Perenco is committed to deploy all the resources needed to preserve the environment and applies very strict rules to all its operations in the North Sea, Africa, Latin America and Asia. This voluntary approach leads us to commit to local territorial planning and development programmes alongside local communities.
Reforestation Projects in Latin America
As part of our environmental commitment, Perenco Colombia has implemented reforestation projects for over 15 years in a bid to protect hydrographic basins. In the Casanare region nearly 100,000 trees have been planted on an area covering more than 98 hectares.
In Guatemala, Perenco has created tree nurseries in order to reforest local communities near our operating areas and to maintain the Tikal natural park. Perenco has thereby offered more than two million trees since 2010.
Converting Offshores Platforms into Artificial Reefs
In Gabon, Perenco and the National Parks Agency (ANPN) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to conduct research work on the protection of marine ecosystems around oil platforms. This protocol is based on results from environmental studies carried out jointly by the ANPN, the National Geographic Society, the Waitt Institute and the Wildlife Conservation Society, which tend to prove that offshore platforms - being areas preserved from fishing- constitute an environment conducive of marine biodiversity development.
These conclusions allow to envisage a second life as artificial reefs for platforms that will be deactivated. As an operator of mature fields Perenco is particularly invested in the works deployed at the heart of the Mayumba National Park, close to the fields operated in Southern Gabon; an area where large populations of cetaceans and sea turtles have been observed.
Agroforestry Project in the DRC
In the DRC, Perenco has committed until 2020 to an agroforestry project on a surface of 900 hectares located on the Yema plateau in Muanda territory. This project of sustainable development aims to help the local community reach self-sufficiency in terms of fruit and vegetable production while using tree planting to counteract climate warming.
Perenco has committed to provide plots, cuttings, the assistance of an engineer and equipment, including tractors, but also to drill wells and to install pumps to irrigate crops.
Farmers already cultivate black-eyed peas, fruit trees, avocados and cassava. Acacias are used for heating and coal cooking, making it possible to protect the mangrove while avoiding deforestation. The project has recently been enriched with a beekeeping project and the construction of a honey factory.
These actions complement a prior initiative that had enabled artisanal fishing to be re-launched in Muanda.