Madagascar, its unique biodiversity and its people, are under threat. French oil company Total is deciding whether to mine highly polluting tar sands in one of the poorest areas of Madagascar. Please act now to help stop this. Email Total’s chief executive today and call on him to abandon his company’s destructive plans.

Campaigners in Madagascar are working on the ground to try and stop this from going ahead. Support here in the UK, where Scottish bank RBS is financing multinational oil companies involved in tar sands, adds vital strength to their work. Please take action now.

"We only have seven people in our organisation. We are like a family. But we have a network of organisations in Madagascar, which makes us stronger. And international support gives us further strength.”  -Malagasy environmental and human rights campaigner 

WHAT’S THE ISSUE?

French oil company Total has been test mining for tar sands at Bemolanga in the western part of Madagascar for the last three years. Now, they are considering moving on to full exploitation. We have already seen environmental destruction on a huge scale and the trampling of human rights in the tar sands fields of northern Alberta in Canada. This must not be allowed to happen in Madagascar, or anywhere else in the world.
 
In the region of Melaky, where the tar sands in Madagascar lie, 70% of the population live below the poverty line and 50% of children under the age of three have stunted growth due to malnutrition. More than 120,000 people could have their water supply disrupted and land poisoned as a result of the tar sands project.

The government of Madagascar is to receive only 4% of profits over the thirty years expected lifespan of the tar sands fields.

Using taxpayers’ money, the bailed-out Royal Bank of Scotland is helping to finance the tar sands industry. Since being bailed out in 2008, RBS has provided £303million in corporate finance to Total.

It is vital that human development and environmental protection go hand in hand. Tar sands and oil exploitation threaten to undermine this possibility in Madagascar.

WHAT CAN BE DONE ABOUT IT?

Total is coming to the end of its tar sands exploration phase and is considering its next move. There is an opportunity now to shine a spotlight on Total here in Europe, to highlight its activities in Madagascar and to put it under pressure to abandon its plans before any real damage is done.
  
In a carbon constrained world, exploring for new sources of fossil fuels is an irresponsible strategy. If we are to stop the world from reaching the point of runaway climate change, then the tar sands must be left in the ground and unprecedented levels of investment in low carbon technology are needed instead. Multinational energy companies like Total must stop being part of the problem and become part of the solution.

Write to Total's CEO now!