TotalEnergies to review land buyouts in contested Africa projects
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Transcript
00:00 This is part of the land in the center of the Total Energy Group's two controversial projects,
00:05 costing $10 billion.
00:07 Known as the Tilanga Projects, they include the drilling of over 400 oil wells
00:13 and the construction of a 1,443-kilometer-long pipeline
00:18 under the Marches and Falls Nature Reserve in western Uganda,
00:22 triggering fears for the region's fragile ecosystem
00:25 among the people who live there and environmentalists.
00:28 It would impact more than 19,000 households and communities.
00:32 French energy giant Now says it had launched a review of its land acquisition practices.
00:38 In a statement it said, "As the land acquisition process draws to a close,
00:43 this mission will evaluate the land acquisition procedures implemented,
00:47 the conditions for consultation, compensation and relocation of the populations concerned
00:52 and a grievance handling mechanism."
00:55 Total Energy also named Benin's former Prime Minister Lionel Zensou
00:59 to lead the land acquisition assessment,
01:01 calling him a "recognized expert in African economic development."
01:06 But already many environmentalists have expressed skepticism
01:11 about the review, which should be submitted by April.
01:14 (engine rumbling)