‘Controversial carbon offset project spells hardship for local communities’ 3 May 2024

The trade-in carbon credits has become a lucrative business in recent years. In the West African country of Sierra Leone, international investors are planning large-scale tree plantations to be used for carbon offset projects. Yet, an investigation by Swiss Church Aid HEKS/EPER reveals that numerous farming families who own the land have apparently not agreed to the project in the manner prescribed by law. This would violate not just Sierra Leonean law, but also the principles held by Verra, the organisation that is expected to certify the carbon credits. The Swiss consulting firm Ecosecurities is also involved in the controversial project. "Our production is climate-neutral". This is how many companies currently promote themselves around the world, even while continuing to emit large quantities of CO2 in some instances. The trick is for companies to purchase CO2 certificates from projects designed to reduce emissions or store carbon, for example, through reforestation.

However, while this is a lucrative business for the suppliers of the certificates, it increases the global demand for land, and often ends up causing smallholder families in the Global South to lose control of their land, and by extension, their livelihoods…An investigation conducted by HEKS/EPER and four other NGOs from Sierra Leone raises serious doubts as to the legality of the project. Under Sierra Leonean land law, lease contracts require the written consent of 60 per cent of the members of a landowning family, and stipulates that they must be fully informed beforehand about the project planned for their land. The investor must then register that consent with the authorities. Only then can the land be sold or leased. The investigation included surveying residents of 25 villages, and it points strongly towards non-compliance of these stipulations. Besides, Carbon Done Right and Rewilding provided insufficient written proof when this was requested by the research team.

…But there are other potentially serious problems: Ecosecurities, for example, describes the plantation land as unproductive. The villagers surveyed by the research team, however, emphasise that they do indeed use the land to produce food for their own consumption… The research team has serious doubts as to the legality of the plantation project and the feasibility of achieving the amount of CO2 storage promised. This also raises the question as to whether the project is certifiable. The carbon credits would become tradable only after being certified by Verra. HEKS/EPER and its partner organisations in Sierra Leone will continue to monitor local developments closely and to advocate for the protection of the rights of the affected communities.