The plantation will prevent the transmission of forest knowledge, crucial to the Bagyeli culture, leading to its erosion.Several Bagyeli villages are located within the planned plantation area, and it is unclear how the project will address their presence.

Promises of development (schools, health centers, roads)