Banks| Policies| Dodgy Deals| Campaigns
About us| Blog| Publications| Successes| Contact us| Donate
About BankTrack
Visit us
Organisation
Our team
Our board
Guiding principles
Team up with us
Jobs at BankTrack
Our annual reports
Funding and finances
History
BankTrack in the media
Our privacy policy
Donate
2023-01-23 00:00:00
Berta Cáceres: new rules for banks could help stop defender killings
2023-01-16 00:00:00
In the balance: Why European due diligence legislation must cover financial services
2022-12-08 00:00:00
Exposed: Western banks funding Qatar’s carbon bombs
2022-12-08 00:00:00
Right-wing attack on sustainable finance is the latest form of climate denial
2022-12-14 11:08:26
HSBC announces it will no longer finance new oil and gas fields
2022-10-13 15:56:39
More major banks and insurers refuse to support EACOP
2022-09-16 10:38:48
European Parliament passes emergency resolution against human rights violations & environmental threats linked to EACOP
2022-06-27 09:49:16
Crédit Agricole takes first step to phase out from the oil and gas sector
Connect
2022-11-22 00:00:00
Banking on Thin Ice: Two years in the heat
2022-11-17 00:00:00
BankTrack Global Human Rights Benchmark 2022
2022-10-21 00:00:00
Burning forests in the name of clean energy? How banks are failing to exclude the harmful wood biomass industry from finance
2022-06-28 00:00:00
The East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP): Finance Risk Update No. 3
2022-04-05 00:00:00
The BankTrack Human Rights Benchmark Asia
2022-03-30 00:00:00
Banking on Climate Chaos 2022
See all publications
Browse
Home
Banks
Policies
Dodgy Deals
Campaigns
About
About BankTrack
Donate
Contact BankTrack
Publications
Victories
Follow Us
News
BankTrack blog
Facebook
Twitter Fossil Banks No Thanks Twitter Fossil Banks No Thanks Instagram
Affiliate Websites
Fossil Banks No Thanks
StopEACOP
Forests & Finance
Banks & Biodiversity
Drop JBS
Bank of Coal
Don't Buy into Occupation
Home › Projects
Portucel pulp mill Mozambique
About
Financiers
Companies
Impacts
Governance
Brief history
Documents
News
Media
Links
About
Financiers
Companies
Impacts
Governance
Brief history
Documents
News
Media
Links

On record

This profile is no longer actively maintained, with the information now possibly out of date

Send feedback on this profile
Download as PDF
By: BankTrack, ADECRU & Friends of the Earth Mozambique
Created before Nov 2016
Last update: 2021-05-10 00:00:00

Contact:

nature@banktrack.org


Share this page:

This 40,000 ha of eucalyptus is a small portion of the 356,000 ha to which Portucel has the land rights for 50 years. Photo: Steve Slater via Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Sector Pulp, Paper and Paperboard Mills
Location
Status
Planning
Design
Agreement
Construction
Operation
Closure
Decommission
Website http://en.portucelmocambique.com/Portucel-Mocambique

About Portucel pulp mill

Portucel Moçambique is a Mozambican company, controlled by The Navigator Company (previously known as Portucel Soporcel). The company plans to build a pulp mill in Ile-Namarroi, in Zambézia, Mozambique. The project also includes a biomass power generation plant and is expected to be operational by 2023. The pulp mill will have a production capacity of 1,500,000 tonnes of pulp per year, which will almost double The Navigator Company's global pulp production capacity. The project requires an investment of USD 3 billion.

The pulp will be sourced from eucalyptus plantations in the Zambezia and Manica provinces. The plantations will be located in forested regions, where deforestation is occurring at a rapid pace, as shown in maps published by Global Forest Watch. The loss of forests is also leading to climate change. In the case of Mozambique, 53.1% of GHG-emissions in 2011 came from land-use change and forestry.

What must happen

Investors should not support this project until Portucel has developed satisfactory measures to protect forests and biodiversity, to assure the integrity of water table and hydrological conditions, to implement Free Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) and fully respect customary land rights, address social conflicts, implement full transparency and pursue stakeholder engagement.

Impacts

Social and human rights impacts

Some of the social impacts related to plantations have been identified in the Environmental Impact Assessment report released by Impacto. The main issues raised by communities were as follows:
  • Land that is critical for food security and traditional life has been taken from local communities. (The Oakland Institute).
  • Consultation meetings between the company and the local communities have not been held in traditional language. As a result the majority of the people was unable to understand most of the meetings. In different cases, possible impacts have not been properly outlined. In some cases, temporary jobs were promised in exchange for land, in others land has been acquired without compensation. Some people have been relocated to fields far away from roads and basic services, such as medical care. Other people have had to rent land at their own expense
  • In this environment, already marked by water stress, the expansion of eucalyptus plantations will inevitably affect the surrounding areas bringing a severe decline to local agriculture, and threatening food security
  • The Environmental Impact Assessment report for the Zambezia forestry project states that "communities reported elevated concern with regard to their perception of lack of land for the project implementation, occupation of lands without consent and due compensation, lack of clarity in relation to the project and the lack of transparent communication mechanisms between the company and the communities." It identifies the following socio-economic impacts: conflicts in the process of access to land, loss of agricultural areas, risk of malnourishment and malnutrition and loss of ecosystem services for communities. It also lists mitigation measures
  • A local chief has forbidden community leaders to voice their concerns regarding the project, while pressure to accept the project has been reported. In some cases, temporary jobs have been promised in exchange of land, in other land has been acquired without compensation. People have been relocated to other fields far away from roads and basic services such as medical care. Others had to rent land at their own expense (Justica Ambiental).

