Gilles van Kote the French reporter and Deputy Head of Environment and Science for the daily Le Monde, has published an article on Worldcrunch titled ‘How A Palm Oil Boom Is Tearing Apart The Indigenous Tribes Of The Philippines’.  Van Kote states “The palm oil plantation, started in 2005 by Nakeen, a subsidiary of the Filipino group A. Brown Company Inc. (ABCI), is very small – 200 hectares. Yet it still managed to upset the natural balance of this isolated northern region of the island of Mindanao, south of the Philippines archipelago… In 2008, the Hagpa Higaonon [tribe, one of the country’s many indigenous communities] was awarded a certificate of ancestral domain title (CADT) for 14,313 hectares of their territory, in accordance with the Indigenous Peoples Rights Acts. A victory that doesn’t, however, make them immune to other people’s greed. Nakeen has already announced its ambition to expand its plantation, which is already partly on the ancestral domain. …The arrival of Nakeen and its oil palms created a rift in the local population. The local authorities wanted to turn the region into the "capital of palm oil" in Mindanao. …Nakeen offered locals between 5,000 and 8,000 pesos ($121 and $194) a year per hectare to rent their land for 25 years. …for a daily wage of 200 pesos ($4,87). …The Alternative Forum for Research in Mindanao (Afrim), a Filipino organization, claims that these rental agreements "turn farmers into farm workers" and that "jobs are only available for a small percentage of the population – for a wage inferior to the minimum legal wage." …While an oil palm plantation in place of a forest that is already being exploited isn’t considered as deforestation in the Philippines, the environmental impact is very real. …an international mission launched by NGOs concerning another Filipino group in northern Mindanao found that the rental agreements were illegal and human rights were violated. “  Inspired by Gilles Van Kote, Worldcrunch ow.ly/gR3Em Image source Mediapart ow.ly/gR3zO Palm oil boom tearing apart indigenous tribes (January 22 2013)Gilles van Kote the French reporter and Deputy Head of Environment and Science for the daily Le Monde, has published an article on Worldcrunch titled ‘How A Palm Oil Boom Is Tearing Apart The Indigenous Tribes Of The Philippines’.  Van Kote states “The palm oil plantation, started in 2005 by Nakeen, a subsidiary of the Filipino group A. Brown Company Inc. (ABCI), is very small – 200 hectares. Yet it still managed to upset the natural balance of this isolated northern region of the island of Mindanao, south of the Philippines archipelago… In 2008, the Hagpa Higaonon [tribe, one of the country’s many indigenous communities] was awarded a certificate of ancestral domain title (CADT) for 14,313 hectares of their territory, in accordance with the Indigenous Peoples Rights Acts. A victory that doesn’t, however, make them immune to other people’s greed. Nakeen has already announced its ambition to expand its plantation, which is already partly on the ancestral domain. …The arrival of Nakeen and its oil palms created a rift in the local population. The local authorities wanted to turn the region into the “capital of palm oil” in Mindanao. …Nakeen offered locals between 5,000 and 8,000 pesos ($121 and $194) a year per hectare to rent their land for 25 years. …for a daily wage of 200 pesos ($4,87). …The Alternative Forum for Research in Mindanao (Afrim), a Filipino organization, claims that these rental agreements “turn farmers into farm workers” and that “jobs are only available for a small percentage of the population – for a wage inferior to the minimum legal wage.” …While an oil palm plantation in place of a forest that is already being exploited isn’t considered as deforestation in the Philippines, the environmental impact is very real. …an international mission launched by NGOs concerning another Filipino group in northern Mindanao found that the rental agreements were illegal and human rights were violated. “

 

Inspired by Gilles Van Kote, Worldcrunch ow.ly/gR3Em Image source Mediapart ow.ly/gR3zO