Africa (general)

A workshop on “Petroleum and Local Resistance”, organized by Environmental Rights Action, took place at Port Harcourt, Nigeria, from 9 to 14 February. Oilwatch Africa also held its assembly in the same place. Delegates from several countries in the region --Cameroon, Ghana, Gabon, Chad and Nigeria-- as well as representatives of Oilwatch International attended both events, after which the group made a trip to oil fields in the Niger Delta, where a strong conflict between Shell and the indigenous Ogoni people is ongoing.

Not according to British researchers James Fairhead and Melissa Leach. Their recent book 'Reframing Deforestation, Global Analysis and Local Realities: Studies in West Africa', published by Routledge Press, uses extensive historical evidence from archives, travelers' reports, and oral accounts for Benin, Cote D'Ivoire, Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Togo to show claims of massive forest loss in these countries have been greatly exaggerated. Specifically, they find that:

By means of a letter dated October 22 a group of environmental NGOs addressed Mr Henri Djombo, Minister of Forest Economy of the Republic of Congo, to express their disapproval regarding a number of actions carried out by him, believed to be aimed at undermining the Brazzaville Process.