The Bajo Aguán's facing high rates of expansion of oil palm plantations. One of the biggest players in the region in Miguel Facussé, owner of Dinant Corporation, that manages 8,900 ha of oil palm plantations. Oil palm expansion has caused an escalating conflict between big landowners and small farmers who’s lands are being illegally occupied to make way for oil palm and are struggling to get their lands back. The conflict has intensified after the coup d’état in 2009. This conflict dates back to the 1960s and 1970s, the Honduran government developed agrarian reform laws, giving land in the Aguán region to thousands of subsistence farmers. In 1992 the Law for Land Modernization was passed, undermining farmers’ rights. In the two years following passage of the 1992 law, three large landowners –among them Facussé- “used a combination of fraud, coercion and violence to consolidate ownership of 73.4 percent of the land transferred under the prior agrarian reform,” says Lauren Carasik, a human rights expert writing for Al Jazeera. The main strategies from the peasants organizations are the resistence to the evictions in their land and occupancy of territorires adquired by Dinant and that has increased the violence until now. Between 2009 and 2014, more than 60 persons linked to the peasant organizations of the Bajo Aguán, plus a journalist, have been murdered. According to Human Rights Watch, the majority of the murders are caracterize by a lack of investigation and impunity. In addition, the region has become a key place for drug traffic, which adds a strong element of complexity to the problem. |
| Name of conflict: | Oil palm plantations in the Bajo Agúan, Honduras |
| Country: | Honduras |
| State or province: | Colón |
| Location of conflict: | Bajo Agúan |
| Accuracy of location | HIGH (Local level) |
| Type of conflict. 1st level: | Biomass and Land Conflicts (Forests, Agriculture, Fisheries and Livestock Management) |
| Type of conflict. 2nd level: | Plantation conflicts (incl. Pulp Intensive food production (monoculture and livestock) Land acquisition conflicts REDD/CDM |
| Specific commodities: | Palm oil Land |
| Project details | Honduras currently produces more than 300,000 metric tons of palm oil, nearly 70 percent for export. The number of hectares has increased dramatically: 40, 000 ha in 90's and 80.000 ha in 2005, nowadays the number exceeds 120, 000 ha. Mostly located in the northern departments of Colón and Atlantis, and continues to expand with new projects to produce biodiesel (almost 100,000 gallons per day). |
| Project area: | 8,900 |
| Level of Investment: | 100,000,000 |
| Type of population | Rural |
| Affected Population: | 350 000 - 400 000 |
| Start of the conflict: | 1992 |
| Company names or state enterprises: | Dinant Corporation from Honduras |
| Relevant government actors: | Gobierno de Honduras, Ejército Militar, National Agrarian Institute (INA), |
| International and Finance Institutions | Deutsche Entwicklungsgesellschaft from Germany The World Bank (WB) from United States of America Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) Central American Bank for Economic Integration (BCIE) Clean Development Mechanism Executive Board (CDM Executive Board) Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) |
| Environmental justice organizations (and other supporters) and their websites, if available: | National Peasants Movement, FIAN Internacional (Organización Internacional por el Derecho a la Alimentación), FIDH (Federación Internacional de Derechos Humanos), Rel-UITA (Regional latinoamericana de la Unión Internacional de los Trabajadores de la Alimentación, Agrícolas, Hoteles, Restaurantes, Tabaco y Afines), Vía Campesina Internacional, Movimiento Campesino del Aguán (MCA), Movimiento Unificado Campesino del Aguán (MUCA), Movimiento Auténtico Reivindicativo Campesino del Aguán (MARCA), Vía Campesina Internacional,Observatorio de Derechos Humanos en el Aguán (ODHA) |
| Intensity | HIGH (widespread, mass mobilization, violence, arrests, etc...) |
| Reaction stage | In REACTION to the implementation (during construction or operation) |
| Groups mobilizing: | Farmers Indigenous groups or traditional communities International ejos Local ejos Neighbours/citizens/communities Social movements Women Ethnically/racially discriminated groups Local scientists/professionals |
| Forms of mobilization: | Artistic and creative actions (eg guerilla theatre, murals) Blockades Land occupation Lawsuits, court cases, judicial activism Media based activism/alternative media Official complaint letters and petitions Public campaigns Street protest/marches Threats to use arms Arguments for the rights of mother nature |
| Environmental Impacts | Visible: Biodiversity loss (wildlife, agro-diversity), Floods (river, coastal, mudflow), Deforestation and loss of vegetation cover, Loss of landscape/aesthetic degradation, Soil contamination Potential: Desertification/Drought, Global warming, Surface water pollution / Decreasing water (physico-chemical, biological) quality, Reduced ecological / hydrological connectivity |
| Health Impacts | Visible: Accidents, Violence related health impacts (homicides, rape, etc..), Deaths, Mental problems including stress, depression and suicide Potential: Occupational disease and accidents, Infectious diseases, Other environmental related diseases, Health problems related to alcoholism, prostitution |
| Other Health impacts | tortures and psychological impacts to children caused by violence, arsons in schools and murders of their mothers and fathers. |
| Socio-economical Impacts | Visible: Increase in Corruption/Co-optation of different actors, Displacement, Increase in violence and crime, Loss of livelihood, Militarization and increased police presence, Specific impacts on women, Violations of human rights, Land dispossession, Loss of traditional knowledge/practices/cultures, Loss of landscape/sense of place Potential: Lack of work security, labour absenteeism, firings, unemployment, Social problems (alcoholism, prostitution, etc..) |
| Project Status | In operation |
| Conflict outcome / response: | Corruption Criminalization of activists Deaths, Assassinations, Murders Migration/displacement Repression Violent targeting of activists Application of existing regulations |
| Development of alternatives: | Occupancy of lands that - according to the reform agrarian laws- formerly belonged to farmers |
| Do you consider this an environmental justice success? Was environmental justice served?: | No |
| Briefly explain: | The conflict has increased since the coup d´état in 2009. In Honduras, the politicians still helping the private sector to increase the number of hectares to plant oil palm. The peasants still resisting and implementing strategies of occupancy of land. |
| Related laws and legislations - Juridical texts related to the conflict |
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| References to published books, academic articles, movies or published documentaries |
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| Links to general newspaper articles, blogs or other websites |
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| Related media links to videos, campaigns, social network |
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| Contributor: | Teresa Perez y Grettel Navas |
| Last update | 05/12/2014 |