The description of impacts on this page is sourced from the report A Land Grab for Pulp. For more information about these impacts read this report here.

 

The consultations held with local communities did not comply with international standard of FPIC (Free Prior and Informed Consent) as laid down in the UN Declaration of Indigenous Rights. Community members told Justiça Ámbiental that only one meeting was held, at which none of them had been informed about the project, and in which potential social and environmental impacts of the project were not discussed. In other cases, communities confirmed that there had been a meeting with the company, but the majority (80%) reported that they did not understand most of the meeting, because of the language used.

Portucel should adopt a specific policy on security. Any security company that is contracted should not be implicated in past abuses. Human rights education and a strict non-violence policies should be part of core trainings. For expressions of concerns a grievance mechanism should be in place, about the security arrangements and for reporting any abuses in a confidential way, so as to ensure the security of affected people.

Environmental and climate impacts

The plantation is expected to have adverse impacts such as pollution, soil erosion, loss of biodiversity, increased risks of forest fires, modification of the aesthetic value of the landscape. It will further impact remaining forest ecosystems of miombo woodlands, and possibly fragments of afromontane and eastern African coastal forests. Both the pulp mill and plantations will be located close to the Deforestation Fronts as outlined by WWF. Landscapes will not be protected and natural forests will be converted including 114,000 ha of densely wooded 'sensitive areas' (only 10% of the area will be set-aside, mostly located in areas unsuitable for plantations). Furthermore, the conversion into plantations will displace traditional forest uses, creating more pressure on the remaining fragments of natural forests.

Roads, forest tracks and fire breaks, that come along with the project, will also impact the natural forests. To establish the Zambezia plantations, 1,200 km of forest tracks will be opened, as well as 280 km of perimeter firebreaks of 6 meters in width.

Governance

Applicable norms and standards

IFC Performance Standard 1: Assessment and Management of Environmental and Social Risks and Impacts
IFC Performance Standard 2: Labor and Working Conditions
IFC Performance Standard 3: Resource Efficiency and Pollution Prevention
IFC Performance Standard 4: Community Health, Safety, and Security
IFC Performance Standard 5: Land Acquisition and Involuntary Resettlement
IFC Performance Standard 6: Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Management of Living Natural Resources
IFC Performance Standard 8: Cultural Heritage

Other applicable regulations

The IFC has defined the project as a Category A Project, "due to the potentially significant, diverse, and irreversible environmental and social risks and/or impacts inherent to a project of this nature and scale operating in Mozambique". Therefore, the IFC Performance Standards 1-6 and 8 apply to this project. The Guidelines for Observation and Exclusion from the Norwegian Government Pension Fund should apply.

Financiers

The first phase of the project (plantation development) is expected to be funded by equity only, 80% from the Navigator Company and 20% from the International Finance Corporation of the World Bank. Costs for this phase amount to USD 160 million, or 5.3% of the total project costs.

Related companies

Navigator Company Portugal show profile

Pulp, Paper and Paperboard Mills

Portucel Moçambique Mozambique

News

| |
Type:
Year:
blog
external news
our news

The capture of policy-making by the pulp and paper industry is driving mega-fires in Portugal and land grabbing in Mozambique

2021-05-10 | Environmental Paper Network
blog
external news
our news

Navigator Takes Pulp Mill Project In Mozambique Back On Track

2018-07-12 | Mozambique | EPN
blog
external news
our news

Portucel Moçambique plants 13,000 hectares of eucalyptus

2017-12-07 | Macauhub
blog
external news
our news

Produção de celulose ameaça o centro de Moçambique

Portuguese only
2017-11-27 | Deutsche Welle
blog
external news
our news

Portucel to build US$3B pulp mill in Mozambique

2017-11-21 | Further Africa
blog
external news
our news

Mozambico: land grabbing per la carta

Italian only
2017-11-20 | Agoravox.it
blog
external news
our news

A Land Grab for Pulp – a report on Portucel Mozambique

2017-11-17 | EPN
blog
external news
our news

Portugal’s Portucel increases investment in pulp project in Mozambique

2016-01-25 | Macauhub.com
blog
external news
our news

US abstains from IFC investment in Mozambique paper plantation

2015-03-31 | Bretton Woods Project
blog
external news
our news

Portucel Moçambique assina acordos com instituição do Banco Mundial para

Portuguese only
2015-03-19 | Jornal de Negócios

Documents

Type:
Year:
other documents
2014-06-30 00:00:00

Non-technical summary of EIA report for the Zambezia Forest Project

(unofficial English translation)
2014-06-30 00:00:00 | Impacto
bank documents
2016-06-30 00:00:00

