Women raise their voices against tree plantations

This report by Friends of the Earth International and the World Rainforest Movement examines how European Union trade policies and corporate consumption drive the establishment of monoculture tree plantations in the Global South, specifically disempowering women. Through case studies in Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, and Brazil, the document details the loss of land, livelihoods, and cultural identity, while highlighting the gender-specific impacts of these industrial models.

• The European Union's trade policies, specifically the "Global Europe: Competing in the World" strategy, are criticized for prioritizing the interests of European corporations and neoliberal economic growth over climate change, poverty reduction, and social cohesion in the Global South.
• In Nigeria, the France-based company Michelin converted over 3,500 hectares of the Iguobazuwa Forest Reserve into rubber plantations in 2007 without community consent or a proper Environmental Impact Assessment, destroying biodiversity and local farmlands.
• The rubber plantations in Nigeria have disproportionately impacted women, who were the primary users of the land for food crops and the main breadwinners for their families, forcing many into menial labor or unemployment.
• In Papua New Guinea, oil palm production is driven by EU demand for food, cosmetics, and biodiesel, facilitated by a preferential trade agreement that exempts PNG's Crude Palm Oil from a 6% import tax applied to other countries.
• The 'Nucleus Estate Smallholder Scheme' in Papua New Guinea, promoted by the World Bank, IMF, and Asian Development Bank, is described as a corporate strategy to reduce costs by using cheap local labor while shifting ecological responsibility to smallholders.
• Oil palm plantations in Papua New Guinea have compromised food sovereignty by replacing diverse gardens with monocultures, leading to nutritional deficiencies and a forced dependence on expensive, low-quality store-bought foods.
• Industrial oil palm in Papua New Guinea is linked to severe environmental and health risks, including water contamination from refineries and respiratory issues in children caused by the inhalation of agrotoxics.
• In Brazil's Rio Grande do Sul state, the pulp and paper industry—including companies like Stora Enso, Aracruz Celulose, and Votorantim—is expanding eucalyptus monocultures, which are described as "green deserts" that deplete water and degrade soil.
• The expansion of eucalyptus plantations in Brazil has undermined the livelihoods of small rural producers, particularly women involved in dairy production, by destroying infrastructure and reducing land productivity.
• Women in Brazil have reported increased vulnerability to sexual harassment and violence following the arrival of outside workers employed by pulp companies, limiting their freedom of movement.
• Women in Brazil have organized significant resistance against agribusiness, including a 2006 action by the Landless Peasant Movement/Via Campesina where 2,000 women destroyed eucalyptus seedlings to protest the 'green desert' model.

APA

Friends of the Earth International (2009). Women raise their voices against tree plantations. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Informe-completo-final.pdf

Chicago

Friends of the Earth International. Women raise their voices against tree plantations. 2009. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Informe-completo-final.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Friends of the Earth International |title=Women raise their voices against tree plantations |date=March 2009 |url=https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Informe-completo-final.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{friendsoftheearthinternational2009women, author = {{Friends of the Earth International}}, title = {{Women raise their voices against tree plantations}}, institution = {Friends of the Earth International}, year = {2009}, month = mar, url = {https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Informe-completo-final.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }