In 2010, on the coast of Togo in West Africa, an oil production and sharing contract was signed between the Togolese government and energy company Eni. Two years later, the discovery of oil near the Doevi Kope village was confirmed. The community and Friends of the Earth Togo resisted. The contract was cancelled.
Yet the Togolese government remains open to companies wanting to extract oil.
Madame Kpatanyo Gbadebou smokes and sells fish in her community on the Togolese coast.
With Friends of the Earth Togo, the Doevi Kope community visited Nigeria and Chad. They saw the immediate effects of oil extraction - the killing of fish which meant the end of the local economy and livelihoods of the community.
Photograph: © Friends of the Earth Togo
Fishing communities who rely on the sea for their livelihoods are being forced to relocate inland, and in some cases as far as 25 km away from the sea.
Above: Photograph: © Milieudefensie/Friends of the Earth Netherlands Niger Delta
For decades before these conflicts began, communities in the Niger Delta suffered at the hands of Shell’s oil exploitation. In 2008, Milieudefensie (Friends of the Earth Netherlands) and 4 farmers from Nigeria took Shell to court. Thirteen years later, in January 2021 The Hague Court of Appeal ruled Shell liable for damages from pipeline leaks in the villages of Oruma and Goi.
Above: Photograph: © Milieudefensie/Friends of the Earth Netherlands Niger Delta
In 2010, vast quantities of natural gas were discovered off the coast of Cabo Delgado, Mozambique.
In the decade since the initial discovery, thousands of people have been killed, almost 700,000 displaced, and many left without homes or livelihoods. 550 families have been directly displaced by the LNG infrastructure via corporate land grabs, and the blocking of access to fishing grounds.
There’s evidence that energy companies have paid the Mozambican government to deploy soldiers to protect their interest, namely gas.
Despite this, in July 2020, the UK pledged $1.15bn of financing via UK Export Finance to an offshore liquid natural gas (LNG) project in Mozambique.
Friends of the Earth England, Wales and Northern Ireland is taking the UK government to court, to challenge the decision to finance the LNG project, via Judicial Review. This hearing is scheduled for 7 - 9 December 2021. However, the government could decide at any time to withdraw its funding and support from the LNG project.
They assured us we would still have good access to the sea. But once the gas was found, they ignored us.
Caise Francisco, Milamba.
A community meeting in Milamba. Cabo Delgado province, Mozambique.
Photograph: © Milieudefensie/Friends of the Earth Netherlands
Milamba beach, Cabo Delgado province, Mozambique.
Photograph: © Milieudefensie/Friends of the Earth Netherlands
Milamba community, Cabo Delgado province, Mozambique.
Photograph: © Milieudefensie/Friends of the Earth Netherlands
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