Amendment to EISA summary

2016-06-30 00:00:00 | IFC
ngo documents
2011-12-31 00:00:00

Understanding land investment deals in Africa: Mozambique

2011-12-31 00:00:00 | The Oakland Institute
ngo documents
2016-10-31 00:00:00

Industrial Tree Plantations Invading Eastern and Southern Africa

Briefing compiled by the World Rainforest Movement (WRM) and the Timberwatch Coalition (TW)
2016-10-31 00:00:00 | World Rainforest Movement, Timberwatch Coalition
ngo documents
2017-11-20 00:00:00

A land grab for pulp

New mill project by Portucel Mozambique
2017-11-20 00:00:00 | EPN, ADECRU, Quercus, ARA, KKM
ngo documents
2016-07-01 00:00:00

Plantações Florestais da Portucel ameaçam a segurança alimentar nas comunidades do distrito de Namaroi, na Zambézia

Portuguese only
2016-07-01 00:00:00 | ADECRU
ngo documents
2015-09-21 00:00:00

Portucel - O Processo de acesso à Terra e os direitos das comunidades locais

Portuguese only
2015-09-21 00:00:00 | Justiça Ámbiental
company documents
2015-01-01 00:00:00

Procedimento de Acesso a Terra

Portuguese only
2015-01-01 00:00:00 | Portucel Mocambique - Grupo Portucel Soporcel
company documents
2015-01-01 00:00:00

Consultas Públicas sobre o projecto envolveram mais de 15.000 pessoas

Portuguese only
2015-01-01 00:00:00 | Portucel Mocambique - Grupo Portucel Soporcel
bank documents
2014-09-29 00:00:00

Environmental & Social Review Summary

2014-09-29 00:00:00 | IFC
company documents
2014-09-01 00:00:00

Relatório do estudo impacto ambiental da província da Zambézia, Maputo

Portuguese only
2014-09-01 00:00:00 | Impacto; Portucel Mocambique
company documents
2014-06-01 00:00:00

Environmental Impact Assessment Report

ZambeziaForestryProject
2014-06-01 00:00:00 | Impacto, Portucel Moçambique
other documents
1997-10-01 00:00:00

Ley da Terras

1997-10-01 00:00:00 | National legislation

Media




Links

Ejatlas- Portucel Moçambique

http://ejatlas.org/conflict/eucalyptus-producer-portucel-group-mozambique

EPN webpage on Portucel Mozambique

http://www.environmentalpaper.eu/a-land-grab-for-pulp-a-report-on-portucel-mozambique/

EPN webpage on pulp finance

http://environmentalpaper.org/project/pulp-finance/

KKM - Coordinating Committee Mozambique - Germany

http://kkmosambik.de/content/

Quercus

http://www.quercus.pt/

ADECRU

http://www.adecru.org.mz/index.php/pt/

ARA-Working Group on Rainforests and Biodiversity

https://www.araonline.de/

Petition - Mozambique: stop a giant pulp project in the miombo woodlands!

https://www.rainforest-rescue.org/petitions/1125/mozambique-stop-a-giant-pulp-project-in-the-miombo-woodlands

A land grab for pulp in Mozambique

Video by Environmental Paper Network Jan 2018

http://environmentalpaper.org/mozambique-january-2018/

Business & Human Rights Resource Centre - The Navigator Company

https://www.business-humanrights.org/en/the-navigator-company-sa

FSC Watch

https://fsc-watch.com/

Brief history

In 2008 Portucel Mozambique submitted a proposal for the establishment of eucalyptus plantations in Manica and Zambezia to MICOA, the Ministry for the Coordination of Environmental Action in Mozambique. In 2009 the company obtained authorization from the Council of Ministers of Mozambique.

In 2010 the Mozambiquan government granted the company a concession for 173,000 hectares in the Zambézia province to establish eucalyptus plantations. In 2011, the company obtained a concession for a further 183,000 hectares for eucalyptus plantations in the Manica province. These areas are currently being planted. A report from The Oakland Institute from 2011 mentions that half the land Portucel wants has been claimed by local people and that in public consultations the project was rejected.

In September 2015 Portucel Moçambique opened what it called the largest tree nursery in the whole of Africa with an installed production capacity of more than 12 million plants a year.

Browse
Home
Banks
Policies
Dodgy Deals
Campaigns
About
About BankTrack
Donate
Contact BankTrack
Publications
Victories
Follow Us
News
BankTrack blog
Facebook
Twitter Fossil Banks No Thanks Twitter Fossil Banks No Thanks Instagram
Affiliate Websites
Fossil Banks No Thanks
StopEACOP
Forests & Finance
Banks & Biodiversity
Drop JBS
Bank of Coal
Don't Buy into Occupation
Vismarkt 15
6511 VJ Nijmegen
The Netherlands

Tel: +31 24 324 9220
Contact@banktrack.org
©2016 BankTrack                Webdesign by BankTrack and EASYmind
BankTrack is a registered charity in the Netherlands (ANBI) - RSIN 813874658
Find our privacy policy here

Stay up to date

Sign up now for all BankTrack's news


Make a comment

Your comment will be reviewed, before being posted