Places to Watch: 3 Forest Regions at Risk Right Now

The rubber plantation is owned by Sudcam, a subsidiary of the world’s largest natural rubber company Halcyon Agri Corporation, with a China-based parent company Sinochem International.  According to a CIFOR report, Sudcam has come under scrutiny because the plantation expansion involves clearing of “some 40,000 hectares of natural forests” buffering a park with rich biodiversity and protected species. The report notes that while the project has the potential to create needed employment in the areas, many of the communities are not eligible for compensation for loss of customary land to the plantation as Cameroonian expropriation laws do not recognize customary rights. UNESCO authorities and Greenpeace have raised concerns over the project’s impacts on community rights and the Dja Wildlife reserve.