Abstract—This report highlights some of the enviro/socio issues emerging out of the Chad-Cameroon pipeline project. The report is a result of a 17-day trip to Cameroon during which the author met with NGO’s, government, private sector and affected community members. The trip and report are a result of an international human rights internship sponsored by the University of Toronto Faculty of Law’s International Human Rights Program.

I. INTRODUCTION
The summer of 2000, the World Bank approved the construction of the controversial Chad-Cameroon pipeline project. The project included the development of 300 oil wells in Southern Chad, which would connect to a 650- mile pipeline extending from Doba, Chad, to offshore storage facilities in the Atlantic Ocean off of South-West Cameroon. The pipeline essentially cuts diagonally across Cameroon, bisecting the regions forests.
Prior to project approval, and throughout the construction process, NGO’s located in Chad, Cameroon and internationally, expressed concerns about the environmental and socio impact of the project. Concerns included the lack of transparency of the governments of both Chad and Cameroon , potential public health threats arising from a sudden influx of workers in previously rural areas, environmental degradation including dust pollution, the contamination of water sources and impacts on wildlife and forests, as well as the impact of the pipeline on indigenous populations.
This report arose out of a 17-day field visit to Cameroon and focuses on the impact of the pipeline on the environment and indigenous people of Cameroon. The visit included interviews with NGOs, the private sector, and local community members, as well as site visits to pipeline corridors and stations in Kribi, Cameroon. The report is divided into three sections. The first section documents the history of the pipeline project including financing structure, environmental assessments, and attempts by the World Bank to address NGO concerns. The second section focuses on the pipeline’s impact on indigenous people and the environment,

II. BACKGROUND OF THE CHAD-CAMEROON PIPELINE PROJECT
i. Project funding
The total estimated cost of the Chad-Cameroon pipeline was 3.7 billion U.S. with joint financing from the governments of Chad and Cameroon, the World Bank, and the private sector. ExxonMobil led an Oil Consortium made up of ExxonMobil, Petronas-Malaysia and Chevron which supplemented the $93 million dollars in loans contributed by the World Bank. From the World Bank’s perspective, the pipeline provided “an unprecedented framework to transform oil wealth into direct benefits for the poor.”

Figure 1 - Pipeline corridor marker at Kirbi

In order to achieve the World Bank’s goal of sustainable development through oil revenues, the World Bank under