Green: at what price?

When does a green economy come at too high a price? Land acquisitions for growth and development can compromise the livelihoods of some of the world’s most vulnerable people, as this film explores.

Video: Thomson Reuters Foundation

Reforestation, environmental development, growth in the developing world: when does a green economy come at too high a price? The Ugandan Government wants to encourage development and boost it’s forest reserves. They’ve leased over 8000 hectares of land to Norwegian based company, Green Resources, Africa’s largest forestation company.

This sounds like a good news story in Africa, except that Bukaleba Forest Reserve, on the shores of Lake Victoria, has been home to thousands of rural people for decades. These villagers are indicative of 90 per cent of rural Africans who have no land title. This film explores one simple truth: land acquisitions for growth and development can compromise the livelihoods of some of the world’s most vulnerable people.

We hear from the villagers, the Land Ministry, the company at the core. ‘Green: at what price?’ not only highlights the plight of Ugandan villagers, but reveals a vital scenario playing out across Africa and around the globe.

This video was published with permission Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women’s rights, trafficking, corruption and climate change. Visit news.trust.org to see more stories.

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