Struggles Against Tree Monocultures

Corporate profit drives land grabs to install industrial tree monocultures. Where industrial plantations take root, communities' territories and lives are violently invaded, their forests destroyed and their water polluted. When communities resist, companies tend to respond with aggression. Despite this extreme violence, communities around the world are resisting, organizing and joining forces to defend their territories. Every September 21 the International Day of Struggle against Monoculture Tree Plantations is celebrated.

Bulletin articles 22 August 2024

The insane expansion of industrial oil palm in the land of Papua, and the resistance struggle of Kampung Bariat

Just like the Dutch colonizers in the past did, the Indonesian government, companies and investors consider the land of Papua to be a vast empty territory, a new frontier for extraction and profiteering However, the land of Papua is not empty, but rather home to hundreds of Indigenous Peoples—including the women and men of Kampung Bariat village, who are struggling to ensure control over their ancestral territory and keep it free of oil palm plantations.

Articles 8 April 2024

Hundreds of organizations from around the world call for an end to Industria Chiquibul's violence in Guatemala

In a letter to Guatemalan national authorities, 115 organizations from 39 countries demanded a halt to the abuses and violence that palm oil company Industria Chiquibul has been committing in indigenous and peasant communities. The organizations also called for suspension of the RSPO certification process, which they denounce as greenwashing a destructive industry.

Action alerts 28 February 2024

Sign the petition to stop Industria Chiquibul's violence against communities in Guatemala!

We call on organizations to sign this petition in support of the Mayan Q’eqchi community Santa Elena in the northern region of Guatemala. The community is asking for international and national support in the face of recent threats and growing criminalization by Industria Chiquibul, a palm company that supplies palm oil to transnational corporations such as Nestle and Unilever. Read and sign the letter below.

Other information 11 October 2022

Meeting of the Mesoamerican Network Against Oil Palm in San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Mexico

We share the final statement where they express their demands and claims.

Bulletin articles 12 September 2022

From Asia to Africa: Tentacles of Oil Palm Plantations are Squeezing Communities Dry

There is no other crop that has grown faster globally in the last decade than palm oil. This almost uncontrollable expansion leaves a deep trail of destruction and conflicts around its giant areas of plantations from Southeast Asia to West and Central Africa. As companies take over more community land, they also grab the water sources from them.

Bulletin articles 16 June 2022

Expansion of Pulp and Paper Companies APP and APRIL in Indonesia: More Deforestation and Violence

More than 10 million hectares in Indonesia are controlled by the pulp and paper industry, mainly by two giant corporations: APP and APRIL. Despite the companies’ commitments to protect forests and peatland, both keep being associated with deforestation, forest fires and to a business model of violence, criminalization and dispossession of forest communities. (Available in Bahasa Indonesia)

Bulletin articles 23 March 2022

The Concession Model in Southeast Asia: Coming Full Circle?

Colonial and anti-colonial movements’ have deeply shaped the patterns and impacts of concessions in SE Asia. In some cases, communities have experienced dispossession through land grabs dressed as concessions. In others, concessions are part of a re-concentration of land holding. Either way, the concession model fits well with ideologies of modernisation.

Bulletin articles 17 December 2021

Mesoamerican Meeting of Communities Against Oil Palm

One of the main causes of deforestation in Mesoamerica is the expansion of oil palm monoculture. An exchange of experiences brought together representatives from indigenous and peasant communities to coordinate their resistance.

Declarations 12 October 2021

Declaración de la Red Mesoamericana frente a la Palma Aceitera

Only available in Spanish.

Bulletin articles 27 September 2021

Oil Palm Monoculture in Ixcán Municipality, Guatemala: A Story of Dispossession and Deception

The Palmas del Ixcán company has used multiple tactics to grab land, as well as a deceptive RSPO certification process and the use of “independent producers.” Despite criminalization of communities, their resistance grows ever stronger.

Bulletin articles 27 September 2021

A Dangerous Place for Women. Stories of Indigenous Women Working in Oil Palm Plantations in Papua

Oil palm plantations are one of the most unsafe spaces for women, not only because of their vulnerable working status packed with injustices and precarities, but also because of the potential for sexual violence and harassment. (Available in Indonesian).