Libéria

This document, and the consultations on which it is based, is intended to enable communities in Sime Darby affected areas in Grand Cape Mount, Liberia, to have their voice heard at the national level, so that government law and policy (in particular that relating to land and natural resources) can in future fit with community customary practices and community self-determined development priorities, and prevent future conflict of the kind experienced in relation to the Sime Darby concession in Grand Cape Mount.

Des représentants communautaires provenant des quatre coins du Liberia se sont réunis du 27 au 29 novembre dans la ville de Bopolu, dans le Comté de Gbarpolu, afin d'examiner les répercussions des activités des concessions agricoles d’huile de palme au Liberia sur des terres déjà utilisées et détenues (de façon coutumière ou autre) par les communautés. Plus de cent cinquante délégués des communautés des Comtés de Grand Cape Mount, Bomi, Gbarpolu et Sinoe ont participé à cette réunion organisée conjointement par l’Institut du développement durable (SDI), la Fondation Save My Future (SAMFU) et Social Entrepreneurs for Sustainable Development (SESDev).

Chers amis,

Pre-Publication Text for Public Release, November 2012

Sime Darby’s oil palm and rubber concession in Grand Cape Mount county in northwest Liberia has come under sharp national and international focus after a complaint was submitted under the RSPO New Plantings Procedure (NPP) in November 2011. The complaint, submitted by communities affected by the concession, claimed that their Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) had not been sought, and that the destruction of their farmlands by the company in order to plant palm oil was leaving them destitute. Sime Darby’s concession also includes land in the neighbouring counties of Bomi, Gbarpolu and Bong. This case study, based on field research conducted in February 2012, assesses the nature and extent of community involvement in the acquisition of land for Sime Darby’s concession in Grand Cape Mount, in particular with regard to whether the right to Free, Prior and Informed Consent was respected.