"NGOs in Japan, Mozambique Request to Stop Biomass Power in Ishinomaki "New Form of Colonialism" - 400,000 ha of Land in Mozambique Used For Fuel Production" 15 October 2021

Today, three NGOs working on the environment, human rights, and international cooperation in Japan and Mozambique jointly submitted a request letter to G-Bio Initiative (Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo) to suspend its 102,750 kilowatt (kW) biomass power plant in Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture.

The company plans to grow a plant called Pongamia on 400,000 hectares of land in Mozambique as fuel for the power plant and import its extracted oil into Japan.

The letter states that even if the growing area appears to be a “degraded land” as G-Bio Initiative explained, "It is often a land where unique ecosystems are developed or where people use it seasonally" and points out that "planting a single alien species on as much as 400,000 hectares of land has a major negative impact on the region's indigenous ecosystems."

Vanessa Cabanelas, Coordinator of the Land, Life and Ecosystem Program at Justiçia Ambiental! or Friends of the Earth Mozambique, a Mozambican NGO working to protect the rights of land and farmers as well as to address environmental issues criticized the project as "occupying so much land for Japan's electricity is a form of colonialism", calling on the company to stop the project and to disclose information regarding the land where Pongamia is cultivated.

Regarding the power plant, the Ishinomaki City Council and the Miyagi Prefectural Assembly unanimously decided to submit a written opinion to the government that the construction of the G-bio power plant should be stopped due to possible deterioration of the living environment such as noise, vibration, and offensive odor.

Submission of the letter shows that the civil society of Mozambique, where the fuel is going to be produced, has voiced their concerns about the project.

[...]

Note

[Japanese-to-English translation: Business & Human Rights Resource Centre]

On 11 July 2021, after a community meeting held in the Sue district of Ishinomaki City, G-bio explained to the community and FoE Japan staff that the area of cultivated land was "400,000 hectares." However, in a call on 19 October, after this request was issued, G-bio stated that "the 400,000 hectares is not true." We are currently confirming the details of the area.