Deal #3463 Version #91940

Wilson would beat all odds to defend the remaining portion of his ancestral land His family and the people of Gewloken had lost a huge swathe of land to Decoris Oil Palm Company, a previous Ivory Coast-based firm that operated in that region from 1980 to 1987

The MOPP/SIFCA concession agreement was signed without the free, prior and informed consent of the affected communities in Pleebo/Sodoken District, Maryland County, Liberia.

MOPP unilaterally demarcated boundaries.

MOPP/SIFCA cleared, occupied and established its oil palm plantation on the customary and deeded land of indigenous Pleebo communities and peoples, even going beyond the land areas previously cleared by its predecessor, Decoris, without their consent.

Resettlement only if the inhabitants impede the investors development. Another source states: Individual accounts suggest communities were forcibly evicted from their homes; properties were destroyed and houses burnt; and communities lost their farmlands and their livelihoods - but did not receive any compensation for crops destroyed or for any other damages.

MOPP/SIFCA destroyed crops, farm lands, sources of drinking water, other natural resources, and burial grounds. MOPP/SIFCA polluted several water sources of the affected communities through the company’s use of agro-chemicals and land clearing. MOPP a have been engaged in deforestation. Their operations have also led to mass forced removals and displacement of local communities in Pleebo-Sodoken District, Maryland County. In 2012, SIFCA security killed a man on its plantation. Many people has lost their villages, farmlands, ancestral graveyards and shrines. The following year, MOPP signed an agreement worth US$203 million for 25 years, stretching as far as Grand Kru. Wilson’s first encounter with MOPP happened in October 2010. MOPP had sent workers to clear land they claim is part of its concession area. They destroyed banana shrubs and rice stalks on his farm. Still haunted by memories of Decoris’ land grab, Wilson was furious. A scuffle ensued, with men from Gewloken joining the fray

The investor and the government work together to resettle, at the investors cost, up to a maximum of US$ 200 per hectare. The government will pay the costs exceeding US$200. Investor resettlement costs will be credited against income tax payable.

Communities claim that they have not received compensation. MOPP did not sign Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the affected communities that addresses expectations of the communities and documents the social responsibility and other commitments of the company to the communities and by which MOPP can be held accountable.

Investor to provide reasonable medical care for local communities. The company will invest $5 per developed hectare annually to the community development fund- the fund is managed by a committee selected by the local community. Benefits not delivered as promised.

Communities have protested and have often organized strike actions against MOPP for benefits that have been promised but have not been delivered.

Liberian civil society organizations and community leaders warned lenders about the human rights and environmental violations associated with the plantation in a June 8 letter, 2018.