Cameroonian environmental defender Nasako Besingi has support of local and international communities, despite a controversial conviction by local Cameroonian courts on charges of defamation against a US agri-business company Herakles Farms and it’s local subsidiary, SG-SOC Global.

A coalition of international organizations have denounced Cameroonian authorities’ repression of community leader and environmental defender Nasako Besingi.

The lead up to this summer’s World Cup is already dominating international news with every manager’s squad selection being scrutinized while analysts attempt to predict the tournament’s winner.

Greenpeace has been closely monitoring another world-wide phenomenon: illegal deforestation.

Press release by Greenpeace International

Amsterdam, 27 May 2014 - Illegal and corrupt behaviour by foreign-owned companies engaged in establishing large palm oil plantations not only threatens local communities and forested areas th

Herakles Farms, a US company, has been chopping down miles of dense forest without the full authority to do so -- and in the face of desperate pleas and resistance from local communities.

The palm oil project will also destroy precious chimpanzee and forest elephant habitat if it goes ahead.

A Cameroonian judge in the Fako High Court has awarded former Herakles Farm employee Loxly Massango Epie 2.3 billion CFA (4.8 million USD) in a lawsuit claiming racial discriminat

The Court of First Instance Limbe has fined the New York based palm oil company US$4.5 Million after a lawsuit filed by former executive Blessed Okoye for his wrongful termination.

Press release by Greenpeace Africa and Oakland Institute:

Greenpeace Africa and the Oakland Institute are alarmed by the decision of the Cameroonian government to award US agribusiness company Herakles Farms a three-year provisional land lease to develop a palm oil plantation in the South West region of the country. The move disproves Herakles Farms’ claim that it had all the necessary permits from the start, and confirms that the company has in fact been operating illegally for more than three years. 

Global Exchange has compiled a list of the top ten “most wanted” corporations of 2013 based on issues like unlivable working conditions, corporate seizures of Indigenous lands, and contaminating the environment, just to name a few. 

Originally posted by Greenpeace International
 

Amsterdam, August 8, 2013 – The endangered Chimpanzee stands to have swathes of its forest habitat in Cameroon destroyed if a US company's controversial plans to establish a palm oil plantation in the area are not stopped.