People Power in action: Uniting against oil exploration in Togo

The Doevi Kope community in Togo, supported by Les Amis de la Terre Togo, is resisting oil exploration following the 2012 confirmation of oil off their coast. After the government signed a contract with the Italian company ENI without community knowledge, a campaign led to the contract's cancellation. Community members' opposition is informed by visits to Ghana and reports from Nigeria and Chad, where they observed oil pollution killing fish, poisoning farmland, and destroying livelihoods. The community also cites previous government failures, such as a 1960s harbor project that caused severe coastal erosion and house destruction. Despite the initial contract cancellation, the government is reportedly seeking a new partner for oil extraction.

• The Togolese government signed an oil exploration and production contract with the Italian energy company ENI without informing the Doevi Kope community, though the discovery was certified by a 2012 Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA).
• A campaign involving Les Amis de la Terre Togo, local communities, and journalists successfully led to the cancellation of the contract with ENI.
• Community members from Doevi Kope visited Ghana in 2014 and learned of impacts in Nigeria and Chad, observing that oil extraction led to pollution that killed fish, poisoned farmland and animals, and caused hunger and unemployment.
• The Doevi Kope community has previously suffered from a harbor built in the 1960s, which altered tidal patterns and caused coastal erosion that destroyed homes; the government is currently building a new harbor that threatens to intensify this erosion.
• Despite the cancellation of the first contract, the Togolese government is reportedly seeking a new company to proceed with oil extraction.

APA

admin (2017). People Power in action: Uniting against oil exploration in Togo. Friends of the Earth International. https://www.foei.org/people-power-in-action-uniting-against-oil-exploration-in-togo/

Chicago

admin. People Power in action: Uniting against oil exploration in Togo. Friends of the Earth International, 2017. https://www.foei.org/people-power-in-action-uniting-against-oil-exploration-in-togo/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=admin |title=People Power in action: Uniting against oil exploration in Togo |publisher=Friends of the Earth International |date=9 October 2017 |url=https://www.foei.org/people-power-in-action-uniting-against-oil-exploration-in-togo/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{admin2017people, author = {admin}, title = {{People Power in action: Uniting against oil exploration in Togo}}, institution = {Friends of the Earth International}, year = {2017}, month = oct, url = {https://www.foei.org/people-power-in-action-uniting-against-oil-exploration-in-togo/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }