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- A brand new report investigates deforestation and land rights abuse allegations in central and western Africa by corporations that provide prime European tire makers like Michelin and Continental.
- The EU is house to the world’s prime tire producers, though it doesn’t produce any pure rubber, and rubber imports are at the moment not topic to the European nations’ deforestation rules.
- Between 2000 and 2020, 200 sq. miles of forested space was doubtless destroyed to make method for industrial rubber plantations in six African international locations, which collectively exported $503 million price of pure rubber to the EU in 2020.
- Emphasizing the position of the EU, the report describes how rubber plantation proudly owning corporations are additionally closely financed by European banks like Rabobank, BNP Paribas and Deutsche Financial institution.
Prime European tire makers, together with France’s Michelin and Germany’s Continental AG, are sourcing rubber from agribusinesses implicated in deforestation and undermining land rights in western and central Africa, a report by the non-profit World Witness discovered.
Rubber is used to fabricate all the things from sneakers to condoms, however three-quarters of the world’s pure rubber results in tires. The EU consumes over one million tons of pure rubber yearly, however doesn’t produce any of it, relying fully on imports from Southeast Asia and Africa.
Its huge urge for food for imported items makes the EU the second largest importer of deforestation after China. In 2017, the bloc was linked to 16% of the tropical forest loss generated by international commerce. With the EU in search of to tighten import guidelines for forest-risk commodities this 12 months, rubber is going through renewed scrutiny since its import isn’t at the moment topic to those timber rules.
The report targeted on the influence of European rubber demand on deforestation in Gabon, Cameroon, Ghana, Nigeria, Liberia and Côte d’Ivoire. In 2020, the six African international locations exported $503 million price of pure rubber to the EU. Between 2000 and 2020, a forested space 16 instances the dimensions of Brussels (200 sq. miles), was doubtless destroyed to make method for large-scale rubber plantations within the six international locations, the report’s authors estimate.
Like many different money crops, rubber cultivation brings meager returns for many rubber-growing international locations as a result of a lot of the processing occurs elsewhere. Not one of the world’s largest rubber producers, situated in Asia and Africa, are main exporters of rubber merchandise.
Whereas on African land, the plantations are themselves owned by multimillion-dollar overseas corporations. Singapore-based agribusinesses Olam and Halcyon Agri, and the Belgian-based Socfin management a majority of the rubber plantations related to pure forest destruction, in line with a brand new World Witness evaluation. A number of the world’s largest tire makers, Michelin and Continental, have used rubber from Halcyon Agri and Socfin’s plantations up to now.
In Might, the Oakland Institute launched an announcement condemning human rights abuses on plantations throughout Africa, straight or not directly managed by Socfin.
A Michelin spokesperson informed Mongabay that the corporate buys rubber from Socfin. “The accusations made in opposition to this producer are probably critical since they contradict the Michelin Group’s pure rubber buying coverage, however Michelin deeply regrets that these accusations usually are not supported by any exact info that will allow the Group to evaluate the materiality of the occasions denounced,” the spokesperson mentioned.
Socfin didn’t reply to Mongabay’s request for remark.
There may be now larger recognition that international locations are accountable not only for deforestation inside their very own borders but additionally for forest loss in different international locations pushed by their consumption patterns. The EU regulates the entry of forest-risk commodities into the frequent market by the EU Timber Regulation (EUTR). The most recent iteration of the EUTR will tighten rules round different commodities like palm oil, soy, beef, wooden, espresso and cocoa. Rubber, thought-about a essential uncooked materials, shouldn’t be regulated below the EUTR although environmental teams together with World Witness and Mighty Earth are campaigning for its inclusion.
The brand new report means that prime European tire producers efficiently lobbied to maintain rubber out of the up to date EUTR, which is predicted to be finalized this 12 months, by the European Tyre & Rubber Producers Affiliation (ETRMA). This commerce group represents corporations like Michelin, the Italian group Pirelli and US tire producer Goodyear.
ETRMA has argued that the deforestation footprint of rubber shouldn’t be sufficiently big to warrant EU regulation. World Witness contests this declare. The trade group additionally described the extension of deforestation laws to rubber as “impractical,” in an announcement.
Exclusion from stricter EU guidelines won’t solely defend tire makers from anti-deforestation rules, but additionally from duty for respecting the rights of native communities and Indigenous teams. On the Halcyon Agri-owned Sudcam challenge in Cameroon, some residents complained to World Witness researchers that they had been by no means correctly consulted about establishing a rubber concession, or compensated for dropping conventional rights to the forest.
Of their statements to Mongabay, each Olam and Halcyon Agri defended their document on deforestation inside their concessions. Halcyon Agri disputes accounts of human rights and land rights abuses at its plantations, together with in Sudcam. “Defending forests and areas of excessive conservation worth and eliminating unacceptable land use practices is a precedence for Olam throughout our agricultural provide chains worldwide,” an Olam spokesperson informed Mongabay. The businesses shared extra particulars about particular plantations with World Witness, that are included in its report.
Not solely do overseas corporations personal plantations that fulfill European urge for food for rubber, however these operations are additionally closely financed by European banks. The report highlights the position of banks like Rabobank, BNP Paribas, Deutsche Financial institution and Barclays in financing corporations linked to deforestation in Africa.
The Dutch Rabobank prolonged greater than $1 billion in credit score to Olam between 2016 and 2020, whereas the French financial institution BNP Paribas lent the agribusiness over $750 million.
View extra reporting concerning the rubber trade right here.
“As one of many world’s largest Meals & Agri banks, we’ve got strict insurance policies and monitoring techniques on deforestation. Farmers or corporations who illegally deforest don’t get a mortgage. Purchasers want to regulate to our excessive requirements,” a Rabobank spokesperson informed Mongabay. The financial institution collaborates with NGOs and tracks land-use remotely. “Nonetheless, we’re not standing subsequent to the farmers or corporations 24/7, and a 100% assure of desired conduct is sadly unimaginable,” the spokesperson mentioned.
Mongabay reached out to tire producers Continental and Pirelli for remark however didn’t obtain a response. BNP Paribas, Deutsche Financial institution and Barclays additionally didn’t reply to requests for remark.
The rubber market is rising steadily; it’s anticipated to cross $50 billion by 2027, pushed partly by the persistent demand for vehicles. “It’s a paradox. Individuals in Europe driving fancy automobiles do not know that the rubber of their tires is grown in a spot the place the native inhabitants is sort of destitute,” Nahounou Daleba, an environmental activist from Côte d’Ivoire, Africa’s largest rubber producer, informed the World Witness crew.
Banner picture: A rubber farmer faucets a rubber tree for latex at a rubber plantation in Liberia. Picture by Invoice E. Diggs / Solidarity Middle through Flickr (CC BY-ND 2.0).
See associated report:
Local weather, biodiversity & farmers profit from rubber agroforestry: report
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