Dubai Company's Land Deals in Africa Spark Indigenous Rights Concerns
A Dubai-based company's acquisition of vast tracts of land in Africa for carbon credit projects is raising alarms over potential impacts on Indigenous communities' livelihoods and rights.
- In the past year, the Liberian government has agreed to sell about 10% of the country's land to Dubai-based company Blue Carbon, aiming to preserve forests.
- Activists and local communities argue that the deals lack transparency and could lead to 'carbon colonialism', threatening Indigenous livelihoods.
- Blue Carbon plans to profit from these conservation efforts by selling carbon credits to offset polluters' emissions, but the effectiveness and fairness of such models are debated.
- Rights groups have reported evictions and human rights abuses in similar projects, highlighting the tension between climate goals and the well-being of rural African populations.
- Governments in Africa are drawn to these conservation initiatives for their potential income, despite concerns over human rights abuses and the lack of legal frameworks for carbon credits.
Financial Post 
Associated Press 