– It’s like borrowing a working car and returning a wreck, says Karsten Gjefle in Norges Vel about the actions of Norwegian Green Resources. He refers to how farmers in Mozambique first had to give up land for afforestation. The soil was returned in an almost unusable condition, Gjefle believes. The forest company was supposed to create jobs in developing countries and combat climate change by planting trees. The Norwegian state has invested over half a billion kroner in Green Resources. The company has run a thunderous loss. The plantations have created conflicts. Many families have lost their farmland. – Leaving poor farmers in the lurch The Norwegian company overlooked too much. For many years they planted trees on a large scale. Then Green Resources decided to withdraw from the provinces of Nampula and Zambesia (red dots on the map). Only in the province of Niassa (green dot) is Green Resources investing further, although the company has withdrawn from certain areas there as well. The projects have affected hundreds of thousands of people, who mainly live by growing their own food. Now there are plantation forests in many old fields. Stumps and trees with roots create difficulties for small farmers who prefer to grow vegetables and fruit. – It is simply an undignified way of doing it. Norfund leaves poor farmers in the lurch, says Karsten Gjefle. He is referring to the Norwegian state investment fund that owns Green Resources (see fact box). Gjefle clarifies that he has only seen one of the abandoned plantations with his own eyes. news has spoken to several organizations that report similar problems elsewhere. Green Resources and Norfund Green Resources is a Norwegian company founded in 1995 with activities in Tanzania, Uganda and Mozambique. The core business is tree planting, sawmilling, wood processing and trade in wood products in Africa. The company also sells climate credits. Since its inception, billions have been invested in the company, which has struggled with poor results for years. Norway has supported the projects with large loans and investments from Norfund (NOK 559 million), as well as smaller amounts from Norad (5 million) and Norec (over 4 million). Aker owner and billionaire Kjell Inge Røkke, property billionaire Erik Bøhler and former Orkla director and investor, Tom Vidar Rygh, are among the private investors who have been most heavily involved on the ownership side. This also applies to Edvin Austbø, former head of analysis at the brokerage house Carnegie. In 2021, the company managed a total of 111,355 hectares, of which over 35,000 hectares were plantations, according to the company. After loan defaults, lender Norfund became the owner in 2018. In October 2022, the shareholders of Green Resources entered into an agreement to sell the shares to a new investment fund, the African Forestry Impact Platform (AFIP). As a partner in the new fund, Norfund has committed to reinvest most of the proceeds from the sale in AFIP, which will have Australian New Forests as manager. Norfund is owned and financed by the Norwegian state, and is the state’s investment fund for businesses in developing countries. The mandate is “to contribute with equity and other risk capital, as well as provide loans and provide guarantees for the development of sustainable business activities in developing countries.” – Pitiful condition Today, this is what it looks like in the plantation forest in Namina. Photo: UGCAN Look carefully at the picture. In the middle of the eucalyptus trees is a small field of corn plants. People try to grow food in the plantation forest. They have cut down some trees to make room. The stumps remain. The felling is used for firewood, for the production of charcoal or as stakes. Families are dissatisfied with the way they have been treated, say Waly Manuel and José Juma in UGCAN. A few days ago they visited the areas to check how things are. Farmers feel that the opportunities to cultivate the land have weakened compared to before the forestry company came, they say. In the past, Calisto Ribeiro in Amder has been on the same errand. – The areas are in a pitiful state, says Ribeiro. He has sent us this picture from October 2021. This is what it looked like in the eucalyptus plantation at Namina 16 months ago. Photo: Calisto Ribeiro Creating uncertainty Recently, news was in the province of Niassa (green dot on the map) to investigate how the plantations have affected people’s lives. In the village of Itepela we met the men in the picture below. They didn’t quite know what to do with all the trees in the plantation forest. From left: Samuel Alique, Tungande Amine, Mauricio Waissone, Mussa Assima and Jafar Nicuanda. Photo: Truls Antonsen Initially, it was another forestry company, Chikweti, that planted the trees. But then Green Resources bought the company. Since then, the plantation has practically been abandoned. The situation has resulted in frustration and great uncertainty in the local community. news also visited the village of Micucue, where people told similar stories. In contrast to the plantations Green Resources has continued to operate, this plantation forest near the village of Micucue is located in rugged terrain. Photo: Truls Alnes Antonsen Karsten Gjefle in Norges Vel believes that Norfund, as the owner, should ensure that