Total – tree planting on indigenous people’s land

A report by Corporate Accountability, Global Forest Coalition and Friends of the Earth International includes a case study of fossil fuel company Total that illustrates the real danger of land-grabbing, which is coming from the rise in offsetting.[1] Land-grabbing is where local people’s land is removed from their ownership when it is sold to corporations by governments. It’s not new – science journalist Fred Pearce wrote a book about it almost 10 years ago.[2] But the rise of offsetting, particularly tree planting, risks accelerating it. In this case, Total wants to buy 10 million hectares of land for tree planting. It has already signed an agreement with the Republic of Congo to plant a 40,000-hectare forest. But much of this land is home to indigenous Aka pygmies and Bantu farmers. What will happen to them? And what trees will Total plant?

The report suggests they may be non-native trees. And whatever happens, Total is reportedly planning to harvest the trees when they mature. The sorry story of land-grabbing looks set to continue unless offsetting is curbed.

[1] Bragg et al, 2021, The Big Con: How Big Polluters are advancing a “net zero” climate agenda to delay, deceive, and deny, Corporate Accountability and others, corporateaccountability.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/The-Big-Con_EN.pdf.

[2] Pearce, 2013, The Landgrabbers, The New Fight Over Who Owns The Earth, Eden Project Books, Penguin, https://

www.penguin.co.uk/books/108/1089511/the-landgrabbers/9781905811755.html.

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