When Greenpeace Africa and ally NGOs first introduced you to Herakles Farms and its palm oil project in Cameroon (known locally as SG Sustainable Oils Cameroon or SGSOC), the US company had grand and destructive ambitions. Even...

Approaching the forest in the Congo, I am met with an overwhelming wall of green. Flying over it, I see the meandering rivers merging together. I see animals drinking from the rivers, frolicking with joy in the water. Walking into the...

Rumours that the Cameroonian government was on the verge of signing a land lease agreement with Herakles Farms have been swirling for over a year. In November these fears were realised as the government announced that the land lease...

Policy wonks, experts, campaigners and other stakeholders met in Brussels this week to discuss progress under the European Union's Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) Action plan. Yet the effectiveness of the...

Herakles Farms is in trouble again. After months of turmoil for the US-based corporation - including a temporary suspension order from the Cameroonian Government, confirmation that the company failed to obtain the Free, Prior and...

From the time we're in school, we are taught that forests absorb and store carbon dioxide, one of the main greenhouse gases (GHG) responsible for climate change, and that they produce and release oxygen. Yet despite the essential role...

When one thinks of endangered species, the usual large animals spring to mind. Elephants, tigers, rhinos. And quite rightly they are the ones who get the lion's share of the attention at the meeting of the standing committee of the ...

As the rain thunders down, it becomes not just increasingly hard to hear the speakers but also to see them. The lack of light due to the poor electricity supply in this part of South West Cameroon means that as the clouds darken, the...

The chimpanzee is one of mankind's closest relatives. However there are many of us who do not treat them with what could be called familial affection. Chimps and other primates in Africa face an increasing number of threats to their...

The Democratic Republic of Congo is roughly the same size as Western Europe. However its infrastructure is a far different proposition, and as a result it is rare – verging on impossible – that people from different parts of the...