Sierra Leone: Swedwatch raises concerns incl. pollution & land loss for communities impacted by bioenergy project; incl. co non-response
On 28 March 2019, Swedwatch published an article raising concerns including pollution, land loss and relocation from religious sites, with regard to new plans for community relocation following resumption of the Addax Bionenergy project in 2016.
The project was initially owned by oil and gas company Addax & Oryx Group and partly funded by several European Development Finance Institutions. In 2015, the DFIs exited the project citing financial challenges and the project was drastically downscaled. The human rights impacts of the stall were highlighted in the 2017 Swedwatch report “No Business, No Rights”.
The project is today owned by British-Chinese company Sunbird Bioenergy. Business & Human Rights Resource Centre invited Sunbird Bioenergy to respond to concerns that the project continues to pose human rights challenges to the community. The company did not respond. More information related to the project is available on Sunbird Bioenergy's website here.