all areas used for afforestation are returned as usable for the local population. – We know that Norfund has the capital to do what is right, says Gjefle. Karsten Gjefle (left) in Norges Vel during the official opening of the nursery in Mozambique in November. The nursery, which was originally built up by Green Resources, now focuses mostly on cashew. Photo: Pedro Cuhia Norfund responds to the criticism – It is natural that there will be different opinions about the solutions that have been chosen for the various areas, including whether it was best to leave the planted forest standing, rather than clear the areas, replies Ellen Cathrine Rasmussen in Norfund to the criticism. She explains that Norfund wants to safeguard the interests of the local population. – Since no one had previously done anything like this in Mozambique, this became an extensive and complex process, says Rasmussen. The work was outsourced to actors with relevant expertise, in collaboration with USAID. The process has not yet been completed, but is expected to end this year, according to Rasmussen. In addition to this, Norfund refers to Green Resources. – Unfortunate – There is no perfect solution to this situation. The remaining plantations have value for local communities, while the areas are not in their natural state, says Hans Lemm. The CEO of Green Resources describes it as unfortunate that the company was unable to develop forestry on the same scale as originally planned. – It is understandable that this will result in disappointment and criticism, says Lemm. The company’s exit increases the risk that the plantation forest will be managed worse, Lemm points out. Abandoned 2,299 hectares of plantation forest Green Resources decided to give up the right to use most of the land the company has leased from the state in Mozambique. The land return affects approximately half a million people, according to the company. The forest company has only planted trees on a small fraction of all the area the company managed. Most of the area was not used. Total land area in return: 238,678 hectares, of which 2,299 hectares are planted area: Nampula Province: 153,218 hectares (planted area: 1,485 hectares) Niassa Province: 61,426 hectares (planted area: 321 hectares) Zambezia Province 24,033 hectares (planted area: 493 hectares) Green Resources is aware that the local population wants to use the land area for agriculture. The company sees clear signs of this in several places, including in the area Norges Vel criticizes. Lemm points out that the law in Mozambique has clear rules for the allocation of land, but not for the return of such a right of use. – According to the law, the rights could have been returned by simply sending a letter to the authorities. Instead, the company chose to initiate an exit project which has cost around 750,000 US dollars, Lemm says. These are the company’s main priorities: Ensuring that the land rights of Green Resources are deleted, and that original land rights are restored to local communities. Ensure that remaining assets, including plantation forests, were legally transferred to the communities. Provide training to local communities on how to manage natural resources. A further 400,000 US dollars have been given for organizations in Mozambique to provide local communities with technical assistance, news has been informed. Although the plantations are not prime for commercial forestry, the plantations have potential value for local communities, according to Lemm. He highlights that a local community in the province of Zambesia has been able to continue a supplier contract by using the plantation forest. Green Resources has chosen to keep this plantation forest in Niassa. Photo: Truls Alnes Antonsen Positive for the project Simon Norfolk in the consulting company Terra Firma has been heavily involved in the exit project for Green Resources. His general opinion is that the process has been well thought out and good. Affected local communities are now in possession of most of the land area legally and documented, according to Norfolk. In several places, the level of conflict was high when Green Resources got the right to use large areas and farmers reluctantly lost agricultural land. In the return phase, the level of conflict has been low, according to Norfolk. Exposed to extreme weather Photo: Truls Alnes Antonsen African countries are least to blame for the climate crisis. The entire continent together accounts for approximately three percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. But Africa has paid a high price for climate change. And no country in Africa is more severely affected by extreme weather than Mozambique, according to the Global Climate Risk Index. For the coastal population, cyclones have been a formidable threat. In 2019, Mozambique was hit by two cyclones in six weeks. It has never happened before. In the north of Mozambique, the rainy season has become shorter and the amount of precipitation less. On the Lichinga plateau, which is over a thousand meters above sea level, rivers have had lower water levels. Wetlands have dried up, as here in the Sanga district (see picture above).
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Mener Green Resources and Norfund are running from forests and responsibility in Mozambique – news – Klima
