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Film by Nidhi Dutt and Daniel Boaden
People & Power investigates the environmental consequences of palm oil plantations in equatorial Africa.
There are few products so ubiquitous as palm oil. You can find its derivatives in chocolate, shampoo, toothpaste, detergent, ice cream, floor polish and a host of other products filling supermarket shelves.
Extracted from the fruit of the tropically-grown oil palm tree (Elaeis guineensis), it has become so versatile and sought after that the growing economies of Indonesia and Malaysia, the world's two largest producers, make some $40bn a year from its production and export.
Given that by 2020 global demand for palm oil is expected to double and then triple by 2050, it is no wonder that other developing countries, especially in sub-Saharan West Africa where the tree originates, have been looking enviously at Southeast Asia and hoping to emulate that success.
But palm oil cultivation does not come cost-free. If not done sustainably, say conservationists, it can have disastrous consequences for people and the environment. In Indonesia, for example, it has played a major role in deforestation which has seen the loss of more than 6 million hectares of primary forest over the last 15 years.
As rainforests are home to least half of this planet's species of plants, animals and insects, the negative impact on global biodiversity can only be imagined. In addition, indigenous communities are also destroyed as people who have lived happily off the forest's resources for generations, often do not own the land (at least not in a form recognised by governments, corporations and their lawyers) and are frequently displaced to make way for new plantations.
Boosting Cameroon's economy
It is against this background that the Central and West African state of Cameroon has been trying to get a palm oil industry off - or rather into - the ground. Its President Paul Biya, who has held office since 1982, has been looking for ways to give Cameroon's economy a boost.
His country is not as poverty-stricken as some on the continent. It has some modest oil resources and favourable conditions for agriculture and is comparatively stable politically, but it is not immune from many of the problems associated with developing nations, from chronically high unemployment and an inequitable distribution of income to corruption and inadequate public infrastructure.
Cameroon is also over-reliant on imports, which makes it susceptible to rising prices and food insecurity. According to the UN, more than 40 percent of the population are living under the poverty line, while over one-third of its children are suffering from chronic malnutrition.
Palm oil then, would seem to offer good prospects for additional growth. The tree is native to the region and the climate is perfect for its cultivation. And of course, there are plenty of international agribusiness conglomerates looking for suitable places in West Africa in which to replicate the stellar profits enjoyed by the industry in Asia.
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Kwame Ture: Revolutionary Without An Organization
"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere," is the theme of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King's episode. Dr. King, who sprang into national prominence for his leadership of the Montgomery, Alabama, segregated bus boycott, is interviewed by Negro lawyer and Minneapolis civic leader Municipal Court Judge L. Howard Bennet. The two men discuss in detail the struggle which still faces the American Negro in his effort for equal treatment.
Boda Boda riders SHOCK the world after building an estate worth 95M from 50ksh daily saving.
The way we learn and share experiences is changing. INBAR’s themed online webinar series brings bamboo and rattan experts from all over the world together to educate, inspire and discuss, without the need for travel.
This is session 2 of the series 'Bamboo: A Very Sustainable Construction Material'. These webinar sessions aim to build greater awareness about bamboo’s potential to alleviate the world’s acute housing crisis, as a low-cost form of construction and as part of the development of zero-emission, ‘green’ cities.
Speaker: Kent Harries, Professor of the University of Pittsburgh
Topic: Full-culm bamboo as a full-fledged engineering material
Speaker: Andry Widyowijatnoko, Architect and Lecturer at Institut Teknologi Bandung, Indonesia
Topic: From traditional to engineered to substitutive bamboo construction
Speaker: Sebastian Kaminski, Senior Structural Engineer of Arup
Topic: Designing durable bamboo structures: how to protect against rot and insect attack
The International Bamboo and Rattan Organisation, or INBAR, is an intergovernmental organisation dedicated to promoting the use of bamboo and rattan for inclusive, green development. We research and strengthen the global knowledge base for bamboo and rattan and raise awareness of their use for:
♣Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation
♣Land Restoration
♣Poverty Alleviation
♣South-South Cooperation
♣Sustainable, Affordable Construction
♣Accessible, Green Energy.
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Follow our Youtube channel for practical tips for growing, processing and marketing bamboo and rattan products as well as interviews, speeches and more from our work around the world.
Congo Connection (2009): The mineral Coltan has fuelled a technological revolution in the West, but in the DRC it has become a talisman of brutal violence.
For similar stories, see:
Rage Of War In Congo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhHFHSNvTjo
Thousands Displaced In The Congo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nk9ZG20ymeE
The Future of Virunga's Mountain Gorillas Is In Jeopardy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYTht_-lOuw
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Modern technology relies upon a mineral found in the Congo. Is our appetite for the latest gadgets fuelling rebel fighting in the Congo - threatening the survival of central Africas great gorillas?
On the inside of many devices like mobile phones and laptops is the mineral Coltan, which has made our gadgets smaller and more complex. In the mineral-rich Congo, armed militia watch over the children digging this mineral from the ground. "The government only pretends to help us" says one miner, who pays a government official just to work. "The Congo is a shifting sands of various militia, the largest of which is the Congolese state itself," explains an expert on blood minerals.
Yet the miners depend on the little they get from mining to survive. Electronic giants like Apple now claim they will no longer use Coltan from this area but experts are convinced the militias will smuggle it onto the market regardless. For local miners, the move away from African minerals is just another way of penalising Africans. Coltan fuels a conflict, which has seen national parks become war zones, gorillas killed for meat and hundreds of houses set on fire in turf wars over mineral territory. Yet it also feeds 400,000 petty traders. Why did it take a mobile phone to make us appreciate the injustice in the Congo?
ABC Australia – Ref. 4553
Journeyman Pictures is your independent source for the world's most powerful films, exploring the burning issues of today. We represent stories from the world's top producers, with brand new content coming in all the time. On our channel you'll find outstanding and controversial journalism covering any global subject you can imagine wanting to know about.
We join the ‘Open Arms’ crew as they embark on the most dangerous migrant route in the world — and one of their deadliest missions to date.
An estimated 19,000 people have been reported dead or missing in the Mediterranean Sea since 2014 as they attempt the treacherous boat journey from Libya to Europe, fleeing war, persecution and poverty.
Since its foundation in 2015, Spanish NGO Open Arms has rescued over 60,000 refugees. But nothing prepared it for the events that unfolded on November 11, 2020.
Director: Jean-Marc Joseph
Editor: Guillem Comas
Music & Sound Editor: James Hall
Hungarian Translation: Attila Piróth
Brazilian Portuguese Translation: Mariana Braga
German Translation: Janina Gilch
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