HALCYON AGRI’S SUDCAM PLANTATION: The long way of suffering for Indigenous Peoples and local communities in Southern Cameroon

Sud-Cameroun Hévéa (“SudCam”), a giant monoculture rubber plantation and a Cameroonian subsidiary base of Halcyon Agri Corporation Limited (“Halcyon Agri”) has come under intense scrutiny and criticism due to the severe human rights violations and threats to biodiversity inflicted upon the surrounding Indigenous Peoples, local communities and workers. Investigations from non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have provided compelling evidence of the detrimental impact and transgressions perpetrated by SudCam, shedding light on the grave implications at the local, national, and international levels.

Since 2015, TI-Cameroon has been implementing the Land and Corruption in Africa project, under the supervision of Transparency International, in the South, Littoral, and East regions. TI-Cameroon has observed that land legislation in Cameroon is characterized by several shortcomings. These shortcomings are often the root cause of conflicts between communities, and between communities and industrial companies. In an environment where corruption tends to become widespread, local populations pay a heavy price, as they do not have effective means of defense against the power of money. For the past nine years, the Land and Corruption project has stood alongside these populations to defend their rights and facilitate multi-stakeholder dialogue through awareness campaigns, strategic consultation meetings and capacity building sessions for stakeholders, data collection, advocacy actions, and legal assistance.